Health & Medicine
Insomniacs have Problems Using their Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex, Working Memory Wasted
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Sep 03, 2013 11:08 AM EDT
Insomnia can create persistent health troubles for those who do not receive adequate rest. A sleep disorder that's commonly characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep, those with the problem often struggle to pay attention during the day and find coping with regular activities difficult and impossible to enjoy.
Yet according to a recent study, researchers have found that the brain patterns of insomniacs do not properly turn on the regions involving working memory tasks. Thus, they also do not turn off "mind-wandering" regions that are related to the tasks that need to be completed.
"Based on these results, it is not surprising that someone with insomnia would feel like they are working harder to do the same job as a healthy sleeper," lead author Sean P.A. Drummond, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, said via a press release.
The study looked at 25 people with primary insomnia and 25 healthy sleepers. The average age of the participants was 32 years old, each of which underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI) while performing a working memory task.
The study showed that as a task become more difficult, health sleepers used more resources from working memory in order to complete the task, otherwise known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. However, for insomniacs, they were unable to use this part of the brain as frequently.
Results showed that around 10 to 15 percent of adults have an insomnia disorder that afflicts their daytime routine, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Are you getting enough rest and does it affect your daily schedule?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Sleep.
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Sep 03, 2013 11:08 AM EDT
Insomnia can create persistent health troubles for those who do not receive adequate rest. A sleep disorder that's commonly characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep, those with the problem often struggle to pay attention during the day and find coping with regular activities difficult and impossible to enjoy.
Yet according to a recent study, researchers have found that the brain patterns of insomniacs do not properly turn on the regions involving working memory tasks. Thus, they also do not turn off "mind-wandering" regions that are related to the tasks that need to be completed.
"Based on these results, it is not surprising that someone with insomnia would feel like they are working harder to do the same job as a healthy sleeper," lead author Sean P.A. Drummond, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, said via a press release.
The study looked at 25 people with primary insomnia and 25 healthy sleepers. The average age of the participants was 32 years old, each of which underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI) while performing a working memory task.
The study showed that as a task become more difficult, health sleepers used more resources from working memory in order to complete the task, otherwise known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. However, for insomniacs, they were unable to use this part of the brain as frequently.
Results showed that around 10 to 15 percent of adults have an insomnia disorder that afflicts their daytime routine, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Are you getting enough rest and does it affect your daily schedule?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Sleep.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone