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Čeko M, Baeuerle T, Webster L, Wager TD, Lumley MA. The effects of virtual reality neuroscience-based therapy on clinical and neuroimaging outcomes in patients with chronic back pain: a randomized clinical trial. Pain 2024; 165:1860-1874. [PMID: 38466872 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Chronic pain remains poorly managed. The integration of immersive technologies (ie, virtual reality [VR]) with neuroscience-based principles may provide effective pain treatment by targeting cognitive and affective neural processes that maintain pain and therefore potentially changing neurobiological circuits associated with pain chronification and amplification. We tested the effectiveness of a novel VR neuroscience-based therapy (VRNT) to improve pain-related outcomes in n = 31 participants with chronic back pain, evaluated against usual care (waitlist control; n = 30) in a 2-arm randomized clinical trial ( NCT04468074) . We also conducted pre-treatment and post-treatment MRI to test whether VRNT affects brain networks previously linked to chronic pain and treatment effects. Compared with the control condition, VRNT led to significantly reduced pain intensity (g = 0.63) and pain interference (g = 0.84) at post-treatment vs pre-treatment, with effects persisting at 2-week follow-up. These improvements were partially mediated by reduced kinesiophobia and pain catastrophizing. Several secondary clinical outcomes were also improved by VRNT, including disability, quality of life, sleep, and fatigue. In addition, VRNT was associated with increases in dorsomedial prefrontal functional connectivity with the superior somatomotor, anterior prefrontal and visual cortices, and decreased white matter fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum adjacent to the anterior cingulate, relative to the control condition. Thus, VRNT showed preliminary efficacy in significantly reducing pain and improving overall functioning, possibly through changes in somatosensory and prefrontal brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Čeko
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
| | | | - Lynn Webster
- U.S. Center for Policy, Scientific Affairs, Dr. Vince Clinical Research, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Mark A Lumley
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
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2
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Murphy AE, Buchtel H, Mawla I, Ichesco E, Larkin T, Harte SE, Zhan E, Napadow V, Harris RE. Temporal Summation but Not Expectations of Pain Relief Predict Response to Acupuncture Treatment in Fibromyalgia. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024:104622. [PMID: 38986891 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain condition for which acupuncture treatment is increasingly utilized. However, there is no universally accepted measure to predict whether a specific patient will benefit from acupuncture. This is a single-center, single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized, noncrossover, longitudinal trial of 76 subjects with FM, assigned to either electroacupuncture (EA) or a placebo control, mock laser (ML) acupuncture. Outcome measures included clinical pain severity (Brief Pain Inventory [BPI]), degree of nociplastic pain (Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire), and pressure pain tolerance (PPtol). Baseline measures of temporal summation of pain and expectations for treatment relief were used as predictors. Individuals in both treatment groups experienced significant reductions in BPI (EA: P < .001, ML: P = .018) and Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire (EA: P = .032, ML: P = .002) after treatment; however, neither group showed a significant increase in PPtol. Lower temporal summation at baseline was correlated with greater post-treatment improvement in BPI in the EA group (rho = .389, P = .025) but not in the ML group (rho = -.272, P = .109). Lower-baseline temporal summation was correlated with greater decreases in PPtol following EA (rho = .400, P = .040), whereas the opposite was seen for ML (rho = -.562, P = .001). Treatment expectancy at baseline was not correlated with any outcome after EA or ML treatments. Our results support using a quantitative sensory testing metric, temporal summation of pain, but not expectations, to predict analgesia following acupuncture treatment for pain. PERSPECTIVE: A randomized study of acupuncture in FM found baseline temporal summation, but not expectations of pain relief, to be predictive of treatment response. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02064296.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne E Murphy
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Rheumatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
| | - Henry Buchtel
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ishtiaq Mawla
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Eric Ichesco
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Tony Larkin
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Steven E Harte
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Erin Zhan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Richard E Harris
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California
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Kaplan CM, Kelleher E, Irani A, Schrepf A, Clauw DJ, Harte SE. Deciphering nociplastic pain: clinical features, risk factors and potential mechanisms. Nat Rev Neurol 2024; 20:347-363. [PMID: 38755449 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-024-00966-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Nociplastic pain is a mechanistic term used to describe pain that arises or is sustained by altered nociception, despite the absence of tissue damage. Although nociplastic pain has distinct pathophysiology from nociceptive and neuropathic pain, these pain mechanisms often coincide within individuals, which contributes to the intractability of chronic pain. Key symptoms of nociplastic pain include pain in multiple body regions, fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety. Individuals with nociplastic pain are often diffusely tender - indicative of hyperalgesia and/or allodynia - and are often more sensitive than others to non-painful sensory stimuli such as lights, odours and noises. This Review summarizes the risk factors, clinical presentation and treatment of nociplastic pain, and describes how alterations in brain function and structure, immune processing and peripheral factors might contribute to the nociplastic pain phenotype. This article concludes with a discussion of two proposed subtypes of nociplastic pain that reflect distinct neurobiological features and treatment responsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea M Kaplan
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Eoin Kelleher
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Anushka Irani
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Andrew Schrepf
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Daniel J Clauw
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Steven E Harte
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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4
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van der Schaaf ME, Geerligs L, Toni I, Knoop H, Oosterman JM. Disentangling pain and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a resting state connectivity study before and after cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychol Med 2024; 54:1735-1748. [PMID: 38193344 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723003690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fatigue is a central feature of myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), but many ME/CFS patients also report comorbid pain symptoms. It remains unclear whether these symptoms are related to similar or dissociable brain networks. This study used resting-state fMRI to disentangle networks associated with fatigue and pain symptoms in ME/CFS patients, and to link changes in those networks to clinical improvements following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). METHODS Relationships between pain and fatigue symptoms and cortico-cortical connectivity were assessed within ME/CFS patients at baseline (N = 72) and after CBT (N = 33) and waiting list (WL, N = 18) and compared to healthy controls (HC, N = 29). The analyses focused on four networks previously associated with pain and/or fatigue, i.e. the fronto-parietal network (FPN), premotor network (PMN), somatomotor network (SMN), and default mode network (DMN). RESULTS At baseline, variation in pain and fatigue symptoms related to partially dissociable brain networks. Fatigue was associated with higher SMN-PMN connectivity and lower SMN-DMN connectivity. Pain was associated with lower PMN-DMN connectivity. CBT improved SMN-DMN connectivity, compared to WL. Larger clinical improvements were associated with larger increases in frontal SMN-DMN connectivity. No CBT effects were observed for PMN-DMN or SMN-PMN connectivity. CONCLUSIONS These results provide insight into the dissociable neural mechanisms underlying fatigue and pain symptoms in ME/CFS and how they are affected by CBT in successfully treated patients. Further investigation of how and in whom behavioral and biomedical treatments affect these networks is warranted to improve and individualize existing or new treatments for ME/CFS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marieke E van der Schaaf
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Department of cognitive neuropsychology Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Linda Geerligs
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Ivan Toni
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Hans Knoop
- Department of Medical Psychology and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joukje M Oosterman
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Aoe T, Kawanaka R, Ohsone F, Hara A, Yokokawa T. Functional connectivity associated with attention networks differs among subgroups of fibromyalgia patients: an observational case-control study. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10197. [PMID: 38702506 PMCID: PMC11068894 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60993-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Fibromyalgia is a heterogenous chronic pain disorder diagnosed by symptom-based criteria. The aim of this study was to clarify different pathophysiological characteristics between subgroups of patients with fibromyalgia. We identified subgroups with distinct pain thresholds: those with a low pressure pain threshold (PL; 16 patients) and those with a normal pressure pain threshold (PN; 15 patients). Both groups experienced severe pain. We performed resting-state functional MRI analysis and detected 11 functional connectivity pairs among all 164 ROIs with distinct difference between the two groups (p < 0.001). The most distinctive one was that the PN group had significantly higher functional connectivity between the secondary somatosensory area and the dorsal attention network (p < 0.0001). Then, we investigated the transmission pathway of pain stimuli. Functional connectivity of the thalamus to the insular cortex was significantly higher in the PL group (p < 0.01 - 0.05). These results suggest that endogenous pain driven by top-down signals via the dorsal attention network may contribute to pain sensation in a subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with a normal pain threshold. Besides, external pain driven by bottom-up signals via the spinothalamic tract may contribute to pain sensations in another group of patients with a low pain threshold. Trial registration: UMIN000037712.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomohiko Aoe
- Pain Center, Chiba Medical Center, Teikyo University, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara, Chiba, 299-0111, Japan.
| | - Ryoko Kawanaka
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chiba Medical Center, Teikyo University, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara, Chiba, 299-0111, Japan
| | - Fumio Ohsone
- Department of Radiology, Chiba Medical Center, Teikyo University, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara , Chiba, 299-0111, Japan
| | - Akira Hara
- Department of Radiology, Chiba Medical Center, Teikyo University, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara , Chiba, 299-0111, Japan
| | - Tokuzo Yokokawa
- Department of Radiology, Chiba Medical Center, Teikyo University, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara , Chiba, 299-0111, Japan
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Joo P, Kim M, Kish B, Nair VV, Tong Y, Liu Z, O'Brien ARW, Harte SE, Harris RE, Lee U, Wang Y. Brain network hypersensitivity underlies pain crises in sickle cell disease. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7315. [PMID: 38538687 PMCID: PMC10973361 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57473-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder causing painful and unpredictable Vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) through blood vessel blockages. In this study, we propose explosive synchronization (ES) as a novel approach to comprehend the hypersensitivity and occurrence of VOCs in the SCD brain network. We hypothesized that the accumulated disruptions in the brain network induced by SCD might lead to strengthened ES and hypersensitivity. We explored ES's relationship with patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) as well as VOCs by analyzing EEG data from 25 SCD patients and 18 matched controls. SCD patients exhibited lower alpha frequency than controls. SCD patients showed correlation between frequency disassortativity (FDA), an ES condition, and three important PROMs. Furthermore, stronger FDA was observed in SCD patients with a higher frequency of VOCs and EEG recording near VOC. We also conducted computational modeling on SCD brain network to study FDA's role in network sensitivity. Our model demonstrated that a stronger FDA could be linked to increased sensitivity and frequency of VOCs. This study establishes connections between SCD pain and the universal network mechanism, ES, offering a strong theoretical foundation. This understanding will aid predicting VOCs and refining pain management for SCD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pangyu Joo
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, Center for the Study of Complex Systems, Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan, Arbor Lakes Building 1 Suite 2200, 4251 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA
| | - Minkyung Kim
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, Center for the Study of Complex Systems, Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan, Arbor Lakes Building 1 Suite 2200, 4251 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA
| | - Brianna Kish
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | | | - Yunjie Tong
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Ziyue Liu
- Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Andrew R W O'Brien
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Steven E Harte
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Richard E Harris
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, and Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - UnCheol Lee
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, Center for the Study of Complex Systems, Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan, Arbor Lakes Building 1 Suite 2200, 4251 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA.
