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Meng J, Zhang T, Hao T, Xie X, Zhang M, Zhang L, Wan X, Zhu C, Li Q, Wang K. Functional and Structural Abnormalities in the Pain Network of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Patients with Pain Symptoms. Neuroscience 2024; 543:28-36. [PMID: 38382693 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.02.006] [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: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Pain symptoms significantly impact the well-being and work capacity of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and hinder treatment and recovery. Despite existing literature focusing on the neural substrate of pain and anxiety separately, further exploration is needed to understand the possible neuroimaging mechanisms of the pain symptoms in GAD patients. We recruited 73 GAD patients and 75 matched healthy controls (HC) for clinical assessments, as well as resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. We defined a pain-related network through a published meta-analysis, including the insula, thalamus, periaqueductal gray, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Subsequently, we conducted the regional homogeneity (ReHo) and the gray matter volume (GMV) within the pain-related network. Correlation analysis was then employed to explore associations between abnormal regions and self-reported outcomes, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and pain scores. We observed significantly increased ReHo in the bilateral insula but decreased GMV in the bilateral thalamus of GAD compared to HC. Further correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between ReHo of the left anterior insula and pain scores in GAD patients, while a respective negative correlation between GMV of the bilateral thalamus and PHQ-15 scores. In summary, GAD patients exhibit structural and functional abnormalities in pain-related networks. The enhanced ReHo in the left anterior insula is correlated with pain symptoms, which might be a crucial brain region of pain symptoms in GAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Meng
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Tong Hao
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Xiaohui Xie
- Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Mengdan Zhang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Xingsong Wan
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Chunyan Zhu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Artificial Intelligence, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
| | - Qianqian Li
- Department of Psychology and Sleep Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
| | - Kai Wang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Artificial Intelligence, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
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Takeda S, Miyamoto R. A randomized controlled trial of changes in resting-state functional connectivity associated with short-term motor learning of chopstick use with the non-dominant hand. Behav Brain Res 2023; 452:114599. [PMID: 37506851 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114599] [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: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This study identified the offline brain networks associated with motor learning of non-dominant hand chopstick use within-session. METHODS 40 healthy right-handed adults were randomly assigned to the practice and control groups (20 each). The performance, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC), and their correlation were compared within and between groups. Both groups repeated 9 cycles of 30 s task and rest. During the task, the practice group performed the chopstick-use practice with their left hand, while the control group held chopsticks without acquiring any skills. During the rest, both groups fixated their gaze on a fixation point. The number of times candies were moved using chopsticks with the left hand in 30 s was used to evaluate the performance. RSFC was obtained by resting-state fMRI scanning and extracting Z-scores between the right primary motor cortex and all other brain regions. RESULTS Both the groups improved in the post-task performance; the practice group improved more. The RSFC of the two networks increased in the practice group. One network was the RSFC between the right M1 and the right cerebellar Crus I, positively correlated with performance in the post-task. Another was the RSFC between the right M1 and the left cerebellar Crus II, positively correlated with skills in the amount of change pre- and post-task. CONCLUSION Offline enhancement of RSFC in these networks was shown to contribute to early chopstick-use motor learning with the left hand. These results serve as a basis for future studies on compensatory networks in individuals with stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayori Takeda
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-Ogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Reiko Miyamoto
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-Ogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Division of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-Ogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Xu H, Chen Y, Tao Y, Zhang Y, Zhao T, Wang M, Fan L, Zheng Y, Guo C. Modulation effect of acupuncture treatment on chronic neck and shoulder pain in female patients: Evidence from periaqueductal gray-based functional connectivity. CNS Neurosci Ther 2022; 28:714-723. [PMID: 35048524 PMCID: PMC8981480 DOI: 10.1111/cns.13803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims Chronic neck and shoulder pain (CNSP) is a common neurological disorder, which females are more likely to suffer from. The periaqueductal gray (PAG) plays a key role in the descending modulation of pain. This study aimed to investigate altered PAG‐based functional connectivity (FC) in female patients with CNSP related to healthy controls (HCs) and the effect of acupuncture for female patients with CNSP using PAG‐based FC biomarkers. Methods PAG‐based FC value was calculated based on resting‐state functional images and then compared between patients with CNSP at pre‐acupuncture, post‐acupuncture, and HCs. Then, correlational analyses were performed to examine the relationships between increased PAG‐based FC strength and improved clinical parameters in patients after acupuncture treatment. Results Before acupuncture treatment, compared to HCs, patients with CSNP showed altered PAG‐based FC with widely distributed brain regions, including the left medial superior frontal gyrus, bilateral posterior insula (pIns), and cingulate gyrus. After treatment, patients with CNSP exhibited specially improved PAG‐pIns FC compared to that before treatment, and no significant difference was observed in the increased PAG‐pIns FC strength between HCs and patients with CNSP after treatment. Furthermore, pain catastrophizing reduction was significantly correlated with the increased PAG‐pIns FC strength in patients after treatment. Conclusion The effect of acupuncture treatment may relate to the increased PAG‐pIns FC, which significantly correlated with pain catastrophizing reduction after treatment. These findings shed important mechanistic information on the role of therapeutic approaches in treating chronic neck and shoulder pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Xu
