AUTHOR=Xu Ling , Ding Wantao , Guo Hui 

TITLE=Network analysis of emotional symptoms and cognitive function changes in primary insomnia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1520448

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1520448

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=BackgroundPrimary insomnia is a common and complex disorder characterized by a range of symptoms and consequences of varying severity. Long-term sleep disturbances can lead to anxiety, depression and cognitive dysfunctions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional changes and cognitive dysfunction in patients with primary insomnia and to explore the factors influencing the disorder.MethodsThe study participants included 40 patients with primary insomnia diagnosed by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders-3 and 48 healthy controls from the Seventh People’s Hospital of Wenzhou. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale were used to assess clinical symptoms. T-tests, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation and network analysis were used to examine the mutual relationship between emotional symptoms and cognitive function in participants with primary insomnia.ResultsBoth immediate and delayed memory of the primary insomnia group was significantly worse than that of the healthy controls group, whereas there was no significant difference in long-term delayed recognition between the two groups. The naming and language scores of the primary insomnia group were significantly lower than those of the healthy controls group. The total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score was positively correlated with anxiety and depression symptoms.ConclusionThis study emphasized the correlation between emotional symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in patients with primary insomnia. Simultaneously, their levels of anxiety and depression were both positively correlated with the degree of cognitive dysfunction.