Psychophysiological insomnia(PSY-I),caused by psychological and environmental factors,significantly impacts people's lives and work,emerging as an"invisible killer"threatening human health.Exploring the pathogenesis of this condition and clearly identifying the syndrome differentiation and treatment principles are of great practical significance.This article posits that the core pathogenesis of PSY-I is the imbalance of yin-yang(substance-function)of the liver,and it highlights the characteristics of the Glu-SCN-GABA network and the imbalance of relevant neuropeptides in the pathogenesis,which are consistent with the core pathogenesis of the liver's yin-yang(substance-function)imbalance.This lays the foundation for a treatment concept based on the theory of liver yin-yang(substance-function)imbalance for addressing PSY-I,which will become a new breakthrough in the research of insomnia pathogenesis and provide new basis for the early warning diagnosis of insomnia.