White matter microstructural alterations in chronic insomnia: an automated fiber quantification study linking...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Chronic insomnia (CI) is a prevalent sleep disorder.
• White matter integrity may be affected in CI.
• Understanding these changes can inform treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter alterations in chronic insomnia (CI) using Automated Fiber Quantification (AFQ).
• To correlate white matter changes with clinical severity in CI patients.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were acquired from 49 CI patients and 27 healthy controls.
• Automated Fiber Quantification (AFQ) was used to analyze DTI metrics (FA, AD, MD, RD) across 18 major white matter tracts.
• Tract-specific diffusion metrics were compared between CI patients and controls.

Main Results:

• Chronic insomnia patients exhibited increased axial diffusivity (AD) in bilateral anterior thalamic radiations, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and right arcuate fasciculus.
• Increased mean diffusivity (MD) was observed in bilateral anterior thalamic radiations, right corticospinal tract, forceps minor of the corpus callosum, and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus.
• Significant correlations were found between diffusion changes in specific white matter tracts and clinical insomnia severity scores.

Conclusions:

• Automated Fiber Quantification (AFQ) effectively identified fiber-specific white matter abnormalities in chronic insomnia.
• These findings highlight the link between white matter integrity and the clinical presentation of chronic insomnia.