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Yilin Chen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Yin Tao
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Yiwen Zhang
- Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China.,Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
| | - Teng Zhao
- Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China.,Department of Ultrasound, Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Mi Wang
- Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China.,Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
| | - Lihua Fan
- Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
| | - Yunsong Zheng
- Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China.,Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
| | - Chenguang Guo
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Kinugawa K, Mano T, Yamatani Y, Miyasaka T, Kataoka H, Sugie K. Pain-Related Abnormal Neuronal Synchronization of the Nucleus Accumbens in Parkinson’s Disease. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12010084. [PMID: 35053828 PMCID: PMC8773786 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often experience pain, which fluctuates in “on” and “off” states, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a central component of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway involved in pain processing. We conducted resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) analysis to explore the relationship between the neuronal synchronization of NAc with pain-related brain regions and pain intensity in “on” and “off” states. We assessed 23 patients with sporadic PD based on rsfMRI and pain intensity using the revised Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire. Patients with PD displayed higher pain intensity scores in the “off” state than in the “on” state. The pain intensity in the “off” state was substantially correlated with the functional connectivity (FC) between the NAc and primary motor/sensory cortices and contralateral NAc. Changes in pain intensity from the “on” to “off” state displayed correlations with those between the right (rNA) and left NAc (lNAc) and the right precentral gyrus (rPreCG) /right insular cortex (rIC) from the “off” to “on” state. Aberrant bilateral NAc and rNAc–rPreCG/rIC FC in the “off” state were closely related to pain symptoms developed from the “on” to “off” states. These results suggest that the NAc in the mesolimbic pathway is related to pain in PD and may help understand the mechanism of pain development in patients with PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaoru Kinugawa
- Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan; (K.K.); (H.K.); (K.S.)
| | - Tomoo Mano
- Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan; (K.K.); (H.K.); (K.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-744-22-3051
| | - Yuya Yamatani
- Division of Central Radiology, Nara Medical University Hospital, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan;
| | - Toshiteru Miyasaka
- Department of Radiology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan;
| | - Hiroshi Kataoka
- Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan; (K.K.); (H.K.); (K.S.)
| | - Kazuma Sugie
- Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan; (K.K.); (H.K.); (K.S.)
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Zhao J, Su Q, Liu F, Zhang Z, Yang R, Guo W, Zhao J. Enhanced Connectivity of Thalamo-Cortical Networks in First-Episode, Treatment-Naive Somatization Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:555836. [PMID: 33061917 PMCID: PMC7518236 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.555836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysfunctions of the thalamus and its projections to cortical cortices have been implicated in patient with somatization disorder (SD). However, changes in the anatomical specificity of thalamo-cortical functional connectivity (FC) in SD remain unclear. METHODS Resting-state fMRI scans were collected in 25 first-episode, drug-naive patients with SD, as well as 28 sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls. We parcellated the thalamus with seven predefined regions of interest (ROIs) and used them as seeds to map whole-brain FC. Correlation analysis was conducted in the patients. RESULTS We found an increased pattern of thalamic ROI-cortex connectivity in patients with SD. Patients with SD demonstrated enhanced thalamic connectivity to the bilateral anterior/middle cingulum, motor/sensory cortex, visual cortex, and auditory cortex. A significantly negative correlation was found between the right occipital thalamic ROI to the anterior cingulum and EPQ extraversion scores (r=0.404, p=0.045) after the Benjamini-Hochberg correction. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that anatomical specificity of enhanced thalamo-cortical FCs exists in first-episode, drug-naive patients with SD. These findings further highlight the importance of the thalamic subregions in the pathophysiology of SD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Zhao
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Psychiatry, Henan Mental Hospital, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Qinji Su
- Mental Health Center, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Feng Liu
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhikun Zhang
- Mental Health Center, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Ru Yang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Wenbin Guo
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The Third People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China
| | - Jingping Zhao
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
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