Open AccessTargeting Arousal and Sleep through Noninvasive Brain Stimulation to Improve Mental Health
Author(s) -
Th. Geiser,
Elisabeth Hertenstein,
Kristoffer Fehér,
Jonathan G. Maier,
Carlotta L. Schneider,
Marc Alain Züst,
Marina Wunderlin,
Christian Mikutta,
Stefan Klöppel,
Christoph Nissen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neuropsychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.71
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0224
pISSN - 0302-282X
DOI - 10.1159/000507372
Subject(s) - arousal , sleep (system call) , insomnia , psychology , neuroscience , brain stimulation , transcranial direct current stimulation , sleep onset , transcranial magnetic stimulation , neuroscience of sleep , non rapid eye movement sleep , stimulation , electroencephalography , medicine , psychiatry , computer science , operating system
Arousal and sleep represent fundamental physiological domains, and alterations in the form of insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) or hypersomnia (increased propensity for falling asleep or increased sleep duration) are prevalent clinical problems. Current first-line treatments include psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Despite significant success, a number of patients do not benefit sufficiently. Progress is limited by an incomplete understanding of the -neurobiology of insomnia and hypersomnia. This work summarizes current concepts of the regulation of arousal and sleep and its modulation through noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), including transcranial magnetic, current, and auditory stimulation. Particularly, we suggest: (1) characterization of patients with sleep problems - across diagnostic entities of mental disorders - based on specific alterations of sleep, including alterations of sleep slow waves, sleep spindles, cross-frequency coupling of brain oscillations, local sleep-wake regulation, and REM sleep and (2) targeting these with specific NIBS techniques. While evidence is accumulating that the modulation of specific alterations of sleep through NIBS is feasible, it remains to be tested whether this translates to clinically relevant effects and new treatment developments.