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Su X, Li Y, Liu H, An S, Yao N, Li C, Shang M, Ma L, Yang J, Li J, Zhang M, Dun W, Huang ZG. Brain Network Dynamics in Women With Primary Dysmenorrhea During the Pain-Free Periovulation Phase. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024; 25:104618. [PMID: 38945381 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
The human brain is a dynamic system that shows frequency-specific features. Neuroimaging studies have shown that both healthy individuals and those with chronic pain disorders experience pain influenced by various processes that fluctuate over time. Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) is a chronic visceral pain that disrupts the coordinated activity of brain's functional network. However, it remains unclear whether the dynamic interactions across the whole-brain network over time and their associations with neurobehavioral symptoms are dependent on the frequency bands in patients with PDM during the pain-free periovulation phase. In this study, we used an energy landscape analysis to examine the interactions over time across the large-scale network in a sample of 59 patients with PDM and 57 healthy controls (HCs) at different frequency bands. Compared with HCs, patients with PDM exhibit aberrant brain dynamics, with more significant differences in the slow-4 frequency band. Patients with PDM show more indirect neural transition counts due to an unstable intermediate state, whereas neurotypical brain activity frequently transitions between 2 major states. This data-driven approach further revealed that the brains of individuals with PDM have more abnormal brain dynamics than HCs. Our results suggested that unstable brain dynamics were associated with the strength of brain functional segregation and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale score. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that atypical dynamics in the functional network may serve as a potential key feature and biological marker of patients with PDM during the pain-free phase. PERSPECTIVE: We applied energy landscape analysis on brain-imaging data to identify relatively stable and dominant brain activity patterns for patients with PDM. More atypical brain dynamics were found in the slow-4 band and were related to the strength of functional segregation, providing new insights into the dysfunction brain dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Su
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Youjun Li
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Huiping Liu
- School of Future Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China; Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Simeng An
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Nan Yao
- Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Department of Applied Physics, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Chenxi Li
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Meiling Shang
- School of Future Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China; Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ling Ma
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jianlong Li
- Department of Urology, Xi'an No.3 Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wanghuan Dun
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zi-Gang Huang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
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2
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Zhu H, Xiao Y, Xie T, Yang M, Zhou X, Xiao B, Peng J, Yang J. Effects of educational attainment on comorbidity of pain and depression in Chinese older adults. Heliyon 2024; 10:e37595. [PMID: 39290281 PMCID: PMC11407029 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37595] [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: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 09/02/2024] [Accepted: 09/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Pain and depression comorbidity (PD) among older adults in China is common and significantly affects their physical and mental health. The psychosocial factors may affect people's feelings, understanding and expression of pain and depression, leading to inaccurate assessment of this condition. Educational attainment is thought to be associated with either pain or depression. However, we do not yet know the relationship between educational attainment and PD. Using data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2018, we analyzed various variables in 7742 individuals aged 60 years and older. Our results indicate significant differences between the PD and non-PD populations in terms of social, lifestyle, and behavioral factors. We observed a significant decrease in the incidence of PD among older adults with higher levels of education (p < 0.001). This association appears to be partially mediated by cognitive ability, suggesting that educational attainment may mitigate the risk of PD through cognitive enhancement. In addition, our analysis shows that the effect of educational attainment on PD is moderated by additional psychosocial factors, including living environment and alcohol consumption patterns. Older adults with higher levels of education tend to live in urban areas and have better control over alcohol consumption, which may contribute to a lower incidence of PD. Therefore, interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive abilities, improving living environments, and promoting healthier lifestyles and habits among older adults could potentially reduce their burden of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yang Xiao
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Tongjin Xie
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Mohan Yang
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Xun Zhou
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Biao Xiao
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jingxuan Peng
- Department of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jianfu Yang
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan, China
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3
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Mao C, Yang H, Dong T, Wang S, Shi Z, Guo R, Zhou X, Zhang B, Zhang Q. Thalamocortical dysconnectivity is associated with pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Eur J Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 39233436 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16531] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/06/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that the morphology and function of the thalamus and cortex are abnormal in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). However, whether the thalamocortical network is differentially affected in this disorder is unknown. In this study, we examined functional and effective connectivity between the thalamus and major divisions of the cortex in 27 healthy controls and 27 KOA patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We also explored the topological features of the brain via graph theory analysis. The results suggested that patients with KOA had significantly reduced resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the thalamo-sensorimotor pathway; enhanced rsFC of the thalamo-medial/lateral frontal cortex (mFC/LFC), parietal, temporal and occipital pathways; reduced effective connectivity of the left sensorimotor-to-thalamus pathway; and enhanced effective connectivity of the right thalamus-to-sensorimotor pathway compared with healthy controls. The functional connectivity of the thalamo-sensorimotor and thalamo-mFC pathways was enhanced when patients performed the multisource interference task. Moreover, patients with KOA presented altered nodal properties associated with thalamocortical circuits, including the thalamus, amygdala, and regions in default mode networks, compared with healthy controls. The correlation analysis suggested a significant negative correlation between thalamo-mFC rsFC and pain intensity, between thalamo-sensorimotor task-related connectivity and disease duration/depression scores, and a positive correlation between right frontal nodal properties and pain intensity in KOA patients. Taken together, these findings establish abnormal and differential alterations in the thalamocortical network associated with pain characteristics in KOA patients, which extends our understanding of their role in the pathophysiology of KOA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuiping Mao
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Huajuan Yang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ting Dong
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Sisi Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhibin Shi
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ruibing Guo
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xiaoqian Zhou
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Qiujuan Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
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Rudnik‐Jansen I, van Kruining Kodele S, Creemers L, Joosten B. Biomolecular therapies for chronic discogenic low back pain: A narrative review. JOR Spine 2024; 7:e1345. [PMID: 39114580 PMCID: PMC11303450 DOI: 10.1002/jsp2.1345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic low back pain caused by intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, also termed chronic discogenic low back pain (CD-LBP), is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases. Degenerative processes in the IVD, such as inflammation and extra-cellular matrix breakdown, result in neurotrophin release. Local elevated neurotrophin levels will stimulate sprouting and innervation of sensory neurons. Furthermore, sprouted sensory nerves that are directly connected to adjacent dorsal root ganglia have shown to increase microglia activation, contributing to the maintenance and chronification of pain. Current pain treatments have shown to be insufficient or inadequate for long-term usage. Furthermore, most therapeutic approaches aimed to target the underlying pathogenesis of disc degeneration focus on repair and regeneration and neglect chronic pain. How biomolecular therapies influence the degenerative IVD environment, pain signaling cascades, and innervation and excitability of the sensory neurons often remains unclear. This review addresses the relatively underexplored area of chronic pain treatment for CD-LBP and summarizes effects of therapies aimed for CD-LBP with special emphasis on chronic pain. Approaches based on blocking pro-inflammatory mediators or neurotrophin activity have been shown to hamper neuronal ingrowth into the disc. Furthermore, the tissue regenerative and neuro inhibitory properties of extracellular matrix components or transplanted mesenchymal stem cells are potentially interesting biomolecular approaches to not only block IVD degeneration but also impede pain sensitization. At present, most biomolecular therapies are based on acute IVD degeneration models and thus do not reflect the real clinical chronic pain situation in CD-LBP patients. Future studies should aim at investigating the effects of therapeutic interventions applied in chronic degenerated discs containing established sensory nerve ingrowth. The in-depth understanding of the ramifications from biomolecular therapies on pain (chronification) pathways and pain relief in CD-LBP could help narrow the gap between the pre-clinical bench and clinical bedside for novel CD-LBP therapeutics and optimize pain treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imke Rudnik‐Jansen
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain ManagementMaastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+)Maastrichtthe Netherlands
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs)University of MaastrichtMaastrichtthe Netherlands
| | - Sanda van Kruining Kodele
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs)University of MaastrichtMaastrichtthe Netherlands
| | - Laura Creemers
- Department of OrthopedicsUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtthe Netherlands
| | - Bert Joosten
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain ManagementMaastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+)Maastrichtthe Netherlands
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs)University of MaastrichtMaastrichtthe Netherlands
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5
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Soleimani N, Iraji A, Pearlson G, Preda A, Calhoun VD. Unraveling the Neural Landscape of Mental Disorders using Double Functional Independent Primitives (dFIPs). BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.01.606076. [PMID: 39131299 PMCID: PMC11312551 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.01.606076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Mental illnesses extract a high personal and societal cost, and thus explorations of the links between mental illness and functional connectivity in the brain are critical. Investigating major mental illnesses, believed to arise from disruptions in sophisticated neural connections, allows us to comprehend how these neural network disruptions may be linked to altered cognition, emotional regulation, and social interactions. Although neuroimaging has opened new avenues to explore neural alterations linked to mental illnesses, the field still requires precise and sensitive methodologies to inspect these neural substrates of various psychological disorders. In this study, we employ a hierarchical methodology to derive double functionally independent primitives (dFIPs) from resting state functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging data (rs-fMRI). These dFIPs encapsulate canonical overlapping patterns of functional network connectivity (FNC) within the brain. Our investigation focuses on the examination of how combinations of these dFIPs relate to different mental disorder diagnoses. The central aim is to unravel the complex patterns of FNC that correspond to the diverse manifestations of mental illnesses. To achieve this objective, we used a large brain imaging dataset from multiple sites, comprising 5805 total individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (SCZ), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BPD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and controls. The key revelations of our study unveil distinct patterns associated with each mental disorder through the combination of dFIPs. Notably, certain individual dFIPs exhibit disorder-specific characteristics, while others demonstrate commonalities across disorders. This approach offers a novel, data-driven synthesis of intricate neuroimaging data, thereby illuminating the functional changes intertwined with various mental illnesses. Our results show distinct signatures associated with psychiatric disorders, revealing unique connectivity patterns such as heightened cerebellar connectivity in SCZ and sensory domain hyperconnectivity in ASD, both contrasted with reduced cerebellar-subcortical connectivity. Utilizing the dFIP concept, we pinpoint specific functional connections that differentiate healthy controls from individuals with mental illness, underscoring its utility in identifying neurobiological markers. In summary, our findings delineate how dFIPs serve as unique fingerprints for different mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najme Soleimani
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Armin Iraji
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Godfrey Pearlson
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Adrian Preda
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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6
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Lou W, Li X, Jin R, Peng W. Time-varying phase synchronization of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals a shift toward self-referential processes during sustained pain. Pain 2024; 165:1493-1504. [PMID: 38193830 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Growing evidence has suggested that time-varying functional connectivity between different brain regions might underlie the dynamic experience of pain. This study used a novel, data-driven framework to characterize the dynamic interactions of large-scale brain networks during sustained pain by estimating recurrent patterns of phase-synchronization. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging signals were collected from 50 healthy participants before (once) and after (twice) the onset of sustained pain that was induced by topical application of capsaicin cream. We first decoded the instantaneous phase of neural activity and then applied leading eigenvector dynamic analysis on the time-varying phase-synchronization. We identified 3 recurrent brain states that show distinctive phase-synchronization. The presence of state 1, characterized by phase-synchronization between the default mode network and auditory, visual, and sensorimotor networks, together with transitions towards this brain state, increased during sustained pain. These changes can account for the perceived pain intensity and reported unpleasantness induced by capsaicin application. In contrast, state 3, characterized by phase-synchronization between the cognitive control network and sensory networks, decreased after the onset of sustained pain. These results are indicative of a shift toward internally directed self-referential processes (state 1) and away from externally directed cognitive control processes (state 3) during sustained pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wutao Lou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoyun Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Richu Jin
- Research Institute of Trustworthy Autonomous Systems, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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7
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Dautan D, Monai A, Maltese F, Chang X, Molent C, Mauro D, Galbusera A, Vecchia D, Antonelli F, Benedetti A, Drago F, Leggio GM, Pagani M, Fellin T, Gozzi A, Schumann G, Managò F, Papaleo F. Cortico-cortical transfer of socially derived information gates emotion recognition. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:1318-1332. [PMID: 38769153 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01647-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Emotion recognition and the resulting responses are important for survival and social functioning. However, how socially derived information is processed for reliable emotion recognition is incompletely understood. Here, we reveal an evolutionarily conserved long-range inhibitory/excitatory brain network mediating these socio-cognitive processes. Anatomical tracing in mice revealed the existence of a subpopulation of somatostatin (SOM) GABAergic neurons projecting from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Through optogenetic manipulations and Ca2+ imaging fiber photometry in mice and functional imaging in humans, we demonstrate the specific participation of these long-range SOM projections from the mPFC to the RSC, and an excitatory feedback loop from the RSC to the mPFC, in emotion recognition. Notably, we show that mPFC-to-RSC SOM projections are dysfunctional in mouse models relevant to psychiatric vulnerability and can be targeted to rescue emotion recognition deficits in these mice. Our findings demonstrate a cortico-cortical circuit underlying emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Dautan
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Bioclinicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Monai
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Maltese
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Xiao Chang
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Cinzia Molent
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Daniele Mauro
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Alberto Galbusera
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Dania Vecchia
- Optical Approaches to Brain Function Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Antonelli
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Arianna Benedetti
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Gian Marco Leggio
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Marco Pagani
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Tommaso Fellin
- Optical Approaches to Brain Function Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Gozzi
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Charite Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, CCM, Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Francesca Managò
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Papaleo
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.
