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Regnath F, Biersack K, Schröder L, Stainer MC, von Werder D, Pürner D, Haslinger B, Lehnen N. Experimental evidence for a robust, transdiagnostic marker in functional disorders: Erroneous sensorimotor processing in functional dizziness and functional movement disorder. J Psychosom Res 2024; 183:111694. [PMID: 38734533 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111694] [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] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recent neuroscientific models suggest that functional bodily symptoms can be attributed to perceptual dysregulation in the central nervous system. Evidence for this hypothesis comes from patients with functional dizziness, who exhibit marked sensorimotor processing deficits during eye-head movement planning and execution. Similar findings in eye-head movement planning in patients with irritable bowel syndrome confirmed that these sensorimotor processing deficits represent a shared, transdiagnostic mechanism. We now examine whether erroneous sensorimotor processing is also at play in functional movement disorder. METHODS We measured head movements of 10 patients with functional movement disorder (F44.4, ICD-10), 10 patients with functional dizziness (F45.8, ICD-10), and (respectively) 10 healthy controls during an eye-head experiment, where participants performed large gaze shifts under normal, increased, and again normal head moment of inertia. Head oscillations at the end of the gaze shift served as a well-established marker for sensorimotor processing problems. We calculated Bayesian statistics for comparison. RESULTS Patients with functional movement disorder (Bayes Factor (BF)10 = 5.36, BFincl = 11.16; substantial to strong evidence) as well as patients with functional dizziness (BF10 = 2.27, BFincl = 3.56; anecdotal to substantial evidence) showed increased head oscillations compared to healthy controls, indicating marked deficits in planning and executing movement. CONCLUSION We replicate earlier experimental findings on erroneous sensorimotor processing in patients with functional dizziness, and show that patients with functional movement disorder show a similar impairment of sensorimotor processing during large gaze shifts. This provides an objectively measurable, transdiagnostic marker for functional disorders, highlighting important implications for diagnosis, treatment, and de-stigmatization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Regnath
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
| | - Katharina Biersack
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Lena Schröder
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie-Christin Stainer
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Dina von Werder
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, Germany; Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Dominik Pürner
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Bernhard Haslinger
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nadine Lehnen
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
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von Werder D, Regnath F, Schäfer D, Jörres R, Lehnen N, Glasauer S. Post-COVID breathlessness: a mathematical model of respiratory processing in the brain. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-023-01739-y. [PMID: 38502207 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01739-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Breathlessness is among the most common post-COVID symptoms. In a considerable number of patients, severe breathlessness cannot be explained by peripheral organ impairment. Recent concepts have described how such persistent breathlessness could arise from dysfunctional processing of respiratory information in the brain. In this paper, we present a first quantitative and testable mathematical model of how processing of respiratory-related signals could lead to breathlessness perception. The model is based on recent theories that the brain holds an adaptive and dynamic internal representation of a respiratory state that is based on previous experiences and comprises gas exchange between environment, lung and tissue cells. Perceived breathlessness reflects the brain's estimate of this respiratory state signaling a potentially hazardous disequilibrium in gas exchange. The internal respiratory state evolves from the respiratory state of the last breath, is updated by a sensory measurement of CO2 concentration, and is dependent on the current activity context. To evaluate our model and thus test the assumed mechanism, we used data from an ongoing rebreathing experiment investigating breathlessness in patients with post-COVID without peripheral organ dysfunction (N = 5) and healthy control participants without complaints after COVID-19 (N = 5). Although the observed breathlessness patterns varied extensively between individual participants in the rebreathing experiment, our model shows good performance in replicating these individual, heterogeneous time courses. The model assumes the same underlying processes in the central nervous system in all individuals, i.e., also between patients and healthy control participants, and we hypothesize that differences in breathlessness are explained by different weighting and thus influence of these processes on the final percept. Our model could thus be applied in future studies to provide insight into where in the processing cascade of respiratory signals a deficit is located that leads to (post-COVID) breathlessness. A potential clinical application could be, e.g., the monitoring of effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on respiratory processing in the brain to improve the therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina von Werder
- Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Lipezker Strasse 47, 03048, Cottbus, Germany.
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
- Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.
