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Objectives: To evaluate brain metabolites in objective insomnia subtypes defined from polysomnography (PSG): insomnia with short sleep duration (I-SSD) and insomnia with normal sleep duration (I-NSD), relative to good sleeping controls (GSCs). Methods: PSG empirically grouped insomnia patients into I-SSD (n = 12: mean [SD] total sleep time [TST] = 294.7 minutes [30.5]) or I-NSD (n = 19: TST = 394.4 minutes [34.9]). 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) acquired in the left occipital cortex (LOCC), left prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex was used to determine levels of creatine, aspartate, glutamate, and glutamine (referenced to water). Glutathione, glycerophosphocholine, lactate, myoinositol, and N-acetylaspartate measurements were also obtained. Sixteen GSCs were included for comparison. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences in creatine, aspartate, glutamate, and glutamine. Results: Aspartate and glutamine concentrations were reduced in the LOCC in I-SSD compared with I-NSD (both p < .05, d = .80-.99). Creatine displayed a nonsignificant mean reduction in I-SSD compared with I-NSD (p = .05, d = .58). Glutamine was reduced in I-SSD compared with controls (p < .05, d = .93). There were no differences in metabolites between all (I-SSD and I-NSD) insomnia patients and controls. In patients with insomnia, LOCC glutamine concentrations were found to be positively correlated with TST (r = .43, p < .05) and negatively correlated with wake-time after sleep onset (r = -.40, p < .05). Conclusions: Results indicate that I-SSD is associated with reduced brain metabolites in the LOCC compared with I-NSD and control concentrations of aspartate, glutamine, and creatine. Clinical Trial Registration: Insomnia MRS imaging sleep study: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12612000050853. Trial Identification Number: 12612000050853.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/sleep/zsx148

Type

Journal article

Journal

Sleep

Publication Date

01/11/2017

Volume

40

Keywords

brain imaging and phenotyping, insomnia, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, sleep and the brain, Adult, Aspartic Acid, Brain, Case-Control Studies, Creatine, Female, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Male, Middle Aged, Occipital Lobe, Polysomnography, Prefrontal Cortex, Sleep, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Time Factors, Young Adult