Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology (수면정신생리)

KOREAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE (대한수면의학회)
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Electroencephalographic Changes Induced by a Neurofeedback Training : A Preliminary Study in Primary Insomniac Patients

뉴로피드백 훈련에 의한 뇌파 변화 연구 : 일차성 불면증 환자에 대한 예비 연구

  • 이진한 (차의과학대학교 통합의학대학원) ;
  • 신홍범 (코슬립수면의원) ;
  • 김종원 (인제대학교 헬스케어IT학과) ;
  • 서호석 (차의과학대학교 정신건강의학교실) ;
  • 이영진 (차의과학대학교 통합의학대학원)
  • Received : 2019.06.03
  • Accepted : 2019.06.24
  • Published : 2019.06.30
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Abstract

Objectives: Insomnia is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders. Recent studies suggest that cognitive and physical arousal play an important role in the generation of primary insomnia. Studies have also shown that information processing disorders due to cortical hyperactivity might interfere with normal sleep onset and sleep continuity. Therefore, focusing on central nervous system arousal and normalizing the information process have become current topics of interest. It has been well known that neurofeedback can reduce the brain hyperarousal by modulating patients' brain waves during a sequence of behavior therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of neurofeedback therapy on electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics in patients with primary insomnia. Methods: Thirteen subjects who met the criteria for an insomnia diagnosis and 14 control subjects who were matched on sex and age were included. Neurofeedback and sham treatments were performed in a random order for 30 minutes, respectively. EEG spectral power analyses were performed to quantify effects of the neurofeedback therapy on brain wave forms. Results: In patients with primary insomnia, relative spectral theta and sigma power during a therapeutic neurofeedback session were significantly lower than during a sham session ($13.9{\pm}2.6$ vs. $12.2{\pm}3.8$ and $3.6{\pm}0.9$ vs. $3.2{\pm}1.0$ in %, respectively; p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant changes in other EEG spectral bands. Conclusion: For the first time in Korea, EEG spectral power in the theta band was found to increase when a neurofeedback session was applied to patients with insomnia. This outcome might provide some insight into new interventions for improving sleep onset. However, the treatment response of insomniacs was not precisely evaluated due to limitations of the current pilot study, which requires follow-up studies with larger samples in the future.

목 적 : 불면증은 대표적인 수면 질환이다. 최근 연구에 의하면 인지적 신체적 각성이 불면증을 야기하는 주요 역할을 한다. 아울러 대뇌 피질의 과각성으로 인한 정보처리과정 장애가 정상적인 입면과 수면의 연속성을 방해한다는 연구 결과도 있다. 뉴로피드백은 행동치료의 한 방식으로 피검자의 뇌파에 영향을 미쳐서 대뇌 과각성을 감소 시킬 수 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 불면증 환자에서 뉴로피드백 치료가 뇌파 특성에 미치는 영향을 분석하고자 한다. 방 법 : 본 연구는 불면증 진단기준을 만족하는 피검자 13명과 성별 및 연령이 매칭된 대조군 14명을 대상으로 진행하였다. 뉴로피드백 치료와 Sham 치료를 무작위로 각각 30분씩 시행하였다. 각각의 치료 세션 중 뇌파를 측정하고 스펙트럼 분석을 시행하여, 뉴로피드백 치료가 뇌파 스펙트럼에 미치는 영향을 비교 분석하였다. 결 과 : 불면증 환자에서 치료적인 1회기 뉴로피드백을 한 경우, Sham 치료를 한 경우에 비해서 세타 및 시그마 파워($13.9{\pm}2.6$ vs. $12.2{\pm}3.8$ and $3.6{\pm}0.9$ vs. $3.2{\pm}1.0$ in %, respectively ; p < 0.05)가 통계적으로 유의한 수준으로 증가하였다. 그 외 뇌파상으로 통계적으로 유의미한 변화는 없었다. 결 론 : 본 연구는 국내 최초로 불면증 환자에서 1회기 뇌파 뉴로피드백을 통해 입면에 도움이 되는 세타파의 비율이 증가하는 것을 확인하였으며, 이는 입면주기를 앞당길 수 있는 새로운 방법에 대한 제안을 줄 수 있다. 불면증 자체의 치료 반응을 평가하지 못한 제한점은 있으며, 향후 불면증상의 변화까지 평가할 수 있는 후속 연구가 이어져야 한다.

Keywords

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Figure 1. Experimental protocol given to patient and control groups.

Table 1. Demographic data of subjects

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Table 2. Comparison of spectral power between neurofeedback and sham sessions in insomnia group

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