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Wang C, He J, Feng X, Qi X, Hong Z, Dun W, Zhang M, Liu J. Characteristics of pain empathic networks in healthy and primary dysmenorrhea women: an fMRI study. Brain Imaging Behav 2024:10.1007/s11682-024-00901-x. [PMID: 38954259 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00901-x] [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] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Pain empathy enables us to understand and share how others feel pain. Few studies have investigated pain empathy-related functional interactions at the whole-brain level across all networks. Additionally, women with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) have abnormal pain empathy, and the association among the whole-brain functional network, pain, and pain empathy remain unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning analysis, we identified the brain functional network connectivity (FNC)-based features that are associated with pain empathy in two studies. Specifically, Study 1 examined 41 healthy controls (HCs), while Study 2 investigated 45 women with PDM. Additionally, in Study 3, a classification analysis was performed to examine the differences in FNC between HCs and women with PDM. Pain empathy was evaluated using a visual stimuli experiment, and trait and state of menstrual pain were recorded. In Study 1, the results showed that pain empathy in HCs relied on dynamic interactions across whole-brain networks and was not concentrated in a single or two brain networks, suggesting the dynamic cooperation of networks for pain empathy in HCs. In Study 2, PDM exhibited a distinctive network for pain empathy. The features associated with pain empathy were concentrated in the sensorimotor network (SMN). In Study 3, the SMN-related dynamic FNC could accurately distinguish women with PDM from HCs and exhibited a significant association with trait menstrual pain. This study may deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning pain empathy and suggest that menstrual pain may affect pain empathy through maladaptive dynamic interaction between brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenxi Wang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Juan He
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China
| | - Xinyue Feng
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Xingang Qi
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Zilong Hong
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China
| | - Wanghuan Dun
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
| | - Jixin Liu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China.
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular & Neuroimaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, 710126, PR China.
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, PR China.
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9
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Lara-Palomo IC, Capel-Alcaraz AM, García-López H, Castro-Sánchez AM, Albornoz-Cabello M. Effects of monopolar pulsed-capacitive dielectric radiofrequency diathermy in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomised clinical trial. Sci Rep 2024; 14:14059. [PMID: 38890440 PMCID: PMC11189424 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64832-9] [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: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Monopolar capacitive diathermy is a physiotherapy technique that uses high-frequency currents to generate heat in deep tissues. This heat can have several therapeutic effects, especially in the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP), however, until now there is little evidence of this type of diathermy. The purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of a pulsed monopolar dielectric radiofrequency diathermy (PRF)-capacitive type versus simulated treatment on symptomatology of patients with CLBP. A single-blind randomised controlled trial was conducted. Sixty patients with CLBP were randomly assigned to a PRF-capacitive or a simulated treatment group. All participants received 3 sessions per week for 3 weeks. Disability, pain intensity, movement phobia, lumbar anteflexion, quality of life, and sleep quality were assessed at baseline, after treatment, and at two months. The application of 9 sessions of PRF-capacitive showed significant improvements compared to simulated therapy during the entire follow-up for disability (F = 26.99, p < 0.001), pain intensity (F = 0.550, p < 0.001), the quality of life components of physical function (F = 0.780, p < 0.001), social function (F = 0.780, p < 0.001) and mental health (F = 0.858, p = 0.003) and for sleep duration (F = 0.863, p = 0.004).
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Affiliation(s)
- Inmaculada Carmen Lara-Palomo
- Department of Nursing, Physical Therapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain.
| | - Ana María Capel-Alcaraz
- Department of Nursing, Physical Therapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain
| | - Héctor García-López
- Department of Nursing, Physical Therapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain
| | - Adelaida María Castro-Sánchez
- Department of Nursing, Physical Therapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain
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10
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Zhang B, Guo M, Dong T, Yang H, Zhang Q, Yang Q, Zhou X, Mao C, Zhang M. Disrupted Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Effective Connectivity of the Nucleus Accumbens in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Pain Res 2024; 17:2133-2146. [PMID: 38915479 PMCID: PMC11194467 DOI: 10.2147/jpr.s455239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a recurring and intractable disease that is often accompanied by emotional and cognitive disorders such as depression and anxiety. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays an important role in mediating emotional and cognitive processes and analgesia. This study investigated the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and effective connectivity (EC) of NAc and its subregions in cLBP. Methods Thirty-four cLBP patients and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Seed-based rsFC and Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) were used to examine the alteration of the rsFC and EC of the NAc. Results Our results showed that the cLBP group had increased rsFC of the bilateral NAc-left superior frontal cortex (SFC), orbital frontal cortex (OFC), left angular gyrus, the left NAc-bilateral middle temporal gyrus, as well as decreased rsFC of left NAc-left supramarginal gyrus, right precentral gyrus, left cerebellum, brainstem (medulla oblongata), and right insula pathways compared with the HC; the results of the subregions were largely consistent with the whole NAc. In addition, the rsFC of the left NAc-left SFC was negatively correlated with Hamilton's Depression Scale (HAMD) scores (r = -0.402, p = 0.018), and the rsFC of left NAc-OFC was positively correlated with present pain intensity scores (r = 0.406, p = 0.017) in the cLBP group. DCM showed that the cLBP group showed significantly increased EC from the left cerebellum to the right NAc (p = 0.012) as compared with HC. Conclusion Overall, our findings demonstrate aberrant rsFC and EC between NAc and regions that are associated with emotional regulation and cognitive processing in individuals with cLBP, underscoring the pivotal roles of emotion and cognition in cLBP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Minmin Guo
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ting Dong
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huajuan Yang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiujuan Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Quanxin Yang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaoqian Zhou
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Cuiping Mao
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, People’s Republic of China
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11
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Cao B, Xu Q, Shi Y, Zhao R, Li H, Zheng J, Liu F, Wan Y, Wei B. Pathology of pain and its implications for therapeutic interventions. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2024; 9:155. [PMID: 38851750 PMCID: PMC11162504 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-024-01845-w] [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: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Pain is estimated to affect more than 20% of the global population, imposing incalculable health and economic burdens. Effective pain management is crucial for individuals suffering from pain. However, the current methods for pain assessment and treatment fall short of clinical needs. Benefiting from advances in neuroscience and biotechnology, the neuronal circuits and molecular mechanisms critically involved in pain modulation have been elucidated. These research achievements have incited progress in identifying new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. In this review, we first introduce fundamental knowledge about pain, setting the stage for the subsequent contents. The review next delves into the molecular mechanisms underlying pain disorders, including gene mutation, epigenetic modification, posttranslational modification, inflammasome, signaling pathways and microbiota. To better present a comprehensive view of pain research, two prominent issues, sexual dimorphism and pain comorbidities, are discussed in detail based on current findings. The status quo of pain evaluation and manipulation is summarized. A series of improved and innovative pain management strategies, such as gene therapy, monoclonal antibody, brain-computer interface and microbial intervention, are making strides towards clinical application. We highlight existing limitations and future directions for enhancing the quality of preclinical and clinical research. Efforts to decipher the complexities of pain pathology will be instrumental in translating scientific discoveries into clinical practice, thereby improving pain management from bench to bedside.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Cao
- Department of General Surgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Qixuan Xu
- Department of General Surgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Yajiao Shi
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Ruiyang Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Hanghang Li
- Department of General Surgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
- Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Jie Zheng
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Fengyu Liu
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - You Wan
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Bo Wei
- Department of General Surgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China.
