Effects of Magnetic Stimulation on Insomnia Based on Brain Functional Networks

Sleep disorders, particularly insomnia, affect a great percentage of the population. Electroacupuncture and transcutaneous electric stimulation have been introduced into clinical practice to treat insomnia. Magnetic stimulation has more advantages than electric stimulation. In this paper, magnetic stimulation was used to stimulate Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7), and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupuncture points. Pittsburgh sleep quality index and 62-channel electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded before and after stimulation. Pearson correlation coefficient of EEG signals between each two channels was calculated. Based on EEG correlation coefficient matrix, brain functional networks were constructed to determine whether magnetic stimulation at acupoints could treat insomnia or not. The results suggested that the magnetic stimulation of acupoints might be an effective treatment for insomnia.