| | - Ying Wang
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
- Department of Anesthesia, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Stark Neuroscience Building, Rm# 514E, 320 West 15th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
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Haas A, Chung J, Kent C, Mills B, McCoy M. Vertebral Subluxation and Systems Biology: An Integrative Review Exploring the Salutogenic Influence of Chiropractic Care on the Neuroendocrine-Immune System. Cureus 2024; 16:e56223. [PMID: 38618450 PMCID: PMC11016242 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.56223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In this paper we synthesize an expansive body of literature examining the multifaceted influence of chiropractic care on processes within and modulators of the neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) system, for the purpose of generating an inductive hypothesis regarding the potential impacts of chiropractic care on integrated physiology. Taking a broad, interdisciplinary, and integrative view of two decades of research-documented outcomes of chiropractic care, inclusive of reports ranging from systematic and meta-analysis and randomized and observational trials to case and cohort studies, this review encapsulates a rigorous analysis of research and suggests the appropriateness of a more integrative perspective on the impact of chiropractic care on systemic physiology. A novel perspective on the salutogenic, health-promoting effects of chiropractic adjustment is presented, focused on the improvement of physical indicators of well-being and adaptability such as blood pressure, heart rate variability, and sleep, potential benefits that may be facilitated through multiple neurologically mediated pathways. Our findings support the biological plausibility of complex benefits from chiropractic intervention that is not limited to simple neuromusculoskeletal outcomes and open new avenues for future research, specifically the exploration and mapping of the precise neural pathways and networks influenced by chiropractic adjustment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Haas
- Research, Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, Kennesaw, USA
| | - Jonathan Chung
- Research, Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, Kennesaw, USA
| | - Christopher Kent
- Research, Sherman College, Spartanburg, USA
- Research, Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, Kennesaw, USA
| | - Brooke Mills
- Research, Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, Kennesaw, USA
| | - Matthew McCoy
- Research, Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, Kennesaw, USA
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Suñol M, Dudley J, Payne MF, Tong H, Ting TV, Kashikar-Zuck S, Coghill RC, López-Solà M. Reduced Cortico-Cortical Resting-State Connectivity in Sensory Systems Related to Bodily Pain in Juvenile Fibromyalgia. Arthritis Rheumatol 2024; 76:293-303. [PMID: 37661912 PMCID: PMC10841360 DOI: 10.1002/art.42691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM) is a paradigmatic chronic pain condition for which the underlying neurobiological substrates are poorly understood. This study examined, for the first time, data-driven resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) alterations in 37 female adolescents with JFM compared with 43 healthy female adolescents and identified associations with bodily pain. METHODS Whole-brain voxel-wise rsFC alterations were assessed using the intrinsic connectivity contrast, a measure of node centrality at each voxel, and seed-based analyses for interpretability. We studied the relationship between rsFC alterations in somatosensory systems and the location and extension of bodily pain. RESULTS Adolescents with JFM had voxel-wise rsFC reductions in the paracentral lobule (PCL)/primary somatosensory cortex (S1) (T = 4.89, family-wise error corrected p-value (pFWE) < 0.001) and left midcingulate cortex (T = 4.67, pFWE = 0.043). Post hoc analyses revealed reduced rsFC spanning major cortical sensory hubs (T > 4.4, pFWE < 0.030). Cortico-cortical rsFC reductions within PCL/S1 in JFM occurred in locations innervated by bodily areas where the pain was most frequent (F = 3.15; positive false discovery rate = 0.029) and predicted widespread pain (T > 4.4, pFWE < 0.045). Conversely, adolescents with JFM had increases in PCL/S1-thalamus (T = 4.75, pFWE = 0.046) and PCL/S1-anterior insula rsFC (T = 5.13, pFWE = 0.039). CONCLUSION Reduced cortico-cortical sensory integration involving PCL/S1 and spanning the sensory systems may underly critical pain sensory features in youth with JFM. Reduced sensory integration is paralleled by augmented cross-talk between sensory and affective/salience-processing regions, potentially indicating a shift toward more affectively colored sensory experiences to the detriment of specific sensory discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Suñol
- Institute of Neurosciences, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jon Dudley
- Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Consortium, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Michael F. Payne
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Han Tong
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Tracy V. Ting
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Division of Rheumatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Susmita Kashikar-Zuck
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Robert C. Coghill
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Marina López-Solà
- Institute of Neurosciences, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Seton B, Pandey R, Piscura MK, Pearson WG. Autonomic Recalibration: A Promising Approach for Alleviating Myofascial Pain Explored in a Retrospective Case Series. Cureus 2024; 16:e52450. [PMID: 38371140 PMCID: PMC10871156 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.52450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
This retrospective case series introduces autonomic recalibration (AR) as a novel approach for alleviating chronic myofascial pain. The manuscript explores the rationale, theory, and practice of AR, which targets the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to restore homeostasis and reduce pain. The involvement of the ANS in pain modulation and the role of autonomic imbalance in chronic pain are discussed, emphasizing the potential benefits of addressing autonomic dysregulation through AR. The technique combines manual interventions and patient education, relying on neuroplastic adaptations. Three diverse case reports are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of AR in patients with different sources of pain. Each case presents a unique clinical scenario, including a nine-year-old male diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, a 68-year-old male with a history of abdominal surgeries, and a 56-year-old male with chronic low back pain following lumbar fusion surgery. In all cases, AR resulted in pain relief, improved sleep, and restoration of functional abilities. These findings support the potential of AR as an effective alternative approach for myofascial pain. Further research is warranted to validate these outcomes and investigate the underlying mechanisms of AR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob Seton
- Department of Biomedical Research and Affairs, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, USA
| | - Rishika Pandey
- Department of Biomedical Research and Affairs, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, USA
| | - Mary K Piscura
- Department of Biomedical Research and Affairs, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, USA
| | - William G Pearson
- Department of Biomedical Research and Affairs, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, USA
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10
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Delon-Martin C, Lefaucheur JP, Hodaj E, Sorel M, Dumolard A, Payen JF, Hodaj H. Neural Correlates of Pain-Autonomic Coupling in Patients With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Treated by Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Motor Cortex. Neuromodulation 2024; 27:188-199. [PMID: 37589642 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurom.2023.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition involving autonomic dysregulation. In this study, we report the results of an ancillary study to a larger clinical trial investigating the treatment of CRPS by neuromodulation. This ancillary study, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), evaluated the neural correlates of pain in patients with CRPS in relation to the sympathetic nervous system and for its potential relief after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eleven patients with CRPS at one limb (six women, five men, aged 52.0 ± 9.6 years) were assessed before and one month after the end of a five-month repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy targeting the motor cortex contralateral to the painful limb, by means of electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) measurement, daily pain intensity scores on a visual numerical scale (VNS), and fMRI with motor tasks (alternation of finger movements and rest). The fMRI scans were analyzed voxelwise using ESC and VNS pain score as regressors to derive their neural correlates. The criterion of response to rTMS therapy was defined as ≥30% reduction in VNS pain score one month after treatment compared with baseline. RESULTS At baseline, ESC values were reduced in the affected limb vs the nonaffected limb. There was a covariance of VNS with brain activation in a small region of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) contralateral to the painful side on fMRI investigation. After rTMS therapy on motor cortex related to the painful limb, the VNS pain scores significantly decreased by 22% on average. The criterion of response was met in six of 11 patients (55%). In these responders, at one month after treatment, ESC value increased and returned to normal in the CRPS-affected limb, and overall, the increase in ESC correlated with the decrease in VNS after motor cortex rTMS therapy. At one month after treatment, there also was a covariance of both variables (ESC and VNS) with fMRI activation of the S1 region previously mentioned. The fMRI activation of other brain regions (middle frontal gyrus and temporo-parietal junction) showed correlation with ESC values before and after treatment. Finally, we found a positive correlation at one month after treatment (not at baseline) between VNS pain score and fMRI activation in the temporo-parietal junction contralateral to painful side. CONCLUSIONS This study first shows a functional pain-autonomic coupling in patients with CRPS, which could involve a specific S1 region. However, the modulation of sympathetic sudomotor activities expressed by ESC changes was rather correlated with functional changes in other brain regions. Finally, the pain relief observed at one month after rTMS treatment was associated with a reduced activation of the temporo-parietal junction on the side in which rTMS was performed. These findings open perspectives to define new targets or biomarkers for using rTMS to treat CRPS-associated pain. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION The Clinicaltrials.gov registration number for the study is NCT02817880.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantal Delon-Martin
- University of Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France.
| | - Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur
- EA University Paris Est Créteil, Health Faculty, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Henri Mondor Hospital, Créteil, France
| | - Enkeledja Hodaj
- CHU Grenoble Alpes, Clinical Investigation Center, Grenoble, France
| | - Marc Sorel
- Sud-Seine-et-Marne Hospital, Center for Pain Evaluation and Treatment, Nemours, France
| | | | - Jean-François Payen
- University of Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France; CHU Grenoble Alpes, Pain Center, Grenoble, France
| | - Hasan Hodaj
- University of Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France; CHU Grenoble Alpes, Pain Center, Grenoble, France
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11
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Lee J, Lazaridou A, Paschali M, Loggia ML, Berry MP, Dan-Mikael E, Isenburg K, Anzolin A, Grahl A, Wasan AD, Napadow V, Edwards RR. A Randomized Controlled Neuroimaging Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fibromyalgia Pain. Arthritis Rheumatol 2024; 76:130-140. [PMID: 37727908 PMCID: PMC10842345 DOI: 10.1002/art.42672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by pervasive pain-related symptomatology and high levels of negative affect. Mind-body treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appear to foster improvement in FM via reductions in pain-related catastrophizing, a set of negative, pain-amplifying cognitive and emotional processes. However, the neural underpinnings of CBT's catastrophizing-reducing effects remain uncertain. This randomized controlled mechanistic trial was designed to assess CBT's effects on pain catastrophizing and its underlying brain circuitry. METHODS Of 114 enrolled participants, 98 underwent a baseline neuroimaging assessment and were randomized to 8 weeks of individual CBT or a matched FM education control (EDU) condition. RESULTS Compared with EDU, CBT produced larger decreases in pain catastrophizing post treatment (P < 0.05) and larger reductions in pain interference and symptom impact. Decreases in pain catastrophizing played a significant role in mediating those functional improvements in the CBT group. At baseline, brain functional connectivity between the ventral posterior cingulate cortex (vPCC), a key node of the default mode network (DMN), and somatomotor and salience network regions was increased during catastrophizing thoughts. Following CBT, vPCC connectivity to somatomotor and salience network areas was reduced. CONCLUSION Our results suggest clinically important and CBT-specific associations between somatosensory/motor- and salience-processing brain regions and the DMN in chronic pain. These patterns of connectivity may contribute to individual differences (and treatment-related changes) in somatic self-awareness. CBT appears to provide clinical benefits at least partially by reducing pain-related catastrophizing and producing adaptive alterations in DMN functional connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeungchan Lee
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Asimina Lazaridou
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Myrella Paschali
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Marco L. Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Michael P. Berry
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Ellingsen Dan-Mikael
- Department of School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Physics and Computational Radiology, Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kylie Isenburg
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Alessandra Anzolin
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Arvina Grahl
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Ajay D. Wasan
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Center for Innovation in Pain Care, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Discovery Center for Recovery from Chronic Pain, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Robert R. Edwards
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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12
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Catalá P, Gutiérrez L, Écija C, Peñacoba C. How to Generate Self-Efficacy despite Pain: The Role of Catastrophizing and Avoidance in Women with Fibromyalgia. Biomedicines 2023; 12:47. [PMID: 38255154 PMCID: PMC10812908 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12010047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Fibromyalgia-related pain is influenced by numerous factors, including severity, as well as cognitive profiles based on pain catastrophizing or activity patterns. In this context, self-efficacy is identified as a potential predictor for explaining certain health outcomes. This study aimed to contribute to exploring the role of pain avoidance (as activity pattern) between pain severity and self-efficacy along pain catastrophizing. METHODS Through a cross-sectional study, a total of 264 women with fibromyalgia completed self-report measures of pain severity, pain avoidance, pain catastrophizing, and self-efficacy. The severity of the symptoms, the time elapsed since diagnosis, and the time elapsed since the onsets of symptoms were included as covariates to control. Regression-based moderated-mediation analysis was used to test the conditional effect of pain severity on self-efficacy via pain avoidance at varying levels of pain catastrophizing. RESULTS Pain avoidance mediated the effect of pain severity on self-efficacy. The indirect effects showed a moderated effect when patients scored high on the pain catastrophizing scale. The model evaluated, where catastrophic pain moderates the indirect effect of pain intensity on self-efficacy through pain avoidance, explained 49% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS Catastrophic beliefs associated with pain as being uncontrollable increase the relationship between pain severity and pain avoidance. In turn, pain avoidance is associated with a low perception of capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Cecilia Peñacoba
- Department of Psychology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda. de Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain; (P.C.); (L.G.); (C.É.)
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13
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Tu Y, Wang J, Li Z, Xiong F, Gao F. Topological alterations in white matter structural networks in fibromyalgia. Neuroradiology 2023; 65:1737-1747. [PMID: 37851020 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-023-03225-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Neuroimaging studies employing analyses dependent on regional assumptions and specific neuronal circuits could miss characteristics of whole-brain structural connectivity critical to the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia (FM). This study applied the whole-brain graph-theoretical approach to identify whole-brain structural connectivity disturbances in FM. METHODS This cross-sectional study used probabilistic diffusion tractography and graph theory analysis to evaluate the topological organization of brain white matter networks in 20 patients with FM and 20 healthy controls (HCs). The relationship between brain network metrics and clinical variables was evaluated. RESULTS Compared with HCs, FM patients had lower clustering coefficient, local efficiency, hierarchy, synchronization, and higher normalized characteristic path length. Regionally, patients demonstrated a significant reduction in nodal efficiency and centrality; these regions were mainly located in the prefrontal, temporal cortex, and basal ganglia. The network-based statistical analysis (NBS) identified decreased structural connectivity in a subnetwork of prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus in FM. There was no correlation between network metrics and clinical variables (false discovery rate corrected). CONCLUSIONS The current research demonstrated disrupted topological architecture of white matter networks in FM. Our results suggested compromised neural integration and segregation and reduced structural connectivity in FM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Tu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Geriatric Anesthesia and Perioperative Brain Health, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Wuhan Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Anesthesia, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jihong Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Geriatric Anesthesia and Perioperative Brain Health, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Wuhan Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Anesthesia, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zheng Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Geriatric Anesthesia and Perioperative Brain Health, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Wuhan Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Anesthesia, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Fei Xiong
- Department of Radiology, PLA Central Theater General Hospital, Wuhan, China.