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12
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Zhang Z, Wei W, Wang S, Li M, Li X, Li X, Wang Q, Yu H, Zhang Y, Guo W, Ma X, Zhao L, Deng W, Sham PC, Sun Y, Li T. Dynamic structure-function coupling across three major psychiatric disorders. Psychol Med 2024; 54:1629-1640. [PMID: 38084608 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723003525] [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: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Convergent evidence has suggested atypical relationships between brain structure and function in major psychiatric disorders, yet how the abnormal patterns coincide and/or differ across different disorders remains largely unknown. Here, we aim to investigate the common and/or unique dynamic structure-function coupling patterns across major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ). METHODS We quantified the dynamic structure-function coupling in 452 patients with psychiatric disorders (MDD/BD/SZ = 166/168/118) and 205 unaffected controls at three distinct brain network levels, such as global, meso-, and local levels. We also correlated dynamic structure-function coupling with the topological features of functional networks to examine how the structure-function relationship facilitates brain information communication over time. RESULTS The dynamic structure-function coupling is preserved for the three disorders at the global network level. Similar abnormalities in the rich-club organization are found in two distinct functional configuration states at the meso-level and are associated with the disease severity of MDD, BD, and SZ. At the local level, shared and unique alterations are observed in the brain regions involving the visual, cognitive control, and default mode networks. In addition, the relationships between structure-function coupling and the topological features of functional networks are altered in a manner indicative of state specificity. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest both transdiagnostic and illness-specific alterations in the dynamic structure-function relationship of large-scale brain networks across MDD, BD, and SZ, providing new insights and potential biomarkers into the neurodevelopmental basis underlying the behavioral and cognitive deficits observed in these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sujie Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Mingli Li
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaojing Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyu Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hua Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yamin Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wanjun Guo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaohong Ma
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Liansheng Zhao
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Wei Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Pak C Sham
- Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Centre for PanorOmic Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yu Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Neurology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tao Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, & Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Translational Psychiatry Research Laboratory, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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13
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Wu B, Long X, Cao Y, Xie H, Wang X, Roberts N, Gong Q, Jia Z. Abnormal intrinsic brain functional network dynamics in first-episode drug-naïve adolescent major depressive disorder. Psychol Med 2024; 54:1758-1767. [PMID: 38173122 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723003719] [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: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alterations in brain functional connectivity (FC) have been frequently reported in adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there are few studies of dynamic FC analysis, which can provide information about fluctuations in neural activity related to cognition and behavior. The goal of the present study was therefore to investigate the dynamic aspects of FC in adolescent MDD patients. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 94 adolescents with MDD and 78 healthy controls. Independent component analysis, a sliding-window approach, and graph-theory methods were used to investigate the potential differences in dynamic FC properties between the adolescent MDD patients and controls. RESULTS Three main FC states were identified, State 1 which was predominant, and State 2 and State 3 which occurred less frequently. Adolescent MDD patients spent significantly more time in the weakly-connected and relatively highly-modularized State 1, spent significantly less time in the strongly-connected and low-modularized State 2, and had significantly higher variability of both global and local efficiency, compared to the controls. Classification of patients with adolescent MDD was most readily performed based on State 1 which exhibited disrupted intra- and inter-network FC involving multiple functional networks. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests local segregation and global integration impairments and segregation-integration imbalance of functional networks in adolescent MDD patients from the perspectives of dynamic FC. These findings may provide new insights into the neurobiology of adolescent MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baolin Wu
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Xipeng Long
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuan Cao
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hongsheng Xie
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiuli Wang
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China
| | - Neil Roberts
- The Queens Medical Research Institute (QMRI), School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, China
| | - Zhiyun Jia
- Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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14
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Kuai C, Pu J, Wang D, Tan Z, Wang Y, Xue SW. The association between gray matter volume in the hippocampal subfield and antidepressant efficacy mediated by abnormal dynamic functional connectivity. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8940. [PMID: 38637536 PMCID: PMC11026377 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56866-w] [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: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
An abnormality of structures and functions in the hippocampus may have a key role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it is unclear whether structure factors of the hippocampus effectively impact antidepressant responses by hippocampal functional activity in MDD patients. We collected longitudinal data from 36 MDD patients before and after a 3-month course of antidepressant pharmacotherapy. Additionally, we obtained baseline data from 43 healthy controls matched for sex and age. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), we estimated the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the hippocampal subregions using a sliding-window method. The gray matter volume was calculated using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The results indicated that patients with MDD exhibited significantly lower dFC of the left rostral hippocampus (rHipp.L) with the right precentral gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and left postcentral gyrus compared to healthy controls at baseline. In MDD patients, the dFC of the rHipp.L with right precentral gyrus at baseline was correlated with both the rHipp.L volume and HAMD remission rate, and also mediated the effects of the rHipp.L volume on antidepressant performance. Our findings suggested that the interaction between hippocampal structure and functional activity might affect antidepressant performance, which provided a novel insight into the hippocampus-related neurobiological mechanism of MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxiao Kuai
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
- Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiayong Pu
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
- Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Donglin Wang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhonglin Tan
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Wang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Shao-Wei Xue
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
- Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
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Cheng S, Zeng F, Zhou J, Dong X, Yang W, Yin T, Huang K, Liang F, Li Z. Altered static and dynamic functional brain network in knee osteoarthritis: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study: Static and dynamic FNC in KOA. Neuroimage 2024; 292:120599. [PMID: 38608799 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120599] [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: 06/24/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate altered static and dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) and its correlation with clinical symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). One hundred and fifty-nine patients with KOA and 73 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (HS) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and clinical evaluations. Group independent component analysis (GICA) was applied, and seven resting-state networks were identified. Patients with KOA had decreased static FNC within the default mode network (DM), visual network (VS), and cerebellar network (CB) and increased static FNC between the subcortical network (SC) and VS (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). Four reoccurring FNC states were identified using k-means clustering analysis. Although abnormalities in dynamic FNCs of KOA patients have been found using the common window size (22 TR, 44 s), but the results of the clustering analysis were inconsistent when using different window sizes, suggesting dynamic FNCs might be an unstable method to compare brain function between KOA patients and HS. These recent findings illustrate that patients with KOA have a wide range of abnormalities in the static and dynamic FNCs, which provided a reference for the identification of potential central nervous therapeutic targets for KOA treatment and might shed light on the other musculoskeletal pain neuroimaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirui Cheng
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Acupuncture and Brain Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Key Laboratory of Acupuncture for Senile Disease (Chengdu University of TCM), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Fang Zeng
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Acupuncture and Brain Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Key Laboratory of Acupuncture for Senile Disease (Chengdu University of TCM), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Jun Zhou
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Xiaohui Dong
- School of Nursing, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Weihua Yang
- Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Chinese Medicine Hospital, Dali 671000, China
| | - Tao Yin
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Acupuncture and Brain Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Key Laboratory of Acupuncture for Senile Disease (Chengdu University of TCM), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Kama Huang
- College of Electronics and Information Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Fanrong Liang
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Key Laboratory of Acupuncture for Senile Disease (Chengdu University of TCM), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 611137, China.
| | - Zhengjie Li
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Acupuncture and Brain Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Key Laboratory of Acupuncture for Senile Disease (Chengdu University of TCM), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 611137, China.
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Yan W, Pearlson GD, Fu Z, Li X, Iraji A, Chen J, Sui J, Volkow ND, Calhoun VD. A Brainwide Risk Score for Psychiatric Disorder Evaluated in a Large Adolescent Population Reveals Increased Divergence Among Higher-Risk Groups Relative to Control Participants. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:699-708. [PMID: 37769983 PMCID: PMC10942727 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accurate psychiatric risk assessment requires biomarkers that are both stable and adaptable to development. Functional network connectivity (FNC), which steadily reconfigures over time, potentially contains abundant information to assess psychiatric risks. However, the absence of suitable analytical methodologies has constrained this area of investigation. METHODS We investigated the brainwide risk score (BRS), a novel FNC-based metric that contrasts the relative distances of an individual's FNC to that of psychiatric disorders versus healthy control references. To generate group-level disorder and healthy control references, we utilized a large brain imaging dataset containing 5231 total individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder and their corresponding healthy control individuals. The BRS metric was employed to assess the psychiatric risk in 2 new datasets: Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (n = 8191) and Human Connectome Project Early Psychosis (n = 170). RESULTS The BRS revealed a clear, reproducible gradient of FNC patterns from low to high risk for each psychiatric disorder in unaffected adolescents. We found that low-risk ABCD Study adolescent FNC patterns for each disorder were strongly present in over 25% of the ABCD Study participants and homogeneous, whereas high-risk patterns of each psychiatric disorder were strongly present in about 1% of ABCD Study participants and heterogeneous. The BRS also showed its effectiveness in predicting psychosis scores and distinguishing individuals with early psychosis from healthy control individuals. CONCLUSIONS The BRS could be a new image-based tool for assessing psychiatric vulnerability over time and in unaffected individuals, and it could also serve as a potential biomarker, facilitating early screening and monitoring interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weizheng Yan
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
| | - Godfrey D Pearlson
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Zening Fu
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Xinhui Li
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Armin Iraji
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jiayu Chen
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jing Sui
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Nora D Volkow
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
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17
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Zhu H, Tao Y, Wang S, Zhu X, Lin K, Zheng N, Chen LM, Xu F, Wu R. fMRI, LFP, and anatomical evidence for hierarchical nociceptive routing pathway between somatosensory and insular cortices. Neuroimage 2024; 289:120549. [PMID: 38382864 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120549] [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: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The directional organization of multiple nociceptive regions, particularly within obscure operculoinsular areas, underlying multidimensional pain processing remains elusive. This study aims to establish the fundamental organization between somatosensory and insular cortices in routing nociceptive information. By employing an integrated multimodal approach of high-field fMRI, intracranial electrophysiology, and transsynaptic viral tracing in rats, we observed a hierarchically organized connection of S1/S2 → posterior insula → anterior insula in routing nociceptive information. The directional nociceptive pathway determined by early fMRI responses was consistent with that examined by early evoked LFP, intrinsic effective connectivity, and anatomical projection, suggesting fMRI could provide a valuable facility to discern directional neural circuits in animals and humans non-invasively. Moreover, our knowledge of the nociceptive hierarchical organization of somatosensory and insular cortices and the interface role of the posterior insula may have implications for the development of targeted pain therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Siqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Xutao Zhu
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Kunzhang Lin
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Ning Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Li Min Chen
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science and Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
| | - Fuqiang Xu
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
| | - Ruiqi Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai 200031, China.
