Insomnia is related to damage in brain communication networks
Although insomnia is very common, its causes and consequences are not entirely known. However, significant results have now been published in the journal Radiology, in which patients with insomnia have damaged the white matter of the brain.
The white matter is filled with long fibers formed by the axons of the neurons of the brain, whose role is fundamental for the functioning of the brain: they connect the parts of the brain. If the fibers of the white substance are damaged, communication between these parts of the brain is interrupted. In fact, in the brains of patients with insomnia, the state of the fibers of the white matter has been studied and anomalies have been detected.
The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between the duration and characteristics of abnormal white matter and insomnia. For this purpose, 23 patients with primary insomnia and 30 healthy controls were compared. It is understood by Primary Insomnia to have for more than a month sleep and maintenance problems. In these cases, fatigue, mood alterations and cognitive problems, as well as anxiety and depression problems are detected. Thus, we analyzed the quality of sleep, the level of insomnia, the degree of anxiety and the level of depression of all participants in the study. Afterwards, they have had a magnetic resonance of the brain to check if there is damage to the fibers of the white matter.
According to the study, patients with insomnia presented in the right part of the brain and in the talamo, which regulates consciousness, sleep and alertness, an evident deterioration of the white matter against healthy controls. According to the researchers, the damage observed in the white matter may be based on the loss of myelin, the protective layer around the nerve fibers.
On the other hand, it is observed that the impact of the talamo corresponds with the duration of insomnia and with the degree of depression. The talamo is, in short, the one that occupies important components of the biological clock of the body. However, researchers have warned that to clarify the relationship between neurological damage and insomnia, it is necessary to carry out studies that address a greater number of patients.
The upper figure shows the 6 structures or pathways that appear in the brain and are formed by myelin fibers, each with a color and acrylic (ALIC, ACR, BCC, PLIC, R, SCR and SLF).
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