title: Abnormal amygdala connectivity in patients with primary insomnia: evidence from resting state fMRI.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neurobiological mechanisms underlying insomnia are poorly understood. Previous findings indicated that dysfunction of the emotional circuit might contribute to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying insomnia. The present study will test this hypothesis by examining alterations in functional connectivity of the amygdala in patients with primary insomnia (PI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Resting-state functional connectivity analysis was used to examine the temporal correlation between the amygdala and whole-brain regions in 10 medication-naive PI patients and 10 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Additionally, the relationship between the abnormal functional connectivity and insomnia severity was investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found decreased functional connectivity mainly between the amygdala and insula, striatum and thalamus, and increased functional connectivity mainly between the amygdala and premotor cortex, sensorimotor cortex in PI patients as compared to healthy controls. The connectivity of the amygdala with the premotor cortex in PI patients showed significant positive correlation with the total score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The decreased functional connectivity between the amygdala and insula, striatum, and thalamus suggests that dysfunction in the emotional circuit might contribute to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying PI. The increased functional connectivity of the amygdala with the premotor and sensorimotor cortex demonstrates a compensatory mechanism to overcome the negative effects of sleep deficits and maintain the psychomotor performances in PI patients.
authors: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors: Zhaoyang
authors: Z
authors: Huang
authors: Peipeng
authors: P
authors: Liang
authors: Xiuqin
authors: X
authors: Jia
authors: Shuqin
authors: S
authors: Zhan
authors: Ning
authors: N
authors: Li
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Ding
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Lu
authors: Yuping
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Kuncheng
authors: K
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*