Chronic Insomnia Disorder is marked by poor integration within the default mode network, with herbal medicine and Estazolam showing differing effects on neural homogeneity in the brain.
The researchers utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine network homogeneity in the default mode network among 82 Chronic Insomnia Disorder patients and 65 healthy controls. 52 patients were treated with a type of herbal medicine known as Modified Suanzaoren Decoction, while 30 received Estazolam. Network homogeneity was calculated for the default mode network, and the researchers noted differences at baseline, changes following treatment, and correlations with clinical outcome scores. A machine learning model was also used to determine whether network homogeneity features could help differentiate patients from healthy controls.
In terms of results, at the start, patients with Chronic Insomnia Disorder showed wide-ranging abnormal homogeneity in different regions of the default mode network when compared to healthy individuals. After treatment, an increase in homogeneity was observed in two specific areas across both patient groups. Most notably, a distinction was noted in one region where network homogeneity increased following herbal treatment, but decreased with Estazolam. Baseline homogeneity in certain regions positively correlated with the severity of insomnia and anxiety. The machine learning model successfully distinguished patients from healthy controls based on network homogeneity features.