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18
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Yang CX, Yu ZR, Li G, Liang XH, Li CD. Gray Matter Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Voxel-Based Morphometry Studies. World Neurosurg 2024; 184:e397-e407. [PMID: 38307195 DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.01.138] [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: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Numerous studies utilizing voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have documented gray matter (GM) alterations in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) compared to healthy controls. However, the inconsistency in GM abnormalities observed across different studies has hindered their potential application as objective neuroimaging biomarkers or therapeutic targets. To address this issue, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of VBM studies to identify robust GM differences between CLBP patients and healthy controls. METHODS The databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were systematically searched from January 2000 to September 2022 to identify eligible neuroimaging studies. In this coordinate-based meta-analysis of VBM studies, the Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images method was used to quantitatively assess regional differences in GM between CLBP patients and healthy controls. RESULTS Thirteen VBM studies, involving a total of 574 CLBP patients and 1239 healthy controls, were included in the meta-analysis. The findings revealed that CLBP patients exhibited increased GM in the left striatum and left postcentral gyrus and decreased GM in the left superior frontal gyrus, left cerebellum, right striatum, left insula, and right middle occipital gyrus compared to healthy controls. The jackknife sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these neuroimaging findings. CONCLUSIONS This study provides new insights into potential treatment strategies for CLBP and identifies neuroimaging biomarkers for pain chronification. These findings highlight the importance of considering regional GM abnormalities in the development of clinical interventions for CLBP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Xian Yang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zheng-Rong Yu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ge Li
- Department of Endocrinology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Hang Liang
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Chun-De Li
- Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
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19
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Weerasekera A, Knight PC, Alshelh Z, Morrissey EJ, Kim M, Zhang Y, Napadow V, Anzolin A, Torrado-Carvajal A, Edwards RR, Ratai EM, Loggia ML. Thalamic neurometabolite alterations in chronic low back pain: a common phenomenon across musculoskeletal pain conditions? Pain 2024; 165:126-134. [PMID: 37578456 PMCID: PMC10841327 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Recently, we showed that patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) demonstrate alterations in the thalamic concentrations of several metabolites compared with healthy controls: higher myo-inositol (mIns), lower N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and lower choline (Cho). Here, we evaluated whether these metabolite alterations are specific to KOA or could also be observed in patients with a different musculoskeletal condition, such as chronic low back pain (cLBP). Thirty-six patients with cLBP and 20 healthy controls were scanned using 1 H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and a PRESS (Point RESolved Spectroscopy) sequence with voxel placement in the left thalamus. Compared with healthy controls, patients with cLBP demonstrated lower absolute concentrations of NAA ( P = 0.0005) and Cho ( P < 0.05) and higher absolute concentrations of mIns ( P = 0.01) when controlling for age, as predicted by our previous work in KOA. In contrast to our KOA study, mIns levels in this population did not significantly correlate with pain measures (eg, pain severity or duration). However, exploratory analyses revealed that NAA levels in patients were negatively correlated with the severity of sleep disturbance ( P < 0.01), which was higher in patients compared with healthy controls ( P < 0.001). Additionally, also in patients, both Cho and mIns levels were positively correlated with age ( P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Altogether, these results suggest that thalamic metabolite changes may be common across etiologically different musculoskeletal chronic pain conditions, including cLBP and KOA, and may relate to symptoms often comorbid with chronic pain, such as sleep disturbance. The functional and clinical significance of these brain changes remains to be fully understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akila Weerasekera
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paulina C. Knight
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Zeynab Alshelh
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erin J. Morrissey
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Minhae Kim
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alessandra Anzolin
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Robert R. Edwards
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eva-Maria Ratai
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marco L. Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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20
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Zhang S, Yang W, Li M, Wen X, Shao Z, Li J, Liu J, Zhang J, Yu D, Liu J, Yuan K. Reconfigurations of Dynamic Functional Network Connectivity in Large-scale Brain Network after Prolonged Abstinence in Heroin Users. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:1144-1153. [PMID: 36453493 PMCID: PMC10964104 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x21666221129105408] [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: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brain recovery phenomenon after long-term abstinence had been reported in substance use disorders. Yet, few longitudinal studies have been conducted to observe the abnormal dynamic functional connectivity (dFNC) of large-scale brain networks and recovery after prolonged abstinence in heroin users. OBJECTIVE The current study will explore the brain network dynamic connection reconfigurations after prolonged abstinence in heroin users (HUs). METHODS The 10-month longitudinal design was carried out for 40 HUs. The 40 healthy controls (HCs) were also enrolled. Group independent component analysis (GICA) and dFNC analysis were employed to detect the different dFNC patterns of addiction-related ICNs between HUs and HCs. The temporal properties and the graph-theoretical properties were calculated. Whether the abnormalities would be reconfigured in HUs after prolonged abstinence was then investigated. RESULTS Based on eight functional networks extracted from GICA, four states were identified by the dFNC analysis. Lower mean dwell time and fraction rate in state4 were found for HUs, which were increased toward HCs after prolonged abstinence. In this state, HUs at baseline showed higher dFNC of RECN-aSN, aSN- aSN and dDMN-pSN, which decreased after protracted abstinence. A similar recovery phenomenon was found for the global efficiency and path length in abstinence HUs. Mean while, the abnormal dFNC strength was correlated with craving both at baseline and after abstinence. CONCLUSION Our longitudinal study observed the large-scale brain network reconfiguration from the dynamic perspective in HUs after prolonged abstinence and improved the understanding of the neurobiology of prolonged abstinence in HUs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Wenhan Yang
- Department of Radiology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Minpeng Li
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Xinwen Wen
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Ziqiang Shao
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Jun Li
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Jixin Liu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Hunan Judicial Police Academy, Changsha, 410000, China
| | - Dahua Yu
- Information Processing Laboratory, School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, Inner Mongolia, 014010, China
| | - Jun Liu
- Department of Radiology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Kai Yuan
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
- Information Processing Laboratory, School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, Inner Mongolia, 014010, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
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21
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Tu Y, Li Z, Zhang L, Zhang H, Bi Y, Yue L, Hu L. Pain-preferential thalamocortical neural dynamics across species. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:149-163. [PMID: 37813996 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01714-6] [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: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Searching for pain-preferential neural activity is essential for understanding and managing pain. Here, we investigated the preferential role of thalamocortical neural dynamics in encoding pain using human neuroimaging and rat electrophysiology across three studies. In study 1, we found that painful stimuli preferentially activated the medial-dorsal (MD) thalamic nucleus and its functional connectivity with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and insula in two human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets (n = 399 and n = 25). In study 2, human fMRI and electroencephalography fusion analyses (n = 220) revealed that pain-preferential MD responses were identified 89-295 ms after painful stimuli. In study 3, rat electrophysiology further showed that painful stimuli preferentially activated MD neurons and MD-ACC connectivity. These converging cross-species findings provided evidence for pain-preferential thalamocortical neural dynamics, which could guide future pain evaluation and management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiheng Tu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhenjiang Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Libo Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Huijuan Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yanzhi Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lupeng Yue
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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22
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Mao CP, Wu Y, Yang HJ, Qin J, Song QC, Zhang B, Zhou XQ, Zhang L, Sun HH. Altered habenular connectivity in chronic low back pain: An fMRI and machine learning study. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:4407-4421. [PMID: 37306031 PMCID: PMC10318213 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26389] [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: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The habenula has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pain and analgesia, while evidence concerning its function in chronic low back pain (cLBP) is sparse. This study aims to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and effective connectivity of the habenula in 52 patients with cLBP and 52 healthy controls (HCs) and assess the feasibility of distinguishing cLBP from HCs based on connectivity by machine learning methods. Our results indicated significantly enhanced rsFC of the habenula-left superior frontal cortex (SFC), habenula-right thalamus, and habenula-bilateral insular pathways as well as decreased rsFC of the habenula-pons pathway in cLBP patients compared to HCs. Dynamic causal modelling revealed significantly enhanced effective connectivity from the right thalamus to right habenula in cLBP patients compared with HCs. RsFC of the habenula-SFC was positively correlated with pain intensities and Hamilton Depression scores in the cLBP group. RsFC of the habenula-right insula was negatively correlated with pain duration in the cLBP group. Additionally, the combination of the rsFC of the habenula-SFC, habenula-thalamus, and habenula-pons pathways could reliably distinguish cLBP patients from HCs with an accuracy of 75.9% by support vector machine, which was validated in an independent cohort (N = 68, accuracy = 68.8%, p = .001). Linear regression and random forest could also distinguish cLBP and HCs in the independent cohort (accuracy = 73.9 and 55.9%, respectively). Overall, these findings provide evidence that cLBP may be associated with abnormal rsFC and effective connectivity of the habenula, and highlight the promise of machine learning in chronic pain discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui Ping Mao
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Yue Wu
- School of Computer Science and EngineeringXidian UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Hua Juan Yang
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Jie Qin
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Qi Chun Song
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Xiao Qian Zhou
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Liang Zhang
- School of Computer Science and EngineeringXidian UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
| | - Hong Hong Sun
- Department of Medical ImagingSecond Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anShaanxiChina
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Vanneste S, De Ridder D. BurstDR spinal cord stimulation rebalances pain input and pain suppression in the brain in chronic neuropathic pain. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:1186-1195. [PMID: 37541579 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.07.058] [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: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Chronic pain is processed by at least three well-known pathways, two pain provoking pathways including a medial 'suffering' and lateral 'painfulness' pathway. A third descending pain pathway modulates pain but is predominantly inhibitory. Chronic pain can be seen as an imbalance between the two pain-provoking and the pain inhibitory pathways. If this assumption is correct, then the imbalance between pain input and pain suppression should reverse and normalize in response to successful, i.e., pain reducing burstDR spinal cord stimulation, one of the current treatment options for neuropathic pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifteen patients, who received spinal cord stimulation for failed back surgery were included in this study, using source localized electrical brain activity and connectivity recording via EEG to identify the purported imbalance. RESULTS BurstDR spinal cord stimulation induces a significant change in EEG activity in both the left and right somatosensory cortex (SSC) for both θ and γ oscillations. In the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), we observed a significant drop in both α and β oscillations. This reduction is accompanied by a change in pain intensity and suffering. BurstDR spinal cord stimulation is also associated with a reduction in θ at the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). Analyzing effective connectivity indicates that for the θ band, more information is sent from the pgACC to the left and right SSC. For α, increased information is sent from the pgACC to the dACC and both the left and right SSC. This is associated with a reduced θ-γ coupling in the SSC and reduced α-β coupling in dACC. CONCLUSION This study suggests that chronic pain is indeed an imbalance between the ascending and descending pathways in the brain and that burst spinal cord stimulation can normalize this imbalance in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Vanneste
- Global Brain Health Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Dirk De Ridder
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Neurosurgery, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand
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24
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Kong Q, Sacca V, Walker K, Hodges S, Kong J. Thalamocortical Mechanisms Underlying Real and Imagined Acupuncture. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1830. [PMID: 37509469 PMCID: PMC10377130 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071830] [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: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Both acupuncture and imagery have shown potential for chronic pain management. However, the mechanisms underlying their analgesic effects remain unclear. This study aims to explore the thalamocortical mechanisms underlying acupuncture and video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT), a combination of acupuncture and guided imagery, using the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of three thalamic subdivisions-the ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL), mediodorsal thalamus (MD), and motor thalamus subregion (Mthal)-associated with somatosensory, limbic, and motor circuity. Twenty-seven healthy individuals participated in a within-subject randomized crossover design study. Results showed that compared to sham acupuncture, real acupuncture altered the rsFC between the thalamus and default mode network (DMN) (i.e., mPFC, PCC, and precuneus), as well as the prefrontal and somatosensory cortex (SI/SII). Compared to the VGAIT control, VGAIT demonstrated greater rsFC between the thalamus and key nodes within the interoceptive network (i.e., anterior insula, ACC, PFC, and SI/SII), as well as the motor and sensory cortices (i.e., M1, SMA, and temporal/occipital cortices). Furthermore, compared to real acupuncture, VGAIT demonstrated increased rsFC between the thalamus (VPL/MD/Mthal) and task-positive network (TPN). Further correlations between differences in rsFC and changes in the heat or pressure pain threshold were also observed. These findings suggest that both acupuncture- and VGAIT-induced analgesia are associated with thalamocortical networks. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of VGAIT and acupuncture may facilitate their development, particularly VGAIT, which may be used as a potential remote-delivered pain management approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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Branco P, Bosak N, Bielefeld J, Cong O, Granovsky Y, Kahn I, Yarnitsky D, Apkarian AV. Structural brain connectivity predicts early acute pain after mild traumatic brain injury. Pain 2023; 164:1312-1320. [PMID: 36355048 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with acute pain manifesting as one of its most debilitating symptoms. Understanding acute postinjury pain is important because it is a strong predictor of long-term outcomes. In this study, we imaged the brains of 157 patients with mTBI, following a motorized vehicle collision. We extracted white matter structural connectivity networks and used a machine learning approach to predict acute pain. Stronger white matter tracts within the sensorimotor, thalamiccortical, and default-mode systems predicted 20% of the variance in pain severity within 72 hours of the injury. This result generalized in 2 independent groups: 39 mTBI patients and 13 mTBI patients without whiplash symptoms. White matter measures collected at 6 months after the collision still predicted mTBI pain at that timepoint (n = 36). These white matter connections were associated with 2 nociceptive psychophysical outcomes tested at a remote body site-namely, conditioned pain modulation and magnitude of suprathreshold pain-and with pain sensitivity questionnaire scores. Our findings demonstrate a stable white matter network, the properties of which determine an important amount of pain experienced after acute injury, pinpointing a circuitry engaged in the transformation and amplification of nociceptive inputs to pain perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Branco
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
- Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Noam Bosak
- Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jannis Bielefeld
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
- Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Olivia Cong
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
- Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Yelena Granovsky
- Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Itamar Kahn
- Department of Neuroscience and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - David Yarnitsky
- Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neurology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - A Vania Apkarian
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
- Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
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Yan Y, Zhu M, Cao X, Xu G, Shen W, Li F, Zhang J, Luo L, Zhang X, Zhang D, Liu T. Thalamocortical Circuit Controls Neuropathic Pain via Up-regulation of HCN2 in the Ventral Posterolateral Thalamus. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:774-792. [PMID: 36538279 PMCID: PMC10169982 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00989-5] [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: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The thalamocortical (TC) circuit is closely associated with pain processing. The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) 2 channel is predominantly expressed in the ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL) that has been shown to mediate neuropathic pain. However, the role of VPL HCN2 in modulating TC circuit activity is largely unknown. Here, by using optogenetics, neuronal tracing, electrophysiological recordings, and virus knockdown strategies, we showed that the activation of VPL TC neurons potentiates excitatory synaptic transmission to the hindlimb region of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1HL) as well as mechanical hypersensitivity following spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced neuropathic pain in mice. Either pharmacological blockade or virus knockdown of HCN2 (shRNA-Hcn2) in the VPL was sufficient to alleviate SNI-induced hyperalgesia. Moreover, shRNA-Hcn2 decreased the excitability of TC neurons and synaptic transmission of the VPL-S1HL circuit. Together, our studies provide a novel mechanism by which HCN2 enhances the excitability of the TC circuit to facilitate neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Yan
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Mengye Zhu
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Xuezhong Cao
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Gang Xu
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Wei Shen
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Fan Li
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Jinjin Zhang
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Lingyun Luo
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Xuexue Zhang
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China.
