reviewPhysiological ReviewsAug 13, 2020GREEN OA

Brain mechanisms of insomnia: new perspectives on causes and consequences

EJEus J.W. Van Someren

Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience · Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences · +2 more institutions

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

While insomnia is the second most common mental disorder, progress in our understanding of underlying neurobiological mechanisms has been limited. The present review addresses the definition and prevalence of insomnia and explores its subjective and objective characteristics across the 24-hour day. Subsequently, the review extensively addresses how the vulnerability to develop insomnia is affected by genetic variants, early life stress, major life events, and brain structure and function. Further supported by the clear mental health risks conveyed by insomnia, the integrated findings suggest that the vulnerability to develop insomnia could rather be found in brain circuits regulating emotion and arousal than…

Citation impact

511
total citations
FWCI
36.64
Percentile
100%
References
446
Citations per year

Authors

1

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Insomnia
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Wakefulness
  • Optogenetics
  • Arousal
  • Distress
  • Vulnerability (computing)
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