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Geriatric Anesthesia and Perioperative Brain Health, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Wuhan Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Anesthesia, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
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14
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Mawla I, Huang Z, Kaplan CM, Ichesco E, Waller N, Larkin TE, Zöllner HJ, Edden RA, Harte SE, Clauw DJ, Mashour GA, Napadow V, Harris RE. Large-scale momentary brain co-activation patterns are associated with hyperalgesia and mediate focal neurochemistry and cross-network functional connectivity in fibromyalgia. Pain 2023; 164:2737-2748. [PMID: 37751539 PMCID: PMC10652715 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Fibromyalgia has been characterized by augmented cross-network functional communication between the brain's sensorimotor, default mode, and attentional (salience/ventral and dorsal) networks. However, the underlying mechanisms of these aberrant communication patterns are unknown. In this study, we sought to understand large-scale topographic patterns at instantaneous timepoints, known as co-activation patterns (CAPs). We found that a sustained pressure pain challenge temporally modulated the occurrence of CAPs. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we found that greater basal excitatory over inhibitory neurotransmitter levels within the anterior insula orchestrated higher cross-network connectivity between the anterior insula and the default mode network through lower occurrence of a CAP encompassing the attentional networks during sustained pain. Moreover, we found that hyperalgesia in fibromyalgia was mediated through increased occurrence of a CAP encompassing the sensorimotor network during sustained pain. In conclusion, this study elucidates the role of momentary large-scale topographic brain patterns in shaping noxious information in patients with fibromyalgia, while laying the groundwork for using precise spatiotemporal dynamics of the brain for the potential development of therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishtiaq Mawla
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Chelsea M. Kaplan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Eric Ichesco
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Noah Waller
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Tony E. Larkin
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Helge J. Zöllner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Richard A.E. Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Steven E. Harte
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Daniel J. Clauw
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - George A. Mashour
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Richard E. Harris
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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15
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Hotta J, Saari J, Harno H, Kalso E, Forss N, Hari R. Somatotopic disruption of the functional connectivity of the primary sensorimotor cortex in complex regional pain syndrome type 1. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:6258-6274. [PMID: 37837646 PMCID: PMC10619416 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the representation area of the affected limb in the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) reacts abnormally during sensory stimulation and motor actions. We recorded 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging resting-state data from 17 upper-limb CRPS type 1 patients and 19 healthy control subjects to identify alterations of patients' SM1 function during spontaneous pain and to find out how the spatial distribution of these alterations were related to peripheral symptoms. Seed-based correlations and independent component analyses indicated that patients' upper-limb SM1 representation areas display (i) reduced interhemispheric connectivity, associated with the combined effect of intensity and spatial extent of limb pain, (ii) increased connectivity with the right anterior insula that positively correlated with the duration of CRPS, (iii) increased connectivity with periaqueductal gray matter, and (iv) disengagement from the other parts of the SM1 network. These findings, now reported for the first time in CRPS, parallel the alterations found in patients suffering from other chronic pain conditions or from limb denervation; they also agree with findings in healthy persons who are exposed to experimental pain or have used their limbs asymmetrically. Our results suggest that CRPS is associated with a sustained and somatotopically specific alteration of SM1 function, that has correspondence to the spatial distribution of the peripheral manifestations and to the duration of the syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaakko Hotta
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical EngineeringAalto University School of ScienceEspooFinland
- Aalto NeuroImagingAalto UniversityEspooFinland
- Department of NeurologyHelsinki University Hospital and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Jukka Saari
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical EngineeringAalto University School of ScienceEspooFinland
- Aalto NeuroImagingAalto UniversityEspooFinland
- Department of Applied PhysicsUniversity of Eastern FinlandKuopioFinland
| | - Hanna Harno
- Department of NeurologyHelsinki University Hospital and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain MedicineUniversity of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalHelsinkiFinland
| | - Eija Kalso
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain MedicineUniversity of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalHelsinkiFinland
| | - Nina Forss
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical EngineeringAalto University School of ScienceEspooFinland
- Department of NeurologyHelsinki University Hospital and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical EngineeringAalto University School of ScienceEspooFinland
- Department of Art and MediaAalto University School of Arts, Design and ArchitectureHelsinkiFinland
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16
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Joo P, Kim M, Kish B, Nair VV, Tong Y, Harte SE, Harris RE, Lee U, Wang Y. Brain network hypersensitivity underlies pain crises in sickle cell disease. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.10.08.23296715. [PMID: 37873459 PMCID: PMC10593022 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.08.23296715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder causing blood vessel blockages and painful Vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). VOCs, characterized by severe pain due to blocked blood flow, are recurrent and unpredictable, posing challenges for preventive strategies. In this study we propose explosive synchronization (ES), a phenomenon characterized by abrupt brain network phase transitions, as a novel approach to address this challenge. We hypothesized that the accumulated disruptions in the brain network induced by SCD might lead to strengthened ES and hypersensitivity. We explored ES's relationship with patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and VOCs by analyzing EEG data from 25 SCD patients and 18 matched controls. SCD patients exhibited significantly lower alpha wave frequency than controls. SCD patients under painful pressure stimulation showed correlation between frequency disassortativity (FDA), an ES condition, and three important PROMs. Furthermore, patients who had a higher frequency of VOCs in the preceding 12 months presented with stronger FDA. The timing of VOC occurrence relative to EEG recordings was significantly associated to FDA. We also conducted computational modeling on SCD brain network to study FDA's role in network sensitivity. Stronger FDA correlated with higher responsivity and complexity in our model. Simulation under noisy environment showed that higher FDA could be linked to increased occurrence frequency of crisis. This study establishes connections between SCD pain and the universal network mechanism, ES, offering a strong theoretical foundation. This understanding will aid predicting VOCs and refining pain management for SCD patients.
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17
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Tong H, Maloney TC, Payne MF, Suñol M, Dudley JA, King CD, Ting TV, Kashikar-Zuck S, Coghill RC, López-Solà M. Augmented pain-evoked primary sensorimotor cortex activation in adolescent girls with juvenile fibromyalgia. Pain 2023; 164:2316-2326. [PMID: 37326678 PMCID: PMC10502878 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Juvenile fibromyalgia (JFM) is a chronic widespread pain condition that primarily affects adolescent girls. Previous studies have found increased sensitivity to noxious pressure in adolescents with JFM. However, the underlying changes in brain systems remain unclear. The aim of this study was to characterize pain-evoked brain responses and identify brain mediators of pain hypersensitivity in adolescent girls with JFM. Thirty-three adolescent girls with JFM and 33 healthy adolescent girls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans involving noxious pressure applied to the left thumbnail at an intensity of 2.5 or 4 kg/cm 2 and rated pain intensity and unpleasantness on a computerized Visual Analogue Scale. We conducted standard general linear model analyses and exploratory whole-brain mediation analyses. The JFM group reported significantly greater pain intensity and unpleasantness than the control group in response to noxious pressure stimuli at both intensities ( P < 0.05). The JFM group showed augmented right primary somatosensory cortex (S1) activation to 4 kg/cm 2 (Z > 3.1, cluster-corrected P < 0.05), and the peak S1 activation magnitudes significantly correlated with the scores on the Widespread Pain Index ( r = 0.35, P = 0.048) with higher activation associated with more widespread pain. We also found that greater primary sensorimotor cortex activation in response to 4 kg/cm 2 mediated the between-group differences in pain intensity ratings ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, we found heightened sensitivity to noxious pressure stimuli and augmented pain-evoked sensorimotor cortex responses in adolescent girls with JFM, which could reflect central sensitization or amplified nociceptive input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Tong
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Thomas C. Maloney
- Department of Radiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Michael F. Payne
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Maria Suñol
- Unit of Psychological Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jonathan A. Dudley
- Department of Radiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Christopher D. King
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Tracy V. Ting
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Division of Rheumatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Susmita Kashikar-Zuck
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Robert C. Coghill
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Marina López-Solà
- Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Unit of Psychological Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Chen TC, Lin CS. Neuroimaging meta-analysis of brain mechanisms of the association between orofacial pain and mastication. J Oral Rehabil 2023; 50:1070-1081. [PMID: 37252887 DOI: 10.1111/joor.13526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are characterized by pain and impaired masticatory functions. The Integrated Pain Adaptation Model (IPAM) predicts that alterations in motor activity may be associated with increased pain in some individuals. The IPAM highlights the diversity of patients' responses to orofacial pain and suggests that such diversity is related to the sensorimotor network of the brain. It remains unclear whether the pattern of brain activation reflects the diversity of patients' responses underlying the association between mastication and orofacial pain. OBJECTIVE This meta-analysis aims to compare the spatial pattern of brain activation, as the primary outcome of neuroimaging studies, between studies of mastication (i.e. Study 1: mastication of healthy adults) and studies of orofacial pain (i.e. Study 2: muscle pain in healthy adults and Study 3: noxious stimulation of the masticatory system in TMD patients). METHODS Neuroimaging meta-analyses were conducted for two groups of studies: (a) mastication of healthy adults (Study 1, 10 studies) and (b) orofacial pain (7 studies), including muscle pain in healthy adults (Study 2) and noxious stimulation of the masticatory system in TMD patients (Study 3). Consistent loci of brain activation were synthesized using Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) with an initial cluster-forming threshold (p < .05) and a threshold of cluster size (p < .05, familywise error-corrected). RESULTS The orofacial pain studies have shown consistent activation in pain-related regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula (AIns). A conjunctional analysis of mastication and orofacial pain studies showed joint activation at the left AIns, the left primary motor cortex and the right primary somatosensory cortex. CONCLUSION The meta-analytical evidence suggests that the AIns, as a key region in pain, interoception and salience processing, contributes to the pain-mastication association. These findings reveal an additional neural mechanism of the diversity of patients' responses underlying the association between mastication and orofacial pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ta-Chung Chen
- Division of Prosthodontics, Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Shu Lin
- Department of Dentistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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19
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Lim M, Kim DJ, Nascimento TD, Ichesco E, Kaplan C, Harris RE, DaSilva AF. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signal Variability Is Associated With Neuromodulation in Fibromyalgia. Neuromodulation 2023; 26:999-1008. [PMID: 34309138 PMCID: PMC8789944 DOI: 10.1111/ner.13512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Although primary motor cortex (M1) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has an analgesic effect in fibromyalgia (FM), its neural mechanism remains elusive. We investigated whether M1-tDCS modulates a regional temporal variability of blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals, an indicator of the brain's flexibility and efficiency and if this change is associated with pain improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a within-subjects cross-over design, 12 female FM patients underwent sham and active tDCS on five consecutive days, respectively. Each session was performed with an anode placed on the left M1 and a cathode on the contralateral supraorbital region. The subjects also participated in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at baseline and after sham and active tDCS. We compared the BOLD signal variability (SDBOLD), defined as the standard deviation of the BOLD time-series, between the tDCS conditions. Baseline SDBOLD was compared to 15 healthy female controls. RESULTS At baseline, FM patients showed reduced SDBOLD in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), lateral PFC, and anterior insula and increased SDBOLD in the posterior insula compared to healthy controls. After active tDCS, compared to sham, we found an increased SDBOLD in the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), lateral PFC, and thalamus. After sham tDCS, compared to baseline, we found a decreased SDBOLD in the dorsomedial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus. Interestingly, after active tDCS compared to sham, pain reduction was correlated with an increased SDBOLD in the rACC/vmPFC but with a decreased SDBOLD in the posterior insula. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that M1-tDCS might revert temporal variability of fMRI signals in the rACC/vmPFC and posterior insula linked to FM pain. Changes in neural variability would be part of the mechanisms underlying repetitive M1-tDCS analgesia in FM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manyoel Lim
- Headache and Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.), Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dajung J Kim
- Headache and Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.), Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Thiago D Nascimento
- Headache and Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.), Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Eric Ichesco
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Chelsea Kaplan
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Richard E Harris
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alexandre F DaSilva
- Headache and Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.), Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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20
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Ellingsen DM, Isenburg K, Jung C, Lee J, Gerber J, Mawla I, Sclocco R, Grahl A, Anzolin A, Edwards RR, Kelley JM, Kirsch I, Kaptchuk TJ, Napadow V. Brain-to-brain mechanisms underlying pain empathy and social modulation of pain in the patient-clinician interaction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2212910120. [PMID: 37339198 PMCID: PMC10293846 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212910120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions such as the patient-clinician encounter can influence pain, but the underlying dynamic interbrain processes are unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamic brain processes supporting social modulation of pain by assessing simultaneous brain activity (fMRI hyperscanning) from chronic pain patients and clinicians during video-based live interaction. Patients received painful and nonpainful pressure stimuli either with a supportive clinician present (Dyadic) or in isolation (Solo). In half of the dyads, clinicians performed a clinical consultation and intake with the patient prior to hyperscanning (Clinical Interaction), which increased self-reported therapeutic alliance. For the other half, patient-clinician hyperscanning was completed without prior clinical interaction (No Interaction). Patients reported lower pain intensity in the Dyadic, relative to the Solo, condition. In Clinical Interaction dyads relative to No Interaction, patients evaluated their clinicians as better able to understand their pain, and clinicians were more accurate when estimating patients' pain levels. In Clinical Interaction dyads, compared to No Interaction, patients showed stronger activation of the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC and vlPFC) and primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory areas (Dyadic-Solo contrast), and clinicians showed increased dynamic dlPFC concordance with patients' S2 activity during pain. Furthermore, the strength of S2-dlPFC concordance was positively correlated with self-reported therapeutic alliance. These findings support that empathy and supportive care can reduce pain intensity and shed light on the brain processes underpinning social modulation of pain in patient-clinician interactions. Our findings further suggest that clinicians' dlPFC concordance with patients' somatosensory processing during pain can be boosted by increasing therapeutic alliance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Department of Physics and Computational Radiology, Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo0372, Norway
- Department of Psychology, Pedagogy and Law, School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University College, Oslo0107, Norway
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Kylie Isenburg
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Changjin Jung
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- KM Research Science Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon461-24, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeungchan Lee
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Jessica Gerber
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Ishtiaq Mawla
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Roberta Sclocco
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO63017
| | - Arvina Grahl
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Alessandra Anzolin
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
| | - Robert R. Edwards
- Department of Anesthesiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA02115
| | - John M. Kelley
- School of Social Sciences, Communication, and Humanities, Endicott College, Beverley, MA02115
- Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02215
| | - Irving Kirsch
- Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02215
| | - Ted J. Kaptchuk
- Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02215
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massa, chusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA02129
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO63017
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21
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Pinto AM, Luís M, Geenen R, Palavra F, Lumley MA, Ablin JN, Amris K, Branco J, Buskila D, Castelhano J, Castelo-Branco M, Crofford LJ, Fitzcharles MA, Häuser W, Kosek E, López-Solà M, Mease P, Marques TR, Jacobs JWG, Castilho P, da Silva JAP. Neurophysiological and Psychosocial Mechanisms of Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Review and Call for An Integrative Model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023:105235. [PMID: 37207842 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Research into the neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms involved in fibromyalgia has progressed remarkably in recent years. Despite this, current accounts of fibromyalgia fail to capture the complex, dynamic, and mutual crosstalk between neurophysiological and psychosocial domains. We conducted a comprehensive review of the existing literature in order to: a) synthesize current knowledge on fibromyalgia; b) explore and highlight multi-level links and pathways between different systems; and c) build bridges connecting disparate perspectives. An extensive panel of international experts in neurophysiological and psychosocial aspects of fibromyalgia discussed the collected evidence and progressively refined and conceptualized its interpretation. This work constitutes an essential step towards the development of a model capable of integrating the main factors implicated in fibromyalgia into a single, unified construct which appears indispensable to foster the understanding, assessment, and intervention for fibromyalgia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Margarida Pinto
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Rua do Colégio Novo, s/n, 3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal; University of Coimbra, University Clinic of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Rua Larga - FMUC, Pólo I - Edifício Central, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; University of Coimbra, Psychological Medicine Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Rua Larga - FMUC, Pólo I - Edifício Central, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Mariana Luís
- Rheumatology Department, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Praceta Mota Pinto, 3004-561 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Rinie Geenen
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Martinus J. Langeveldgebouw, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Altrecht Psychosomatic Medicine Eikenboom, Vrijbaan 2, 3705 WC Zeist, the Netherlands.