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China.
| | - Daying Zhang
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
- Institute of Pain Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Nanchang, 330006, China.
- Key Laboratory of Neuropathic Pain, Healthcare Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China.
| | - Tao Liu
- Center for Experimental Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
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Wandrey JD, Kastelik J, Fritzsche T, Denke C, Schäfer M, Tafelski S. Supplementing transcranial direct current stimulation to local infiltration series for refractory neuropathic craniocephalic pain: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1069434. [PMID: 36937523 PMCID: PMC10014889 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1069434] [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: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Some patients with neuralgia of cranial nerves with otherwise therapy-refractory pain respond to invasive therapy with local anesthetics. Unfortunately, pain regularly relapses despite multimodal pain management. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may prolong pain response due to neuro-modulatory effects. Methods This controlled clinical pilot trial randomized patients to receive anodal, cathodal or sham-tDCS stimulation prior to local anesthetic infiltration. Pain attenuation, quality-of-life and side effects were assessed and compared with historic controls to estimate effects of tDCS stimulation setting. Results Altogether, 17 patients were randomized into three groups with different stimulation protocols. Relative reduction of pain intensity in per protocol treated patients were median 73%, 50% and 69% in anodal, cathodal and sham group, respectively (p = 0.726). Compared with a historic control group, a lower rate of responders with 50% reduction of pain intensity indicates probable placebo effects (OR 3.41 stimulation vs. non-stimulation setting, NNT 3.63). 76.9% (n = 10) of tDCS patients reported mild side-effects. Of all initially included 17 patients, 23.5% (n = 4) withdrew their study participation with highest proportion in the cathodal group (n = 3). A sample size calculation for a confirmatory trial revealed 120 patients using conservative estimations. Discussion This pilot trial does not support series of anodal tDCS as neuro-modulatory treatment to enhance pain alleviation of local anesthetic infiltration series. Notably, results may indicate placebo effects of tDCS settings. Feasibility of studies in this population was limited due to relevant drop-out rates. Anodal tDCS warrants further confirmation as neuro-modulatory pain treatment option.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan D. Wandrey
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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28
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Zhao W, Zhao L, Chang X, Lu X, Tu Y. Elevated dementia risk, cognitive decline, and hippocampal atrophy in multisite chronic pain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2215192120. [PMID: 36802440 PMCID: PMC9992778 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2215192120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have investigated the impacts of common types of chronic pain (CP) on patients' cognitive function and observed that CP was associated with later dementia. More recently, there is a growing recognition that CP conditions frequently coexist at multiple body sites and may bring more burdens on patients' overall health. However, whether and how multisite CP (MCP) contributes to an increased risk of dementia, compared to single-site CP (SCP) and pain-free (PF), is largely unclear. In the current study, utilizing the UK Biobank cohort, we first investigated dementia risk in individuals (n = 354,943) with different numbers of coexisting CP sites using Cox proportional hazards regression models. We then applied generalized additive models to investigate whether MCP leads to excessive deterioration of participants' (n = 19,116) cognition and brain structure. We found that individuals with MCP were associated with significantly higher dementia risk, broader and faster cognitive impairment, and greater hippocampal atrophy than both PF individuals and those with SCP. Moreover, the detrimental effects of MCP on dementia risk and hippocampal volume aggravated along with the number of coexisting CP sites. Mediation analyses further revealed that the decline of fluid intelligence in MCP individuals was partially mediated by hippocampal atrophy. Our results suggested that cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy interact biologically and may underlie the increased risk of dementia associated with MCP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhui Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangyu Chang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuejing Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yiheng Tu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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29
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Yang F, Tan J, Huang Y, Xiao R, Wang X, Han Y. Altered Language-Related Effective Connectivity in Patients with Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13020590. [PMID: 36836947 PMCID: PMC9960797 DOI: 10.3390/life13020590] [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: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is one of the most common childhood epilepsy syndromes and may be associated with language deficits. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from a total of 78 children: 52 patients with BECTS (28 drug-naïve and 24 medicated) and 26 healthy controls (HC). Granger causality analysis (GCA) was used to investigate alterations in effective connectivity (EC) between the language network core node (Broca's area) and the whole brain. EC from Broca's area to the left Heschl's gyrus (HG), right putamen, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was significantly increased, while EC from the bilateral putamen and left ACC to Broca's area was significantly decreased in BECTS. Moreover, altered EC of Broca's area to the right putamen was significantly positively correlated with verbal IQ (VIQ), while altered EC of Broca's area to the ACC showed significantly negative correlations with the frequency of seizures. Altered EC from the left putamen to Broca's area was also significantly negatively correlated with performance IQ (PIQ) and full-scale IQ (FSIQ) in the drug-naïve group. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the EC of Broca's area to the left HG and the number of seizures, as well as between the EC of Broca's area to the right putamen and the age at onset in the medicated group. These findings suggest abnormal causal effects on the language network related to Broca's area in children with BECTS. Longitudinal investigation of language network development and further follow-up may be needed to illuminate the changes in organization and rebalancing over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yang
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650051, China
| | - Juan Tan
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637503, China
| | - Yue Huang
- Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637503, China
| | - Ruhui Xiao
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637503, China
| | - Xiaoming Wang
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637503, China
| | - Yanbing Han
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650051, China
- Correspondence:
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30
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Fu Z, Abbott CC, Miller J, Deng ZD, McClintock SM, Sendi MSE, Sui J, Calhoun VD. Cerebro-cerebellar functional neuroplasticity mediates the effect of electric field on electroconvulsive therapy outcomes. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:43. [PMID: 36746924 PMCID: PMC9902462 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02312-w] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe depression and works by applying an electric current through the brain. The applied current generates an electric field (E-field) and seizure activity, changing the brain's functional organization. The E-field, which is determined by electrode placement (right unilateral or bitemporal) and pulse amplitude (600, 700, or 800 milliamperes), is associated with the ECT response. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between E-field, functional brain changes, and clinical outcomes of ECT are not well understood. Here, we investigated the relationships between whole-brain E-field (Ebrain, the 90th percentile of E-field magnitude in the brain), cerebro-cerebellar functional network connectivity (FNC), and clinical outcomes (cognitive performance and depression severity). A fully automated independent component analysis framework determined the FNC between the cerebro-cerebellar networks. We found a linear relationship between Ebrain and cognitive outcomes. The mediation analysis showed that the cerebellum to middle occipital gyrus (MOG)/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) FNC mediated the effects of Ebrain on cognitive performance. In addition, there is a mediation effect through the cerebellum to parietal lobule FNC between Ebrain and antidepressant outcomes. The pair-wise t-tests further demonstrated that a larger Ebrain was associated with increased FNC between cerebellum and MOG and decreased FNC between cerebellum and PCC, which were linked with decreased cognitive performance. This study implies that an optimal E-field balancing the antidepressant and cognitive outcomes should be considered in relation to cerebro-cerebellar functional neuroplasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zening Fu
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | | | - Jeremy Miller
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Zhi-De Deng
- Computational Neurostimulation Research Program, Noninvasive Neuromodulation Unit, Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Shawn M McClintock
- Division of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Mohammad S E Sendi
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jing Sui
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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31
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Wang AR, Steenerson KK, Alyono JC. Abnormal Subjective and Audiometric Auditory Function in Migraine. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2023; 168:1362-1370. [PMID: 36939529 DOI: 10.1002/ohn.201] [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: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify if migraine is associated with auditory deficits and if the auditory profile of migraine is distinct from other pain syndromes, such as chronic pain. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional, retrospective. SETTING A total of 5273 respondents of the 1999 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. METHODS Regression analyses assessed the association between migraine (n = 1245) and chronic pain (n = 430) status with subjectively endorsed hearing loss, tinnitus, pure-tone average (PTA) at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, and subjective-audiometric hearing mismatch (endorsed hearing loss but with a PTA ≤ 25 dB), correcting for confounding factors. RESULTS Migraine was associated with increased tinnitus (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47-2.13, p < .001) and subjective hearing loss (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.29-1.94, p < .001). Migraine was associated with higher PTA (β = .89, p = .023). Migraine decreased the PTA threshold at which individuals endorsed subjective hearing loss (β = -1.94, p = .013) and was associated with a more subjective-audiometric hearing mismatch (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.18-1.89, p < .001). Chronic pain was not associated with tinnitus (aOR = 1.26, 95% CI: 0.97-1.63, p = 0.079), subjective hearing loss (aOR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.71-1.23, p = .64), changes in PTA (β = -.22, p = .69), altered PTA threshold for endorsing hearing loss (β = 1.40, p = .19), or subjective-audiometric hearing mismatch (aOR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.70-1.34, p = .88). CONCLUSION Migraine is associated with both worse pure-tone audiometry and higher sensitivity to changes in hearing ability, suggesting both peripheral and central auditory function abnormalities. In contrast, patients with chronic pain did not demonstrate these abnormalities. The etiology of abnormal auditory processing in migraine may be different from that of other pain syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan R Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kristen K Steenerson
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jennifer C Alyono
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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Fu Z, Abbott CC, Sui J, Calhoun VD. Predictive signature of static and dynamic functional connectivity for ECT clinical outcomes. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1102413. [PMID: 36755955 PMCID: PMC9899999 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1102413] [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: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains one of the most effective approaches for treatment-resistant depressive episodes, despite the potential cognitive impairment associated with this treatment. As a potent stimulator of neuroplasticity, ECT might normalize aberrant depression-related brain function via the brain's reconstruction by forming new neural connections. Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated that functional connectivity (FC) changes are reliable indicators of antidepressant efficacy and cognitive changes from static and dynamic perspectives. However, no previous studies have directly ascertained whether and how different aspects of FC provide complementary information in terms of neuroimaging-based prediction of clinical outcomes. Methods: In this study, we implemented a fully automated independent component analysis framework to an ECT dataset with subjects (n = 50, age = 65.54 ± 8.92) randomized to three treatment amplitudes (600, 700, or 800 milliamperes [mA]). We extracted the static functional network connectivity (sFNC) and dynamic FNC (dFNC) features and employed a partial least square regression to build predictive models for antidepressant outcomes and cognitive changes. Results: We found that both antidepressant outcomes and memory changes can be robustly predicted by the changes in sFNC (permutation test p < 5.0 × 10-3). More interestingly, by adding dFNC information, the model achieved higher accuracy for predicting changes in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 24-item (HDRS24, t = 9.6434, p = 1.5 × 10-21). The predictive maps of clinical outcomes show a weakly negative correlation, indicating that the ECT-induced antidepressant outcomes and cognitive changes might be associated with different functional brain neuroplasticity. Discussion: The overall results reveal that dynamic FC is not redundant but reflects mechanisms of ECT that cannot be captured by its static counterpart, especially for the prediction of antidepressant efficacy. Tracking the predictive signatures of static and dynamic FC will help maximize antidepressant outcomes and cognitive safety with individualized ECT dosing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zening Fu
