Biology subjects

Jespersen, K. V.

Publications and source records attributed to Jespersen, K. V..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Music facilitates sleep initiation in adults with sleep-onset insomnia: The role of neural synchronization

Sleep-onset insomnia is widespread in modern society, and many individuals turn to music to improve their sleep. While clinical studies have shown that music can positively affect sleep quality, the impact on sleep initiation remains unclear. Furthermore, there is limited knowledge on the mechanisms by which music may facilitate sleep. Here, we investigated whether music can facilitate sleep onset and if the effect is related to brain waves synchronizing to the slow beat of the sleep music. We recorded participants with sleep-onset insomnia (N=53) during a 30-minute afternoon rest using electroencephalography (EEG). Participants were randomly divided into two groups. Twenty-four participants listened to music chosen from a sleep music playlist while resting, and 29 rested in silence. We evaluated the transition from wakefulness towards sleep with the delta-alpha ratio of the EEG. To assess neural synchronization to the beat of the music, we used an EEG frequency tagging approach. We found a higher degree of transition towards sleep in the music group compared to silence over the 30-minutes resting period. Furthermore, higher beat stability in the music was reflected in stronger neural frequency tagging at the musical beat. However, the analyses showed no relationship between sleep initiation and neural synchronization to the beat. In sum, our results revealed that music has a positive effect on sleep initiation and that there is neural synchronization to naturalistic sleep music with a steady beat, but we found no indication that this neural synchronization is the central mechanism driving enhanced sleep initiation with music.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Modelling of brain dynamics reveals reduced switching between brain states in insomnia disorder - a resting state fMRI study

Insomnia disorder is the most common sleep disorder, and neuroimaging research indicates that it is related to dysfunction in large-scale brain networks. Recently developed methods have enabled the investigation of the dynamic aspects of brain activity varying over time. In the present study, we used a novel data-driven approach to evaluate time-varying brain activity in adults with insomnia disorder compared to matched controls with no sleep problems. We acquired ten minutes resting state functional magnetic resonance images and T1-weighed images in all participants. We used Hidden Markov modelling for a data-driven definition of dynamic changes in whole-brain activity. The results showed that insomnia disorder is characterised by reduced switching rates between brain states. In line with the reduced switching, the HMM analyses suggested reduced prevalence of two whole-brain states - the default mode network and a fronto-parietal network - and an increase in just one brain state - a global activation state - in insomnia patients compared to controls. The findings suggest that insomnia disorder is characterised by less flexible transitions between brain states at wakeful rest, and thus highlight the importance of evaluating the spatiotemporal dynamics of brain activity to advance the understanding of the neural underpinnings of insomnia disorder.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Individual differences in the effects of musical familiarity and musical features on brain activity during relaxation

Finding a way to relax is increasingly difficult in our overstimulating modern society and chronic stress can have severe psychological and physiological consequences. Music is a promising tool to promote relaxation by lowering heart rate, modulating mood and thoughts, and providing a sense of safety. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how music influence brain activity during relaxation with a particular focus on the participants experience of different types of music. In a 2x2 design, 57 participants were scanned while rating how relaxed they felt after listening to 28-second excerpts of either familiar or unfamiliar relaxation music with calm or energetic features. Behaviourally, calm music was the strongest predictor of relaxation, followed by familiar music. fMRI results revealed activations of auditory, motor, emotion, and memory areas, for listening to familiar compared to unfamiliar music. This suggests increased audio-motor synchronization and participant engagement of known music. Listening to unfamiliar music was correlated with attention-related brain activity, suggesting increased attentional load for this music. Behaviourally, we identified four clusters of participants based on their relaxation response to the different types of music. These groups also displayed distinct auditory and motor activity patterns, suggesting that the behavioural responses are linked to changes in music processing. Interestingly, some individuals found energetic music to be relaxing if it is familiar, whereas others only found calm music to be relaxing. Such individual behavioural and neurological differences in relaxation responses to music emphasise the importance of developing personalised music-based interventions. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=123 SRC="FIGDIR/small/625650v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (42K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@34ccc0org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6e7f84org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@75d428org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1bb999d_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG Highlights- Participants listen to relaxation tracks varying in familiarity and energy levels - Sedative music followed by familiar music increased relaxation ratings the most - Auditory, motor, memory and attention activations depending on the music type - 4 distinct clusters of behavioural responses to familiar or sedative music - These groups are also present in brain activity

neuroscience↗