| | - Filipe Palavra
- Centre for Child Development, Neuropediatric Unit. Pediatric Hospital, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Avenida Afonso Romão, 3000-602 Coimbra, Portugal; Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (i.CBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Mark A Lumley
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward Ave., Suite 7908, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
| | - Jacob N Ablin
- Internal Medicine H, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, 6 Weizmann Street, Tel Aviv 6423906, Israel; Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel.
| | - Kirstine Amris
- The Parker Institute, Department of Rheumatology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Nordre Fasanvej 57, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark.
| | - Jaime Branco
- Rheumatology Department, Egas Moniz Hospital - Lisboa Ocidental Hospital Centre (CHLO-EPE), R. da Junqueira 126, 1349-019 Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Chronic Diseases Research Centre (CEDOC), NOVA Medical School, NOVA University Lisbon (NMS/UNL), Campo Mártires da Pátria 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Dan Buskila
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheba, Israel.
| | - João Castelhano
- University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), ICNAS, Edifício do ICNAS, Polo 3, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal, Portugal.
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), ICNAS, Edifício do ICNAS, Polo 3, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal, Portugal.
| | - Leslie J Crofford
- Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1211 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
| | - Mary-Ann Fitzcharles
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, McGill University, 1650 Cedar Ave, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1A4.
| | - Winfried Häuser
- Department Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675 Munich, Germany.
| | - Eva Kosek
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden; Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Marina López-Solà
- Serra Hunter Programme, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona.
| | - Philip Mease
- Swedish Medical Center/Providence St. Joseph Health, Seattle, WA, USA; University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Tiago Reis Marques
- Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2BU, UK; Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
| | - Johannes W G Jacobs
- Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, Netherlands.
| | - Paula Castilho
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Rua do Colégio Novo, s/n, 3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - José A P da Silva
- University of Coimbra, University Clinic of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Rua Larga - FMUC, Pólo I - Edifício Central, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; Rheumatology Department, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Praceta Mota Pinto, 3004-561 Coimbra, Portugal; Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (i.CBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
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22
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Wang Y, Xu Y, Xu J, Sun W, Lv Z, Manzoor MA, Liu X, Shen Z, Wang J, Liu R, Whiting MD, Jiu S, Zhang C. Oxygenation alleviates waterlogging-caused damages to cherry rootstocks. MOLECULAR HORTICULTURE 2023; 3:8. [PMID: 37789432 PMCID: PMC10515082 DOI: 10.1186/s43897-023-00056-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Waterlogging has occurred more frequently in recent years due to climate change, so it is a huge threat to crop yield and quality. Sweet cherry, a fruit tree with a high economic value, is sensitive to waterlogging stress. One of the most effective methods for enhancing the waterlogging tolerance of sweet cherries is to select waterlogging-tolerant rootstocks. However, the waterlogging tolerance of different cherry rootstocks, and the underlying mechanism remains uncharacterized. Thus, we first evaluated the waterlogging resistance of five sweet cherry rootstocks planted in China. The data showed that 'Gisela 12' and 'Colt' were the most waterlogging-sensitive and -tolerant among the five tested varieties, respectively. Oxygenation effectively alleviated the adverse impacts of waterlogging stress on cherry rootstocks. Moreover, we found that the waterlogging group had lower relative water content, Fv/Fm value, net photosynthetic rate, and higher antioxidant enzyme activities, whereas the oxygenated group performed better in all these parameters. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that numerous DEGs were involved in energy production, antioxidant metabolism, hormone metabolism pathways, and stress-related transcription factors. These findings will help provide management strategies to enhance the waterlogging tolerance of cherry rootstocks and thereby achieve higher yield and better quality of cherries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxuan Wang
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Jieming Xu
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Wanxia Sun
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Zhengxin Lv
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Muhammad Aamir Manzoor
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Xunju Liu
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Zhiyu Shen
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Jiyuan Wang
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Ruie Liu
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Matthew D Whiting
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Prosser, WA, 99350, USA
| | - Songtao Jiu
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Caixi Zhang
- Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
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23
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Liu X, Xu Y, Sun W, Wang J, Gao Y, Wang L, Xu W, Wang S, Jiu S, Zhang C. Strigolactones modulate stem length and diameter of cherry rootstocks through interaction with other hormone signaling pathways. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1092654. [PMID: 36844087 PMCID: PMC9948674 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1092654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Stem growth and development has considerable effects on plant architecture and yield performance. Strigolactones (SLs) modulate shoot branching and root architecture in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying SLs regulate cherry rootstocks stem growth and development remain unclear. Our studies showed that the synthetic SL analog rac-GR24 and the biosynthetic inhibitor TIS108 affected stem length and diameter, aboveground weight, and chlorophyll content. The stem length of cherry rootstocks following TIS108 treatment reached a maximum value of 6.97 cm, which was much higher than that following rac-GR24 treatments at 30 days after treatment. Stem paraffin section showed that SLs affected cell size. A total of 1936, 743, and 1656 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed in stems treated with 10 μM rac-GR24, 0.1 μM rac-GR24, and 10 μM TIS108, respectively. RNA-seq results highlighted several DEGs, including CKX, LOG, YUCCA, AUX, and EXP, which play vital roles in stem growth and development. UPLC-3Q-MS analysis revealed that SL analogs and inhibitors affected the levels of several hormones in the stems. The endogenous GA3 content of stems increased significantly with 0.1 μM rac-GR24 or 10 μM TIS108 treatment, which is consistent with changes in the stem length following the same treatments. This study demonstrated that SLs affected stem growth of cherry rootstocks by changing other endogenous hormone levels. These results provide a solid theoretical basis for using SLs to modulate plant height and achieve sweet cherry dwarfing and high-density cultivation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Songtao Jiu
- *Correspondence: Songtao Jiu, ; Caixi Zhang,
| | - Caixi Zhang
- *Correspondence: Songtao Jiu, ; Caixi Zhang,
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24
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Edwards RR, Schreiber KL, Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Baron R, Freeman R, Jensen TS, Latremoliere A, Markman JD, Rice ASC, Rowbotham M, Staud R, Tate S, Woolf CJ, Andrews NA, Carr DB, Colloca L, Cosma-Roman D, Cowan P, Diatchenko L, Farrar J, Gewandter JS, Gilron I, Kerns RD, Marchand S, Niebler G, Patel KV, Simon LS, Tockarshewsky T, Vanhove GF, Vardeh D, Walco GA, Wasan AD, Wesselmann U. Optimizing and Accelerating the Development of Precision Pain Treatments for Chronic Pain: IMMPACT Review and Recommendations. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2023; 24:204-225. [PMID: 36198371 PMCID: PMC10868532 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Large variability in the individual response to even the most-efficacious pain treatments is observed clinically, which has led to calls for a more personalized, tailored approach to treating patients with pain (ie, "precision pain medicine"). Precision pain medicine, currently an aspirational goal, would consist of empirically based algorithms that determine the optimal treatments, or treatment combinations, for specific patients (ie, targeting the right treatment, in the right dose, to the right patient, at the right time). Answering this question of "what works for whom" will certainly improve the clinical care of patients with pain. It may also support the success of novel drug development in pain, making it easier to identify novel treatments that work for certain patients and more accurately identify the magnitude of the treatment effect for those subgroups. Significant preliminary work has been done in this area, and analgesic trials are beginning to utilize precision pain medicine approaches such as stratified allocation on the basis of prespecified patient phenotypes using assessment methodologies such as quantitative sensory testing. Current major challenges within the field include: 1) identifying optimal measurement approaches to assessing patient characteristics that are most robustly and consistently predictive of inter-patient variation in specific analgesic treatment outcomes, 2) designing clinical trials that can identify treatment-by-phenotype interactions, and 3) selecting the most promising therapeutics to be tested in this way. This review surveys the current state of precision pain medicine, with a focus on drug treatments (which have been most-studied in a precision pain medicine context). It further presents a set of evidence-based recommendations for accelerating the application of precision pain methods in chronic pain research. PERSPECTIVE: Given the considerable variability in treatment outcomes for chronic pain, progress in precision pain treatment is critical for the field. An array of phenotypes and mechanisms contribute to chronic pain; this review summarizes current knowledge regarding which treatments are most effective for patients with specific biopsychosocial characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dennis C Turk
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Ralf Baron
- Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, House D, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Roy Freeman
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nick A Andrews
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California
| | | | | | | | - Penney Cowan
- American Chronic Pain Association, Rocklin, California
| | - Luda Diatchenko
- Department of Anesthesia and Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, California
| | - John Farrar
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Robert D Kerns
- Yale University, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Psychology, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | | | - Kushang V Patel
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | | | | | | | | | - Gary A Walco
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Ajay D Wasan
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ursula Wesselmann
- Department of Anesthesiology/Division of Pain Medicine, Neurology and Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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25
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Converging Evidence of Similar Symptomatology of ME/CFS and PASC Indicating Multisystemic Dyshomeostasis. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11010180. [PMID: 36672687 PMCID: PMC9855891 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11010180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to review the evidence of similar symptomatology of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Reanalysis of data from a study by Jason comparing symptom reports from two groups of ME/CFS and PASC patients shows a notably similar symptomatology. Symptom scores of the PASC group and the ME/CFS group correlated 0.902 (p < 0.0001) across items. The hypothesis is presented that ME/CFS and PASC are caused by a chronic state of multisystemic disequilibrium including endocrinological, immunological, and/or metabolic changes. The hypothesis holds that a changed set point persistently pushes the organism towards a pathological dysfunctional state which fails to reset. To use an analogy of a thermostat, if the ‘off switch’ of a thermostat intermittently stops working, for periods the house would become warmer and warmer without limit. The hypothesis draws on recent investigations of the Central Homeostasis Network showing multiple interconnections between the autonomic system, central nervous system, and brain stem. The hypothesis helps to explain the shared symptomatology of ME/CFS and PASC and the unpredictable, intermittent, and fluctuating pattern of symptoms of ME/CFS and PASC. The current theoretical approach remains speculative and requires in-depth investigation before any definite conclusions can be drawn.
