Abstract
Accumulating evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that primary insomnia (PI) affects interregional neural coordination of multiple interacting functional brain networks. However, a complete understanding of the whole-brain network organization from a system-level perspective in PI is still lacking. To this end, we investigated in topological organization changes in brain functional networks in PI. 36 PI patients and 38 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were recruited. All participants underwent a series of neuropsychological assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Individual whole-brain functional network were constructed and analyzed using graph theory-based network approaches. There were no significant differences with respect to age, sex, or education between groups (P > 0.05). Graph-based analyses revealed that participants with PI had a significantly higher total number of edges (P = 0.022), global efficiency (P = 0.014), and normalized global efficiency (P = 0.002), and a significantly lower normalized local efficiency (P = 0.042) compared with controls. Locally, several prefrontal and parietal regions, the superior temporal gyrus, and the thalamus exhibited higher nodal efficiency in participants with PI (P < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). In addition, most of these regions showed increased functional connectivity in PI patients (P < 0.05, corrected). Finally, altered network efficiency was correlated with neuropsychological variables of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Insomnia Severity Index in patients with PI. PI is associated with abnormal organization of large-scale functional brain networks, which may account for memory and emotional dysfunction in people with PI. These findings provide novel implications for neural substrates associated with PI.
Highlights
Primary insomnia (PI) is one of the most prevalent chronic sleep disorders
We examined the topology of functional brain networks in patients with primary insomnia (PI) by graph theory-based analysis of R-functional MRI (fMRI)
Our results suggest that patients with PI had overly connected functional brain networks as characterized by increased global network efficiency and increased nodal centrality as well as elevated interregional functional connectivity of regions, mainly in the default mode network (DMN) and emotional circuit
Summary
Primary insomnia (PI) is one of the most prevalent chronic sleep disorders. PI refers to difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep for at least 1 month. It is associated with sequelae of daytime impairment or clinically significant distress, and it is not attributable to a medical, psychiatric, or environmental cause [1, 2]. The rate of PI continues to grow globally with increasing industrialization, urbanization, and work pressures [3]. PI can negatively affect social productivity and life quality, as well as increase accident risk and health-care utilization [6, 7]. Despite the adverse socioeconomic impact of PI, the neurobiological causes and consequences of the disorder are not fully understood
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