Relative Cerebral Blood Flow Differences in Individuals With Insomnia Across Sleep-Wake States Compared to Good...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sleep Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• The underlying causes of insomnia disorder are not fully understood.
• Previous research suggests potential alterations in brain activity, but specific patterns remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in nighttime cerebral blood flow between individuals with insomnia disorder and healthy controls.
• To explore the relationship between insomnia severity and brain perfusion patterns.

Main Methods:

• Utilized arterial spin labelling (ASL) and polysomnography (PSG) to measure relative cerebral perfusion during wake and sleep attempts.
• Compared perfusion maps between individuals with insomnia disorder (n=11) and controls (n=17).
• Employed analysis of variance and regression analyses to identify significant group differences and correlations.

Main Results:

• Insomnia group exhibited higher perfusion in posterior sensory, affective, and self-referential regions, and lower perfusion in frontal regions and basal ganglia compared to controls.
• During sleep attempts, insomnia participants showed decreased frontal and basal ganglia perfusion when asleep, unlike controls.
• Higher insomnia severity correlated with lower perfusion in the right peri-Sylvian cortex and basal ganglia during wakefulness.

Conclusions:

• Insomnia disorder is associated with altered nighttime cerebral perfusion, characterized by increased activity in self-referential/sensory areas and reduced/dysregulated perfusion in frontal/basal ganglia regions.
• Findings suggest impaired arousal regulation, sleep drive, and inhibitory control in insomnia.
• ASL neuroimaging provides insights into the pathophysiology of insomnia.