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States,*Correspondence: Christopher C. Abbott, ; Zening Fu,
| | - Christopher C. Abbott
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States,*Correspondence: Christopher C. Abbott, ; Zening Fu,
| | - Jing Sui
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
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33
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Lin J, Zhang L, Guo R, Jiao S, Song X, Feng S, Wang K, Li M, Luo Y, Han Z. The influence of visual deprivation on the development of the thalamocortical network: Evidence from congenitally blind children and adults. Neuroimage 2022; 264:119722. [PMID: 36323383 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119722] [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: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The thalamus is heavily involved in relaying sensory signals to the cerebral cortex. A relevant issue is how the deprivation of congenital visual sensory information modulates the development of the thalamocortical network. The answer is unclear because previous studies on this topic did not investigate network development, structure-function combinations, and cognition-related behaviors in the same study. To overcome these limitations, we recruited 30 congenitally blind subjects (8 children, 22 adults) and 31 sighted subjects (10 children, 21 adults), and conducted multiple analyses [i.e., gray matter volume (GMV) analysis using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method, resting-state functional connectivity (FC), and brain-behavior correlation]. We found that congenital blindness elicited significant changes in the development of GMV in visual and somatosensory thalamic regions. Blindness also resulted in significant changes in the development of FC between somatosensory thalamic regions and visual cortical regions as well as advanced information processing regions. Moreover, the somatosensory thalamic regions and their FCs with visual cortical regions were reorganized to process high-level tactile language information in blind individuals. These findings provide a refined understanding of the neuroanatomical and functional plasticity of the thalamocortical network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junfeng Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Linjun Zhang
- School of Chinese as a Second Language, Peking University, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Runhua Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Saiyi Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaomeng Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Suting Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Ke Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yudan Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Zaizhu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
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Yu JM, Hu R, Mao Y, Tai Y, Qun S, Zhang Z, Chen D, Jin Y. Up-regulation of HCN2 channels in a thalamocortical circuit mediates allodynia in mice. Natl Sci Rev 2022; 10:nwac275. [PMID: 36846300 PMCID: PMC9945406 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac275] [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: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain is a significant problem that afflicts individuals and society, and for which the current clinical treatment is inadequate. In addition, the neural circuit and molecular mechanisms subserving chronic pain remain largely uncharacterized. Herein we identified enhanced activity of a glutamatergic neuronal circuit that encompasses projections from the ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPLGlu) to the glutamatergic neurons of the hindlimb primary somatosensory cortex (S1HLGlu), driving allodynia in mouse models of chronic pain. Optogenetic inhibition of this VPLGlu→S1HLGlu circuit reversed allodynia, whereas the enhancement of its activity provoked hyperalgesia in control mice. In addition, we found that the expression and function of the HCN2 (hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel 2) were increased in VPLGlu neurons under conditions of chronic pain. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we demonstrated that downregulation of HCN2 channels in the VPLGlu neurons abrogated the rise in S1HLGlu neuronal activity while alleviating allodynia in mice with chronic pain. With these data, we propose that dysfunction in HCN2 channels in the VPLGlu→S1HLGlu thalamocortical circuit and their upregulation occupy essential roles in the development of chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Yingju Tai
- Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Sen Qun
- Stroke Center and Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230036, China
| | | | | | - Yan Jin
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
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Bosak N, Branco P, Kuperman P, Buxbaum C, Cohen RM, Fadel S, Zubeidat R, Hadad R, Lawen A, Saadon‐Grosman N, Sterling M, Granovsky Y, Apkarian AV, Yarnitsky D, Kahn I. Brain Connectivity Predicts Chronic Pain in Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Ann Neurol 2022; 92:819-833. [PMID: 36082761 PMCID: PMC9826527 DOI: 10.1002/ana.26463] [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: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Previous studies have established the role of the cortico-mesolimbic and descending pain modulation systems in chronic pain prediction. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is an acute pain model where chronic pain is prevalent and complicated for prediction. In this study, we set out to study whether functional connectivity (FC) of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) is predictive of pain chronification in early-acute mTBI. METHODS To estimate FC, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of 105 participants with mTBI following a motor vehicle collision was acquired within 72 hours post-accident. Participants were classified according to pain ratings provided at 12-months post-collision into chronic pain (head/neck pain ≥30/100, n = 44) and recovery (n = 61) groups, and their FC maps were compared. RESULTS The chronic pain group exhibited reduced negative FC between NAc and a region within the primary motor cortex corresponding with the expected representation of the area of injury. A complementary pattern was also demonstrated between PAG and the primary somatosensory cortex. PAG and NAc also shared increased FC to the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) within the recovery group. Brain connectivity further shows high classification accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] = .86) for future chronic pain, when combined with an acute pain intensity report. INTERPRETATION FC features obtained shortly after mTBI predict its transition to long-term chronic pain, and may reflect an underlying interaction of injury-related primary sensorimotor cortical areas with the mesolimbic and pain modulation systems. Our findings indicate a potential predictive biomarker and highlight targets for future early preventive interventions. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:819-833.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam Bosak
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael,Department of NeurologyRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
| | - Paulo Branco
- Department of NeuroscienceNorthwestern University Medical SchoolChicagoIL
| | - Pora Kuperman
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Chen Buxbaum
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael,Department of NeurologyRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
| | - Ruth Manor Cohen
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Shiri Fadel
- Department of NeurologyRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
| | - Rabab Zubeidat
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Rafi Hadad
- Department of NeurologyRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
| | - Amir Lawen
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Noam Saadon‐Grosman
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of MedicineThe Hebrew UniversityJerusalemIsrael
| | - Michele Sterling
- RECOVER Injury Research Centre, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury RecoveryThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Yelena Granovsky
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | | | - David Yarnitsky
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael,Department of NeurologyRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
| | - Itamar Kahn
- Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
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Sacca V, Zhang Y, Cao J, Li H, Yan Z, Ye Y, Hou X, McDonald CM, Todorova N, Kong J, Liu B. Evaluation of the Modulation Effects Evoked by Different Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Frequencies Along the Central Vagus Nerve Pathway in Migraine: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Neuromodulation 2022; 26:620-628. [PMID: 36307355 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.08.459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a promising treatment option for migraines. This study aims to investigate the modulation effects of different taVNS frequencies along the central vagus nerve pathway in migraineurs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-four migraineurs were recruited for a single-blind, crossover magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. The study consisted of two taVNS MRI scan sessions, in which either 1-Hz or 20-Hz taVNS was applied in a random order. Seed-based static and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed using two key nodes of the vagus nerve pathway, the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and the locus coeruleus (LC). RESULTS Static FC (sFC) analysis showed that 1) continuous 1-Hz taVNS resulted in an increase of NTS/LC-occipital cortex sFC and a decrease of NTS-thalamus sFC compared with the pre-1-Hz taVNS resting state, 2) continuous 20-Hz taVNS resulted in an increase of the LC-anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) sFC compared with the pre-20-Hz taVNS resting state, 3) 1-Hz taVNS produced a greater LC-precuneus and LC-inferior parietal cortex sFC than 20 Hz, and 4) 20-Hz taVNS increased LC-ACC and LC-super temporal gyrus/insula sFC in comparison with 1 Hz. Dynamic FC (dFC) analysis showed that compared with the pre-taVNS resting state, 1-Hz taVNS decreased NTS-postcentral gyrus dFC (less variability), 20-Hz taVNS decreased dFC of the LC-superior temporal gyrus and the LC-occipital cortex. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the subjects' number of migraine attacks in the past four weeks and the NTS-thalamus sFC during pre-taVNS resting state. CONCLUSIONS 1-Hz and 20-Hz taVNS may modulate the sFC and dFC of key nodes in the central vagus nerve pathway differently. Our findings highlight the importance of stimulation parameters (frequencies) in taVNS treatment.
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Zhang YN, Xing XX, Chen L, Dong X, Pan HT, Hua XY, Wang K. Modification of the resting-state network involved at different stages of neuropathic pain. Neurosci Lett 2022; 789:136866. [PMID: 36075318 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136866] [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: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Neuropathic pain (NeuP) is shown to be associated with abnormal changes in several specific brain regions. However, the large-scale interactivity of neuronal networks underlying the sensory and emotional abnormalities during NeuP remains unexplored. The present study aimed to explore the alterations in the relevant functional resting-state networks (RSNs) and their intra-networks at the different stages of NeuP based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). A NeuP rat model was established by chronic constriction injury (CCI). Three RSNs were identified to be associated with the NeuP, including the default mode network (DMN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and interoceptive network (IN). The functional connectivity (FC) of the left caudate putamen (CPu) within the DMN and the right piriform cortex within the IN were significantly reduced at the early stage of NeuP, when the maximum allodynia was apparent early, which reflected the suppressed function of the DMN and IN. At 4 weeks post-CCI, when negative emotions were present, the FC of the right insular cortex in the SMN and left visual cortex in the IN were significantly elevated, representing the increased excitability of both SMN and IN. Our study revealed the characteristic functional organization at the network level induced by NeuP and emphasized the role of SMN, DMN, and IN in the pathological mechanisms of NeuP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Nan Zhang
- Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
| | - Xiang-Xin Xing
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China; Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Liu Chen
- Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
| | - Xin Dong
- Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
| | - Hao-Tian Pan
- Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
| | - Xu-Yun Hua
- Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China; Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201203, China.
| | - Ke Wang
- Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China.