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26
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Magnusson MR. Commentary on: Neuroimaging in Breast Implant Illness: An fMRI Pilot Study. Aesthet Surg J 2023; 43:62-65. [PMID: 35972756 DOI: 10.1093/asj/sjac229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
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27
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Barsky AJ, Silbersweig DA. The Amplification of Symptoms in the Medically Ill. J Gen Intern Med 2023; 38:195-202. [PMID: 35829874 PMCID: PMC9849656 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-022-07699-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The mechanism of symptom amplification, developed in the study of somatization, may be helpful in caring for patients with symptoms that, while they have a demonstrable medical basis, are nonetheless disproportionately severe and distressing. Amplified medical symptoms are marked by disproportionate physical suffering, unduly negative thoughts and concerns about them, and elevated levels of health-related anxiety. They are accompanied by extensive and sustained illness behaviors, disproportionate difficulty compartmentalizing them and circumscribing their impact, and consequent problems and dissatisfaction with their medical care. A distinction has long been made between "medically explained" and "medically unexplained" symptoms. However, a more comprehensive view of symptom phenomenology undermines this distinction and places all symptoms along a smooth continuum regardless of cause: Recent findings in cognitive neuroscience suggest that all symptoms-regardless of origin-are processed through convergent pathways. The complete conscious experience of both medically "explained" and "unexplained" symptoms is an amalgam of a viscerosomatic sensation fused with its ascribed salience and the patient's ideas, expectations, and concerns about the sensation. This emerging empirical evidence furnishes a basis for viewing persistent, disproportionately distressing symptoms of demonstrable disease along a continuum with medically unexplained symptoms. Thus, therapeutic modalities developed for somatization and medically unexplained symptoms can be helpful in the care of seriously ill medical patients with amplified symptoms. These interventions include educational groups for coping with chronic illness, cognitive therapies for dysfunctional thoughts, behavioral strategies for maladaptive illness behaviors, psychotherapy for associated emotional distress, and consultation with mental health professionals to assist the primary care physician with difficulties in medical management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur J Barsky
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - David A Silbersweig
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
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Wank I, Niedermair T, Kronenberg D, Stange R, Brochhausen C, Hess A, Grässel S. Influence of the Peripheral Nervous System on Murine Osteoporotic Fracture Healing and Fracture-Induced Hyperalgesia. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:ijms24010510. [PMID: 36613952 PMCID: PMC9820334 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Osteoporotic fractures are often linked to persisting chronic pain and poor healing outcomes. Substance P (SP), α-calcitonin gene-related peptide (α-CGRP) and sympathetic neurotransmitters are involved in bone remodeling after trauma and nociceptive processes, e.g., fracture-induced hyperalgesia. We aimed to link sensory and sympathetic signaling to fracture healing and fracture-induced hyperalgesia under osteoporotic conditions. Externally stabilized femoral fractures were set 28 days after OVX in wild type (WT), α-CGRP- deficient (α-CGRP -/-), SP-deficient (Tac1-/-) and sympathectomized (SYX) mice. Functional MRI (fMRI) was performed two days before and five and 21 days post fracture, followed by µCT and biomechanical tests. Sympathectomy affected structural bone properties in the fracture callus whereas loss of sensory neurotransmitters affected trabecular structures in contralateral, non-fractured bones. Biomechanical properties were mostly similar in all groups. Both nociceptive and resting-state (RS) fMRI revealed significant baseline differences in functional connectivity (FC) between WT and neurotransmitter-deficient mice. The fracture-induced hyperalgesia modulated central nociception and had robust impact on RS FC in all groups. The changes demonstrated in RS FC in fMRI might potentially be used as a bone traumata-induced biomarker regarding fracture healing under pathophysiological musculoskeletal conditions. The findings are of clinical importance and relevance as they advance our understanding of pain during osteoporotic fracture healing and provide a potential imaging biomarker for fracture-related hyperalgesia and its temporal development. Overall, this may help to reduce the development of chronic pain after fracture thereby improving the treatment of osteoporotic fractures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Wank
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tanja Niedermair
- Institute of Pathology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Kronenberg
- Department of Regenerative Musculoskeletal Medicine, Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine (IMM), University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Richard Stange
- Department of Regenerative Musculoskeletal Medicine, Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine (IMM), University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | | | - Andreas Hess
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Susanne Grässel
- Centre for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB), Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Experimental Orthopedics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-941-943-5065
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Sun R, Zhang SY, Cheng X, Zhang P, Qiao PG, Li GJ. Changes in sensory-related brain networks of patients with moyamoya disease with limb paresthesia: A resting-state fMRI-based functional connectivity analysis. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 36:103267. [PMID: 36510412 PMCID: PMC9668639 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This study's aim was to investigate functional brain connectivity changes among patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) with limb paresthesia, using functional connectivity analysis based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). A total of 181 patients with MMD were enrolled, including 57 with left limb paresthesia (MLP group), 61 with right limb paresthesia (MRP group), and 63 without paresthesia (MWP group). Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) was performed in 20 of the 57 patients with left limb paresthesia and 15 of the 61 patients with right limb paresthesia. Twenty-nine age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC group) were recruited during the same period. All participants underwent rs-fMRI examination, and the patients treated with EDAS were re-examined 3-4 months after the surgery. After data preprocessing, we selected Brodmann area 3 on each side of the brain as the seed region to construct a functional connectivity network of the whole brain, and then we analyzed the differences in functional connectivity between the HC group, MWP group, MLP group, and MRP group. The functional connectivity of Brodmann area 3 (on either side) with the ipsilateral frontal (superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus) and parietal (supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, and superior parietal lobule) cortices was increased among patients with MMD. The functional connectivity enhancement in these brain regions was broader and greater in patients with contralateral limb paresthesia than in patients without paresthesia, and the regions with functional connectivity changes were roughly distributed symmetrically among the MLP group and the MRP group. There were no changes 3-4 months after EDAS in the increased functional connectivity between the frontal and parietal cortices and Brodmann area 3. Limb paresthesia in patients with MMD may be driven by abnormal functional connectivity in the frontal and parietal cortices. Functional changes in associated brain regions may be a target for evaluating the severity of MMD and its response to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rujing Sun
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Shi-Yu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Peng-Gang Qiao
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China,Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China,Corresponding authors at: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, 95 YongAn Road, Beijing 100050, China, (P.-G. Qiao). Department of Radiology, Affiliated hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, #8 Fengtai dong street, Fengtai district, Beijing 100071, China, (G.-J. Li).
| | - Gong-Jie Li
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China,Corresponding authors at: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, 95 YongAn Road, Beijing 100050, China, (P.-G. Qiao). Department of Radiology, Affiliated hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, #8 Fengtai dong street, Fengtai district, Beijing 100071, China, (G.-J. Li).
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Pujol J, Blanco-Hinojo L, Doreste A, Ojeda F, Martínez-Vilavella G, Pérez-Sola V, Deus J, Monfort J. Distinctive alterations in the functional anatomy of the cerebral cortex in pain-sensitized osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patients. Arthritis Res Ther 2022; 24:252. [DOI: 10.1186/s13075-022-02942-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Pain-sensitized osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patients characteristically show nociceptive system augmented responsiveness as a common feature. However, sensitization can be originally related to the peripheral injury in osteoarthritis patients, whereas pain and bodily discomfort spontaneously occur in fibromyalgia with no apparent origin. We investigated the distinct functional repercussion of pain sensitization in the cerebral cortex in both conditions.
Methods
Thirty-one pain-sensitized knee osteoarthritis patients and 38 fibromyalgia patients were compared with matched control groups. And new samples of 34 sensitized knee osteoarthritis and 63 fibromyalgia patients were used to directly compare each condition. A combined measure of local functional connectivity was estimated to map functional alterations in the cerebral cortex at rest.
Results
In osteoarthritis, weaker local connectivity was identified in the insula, which is a cortical area processing important aspects of the brain response to painful stimulation. In contrast, fibromyalgia patients showed weaker connectivity in the sensorimotor cortex extensively affecting the cortical representation of the body.
Conclusions
In osteoarthritis, weaker insular cortex connectivity is compatible with reduced neural activity during metabolic recovery after repeated activation. In the fibromyalgia neurophysiological context, weaker connectivity may better express both reduced neural activity and increased excitability, particularly affecting the sensorimotor cortex in patients with spontaneous body pain. Such a combination is compatible with a central gain enhancement mechanism, where low sensory tolerance results from the over-amplification of central sensory reception to compensate a presumably weak sensory input. We propose that deficient proprioception could be a factor contributing to weak sensory input.
