1000 Section - Personalized Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Model for Treatment of Insomnia Disorder

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PT

Presenting Author/Autor expositor(s)

DL

Danmei Lan, MD

Personalized Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Model for Treatment of Insomnia Disorder
Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center), School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

Co-Author/Coautor(s)

WJ

Wenjun Jia, PhD

Personalized Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Model for Treatment of Insomnia Disorder
Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai, China
shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)
JJ

Jian Jiang, PhD

Personalized Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Model for Treatment of Insomnia Disorder
Shanghai Quanlan Technology Co., LTD, Shanghai China
shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

Corresponding Author/Autor a quien dirigir la corr(s)

JL

Jin Lingjing, PhD

Senior Physician
Department of Neurology and Neurological Rehabilitation, Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation Key Laboratory of Intelligent Rehabilitation Assistive Devices and Technologies, Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center), Tongji University School of Medicine
Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

Objectives :

To establish a novel individualized transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) framework for insomnia treatment and preliminarily verify its efficacy and safety.

Design:
Biomarker identification: 39 insomnia patients and 44 healthy controls were recruited; EEG microstate complexity and ALFF (amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations) during sleep onset were analyzed to identify potential biomarkers.

Individualized tDCS intervention: A framework integrating target identification and parameter optimization was implemented. An open-label trial (March 2024–February 2025) at Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital enrolled 20 DSM-5-defined insomnia patients, who received 10 tDCS sessions (1.5 mA, 20–30 mins/session) over 2 weeks, with follow-ups extending to week 14.

Outcome assessments: Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep diaries (sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency), and adverse effects were evaluated; changes in microstate complexity were analyzed.

Results:

Healthy controls exhibited linear microstate complexity reductions (individual: p < 0.0001, R² = 0.8368; group: p < 0.0001, R² = 0.6169) and decreased frontal/temporal/cingulate ALFF during wake-to-NREM transition, while insomnia patients showed no significant microstate complexity changes. tDCS reduced insomnia patients’ microstate complexity (group mean difference = 1.60, p = 0.003) but not to healthy control levels. Individualized tDCS induced durable improvements for insomnia patients: ISI decreased by 7.00–8.79 points (F = 19.40, p < 0.0001, ηₚ² = 0.52), PSQI by 4.47–5.95 points (F = 17.49, p < 0.0001, ηₚ² = 0.49), 57.9% remission (ISI < 8) at week 14; sleep onset latency shortened from 57.52 ± 39.35 to 30.27 ± 14.06 mins (p = 0.007), sleep efficiency increased by 14.58% (p = 0.001). No moderate/severe adverse effects occurred.

Conclusion:

EEG microstate complexity is a potential biomarker for optimizing tDCS parameters, and the individualized tDCS framework is an effective and safe neuromodulation strategy for insomnia. Double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trials are required for further validation.