Traditional solutions for sleep disorders, including medications and cognitive behavioural therapies, often provide insufficient relief.
This is a problem researchers from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson will be hoping to solve with a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defence Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. Although the research is initially aimed at the military it could have wider societal benefits.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, founded in 1967 seeks to enhance behavioural health through scientific research, education, training, community leadership, and service.
Lead researcher William Killgore states: “Insomnia is generally believed to be caused, at least in part, by excessive arousal of the brain and body, which is often associated with worry and excessive pre-sleep negative and arousing thoughts”.
Brain imaging has shown that internally focused thoughts tend to activate the default mode network, a core system in the brain that processes internal thoughts and emotions and becomes active during rest or introspective activities.
The research team have performed a preliminary study to suppress the default mode network before sleep using a handheld device that stimulates brain cells with magnetic fields.
The device is held against the scalp for less than a minute and it uses transcranial magnetic stimulation to target specific areas of the brain with continuous theta burst stimulation. This delivers rapid, repetitive bursts of magnetic pulses to inhibit brain activity.
“Many people with insomnia describe being unable to ‘turn off’ their thoughts when trying to fall asleep,” Killgore continues. “This internal dialog, worry and rumination is facilitated by activation within the DMN, perpetuating a cycle of restlessness. Our study’s initial findings suggest that by disrupting this brain network through a brief, 40-second stimulation, we can effectively help individuals achieve better sleep.”
Participants showed improvements in sleep after one session of continuous theta burst stimulation to a single region of the default mode network.
The general use of continuous theta burst stimulation for sleep, depression and other mental health issues is not new, but Killgore’s specific approach stimulates a network in the brain that has not been explored for this purpose.
The next stage of the research will use 120 participants with chronic insomnia and assess sleep improvements over several months. Participants will receive brief brain-stimulation sessions, and their sleep will be monitored using state-of-the-art sleep trackers and portable at-home brain wave monitors.