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Lee JJ, Lee S, Lee DH, Woo CW. Functional brain reconfiguration during sustained pain. eLife 2022; 11:e74463. [PMID: 36173388 PMCID: PMC9522250 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain is constructed through complex interactions among multiple brain systems, but it remains unclear how functional brain networks are reconfigured over time while experiencing pain. Here, we investigated the time-varying changes in the functional brain networks during 20 min capsaicin-induced sustained orofacial pain. In the early stage, the orofacial areas of the primary somatomotor cortex were separated from other areas of the somatosensory cortex and integrated with subcortical and frontoparietal regions, constituting an extended brain network of sustained pain. As pain decreased over time, the subcortical and frontoparietal regions were separated from this brain network and connected to multiple cerebellar regions. Machine-learning models based on these network features showed significant predictions of changes in pain experience across two independent datasets (n = 48 and 74). This study provides new insights into how multiple brain systems dynamically interact to construct and modulate pain experience, advancing our mechanistic understanding of sustained pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae-Joong Lee
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic ScienceSuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
| | - Sungwoo Lee
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic ScienceSuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
| | - Dong Hee Lee
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic ScienceSuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
| | - Choong-Wan Woo
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic ScienceSuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
- Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySuwonRepublic of Korea
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Miseré RML, Rutten S, van den Hurk J, Colaris MJL, van der Hulst RRWJ. Neuroimaging in Breast Implant Illness: An fMRI Pilot Study. Aesthet Surg J 2022; 43:51-61. [PMID: 35926836 PMCID: PMC9830978 DOI: 10.1093/asj/sjac216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some women with breast implants report systemic and cognitive symptoms known as breast implant illness (BII), which are very similar to those of fibromyalgia. Functional MRI (fMRI) has shown altered brain activity in fibromyalgia patients. OBJECTIVES The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether brain alterations could be observed in BII patients by fMRI. METHODS Women aged 18 to 76 with silicone breast implants for cosmetic reasons were recruited through a Dutch online BII support organization (MKS) and through the Maastricht University Medical Center. Study participants comprised 12 women with BII and 12 women without symptoms. Participants completed questionnaires regarding demographic characteristics, medical history, psychosocial complaints (Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire), cognitive failure (Mini-Mental State Examination), and pain intensity and pain-related disability (Chronic Pain Grade Scale). Subsequently, brain images of all participants were obtained by resting-state fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging in a 3-T MRI scanner (Siemens Medical System, Erlangen, Germany). RESULTS Eleven BII patients and 12 healthy controls were included in the analysis. Baseline characteristics were similar in the 2 groups and the mean silicone exposure was 15 years. Patients scored significantly higher than controls on both pain intensity and disability. Patients scored worse on depression, somatization, distress, and anxiety compared with asymptomatic women. Mini-Mental State Examination scores were normal. However, the analyses of both functional connectivity and structural integrity showed no significant differences between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS This pilot study showed no evidence of brain alterations in BII patients. However, patients scored significantly worse on psychosocial symptoms than controls. Psychological factors appear to play an important role in BII and should be further investigated. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2
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Affiliation(s)
- Renée M L Miseré
- Corresponding Author:Dr Renée Miseré, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Center, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Sanne Rutten
- Scannexus Ultra-high Field MRI Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Job van den Hurk
- Scannexus Ultra-high Field MRI Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Maartje J L Colaris
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Hand and Burn Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - René R W J van der Hulst
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Castelo-Branco L, Cardenas-Rojas A, Rebello-Sanchez I, Pacheco-Barrios K, de Melo PS, Gonzalez-Mego P, Marduy A, Vasquez-Avila K, Costa Cortez P, Parente J, Teixeira PEP, Rosa G, McInnis K, Caumo W, Fregni F. Temporal Summation in Fibromyalgia Patients: Comparing Phasic and Tonic Paradigms. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2022; 3:881543. [PMID: 35812016 PMCID: PMC9261961 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2022.881543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Fibromyalgia (FM) is associated with dysfunctional pain modulation mechanisms, including central sensitization. Experimental pain measurements, such as temporal summation (TS), could serve as markers of central sensitization and have been previously studied in these patients, with conflicting results. Our objective in this study was to explore the relationships between two different protocols of TS (phasic and tonic) and test the associations between these measures and other clinical variables. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional analysis of a randomized clinical trial, patients were instructed to determine their pain-60 test temperature, then received one train of 15 repetitive heat stimuli and rated their pain after the 1st and 15th stimuli: TSPS-phasic was calculated as the difference between those. We also administered a tonic heat test stimulus at the same temperature continuously for 30 s and asked them to rate their pain levels after 10 s and 30 s, calculating TSPS-tonic as the difference between them. We also collected baseline demographic data and behavioral questionnaires assessing pain, depression, fatigue, anxiety, sleepiness, and quality of life. We performed univariable analyses of the relationship between TSPS-phasic and TSPS-tonic, and between each of those measures and the demographic and clinical variables collected at baseline. We then built multivariable linear regression models to find predictors for TSPS-phasic and TSPS-tonic, while including potential confounders and avoiding collinearity. Results Fifty-two FM patients were analyzed. 28.85% developed summation during the TSPS-phasic protocol while 21.15% developed summation during the TSPS-tonic protocol. There were no variables associated TSPS phasic or tonic in the univariable analyses and both measures were not correlated. On the multivariate model for the TSPS-phasic protocol, we found a weak association with pain variables. BPI-pain subscale was associated with more temporal summation in the phasic protocol (ß = 0.38, p = 0.029), while VAS for pain was associated with less summation in the TSPS-tonic protocol (ß = −0.5, p = 0.009). Conclusion Our results suggest that, using heat stimuli with pain-60 temperatures, a TSPS-phasic protocol and a TSPS-tonic protocol are not correlated and could index different neural responses in FM subjects. Further studies with larger sample sizes would be needed to elucidate whether such responses could help differentiating subjects with FM into specific phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Castelo-Branco
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Alejandra Cardenas-Rojas
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ingrid Rebello-Sanchez
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kevin Pacheco-Barrios
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Unidad de Investigación para la Generación y Síntesis de Evidencias en Salud, Lima, Peru
| | - Paulo S. de Melo
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Paola Gonzalez-Mego
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Anna Marduy
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Karen Vasquez-Avila
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Pablo Costa Cortez
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas, Departamento de Imunologia Basica e Aplicada, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Joao Parente
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Paulo E. P. Teixeira
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Gleysson Rosa
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kelly McInnis
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Wolnei Caumo
- Pain and Palliative Care Service at Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Surgery Department, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Felipe Fregni
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Felipe Fregni
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Ioachim G, Warren HJM, Powers JM, Staud R, Pukall CF, Stroman PW. Altered Pain in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord of Fibromyalgia Patients During the Anticipation and Experience of Experimental Pain. Front Neurol 2022; 13:862976. [PMID: 35599729 PMCID: PMC9120571 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.862976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia (FM) affects a large portion of the population but the underlying mechanisms leading to this altered pain are still poorly understood. Evidence suggests that FM involves altered neural processes in the central nervous system and neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are used to reveal these underlying alterations. While many fMRI studies of FM have been conducted in the brain, recent evidence shows that the changes in pain processing in FM may be linked to autonomic and homeostatic dysregulation, thus requiring further investigation in the brainstem and spinal cord. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 15 women with FM and 15 healthy controls were obtained in the cervical spinal cord and brainstem at 3 tesla using previously established methods. In order to investigate differences in pain processing in these groups, participants underwent trials in which they anticipated and received a predictable painful stimulus, randomly interleaved with trials with no stimulus. Differences in functional connectivity between the groups were investigated by means of structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate significant differences in brainstem/spinal cord network connectivity between the FM and control groups which also correlated with individual differences in pain responses. The regions involved in these differences in connectivity included the LC, hypothalamus, PAG, and PBN, which are known to be associated with autonomic homeostatic regulation, including fight or flight responses. This study extends our understanding of altered neural processes associated with FM and the important link between sensory and autonomic regulation systems in this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Ioachim
- Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | | | - Jocelyn M. Powers
- Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Roland Staud
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Seffner, FL, United States
| | - Caroline F. Pukall
- Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick W. Stroman
- Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- Department of Physics, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Patrick W. Stroman
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Gentsch A, Kuehn E. Clinical Manifestations of Body Memories: The Impact of Past Bodily Experiences on Mental Health. Brain Sci 2022; 12:594. [PMID: 35624981 PMCID: PMC9138975 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12050594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Bodily experiences such as the feeling of touch, pain or inner signals of the body are deeply emotional and activate brain networks that mediate their perception and higher-order processing. While the ad hoc perception of bodily signals and their influence on behavior is empirically well studied, there is a knowledge gap on how we store and retrieve bodily experiences that we perceived in the past, and how this influences our everyday life. Here, we explore the hypothesis that negative body memories, that is, negative bodily experiences of the past that are stored in memory and influence behavior, contribute to the development of somatic manifestations of mental health problems including somatic symptoms, traumatic re-experiences or dissociative symptoms. By combining knowledge from the areas of cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuroscience with insights from psychotherapy, we identify Clinical Body Memory (CBM) mechanisms that specify how mental health problems could be driven by corporeal experiences stored in memory. The major argument is that the investigation of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the storage and retrieval of body memories provides us with empirical access to reduce the negative impact of body memories on mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antje Gentsch
- Department of Psychology, General and Experimental Psychology, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany;
- Institute for Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (IPB), 10557 Berlin, Germany
| | - Esther Kuehn
- Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research (IKND), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Tonic pain alters functional connectivity of the descending pain modulatory network involving amygdala, periaqueductal gray, parabrachial nucleus and anterior cingulate cortex. Neuroimage 2022; 256:119278. [PMID: 35523367 PMCID: PMC9250649 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Resting state functional connectivity (FC) is widely used to assess functional brain alterations in patients with chronic pain. However, reports of FC accompanying tonic pain in pain-free persons are rare. A network we term the Descending Pain Modulatory Network (DPMN) is implicated in healthy and pathologic pain modulation. Here, we evaluate the effect of tonic pain on FC of specific nodes of this network: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala (AMYG), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and parabrachial nuclei (PBN). METHODS In 50 pain-free participants (30F), we induced tonic pain using a capsaicin-heat pain model. functional MRI measured resting BOLD signal during pain-free rest with a 32°C thermode and then tonic pain where participants experienced a previously warm temperature combined with capsaicin. We evaluated FC from ACC, AMYG, PAG, and PBN with correlation of self-report pain intensity during both states. We hypothesized tonic pain would diminish FC dyads within the DPMN. RESULTS Of all hypothesized FC dyads, only PAG and subgenual ACC was weakly altered during pain (F=3.34; p=0.074; pain-free>pain d=0.25). After pain induction sACC-PAG FC became positively correlated with pain intensity (R=0.38; t=2.81; p=0.007). Right PBN-PAG FC during pain-free rest positively correlated with subsequently experienced pain (R=0.44; t=3.43; p=0.001). During pain, this connection's FC was diminished (paired t=-3.17; p=0.0026). In whole-brain analyses, during pain-free rest, FC between left AMYG and right superior parietal lobule and caudate nucleus were positively correlated with subsequent pain. During pain, FC between left AMYG and right inferior temporal gyrus negatively correlated with pain. Subsequent pain positively correlated with right AMYG FC with right claustrum; right primary visual cortex and right temporo-occipitoparietal junction Conclusion: We demonstrate sACC-PAG tonic pain FC positively correlates with experienced pain and resting right PBN-PAG FC correlates with subsequent pain and is diminished during tonic pain. Finally, we reveal PAG- and right AMYG-anchored networks which correlate with subsequently experienced pain intensity. Our findings suggest specific connectivity patterns within the DPMN at rest are associated with subsequently experienced pain and modulated by tonic pain. These nodes and their functional modulation may reveal new therapeutic targets for neuromodulation or biomarkers to guide interventions.
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Pei Y, Peng J, Zhang Y, Huang M, Zhou F. Aberrant functional connectivity and temporal variability of the dynamic pain connectome in patients with low back related leg pain. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6324. [PMID: 35428850 PMCID: PMC9012841 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10238-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have suggested a link between the intensity of chronic low back pain intensity and structural and functional brain alterations. However, chronic pain results from the coordination and dynamics among several brain networks that comprise the dynamic pain connectome. Here, we use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and measures of static (sFC) and dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) variability in the typical (0.01–0.1 Hz) and five specific (slow-6 to slow-2) frequency bands to test hypotheses regarding disruption in this variability in low back-related leg pain (LBLP) patients who experience chronic pain and numbness. Twenty-four LBLP patients and 23 healthy controls completed clinical assessments, and partial correlational analyses between altered sFC and dFC variability and clinical measures were conducted. We found a lower within-network sFC in the ascending nociceptive pathway (Asc) and a lower cross-network sFC between nodes of the salience network and the Asc in the typical frequency band. In the slow-5 frequency band, a lower within-network sFC was found in the Asc. Abnormal cross-network sFC was found between nodes of the salience network-Asc (slow-5 and slow-6) and the default mode network-Asc (slow-4 and slow-6). Furthermore, cross-network abnormalities in the typical and certain specific frequency bands were linked to clinical assessments. These findings indicate that frequency-related within- and cross-network communication among the nodes in the dynamic pain connectome is dysfunctional in LBLP patients and that selecting specific frequencies may be potentially useful for detecting LBLP-related brain activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixiu Pei
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People's Republic of China.,Neuroradiology Laboratory, Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, Nanchang, 330006, People's Republic of China.,Department of Medical Imaging, The Affiliated Ganzhou Hospital of Nanchang University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jidong Peng
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Affiliated Ganzhou Hospital of Nanchang University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Department of Pain Clinic, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People's Republic of China
| | - Muhua Huang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People's Republic of China.,Neuroradiology Laboratory, Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, Nanchang, 330006, People's Republic of China
| | - Fuqing Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People's Republic of China. .,Neuroradiology Laboratory, Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, Nanchang, 330006, People's Republic of China.
