Modulation of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on default mode network in patients with primary insomnia / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the modulation of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on default mode network (DMN) in patients with primary insomnia (PI).@*METHODS@#A total of 22 PI patients (one patient dropped off and two patients were excluded) were included and treated with taVNS. The bilateral auricular points of Xin (CO15) and Shen (CO10) were selected and treated with disperse-dense wave at frequency of 4 Hz/20 Hz, the intensity was based on the patient's tolerance. taVNS was given once in the morning and once in the evening for 30 minutes each time. The treatment lasted for at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. At the same time, 16 healthy subjects matched with gender and age were recruited. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score was evaluated before and after treatment in PI patients. The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of PI patients before and after treatment and healthy subjects at baseline period were collected to observe the effect of taVNS on the functional connection (FC) between posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and whole brain.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the total score of PSQI in PI patients was lower than that before treatment (P<0.01). Compared with healthy subjects, the FC of the left PCC was increased either with the left orbital superior frontal gyrus or with left middle frontal gyrus (P<0.001), and the FC between right PCC and left middle frontal gyrus was increased in PI patients before treatment (P<0.001). Compared before treatment, the FC between left PCC and left middle frontal gyrus was decreased (P<0.05), and the FC of the right PCC was decreased either with the right medial prefrontal cortex or with the left middle frontal gyrus in PI patients after treatment (P<0.001, P<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#taVNS can modulate the FC between anterior and posterior DMN, and between DMN and cognitive control network of PI patients, which may be one of the brain effect mechanisms of taVNS in the treatment of PI patients.

Disrupted Control Network Connectivity in Abstinent Patients with Alcohol Dependence

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol causes damage to the brain and is associated with various functional impairments. However, much of the brain damage can be reversed by abstaining for enough time. This study aims to investigate the patterns and degrees of brain function in abstinent patients with alcohol dependence by using resting-state functional connectivity. METHODS: 26 male patients with alcohol dependence (alcohol group) and 28 age-matched male healthy volunteers (control group) were recruited from a mental hospital and the community, respectively. Using 3T MRI scan data, the resting-state functional connectivity of the task-negative and task-positive networks was determined and compared between the groups. RESULTS: There were no significant group differences in the resting-state functional connectivity in the default mode or in the salience and sensorimotor networks. Compared with the control group, the alcohol group showed significantly lower functional connectivity in the executive control network, especially in the cingulo-opercular network and, in some regions of interest, the dorsal attention network. CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that some brain networks do not normalize their functions after abstinence from drinking, and these results may be helpful in future research to investigate the mechanisms for craving alcohol and alcohol relapse prevention.