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38
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Yin T, He Z, Chen Y, Sun R, Yin S, Lu J, Yang Y, Liu X, Ma P, Qu Y, Zhang T, Suo X, Lei D, Gong Q, Tang Y, Liang F, Zeng F. Predicting acupuncture efficacy for functional dyspepsia based on functional brain network features: a machine learning study. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:3511-3522. [PMID: 35965072 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Acupuncture is effective in treating functional dyspepsia (FD), while its efficacy varies significantly from different patients. Predicting the responsiveness of different patients to acupuncture treatment based on the objective biomarkers would assist physicians to identify the candidates for acupuncture therapy. One hundred FD patients were enrolled, and their clinical characteristics and functional brain MRI data were collected before and after treatment. Taking the pre-treatment functional brain network as features, we constructed the support vector machine models to predict the responsiveness of FD patients to acupuncture treatment. These features contributing critically to the accurate prediction were identified, and the longitudinal analyses of these features were performed on acupuncture responders and non-responders. Results demonstrated that prediction models achieved an accuracy of 0.76 ± 0.03 in predicting acupuncture responders and non-responders, and a R2 of 0.24 ± 0.02 in predicting dyspeptic symptoms relief. Thirty-eight functional brain network features associated with the orbitofrontal cortex, caudate, hippocampus, and anterior insula were identified as the critical predictive features. Changes in these predictive features were more pronounced in responders than in non-responders. In conclusion, this study provided a promising approach to predicting acupuncture efficacy for FD patients and is expected to facilitate the optimization of personalized acupuncture treatment plans for FD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Yin
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Zhaoxuan He
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China.,Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province for Acupuncture and Chronobiology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610075, China
| | - Yuan Chen
- International Education College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610075, China
| | - Ruirui Sun
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Shuai Yin
- First Affiliated Hospital, Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Jin Lu
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Yue Yang
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Xiaoyan Liu
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Peihong Ma
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China.,School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yuzhu Qu
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Tingting Zhang
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Xueling Suo
- Departments of Radiology, Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Du Lei
- Departments of Radiology, Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Departments of Radiology, Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yong Tang
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China.,Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province for Acupuncture and Chronobiology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610075, China
| | - Fanrong Liang
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China
| | - Fang Zeng
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 611137, China.,Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province for Acupuncture and Chronobiology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610075, China
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Xue SW, Kuai C, Xiao Y, Zhao L, Lan Z. Abnormal Dynamic Functional Connectivity of the Left Rostral Hippocampus in Predicting Antidepressant Efficacy in Major Depressive Disorder. Psychiatry Investig 2022; 19:562-569. [PMID: 35903058 PMCID: PMC9334807 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2021.0386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Some pharmacological treatments are ineffective in parts of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), hence this needs prediction of effective treatment responses. The study aims to examine the relationship between dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the hippocampal subregion and antidepressant improvement of MDD patients and to estimate the capability of dFC to predict antidepressant efficacy. METHODS The data were from 70 MDD patients and 43 healthy controls (HC); the dFC of hippocampal subregions was estimated by sliding-window approach based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). After 3 months treatment, 36 patients underwent second R-fMRI scan and were then divided into the response group and non-response group according to clinical responses. RESULTS The result manifested that MDD patients exhibited lower mean dFC of the left rostral hippocampus (rHipp.l) compared with HC. After 3 months therapy, the response group showed lower dFC of rHipp.l compared with the non-response group. The dFC of rHipp.l was also negatively correlated with the reduction rate of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. CONCLUSION These findings highlighted the importance of rHipp in MDD from the dFC perspective. Detection and estimation of these changes might demonstrate helpful for comprehending the pathophysiological mechanism and for assessment of treatment reaction of MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shao-Wei Xue
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China
| | - Changxiao Kuai
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yang Xiao
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lei Zhao
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhihui Lan
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
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40
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Fu Z, Salman MS, Liu J, Calhoun VD. Functional Connectivity Stability: A Signature of Neurocognitive Development and Psychiatric Problems in Children. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022; 2022:251-254. [PMID: 36085708 DOI: 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Brain functional connectivity has been shown to provide a type of fingerprint for adult subjects. However, most studies tend to focus on the connectivity strength rather than its stability across scans. In this study, we performed for the first time a large-scale analysis of within-individual stability of functional connectivity (FC) using 9071 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development database. Functional network connectivity (FNC) was extracted via a fully automated independent component analysis framework. We found that children's FNC is robust and stable with high similarity across scans and serves as a fingerprint that can identify an individual child from a large group. The robustness of this finding is supported by replicating the identification in the two-year follow-up session and between longitudinal sessions. More interestingly, we discovered that the within-individual FNC stability was predictive of cognitive performance and psychiatric problems in children, with higher FNC stability correlating with better cognitive performance and fewer dimensional psychopathology. The overall results indicate that the FNC of children also shows reliable within-individual stability, acting as a fingerprint for distinguishing participants, regardless of significant growth and development in the children's brain. FC stability can be a valuable imaging marker to predict early cognitive and psychiatric behaviors in children. Clinical Relevance---The stability of functional connectivity can be used to identify children from a large group and to draw inferences on early-age cognitive and psychiatric behaviors.
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Liu G, Zheng W, Liu H, Guo M, Ma L, Hu W, Ke M, Sun Y, Zhang J, Zhang Z. Aberrant dynamic structure-function relationship of rich-club organization in treatment-naïve newly diagnosed juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:3633-3645. [PMID: 35417064 PMCID: PMC9294302 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have shown that juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is characterized by impaired brain networks. However, few studies have investigated the potential disruptions in rich‐club organization—a core feature of the brain networks. Moreover, it is unclear how structure–function relationships dynamically change over time in JME. Here, we quantify the anatomical rich‐club organization and dynamic structural and functional connectivity (SC–FC) coupling in 47 treatment‐naïve newly diagnosed patients with JME and 40 matched healthy controls. Dynamic functional network efficiency and its association with SC–FC coupling were also calculated to examine the supporting of structure–function relationship to brain information transfer. The results showed that the anatomical rich‐club organization was disrupted in the patient group, along with decreased connectivity strength among rich‐club hub nodes. Furthermore, reduced SC–FC coupling in rich‐club organization of the patients was found in two functionally independent dynamic states, that is the functional segregation state (State 1) and the strong somatomotor‐cognitive control interaction state (State 5); and the latter was significantly associated with disease severity. In addition, the relationships between SC–FC coupling of hub nodes connections and functional network efficiency in State 1 were found to be absent in patients. The aberrant dynamic SC–FC coupling of rich‐club organization suggests a selective influence of densely interconnected network core in patients with JME at the early phase of the disease, offering new insights and potential biomarkers into the underlying neurodevelopmental basis of behavioral and cognitive impairments observed in JME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyao Liu
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Lanzhou, China
| | - Weihao Zheng
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Hong Liu
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Lanzhou, China
| | - Man Guo
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Laiyang Ma
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wanjun Hu
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ming Ke
- College of Computer and Communication, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yu Sun
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
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Mao CP, Wilson G, Cao J, Meshberg N, Huang Y, Kong J. Abnormal Anatomical and Functional Connectivity of the Thalamo-sensorimotor Circuit in Chronic Low Back Pain: Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study. Neuroscience 2022; 487:143-154. [PMID: 35134490 PMCID: PMC8930700 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Thalamocortical dysfunction is thought to underlie the pathophysiology of chronic pain revealed by electroencephalographic studies. The thalamus serves as a primary relay center to transmit sensory information and motor impulses via dense connections with the somatosensory and motor cortex. In this study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) (probabilistic tractography) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (functional connectivity) were used to characterize the anatomical and functional integrity of the thalamo-sensorimotor pathway in chronic low back pain (cLBP). Fifty-four patients with cLBP and 54 healthy controls were included. The results suggested significantly increased anatomical connectivity of the left thalamo-motor pathway characterized by probabilistic tractography in patients with cLBP. Moreover, there was significantly altered resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of bilateral thalamo-motor/somatosensory pathways in patients with cLBP as compared to healthy controls. We also detected a significant correlation between pain intensity during the MRI scan and rsFC of the right thalamo-somatosensory pathway in cLBP. Our findings highlight the involvement of the thalamo-sensorimotor circuit in the pathophysiology of cLBP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui Ping Mao
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Georgia Wilson
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jin Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Nathaniel Meshberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Yiting Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
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Zhao L, Xue SW, Sun YK, Lan Z, Zhang Z, Xue Y, Wang X, Jin Y. Altered dynamic functional connectivity of insular subregions could predict symptom severity of male patients with autism spectrum disorder. J Affect Disord 2022; 299:504-512. [PMID: 34953921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior. This disorder was characterized by widespread abnormalities involving distributed brain networks. As one such key network node, the insular cortex has been regarded as a research focus of ASD neuropathology. The insula is a functionally complex brain structure. However, it is not fully clear if dynamic characteristics of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) signals in insular heterogeneous could be used to depict abnormalities in ASD. To address this question, we investigated dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of 12 insular subregions. Data were obtained from 44 individuals with ASD and 65 typically developing age-matched controls (TDC). We assessed dFC by sliding-window method and quantified its temporal variability. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to determine whether dFC support complementary information about symptom severity of individuals with ASD rather than static functional connectivity (sFC). The results showed that individuals with ASD exhibited dFC and sFC alterations in distinct insular subregions. Some brain regions showed only abnormal dFC but not sFC with insular subregions. These abnormal dFC could significantly predict the symptom severity of individuals with ASD. Our findings might advance our knowledge about the potential of insular heterogeneity and dynamic characteristics in understanding the neuropathology mechanism of ASD and in developing neuroimaging biomarkers for clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhao
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No.2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Shao-Wei Xue
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No.2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China.
