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DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1072920
Alteration of cerebral morphology and function in chronic insomnia and in restless legs syndrome
Effects of chronical insomnia, primary or due to a somatic disorder are of clinical interest. Polysomnography has been helpful in the evaluation of some sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea syndrome. However, it has been less useful in others, such as the primary insomnia. The development of neuroimaging techniques and its combination with electrophysiology offer the oppurtunity for better understanding of sleep disorders. The talk will present recent studies using voxel-based and manual morphometry and fMRI investigations in primary (psychophysiological) insomnia and restless legs syndrome. Limitations of the applied methods and designs will be presented. Future applications of the methods in sleep medicine like in the assessment of drug effects or monitoring treatment response will be discussed.