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Argaman Y, Granovsky Y, Sprecher E, Sinai A, Yarnitsky D, Weissman-Fogel I. Clinical Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Motor Cortex Are Associated With Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2022; 23:595-615. [PMID: 34785365 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
In this double-blinded, sham-controlled, counterbalanced, and crossover study, we investigated the potential neuroplasticity underlying pain relief and daily function improvements following repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex (M1-rTMS) in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) patients. Specifically, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine changes in brain structural and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) that correlated with improvements in FMS symptomology following M1-rTMS. Twenty-seven women with FMS underwent real and sham treatment series, each consisting of 10 daily treatments of 10Hz M1-rTMS over 2 weeks, with a washout period in between. Before and after each series, participants underwent anatomical and resting-state functional MRI scans and questionnaire assessments of FMS-related clinical pain and functional and psychological burdens. The expected reductions in FMS-related symptomology following M1-rTMS occurred with the real treatment only and correlated with rsFC changes in brain areas associated with pain processing and modulation. Specifically, between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the M1 (t = -5.54, corrected P = .002), the amygdala and the posterior insula (t = 5.81, corrected P = .044), and the anterior and posterior insula (t = 6.01, corrected P = .029). Neither treatment significantly changed brain structure. Therefore, we provide the first evidence of an association between the acute clinical effects of M1-rTMS in FMS and functional alterations of brain areas that have a significant role in the experience of chronic pain. Structural changes could potentially occur over a more extended treatment period. PERSPECTIVE: We show that the neurophysiological mechanism of the improvement in fibromyalgia symptoms following active, but not sham, rTMS applied to M1 involves changes in resting-state functional connectivity in sensory, affective and cognitive pain processing brain areas, thus substantiating the essence of fibromyalgia syndrome as a treatable brain-based disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuval Argaman
- Clinical Neurophysiology Lab, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Yelena Granovsky
- Clinical Neurophysiology Lab, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Elliot Sprecher
- Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Alon Sinai
- Department of Neurosurgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - David Yarnitsky
- Clinical Neurophysiology Lab, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Irit Weissman-Fogel
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
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Terry EL, Tanner JJ, Cardoso JS, Sibille KT, Lai S, Deshpande H, Deutsch G, Price CC, Staud R, Goodin BR, Redden DT, Fillingim RB. Associations between pain catastrophizing and resting-state functional brain connectivity: Ethnic/race group differences in persons with chronic knee pain. J Neurosci Res 2022; 100:1047-1062. [PMID: 35187703 PMCID: PMC8940639 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pain is a significant public health problem, and the prevalence and societal impact continues to worsen annually. Multiple cognitive and emotional factors are known to modulate pain, including pain catastrophizing, which contributes to pain facilitation and is associated with altered resting-state functional connectivity in pain-related cortical and subcortical circuitry. Pain and catastrophizing levels are reported to be higher in non-Hispanic black (NHB) compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals. The current study, a substudy of a larger ongoing observational cohort investigation, investigated the pathways by which ethnicity/race influences the relationship between pain catastrophizing, clinical pain, and resting-state functional connectivity between anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), insula, and primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Participants included 136 (66 NHBs and 70 NHWs) community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis. Participants completed the Coping Strategies Questionnaire-Revised Pain Catastrophizing subscale and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained, and resting-state functional connectivity was analyzed. Relative to NHW, the NHB participants were younger, reported lower income, were less likely to be married, and self-reported greater clinical pain and pain catastrophizing (ps < 0.05). Ethnicity/race moderated the mediation effects of catastrophizing on the relationship between clinical pain and resting-state functional connectivity between the ACC, dlPFC, insula, and S1. These results indicate the NHB and NHW groups demonstrated different relationships between pain, catastrophizing, and functional connectivity. These results provide evidence for a potentially important role of ethnicity/race in the interrelationships among pain, catastrophizing, and resting-state functional connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen L. Terry
- College of Nursing, Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE), University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Jared J. Tanner
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Josue S. Cardoso
- Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE), University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Kimberly T. Sibille
- Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Song Lai
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- CTSI Human Imaging Core, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Hrishikesh Deshpande
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
- Division of Advanced Medical Imaging Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Georg Deutsch
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
- Division of Advanced Medical Imaging Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Catherine C. Price
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Roland Staud
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Burel R. Goodin
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - David T. Redden
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Roger B. Fillingim
- Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE), University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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Zarei AA, Jensen W, Faghani Jadidi A, Lontis R, Atashzar SF. Gamma-band Enhancement of Functional Brain Connectivity Following Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 35234662 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac59a1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been suggested as a possible non-invasive pain treatment. However, the underlying mechanism of the analgesic effect of TENS and how brain network functional connectivity is affected following the use of TENS is not yet fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of high-frequency TENS on the alternation of functional brain network connectivity and the corresponding topographical changes, besides perceived sensations. APPROACH Forty healthy subjects participated in this study. EEG data and sensory profiles were recorded before and up to an hour following high-frequency TENS (100 Hz) in sham and intervention groups. Brain source activity from EEG data was estimated using the LORETA algorithm. In order to generate the brain connectivity network, the Phase lag index was calculated for all pair-wise connections of eight selected brain areas over six different frequency bands (i.e., δ, θ, α, β, γ, and 0.5-90 Hz). MAIN RESULTS The results suggested that the functional connectivity between the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), in addition to functional connectivity between S1 and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), were significantly increased in the gamma-band, following the TENS intervention. Additionally, using graph theory, several significant changes were observed in global and local characteristics of functional brain connectivity in gamma-band. SIGNIFICANCE Our observations in this paper open a neuropsychological window of understanding the underlying mechanism of TENS and the corresponding changes in functional brain connectivity, simultaneously with alternation in sensory perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Asghar Zarei
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg Universitet, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 D3, Aalborg, 9220, DENMARK
| | - Winnie Jensen
- Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7, 9220 Aalborg, Aalborg, 9220, DENMARK
| | - Armita Faghani Jadidi
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg Universitet, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 D3, Aalborg, 9220, DENMARK
| | - Romulus Lontis
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg Universitet, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 D3, Aalborg, 9220, DENMARK
| | - S Farokh Atashzar
- Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, 5 MetroTech Center #266D Brooklyn, NY 11201, New York, New York, NY 11201, UNITED STATES
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The Correlation between Functional Connectivity of the Primary Somatosensory Cortex and Cervical Spinal Cord Microstructural Injury in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:2623179. [PMID: 35096201 PMCID: PMC8791726 DOI: 10.1155/2022/2623179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Objectives To explore functional connectivity reorganization of the primary somatosensory cortex, the chronic microstructure damage of the cervical spinal cord, and their relationship in cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients. Methods Thirty-three patients with CSM and 23 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited for rs-fMRI and cervical spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans. Six subregions (including leg, back, chest, hand, finger and face) of bilateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1) were selected for seed-based whole-brain functional connectivity (FC). Then, we calculated the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the cervical spinal cord. Correlation analysis was conducted between FC values of brain regions and DTI parameters of cervical spinal cord (ADC, FA), and their relationship with each other and clinical parameters. Results Compared with the HC group, the CSM group showed decreased FC between areas of the left S1hand, the left S1leg, the right S1chest, and the right S1leg with brain regions. The mean FA values of the cervical spinal cord in CSM patients were positively correlated with JOA scores. Especially, the FApos values of bilateral posterior funiculus were positively correlated with JOA scores. The ADC and FA values of bilateral posterior funiculus in the cervical spinal cord were also positively correlated with the FC values. Conclusions There was synchronization between chronic cervical spinal cord microstructural injury and cerebral cortex sensory function compensatory recombination. DTI parameters of the posterior cervical spinal cord could objectively reflect the degree of cerebral cortex sensory function impairment to a certain extent.
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Medina S, O’Daly OG, Howard MA, Feliu-Soler A, Luciano JV. Differential Brain Perfusion Changes Following Two Mind–Body Interventions for Fibromyalgia Patients: an Arterial Spin Labelling fMRI Study. Mindfulness (N Y) 2022; 13:449-461. [PMID: 35222735 PMCID: PMC8831296 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-021-01806-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Further mechanistic insight on mind–body techniques for fibromyalgia (FMS) is needed. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) imaging can capture changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) that relate to spontaneous pain. Methods We recruited FMS patients undergoing either mindfulness-based stress reduction training (MBSR, n = 14) or a psychoeducational programme (FibroQoL, n = 18), and a control FMS group with no add-on treatment (n = 14). We acquired whole-brain rCBF maps and self-report measures at baseline and following treatment and explored interaction effects in brain perfusion between the treatment group and session with a focus on the amygdala, the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Results We identified a significant interaction effect in the amygdala, which corresponded with rCBF decreases following FibroQoL specifically. At baseline, rCBF in the amygdala for the FibroQoL group correlated with pain catastrophizing and anxiety scores, but not after treatment, suggesting a decoupling between activity in the amygdala and negative emotional symptoms of FMS as a consequence of treatment. Baseline rCBF correlated positively with pain symptoms in the ACC and the anterior insula across all patients; moreover, the correlation between rCBF changes post intervention in the insula and pain improvement was negative for both treatments and significantly different from the control group. We suggest that there is disruption of the typical relationship between clinical pain and activity as a product of these two nonpharmacological therapies. Conclusions We have demonstrated that different mind-to-body treatments correspond to differential changes in clinical symptoms and brain activity patterns, which encourages future research investigating predictors of treatment response. Trial Registration NCT02561416. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-021-01806-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Medina
- Department of Neuroimaging, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Owen G. O’Daly
- Department of Neuroimaging, King’s College London, London, UK
| | | | - Albert Feliu-Soler
- Department of Clinical & Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Juan V. Luciano
- Department of Clinical & Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Research & Innovation Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
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Ashar YK, Gordon A, Schubiner H, Uipi C, Knight K, Anderson Z, Carlisle J, Polisky L, Geuter S, Flood TF, Kragel PA, Dimidjian S, Lumley MA, Wager TD. Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2022; 79:13-23. [PMID: 34586357 PMCID: PMC8482298 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Chronic back pain (CBP) is a leading cause of disability, and treatment is often ineffective. Approximately 85% of cases are primary CBP, for which peripheral etiology cannot be identified, and maintenance factors include fear, avoidance, and beliefs that pain indicates injury. OBJECTIVE To test whether a psychological treatment (pain reprocessing therapy [PRT]) aiming to shift patients' beliefs about the causes and threat value of pain provides substantial and durable pain relief from primary CBP and to investigate treatment mechanisms. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This randomized clinical trial with longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and 1-year follow-up assessment was conducted in a university research setting from November 2017 to August 2018, with 1-year follow-up completed by November 2019. Clinical and fMRI data were analyzed from January 2019 to August 2020. The study compared PRT with an open-label placebo treatment and with usual care in a community sample. INTERVENTIONS Participants randomized to PRT participated in 1 telehealth session with a physician and 8 psychological treatment sessions over 4 weeks. Treatment aimed to help patients reconceptualize their pain as due to nondangerous brain activity rather than peripheral tissue injury, using a combination of cognitive, somatic, and exposure-based techniques. Participants randomized to placebo received an open-label subcutaneous saline injection in the back; participants randomized to usual care continued their routine, ongoing care. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES One-week mean back pain intensity score (0 to 10) at posttreatment, pain beliefs, and fMRI measures of evoked pain and resting connectivity. RESULTS At baseline, 151 adults (54% female; mean [SD] age, 41.1 [15.6] years) reported mean (SD) pain of low to moderate severity (mean [SD] pain intensity, 4.10 [1.26] of 10; mean [SD] disability, 23.34 [10.12] of 100) and mean (SD) pain duration of 10.0 (8.9) years. Large group differences in pain were observed at posttreatment, with a mean (SD) pain score of 1.18 (1.24) in the PRT group, 2.84 (1.64) in the placebo group, and 3.13 (1.45) in the usual care group. Hedges g was -1.14 for PRT vs placebo and -1.74 for PRT vs usual care (P < .001). Of 151 total participants, 33 of 50 participants (66%) randomized to PRT were pain-free or nearly pain-free at posttreatment (reporting a pain intensity score of 0 or 1 of 10), compared with 10 of 51 participants (20%) randomized to placebo and 5 of 50 participants (10%) randomized to usual care. Treatment effects were maintained at 1-year follow-up, with a mean (SD) pain score of 1.51 (1.59) in the PRT group, 2.79 (1.78) in the placebo group, and 3.00 (1.77) in the usual care group. Hedges g was -0.70 for PRT vs placebo (P = .001) and -1.05 for PRT vs usual care (P < .001) at 1-year follow-up. Longitudinal fMRI showed (1) reduced responses to evoked back pain in the anterior midcingulate and the anterior prefrontal cortex for PRT vs placebo; (2) reduced responses in the anterior insula for PRT vs usual care; (3) increased resting connectivity from the anterior prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula to the primary somatosensory cortex for PRT vs both control groups; and (4) increased connectivity from the anterior midcingulate to the precuneus for PRT vs usual care. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Psychological treatment centered on changing patients' beliefs about the causes and threat value of pain may provide substantial and durable pain relief for people with CBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03294148.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoni K. Ashar
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, New York,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder
| | - Alan Gordon
- Pain Psychology Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Howard Schubiner
- Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield, Michigan,Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing
| | | | - Karen Knight
- Panorama Orthopedics and Spine Center, Golden, Colorado
| | - Zachary Anderson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Judith Carlisle
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,Department of Philosophy, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri
| | - Laurie Polisky
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder
| | - Stephan Geuter
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,Johns Hopkins University Department of Biostatistics, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Thomas F. Flood
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Philip A. Kragel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Sona Dimidjian
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Renée Crown Wellness Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder
| | - Mark A. Lumley
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Tor D. Wager
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder,Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
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Alba G, Terrasa JL, Vila J, Montoya P, Muñoz MA. EEG-heart rate connectivity changes after sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback training: Ancillary study. Neurophysiol Clin 2021; 52:58-68. [PMID: 34906429 DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2021.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Neurofeedback can induce long-term changes in brain functional connectivity, but its influence on the connectivity between different physiological systems is unknown. The present paper is an ancillary study of a previous paper that confirmed the effect of neurofeedback on brain connectivity associated with chronic pain. We analysed the influence of neurofeedback on the connectivity between the electroencephalograph (EEG) and heart rate (HR). METHODS Seventeen patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia were divided into three groups: good sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) training responders (n = 4), bad SMR responders (n = 5) and fake training (SHAM, n = 8). Training consisted of six sessions in which participants learned to synchronize and desynchronize SMR power. Before the first training (pre-resting state) and sixth training (post-resting state) session, open-eye resting-state EEG and electrocardiograph signals were recorded. RESULTS Good responders reduced pain ratings after SMR neurofeedback training. This improvement in fibromyalgia symptoms was associated with a reduction of the connectivity between the central area and HR, between central and frontal areas, within the central area itself, and between central and occipital areas. The sham group and poor responders experienced no changes in their fibromyalgia symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide new evidence that neurofeedback is a promising tool that can be used to treat of chronic pain syndromes and to obtain a better understanding of the interactions between physiological networks. These findings are preliminary, but they may pave the way for future studies that are more methodologically robust. In addition, new research questions are raised: what is the role of the central-peripheral network in chronic pain and what is the effect of neurofeedback on this network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guzmán Alba
- Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain
| | - Juan L Terrasa
- Research Institute of Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
| | - Jaime Vila
- Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain
| | - Pedro Montoya
- Research Institute of Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
| | - Miguel A Muñoz
- Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain.