| | - Yun-Kai Sun
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No.2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Zhihui Lan
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No.2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China; Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Ziqi Zhang
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Yichen Xue
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, No.2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Xuan Wang
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Yuxin Jin
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
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44
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Zhang Z, Gewandter JS, Geha P. Brain Imaging Biomarkers for Chronic Pain. Front Neurol 2022; 12:734821. [PMID: 35046881 PMCID: PMC8763372 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.734821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of chronic pain has reached epidemic levels. In addition to personal suffering chronic pain is associated with psychiatric and medical co-morbidities, notably substance misuse, and a huge a societal cost amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars annually in medical cost, lost wages, and productivity. Chronic pain does not have a cure or quantitative diagnostic or prognostic tools. In this manuscript we provide evidence that this situation is about to change. We first start by summarizing our current understanding of the role of the brain in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. We particularly focus on the concept of learning in the emergence of chronic pain, and the implication of the limbic brain circuitry and dopaminergic signaling, which underly emotional learning and decision making, in this process. Next, we summarize data from our labs and from other groups on the latest brain imaging findings in different chronic pain conditions focusing on results with significant potential for translation into clinical applications. The gaps in the study of chronic pain and brain imaging are highlighted in throughout the overview. Finally, we conclude by discussing the costs and benefits of using brain biomarkers of chronic pain and compare to other potential markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwu Zhang
- Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Jennifer S Gewandter
- Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Paul Geha
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.,Del Monte Neuroscience Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
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45
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Zhang P, Jiang Y, Liu G, Han J, Wang J, Ma L, Hu W, Zhang J. Altered brain functional network dynamics in classic trigeminal neuralgia: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Headache Pain 2021; 22:147. [PMID: 34895135 PMCID: PMC8903588 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-021-01354-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Accumulating studies have indicated a wide range of brain alterations with respect to the structure and function of classic trigeminal neuralgia (CTN). Given the dynamic nature of pain experience, the exploration of temporal fluctuations in interregional activity covariance may enhance the understanding of pain processes in the brain. The present study aimed to characterize the temporal features of functional connectivity (FC) states as well as topological alteration in CTN. Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional T1-weighted images were obtained from 41 CTN patients and 43 matched healthy controls (HCs). After group independent component analysis, sliding window based dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) analysis was applied to investigate specific FC states and related temporal properties. Then, the dynamics of the whole brain topological organization were estimated by calculating the coefficient of variation of graph-theoretical properties. Further correlation analyses were performed between all these measurements and clinical data. Results Two distinct states were identified. Of these, the state 2, characterized by complicated coupling between default mode network (DMN) and cognitive control network (CC) and tight connections within DMN, was expressed more in CTN patients and presented as increased fractional windows and dwell time. Moreover, patients switched less frequently between states than HCs. Regarding the dynamic topological analysis, disruptions in global graph-theoretical properties (including network efficiency and small-worldness) were observed in patients, coupled with decreased variability in nodal efficiency of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the salience network (SN) and the thalamus and caudate nucleus in the subcortical network (SC). The variation of topological properties showed negative correlation with disease duration and attack frequency. Conclusions The present study indicated disrupted flexibility of brain topological organization under persistent noxious stimulation and further highlighted the important role of “dynamic pain connectome” regions (including DMN/CC/SN) in the pathophysiology of CTN from the temporal fluctuation aspect. Additionally, the findings provided supplementary evidence for current knowledge about the aberrant cortical-subcortical interaction in pain development. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-021-01354-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Zhang
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.,Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yanli Jiang
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.,Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Guangyao Liu
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.,Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jiao Han
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.,Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Laiyang Ma
- Second Clinical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.,Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Wanjun Hu
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Magnetic Resonance, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China. .,Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Cuiyingmen No.82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730030, P. R. China.
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46
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Kim DJ, Lim M, Kim JS, Chung CK. Structural and functional thalamocortical connectivity study in female fibromyalgia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23323. [PMID: 34857797 PMCID: PMC8640058 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02616-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunctional thalamocortical interactions have been suggested as putative mechanisms of ineffective pain modulation and also suggested as possible pathophysiology of fibromyalgia (FM). However, it remains unclear which specific thalamocortical networks are altered and whether it is related to abnormal pain perception in people with FM. Here, we conducted combined vertex-wise subcortical shape, cortical thickness, structural covariance, and resting-state functional connectivity analyses to address these questions. FM group exhibited a regional shape deflation of the left posterior thalamus encompassing the ventral posterior lateral and pulvinar nuclei. The structural covariance analysis showed that the extent of regional deflation of the left posterior thalamus was negatively covaried with the left inferior parietal cortical thickness in the FM group, whereas those two regions were positively covaried in the healthy controls. In functional connectivity analysis with the left posterior thalamus as a seed, FM group had less connectivity with the periaqueductal gray compared with healthy controls, but enhanced connectivity between the posterior thalamus and bilateral inferior parietal regions, associated with a lower electrical pain threshold at the hand dorsum (pain-free point). Overall, our findings showed the structural thalamic alteration interacts with the cortical regions in a functionally maladaptive direction, leading the FM brain more responsive to external stimuli and potentially contributing to pain amplification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajung J Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.,Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences and Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Manyoel Lim
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.,Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences and Prosthodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - June Sic Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.,Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Chun Kee Chung
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea. .,Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea.
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47
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May ES, Gil Ávila C, Ta Dinh S, Heitmann H, Hohn VD, Nickel MM, Tiemann L, Tölle TR, Ploner M. Dynamics of brain function in patients with chronic pain assessed by microstate analysis of resting-state electroencephalography. Pain 2021; 162:2894-2908. [PMID: 33863863 PMCID: PMC8600543 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Chronic pain is a highly prevalent and severely disabling disease that is associated with substantial changes of brain function. Such changes have mostly been observed when analyzing static measures of resting-state brain activity. However, brain activity varies over time, and it is increasingly recognized that the temporal dynamics of brain activity provide behaviorally relevant information in different neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we therefore investigated whether the temporal dynamics of brain function are altered in chronic pain. To this end, we applied microstate analysis to eyes-open and eyes-closed resting-state electroencephalography data of 101 patients suffering from chronic pain and 88 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Microstate analysis describes electroencephalography activity as a sequence of a limited number of topographies termed microstates that remain stable for tens of milliseconds. Our results revealed that sequences of 5 microstates, labelled with the letters A to E, consistently described resting-state brain activity in both groups in the eyes-closed condition. Bayesian analysis of the temporal characteristics of microstates revealed that microstate D has a less predominant role in patients than in controls. As microstate D has previously been related to attentional networks and functions, these abnormalities might relate to dysfunctional attentional processes in chronic pain. Subgroup analyses replicated microstate D changes in patients with chronic back pain, while patients with chronic widespread pain did not show microstates alterations. Together, these findings add to the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic pain and point to changes of brain dynamics specific to certain types of chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth S. May
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Cristina Gil Ávila
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Son Ta Dinh
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Henrik Heitmann
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
- Center for Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Vanessa D. Hohn
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Moritz M. Nickel
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Tiemann
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas R. Tölle
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- Center for Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Ploner
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
- TUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
- Center for Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, TUM, Munich, Germany
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48
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Wen Q, Ma P, Dong X, Sun R, Lan L, Yin T, Qu Y, Liu Y, Xiao Q, Zeng F. Neuroimaging Studies of Acupuncture on Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:730322. [PMID: 34616275 PMCID: PMC8488100 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.730322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: This study was conducted in order to investigate the study design and main outcomes of acupuncture neuroimaging studies on low back pain (LBP). Methods: Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture on LBP were collected from three English databases such as PubMed and four Chinese databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from inception to December 31, 2020. Study selection, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias were performed independently by two investigators. The quality of studies was appraised with the Cochrane's risk of bias tools. Information on basic information, methodology, and brain imaging data were extracted. Results: The literature search returned 310 potentially eligible studies and 19 articles met inclusion criteria; 78.9% of studies chose manual acupuncture as the intervention, 89.5% of studies evaluated functional changes elicited by acupuncture, and 68.4% of studies used resting-state fMRI as imaging condition. The most frequently reported acupuncture-induced brain alterations of LBP patients were in the prefrontal cortex, insula, cerebellum, primary somatosensory cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. There was a significant correlation between improved clinical outcomes and changes in the brain. Conclusions: The results suggested that improving abnormal structure and functional activities in the brain of the LBP patient is an important mechanism of acupuncture treatment for LBP. The brain regions involved in acupuncture analgesia for LBP were mainly located in the pain matrix, default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and descending pain modulatory system (DPMS). However, it was difficult to draw a generalized conclusion due to the heterogeneity of study designs. Further well-designed multimodal neuroimaging studies investigating the mechanism of acupuncture on LBP are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiao Wen
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Peihong Ma
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaohui Dong
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Ruirui Sun
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Lan
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Tao Yin
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuzhu Qu
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Yalan Liu
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Qingqing Xiao
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Fang Zeng
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
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49
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De Ridder D, Adhia D, Vanneste S. The anatomy of pain and suffering in the brain and its clinical implications. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:125-146. [PMID: 34411559 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Chronic pain, with a prevalence of 20-30 % is the major cause of human suffering worldwide, because effective, specific and safe therapies have yet to be developed. It is unevenly distributed among sexes, with women experiencing more pain and suffering. Chronic pain can be anatomically and phenomenologically dissected into three separable but interacting pathways, a lateral 'painfulness' pathway, a medial 'suffering' pathway and a descending pain inhibitory pathway. One may have pain(fullness) without suffering and suffering without pain(fullness). Pain sensation leads to suffering via a cognitive, emotional and autonomic processing, and is expressed as anger, fear, frustration, anxiety and depression. The medial pathway overlaps with the salience and stress networks, explaining that behavioural relevance or meaning determines the suffering associated with painfulness. Genetic and epigenetic influences trigger chronic neuroinflammatory changes which are involved in transitioning from acute to chronic pain. Based on the concept of the Bayesian brain, pain (and suffering) can be regarded as the consequence of an imbalance between the two ascending and the descending pain inhibitory pathways under control of the reward system. The therapeutic clinical implications of this simple pain model are obvious. After categorizing the working mechanisms of each of the available treatments (pain killers, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, neuromodulation, psychosurgery, spinal cord stimulation) to 1 or more of the 3 pathways, a rational combination can be proposed of activating the descending pain inhibitory pathway in combination with inhibition of the medial and lateral pathway, so as to rebalance the pain (and suffering) pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk De Ridder
- Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
| | - Divya Adhia
- Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Sven Vanneste
- Global Brain Health Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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50
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Tu Y, Cao J, Guler S, Chai-Zhang T, Camprodon JA, Vangel M, Gollub RL, Dougherty DD, Kong J. Perturbing fMRI brain dynamics using transcranial direct current stimulation. Neuroimage 2021; 237:118100. [PMID: 33933595 PMCID: PMC8291729 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The dynamic nature of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activity and connectivity has drawn great interest in the past decade. Specific temporal properties of fMRI brain dynamics, including metrics such as occurrence rate and transitions, have been associated with cognition and behaviors, indicating the existence of mechanism distruption in neuropsychiatric disorders. The development of new methods to manipulate fMRI brain dynamics will advance our understanding of these pathophysiological mechanisms from native observation to experimental mechanistic manipulation. In the present study, we applied repeated transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) and the left orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), during multiple simultaneous tDCS-fMRI sessions from 81 healthy participants to assess the modulatory effects of stimulating target brain regions on fMRI brain dynamics. Using the rDLPFC and the lOFC as seeds, respectively, we first identified two reoccurring co-activation patterns (CAPs) and calculated their temporal properties (e.g., occurrence rate and transitions) before administering tDCS. The spatial maps of CAPs were associated with different cognitive and disease domains using meta-analytical decoding analysis. We then investigated how active tDCS compared to sham tDCS in the modulation of the occurrence rates of these different CAPs and perturbations of transitions between CAPs. We found that by enhancing neuronal excitability of the rDLPFC and the lOFC, the occurrence rate of one CAP was significantly decreased while that of another CAP was significantly increased during the first 6 min of stimulation. Furthermore, these tDCS-associated changes persisted over subsequent testing sessions (both during and before/after tDCS) across three consecutive days. Active tDCS could perturb transitions between CAPs and a non-CAP state (when the rDLPFC and the lOFC were not activated), but not the transitions within CAPs. These results demonstrate the feasibility of modulating fMRI brain dynamics, and open new possibilities for discovering stimulation targets and dynamic connectivity patterns that can ensure the propagation of tDCS-induced neuronal excitability, which may facilitate the development of new treatments for disorders with altered dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiheng Tu
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States; Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Jin Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States
| | - Seyhmus Guler
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States
| | - Thalia Chai-Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States
| | - Joan A Camprodon
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States; Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Mark Vangel
- Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Randy L Gollub
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States; Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Darin D Dougherty
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States; Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States; Department of Radiology, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.
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