Multiple phenotypes of resting-state cognition are altered in insomnia disorder.

Background: Research has supported the role of cognitive processes in the development and maintenance of insomnia, yet a standardized characterization of mind-wandering experiences in insomniacs is lacking.

Objectives: The aim was to understand the quantitative nature of thoughts and feelings during mind wandering in insomniacs and healthy controls and their relationship with sleep-related parameters.

Methods: We used the 5-minute eyes-closed wakeful rest as an experimental model condition of mind wandering. Forty-seven individuals with insomnia disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (48.66±15.62 years; 31 women) and 29 healthy controls (50.66±15.14 years; 17 women) participated in the experiments and completed the Amsterdam Resting-State Questionnaire (ARSQ) immediately after the resting session. Participants also completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Scale (DBAS). Statistical analyses included multiple regression to elucidate the independent determinants of ARSQ phenotypes.

Results: Participants with insomnia presented higher ISI, PSQI, and DBAS scores than did healthy controls. Insomniacs had strikingly different scores on most dimensions of the ARSQ, in particular Discontinuity of Mind, Self, Sleepiness, and Health Concern, that correlated positively with ISI and DBAS. Multiple regressions highlighted that for insomniacs, ISI was the best predictor of both Discontinuity of Mind and Health Concern.

Conclusions: Resting-state activity in insomnia is altered and it seems to be related to unhelpful beliefs and insomnia severity. Resting-state neuroimaging in combination with the ARSQ could reveal important associations between these aberrant cognitive scores and their underlying systems-level brain mechanisms.