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Cheng JC, Anzolin A, Berry M, Honari H, Paschali M, Lazaridou A, Lee J, Ellingsen DM, Loggia ML, Grahl A, Lindquist MA, Edwards RR, Napadow V. Dynamic functional brain connectivity underlying temporal summation of pain in fibromyalgia. Arthritis Rheumatol 2021; 74:700-710. [PMID: 34725971 DOI: 10.1002/art.42013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Abnormal central pain processing is a leading etiology underlying fibromyalgia (FM) pain and is perceptually characterized with the psychophysical measure of temporal summation of pain (TSP). TSP is the perception of increasingly greater pain to repetitive or tonic noxious stimuli. Previous neuroimaging studies have used static (i.e. summary) measures to examine the fMRI correlates of TSP in FM. However, functional brain activity rapidly and dynamically reorganizes across time, and TSP is similarly a temporally evolving process. A full understanding of the neural circuitry supporting TSP in FM thus requires a dynamic measure that evolves over time. METHOD We applied novel dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) methods to examine how TSP-associated fluctuations are linked to dynamic functional reconfigurations of the brain. We acquired high-temporal resolution fMRI data during a resting-state (REST) and during sustained cuff pressure pain applied to the leg (PAIN) in 84 FM patients and matched healthy controls (HCs). RESULTS FM patients experienced greater TSP than HCs (FM: 17.93 ± 19.24; HC: 9.47 ± 14.06; p = 0.028), but TSP varied substantially between patients. In the brain, the presence versus absence of TSP in FM was marked by more sustained enmeshment between sensorimotor and salience networks during PAIN. Furthermore, dynamic enmeshment was more isolated in FM patients with high TSP, as interactions with all other brain networks were dampened during PAIN. CONCLUSION This study elucidates the dynamic brain processes underlying facilitated central pain processing in FM, and enables future work investigating dynamic symptomatology in FM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua C Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Stony Brook University School of Medicine, NY, USA
| | - Alessandra Anzolin
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Berry
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Hamed Honari
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Myrella Paschali
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Asimina Lazaridou
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Jeungchan Lee
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marco L Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Arvina Grahl
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Martin A Lindquist
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert R Edwards
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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47
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Fisher H, Sclocco R, Maeda Y, Kim J, Malatesta C, Gerber J, Audette J, Kettner N, Napadow V. S1 Brain Connectivity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Underlies Median Nerve and Functional Improvement Following Electro-Acupuncture. Front Neurol 2021; 12:754670. [PMID: 34777225 PMCID: PMC8578723 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.754670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a median nerve entrapment neuropathy that alters primary somatosensory cortex (S1) organization. While electro-acupuncture (EA), a form of peripheral neuromodulation, has been shown to improve clinical and neurophysiological CTS outcomes, the role of EA-evoked brain response during therapy (within and beyond S1) for improved outcomes is unknown. We investigated S1-associated whole brain fMRI connectivity during both a resting and sustained EA stimulation state in age-matched healthy controls (N = 28) and CTS patients (N = 64), at baseline and after 8 weeks of acupuncture therapy (local, distal, or sham EA). Compared to healthy controls, CTS patients at baseline showed decreased resting state functional connectivity between S1 and thalamic pulvinar nucleus. Increases in S1/pulvinar connectivity strength following verum EA therapy (combined local and distal) were correlated with improvements in median nerve velocity (r = 0.38, p = 0.035). During sustained local EA, compared to healthy controls, CTS patients demonstrated increased functional connectivity between S1 and anterior hippocampus (aHipp). Following 8 weeks of local EA therapy, S1/aHipp connectivity significantly decreased and greater decrease was associated with improvement in patients' functional status (r = 0.64, p = 0.01) and increased median nerve velocity (r = -0.62, p = 0.013). Thus, connectivity between S1 and other brain areas is also disrupted in CTS patients and may be improved following EA therapy. Furthermore, stimulus-evoked fMRI connectivity adds therapy-specific, mechanistic insight to more common resting state connectivity approaches. Specifically, local EA modulates S1 connectivity to sensory and affective processing regions, linked to patient function and median nerve health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harrison Fisher
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Roberta Sclocco
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yumi Maeda
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, United States
| | - Jieun Kim
- Division of Clinical Medicine, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Cristina Malatesta
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jessica Gerber
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Joseph Audette
- Department of Pain Medicine, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Atrium Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Norman Kettner
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, United States
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, MO, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
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48
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Klein A, Schankin CJ. Visual snow syndrome, the spectrum of perceptual disorders, and migraine as a common risk factor: A narrative review. Headache 2021; 61:1306-1313. [PMID: 34570907 PMCID: PMC9293285 DOI: 10.1111/head.14213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this narrative review is to explore the relationship between visual snow syndrome (VSS), migraine, and a group of other perceptual disorders. BACKGROUND VSS is characterized by visual snow and additional visual and nonvisual disturbances. The clinical picture suggests a hypersensitivity to internal and external stimuli. Imaging and electrophysiological findings indicate a hyperexcitability of the primary and secondary visual areas of the brain possibly due to an impairment of inhibitory feedback mechanisms. Migraine is the most frequent comorbidity. Epidemiological and clinical studies indicate that other perceptual disorders, such as tinnitus, fibromyalgia, and dizziness, are associated with VSS. Clinical overlaps and parallels in pathophysiology might exist in relation to migraine. METHODS We performed a PubMed and Google Scholar search with the following terms: visual snow syndrome, entoptic phenomenon, fibromyalgia, tinnitus, migraine, dizziness, persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD), comorbidities, symptoms, pathophysiology, thalamus, thalamocortical dysrhythmia, and salience network. RESULTS VSS, fibromyalgia, tinnitus, and PPPD share evidence of a central disturbance in the processing of different stimuli (visual, somatosensory/pain, acoustic, and vestibular) that might lead to hypersensitivity. Imaging and electrophysiological findings hint toward network disorders involving the sensory networks and other large-scale networks involved in the management of attention and emotional processing. There are clinical and epidemiological overlaps between these disorders. Similarly, migraine exhibits a multisensory hypersensitivity even in the interictal state with fluctuation during the migraine cycle. All the described perceptual disorders are associated with migraine suggesting that having migraine, that is, a disorder of sensory processing, is a common link. CONCLUSION VSS, PPPD, fibromyalgia, and chronic tinnitus might lie on a spectrum of perceptual disorders with similar pathophysiological mechanisms and the common risk factor migraine. Understanding the underlying network disturbances might give insights into how to improve these currently very difficult to treat conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Klein
- Department of NeurologyInselspitalBern University HospitalUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Christoph J. Schankin
- Department of NeurologyInselspitalBern University HospitalUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
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49
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Lee J, Andronesi OC, Torrado-Carvajal A, Ratai EM, Loggia ML, Weerasekera A, Berry MP, Ellingsen DM, Isaro L, Lazaridou A, Paschali M, Grahl A, Wasan AD, Edwards RR, Napadow V. 3D magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging reveals links between brain metabolites and multidimensional pain features in fibromyalgia. Eur J Pain 2021; 25:2050-2064. [PMID: 34102707 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.1820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia is a centralized multidimensional chronic pain syndrome, but its pathophysiology is not fully understood. METHODS We applied 3D magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), covering multiple cortical and subcortical brain regions, to investigate the association between neuro-metabolite (e.g. combined glutamate and glutamine, Glx; myo-inositol, mIno; and combined (total) N-acetylaspartate and N-acetylaspartylglutamate, tNAA) levels and multidimensional clinical/behavioural variables (e.g. pain catastrophizing, clinical pain severity and evoked pain sensitivity) in women with fibromyalgia (N = 87). RESULTS Pain catastrophizing scores were positively correlated with Glx and tNAA levels in insular cortex, and negatively correlated with mIno levels in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Clinical pain severity was positively correlated with Glx levels in insula and PCC, and with tNAA levels in anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), but negatively correlated with mIno levels in aMCC and thalamus. Evoked pain sensitivity was negatively correlated with levels of tNAA in insular cortex, MCC, PCC and thalamus. CONCLUSIONS These findings support single voxel placement targeting nociceptive processing areas in prior 1 H-MRS studies, but also highlight other areas not as commonly targeted, such as PCC, as important for chronic pain pathophysiology. Identifying target brain regions linked to multidimensional symptoms of fibromyalgia (e.g. negative cognitive/affective response to pain, clinical pain, evoked pain sensitivity) may aid the development of neuromodulatory and individualized therapies. Furthermore, efficient multi-region sampling with 3D MRSI could reduce the burden of lengthy scan time for clinical research applications of molecular brain-based mechanisms supporting multidimensional aspects of fibromyalgia. SIGNIFICANCE This large N study linked brain metabolites and pain features in fibromyalgia patients, with a better spatial resolution and brain coverage, to understand a molecular mechanism underlying pain catastrophizing and other aspects of pain transmission. Metabolite levels in self-referential cognitive processing area as well as pain-processing regions were associated with pain outcomes. These results could help the understanding of its pathophysiology and treatment strategies for clinicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeungchan Lee
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ovidiu C Andronesi
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva-Maria Ratai
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Marco L Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Akila Weerasekera
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Michael P Berry
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Laura Isaro
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Asimina Lazaridou
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Myrella Paschali
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Arvina Grahl
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ajay D Wasan
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Center for Innovation in Pain Care, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert R Edwards
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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50
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Mawla I, Ichesco E, Zöllner HJ, Edden RAE, Chenevert T, Buchtel H, Bretz MD, Sloan H, Kaplan CM, Harte SE, Mashour GA, Clauw DJ, Napadow V, Harris RE. Greater Somatosensory Afference With Acupuncture Increases Primary Somatosensory Connectivity and Alleviates Fibromyalgia Pain via Insular γ-Aminobutyric Acid: A Randomized Neuroimaging Trial. Arthritis Rheumatol 2021; 73:1318-1328. [PMID: 33314799 DOI: 10.1002/art.41620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Acupuncture is a complex multicomponent treatment that has shown promise in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). However, clinical trials have shown mixed results, possibly due to heterogeneous methodology and lack of understanding of the underlying mechanism of action. The present study was undertaken to understand the specific contribution of somatosensory afference to improvements in clinical pain, and the specific brain circuits involved. METHODS Seventy-six patients with FM were randomized to receive either electroacupuncture (EA), with somatosensory afference, or mock laser acupuncture (ML), with no somatosensory afference, twice a week over 8 treatments. Patients with FM in each treatment group were assessed for pain severity levels, measured using Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scores, and for levels of functional brain network connectivity, assessed using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the right anterior insula, before and after treatment. RESULTS Fibromyalgia patients who received EA therapy experienced a greater reduction in pain severity, as measured by the BPI, compared to patients who received ML therapy (mean difference in BPI from pre- to posttreatment was -1.14 in the EA group versus -0.46 in the ML group; P for group × time interaction = 0.036). Participants receiving EA treatment, as compared to ML treatment, also exhibited resting functional connectivity between the primary somatosensory cortical representation of the leg (S1leg ; i.e. primary somatosensory subregion activated by EA) and the anterior insula. Increased S1leg -anterior insula connectivity was associated with both reduced levels of pain severity as measured by the BPI (r = -0.44, P = 0.01) and increased levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA+) in the anterior insula (r = 0.48, P = 0.046) following EA therapy. Moreover, increased levels of GABA+ in the anterior insula were associated with reduced levels of pain severity as measured by the BPI (r = -0.59, P = 0.01). Finally, post-EA treatment changes in levels of GABA+ in the anterior insula mediated the relationship between changes in S1leg -anterior insula connectivity and pain severity on the BPI (bootstrap confidence interval -0.533, -0.037). CONCLUSION The somatosensory component of acupuncture modulates primary somatosensory functional connectivity associated with insular neurochemistry to reduce pain severity in FM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Helge J Zöllner
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Vitaly Napadow
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
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