| | - Franziska Regnath
- Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Daniel Schäfer
- Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Rudolf Jörres
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU, Munich, Germany
- Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany
| | - Nadine Lehnen
- Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Lipezker Strasse 47, 03048, Cottbus, Germany
- Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Glasauer
- Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Lipezker Strasse 47, 03048, Cottbus, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
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Regnath F, Biersack K, Jäger N, Glasauer S, Lehnen N. Not a general, symptom-unspecific, transdiagnostic marker for functional symptoms: sensorimotor processing of head control is intact in chronic pain. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1294702. [PMID: 38174100 PMCID: PMC10762802 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1294702] [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: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Functional disorders are prevalent in all medical fields and pose a tremendous public health problem, with pain being one of the most common functional symptoms. Understanding the underlying, potentially unifying mechanism in functional (pain) disorders is instrumental in facilitating timely diagnosis, stigma reduction, and adequate treatment options. Neuroscientific models of perception suggest that functional symptoms arise due to dysregulated sensorimotor processing in the central nervous system, with brain-based predictions dominating the eventual percept. Experimental evidence for this transdiagnostic mechanism has been established in various functional symptoms. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether erroneous sensorimotor processing is an underlying transdiagnostic mechanism in chronic (functional) pain. Method A total of 13 patients with chronic (functional) pain [three patients with chronic (functional) pain disorder, F45.40, ICD-10; 10 patients with chronic pain disorder with somatic and psychological factors, F45.41, ICD-10]; and 15 healthy controls performed large combined eye-head gaze shifts toward visual targets, naturally and with increased head moment of inertia. We simultaneously measured participants' eye and head movements to assess head oscillations at the end of the gaze shift, which are an established indicator of (transdiagnostic) sensorimotor processing deficits of head control. Results Using a Bayesian analysis protocol, we found that patients with chronic (functional) pain and control participants stabilized their heads equally well (Bayes Factor 01 = 3.7, Bayes Factor exclusion = 5.23; corresponding to substantial evidence) during all sessions of the experiment. Conclusion Our results suggest that patients with chronic (functional) pain do not show measurable symptom-unspecific sensorimotor processing deficits. We discuss outcome parameter choice, organ system specificity, and selection of patient diagnoses as possible reasons for this result and recommend future avenues for research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Regnath
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Katharina Biersack
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nina Jäger
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Graduate Center of Medicine and Health (GC MH), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Glasauer
- Computational Neuroscience, Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Nadine Lehnen
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany
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Staab JP. Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness: Review and Update on Key Mechanisms of the Most Common Functional Neuro-otologic Disorder. Neurol Clin 2023; 41:647-664. [PMID: 37775196 DOI: 10.1016/j.ncl.2023.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a functional neuro-otologic (vestibular) disorder manifesting dizziness, unsteadiness, or nonspinning vertigo lasting 3 months or more and exacerbated by upright posture, active or passive motion, and complex visual stimuli. PPPD is the most common cause of chronic vestibular symptoms. Early pathophysiologic models of PPPD emphasized the adverse effects of anxiety on postural control and spatial orientation. More recent concepts added predictive processing of sensory inputs and alterations in motion perception. Herein, a third-generation model incorporates prioritization of postural stability over fluid locomotion to explain symptoms, physiologic and neuroimaging data, and effects of current treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey P Staab
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st Street Southwest, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st Street Southwest, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
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Schröder L, Regnath F, Glasauer S, Hackenberg A, Hente J, Weilenmann S, Pohl D, von Känel R, Lehnen N. Altered sensorimotor processing in irritable bowel syndrome: Evidence for a transdiagnostic pathomechanism in functional somatic disorders. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1029126. [PMID: 36440279 PMCID: PMC9682240 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1029126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective A recent hypothesis suggests that functional somatic symptoms are due to altered information processing in the brain, with rigid expectations biasing sensorimotor signal processing. First experimental results confirmed such altered processing within the affected symptom modality, e.g., deficient eye-head coordination in patients with functional dizziness. Studies in patients with functional somatic symptoms looking at general, trans-symptomatic processing deficits are sparse. Here, we investigate sensorimotor processing during eye-head gaze shifts in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to test whether processing deficits exist across symptom modalities. Methods Study participants were seven patients suffering from IBS and seven age- and gender-matched healthy controls who performed large gaze shifts toward visual targets. Participants performed combined eye-head gaze shifts in the natural condition and with experimentally increased head moment of inertia. Head oscillations as a marker for sensorimotor processing deficits were assessed. Bayes statistics was used to assess evidence for the presence or absence of processing differences between IBS patients and healthy controls. Results With the head moment of inertia increased, IBS patients displayed more pronounced head oscillations than healthy controls (Bayes Factor 10 = 56.4, corresponding to strong evidence). Conclusion Patients with IBS show sensorimotor processing deficits, reflected by increased head oscillations during large gaze shifts to visual targets. In particular, patients with IBS have difficulties to adapt to the context of altered head moment of inertia. Our results suggest general transdiagnostic processing deficits in functional somatic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Schröder
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Computational Neuroscience, Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, Germany
| | - Franziska Regnath
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, TUM Graduate School, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Glasauer
- Computational Neuroscience, Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Anna Hackenberg
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Juliane Hente
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sonja Weilenmann
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Pohl
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roland von Känel
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Lehnen
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Insititute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
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Castro P, Bancroft MJ, Arshad Q, Kaski D. Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) from Brain Imaging to Behaviour and Perception. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12060753. [PMID: 35741638 PMCID: PMC9220882 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12060753] [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: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a common cause of chronic dizziness associated with significant morbidity, and perhaps constitutes the commonest cause of chronic dizziness across outpatient neurology settings. Patients present with altered perception of balance control, resulting in measurable changes in balance function, such as stiffening of postural muscles and increased body sway. Observed risk factors include pre-morbid anxiety and neuroticism and increased visual dependence. Following a balance-perturbing insult (such as vestibular dysfunction), patients with PPPD adopt adaptive strategies that become chronically maladaptive and impair longer-term postural behaviour. In this article, we explore the relationship between behavioural postural changes, perceptual abnormalities, and imaging correlates of such dysfunction. We argue that understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of PPPD necessitates an integrated methodological approach that is able to concurrently measure behaviour, perception, and cortical and subcortical brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Castro
- Neuro-Otology Department, University College London Hospitals, London WC1E 6DG, UK;
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London W6 8RF, UK
- Departamento de Fonoaudiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8380453, Chile
| | - Matthew J. Bancroft
- Centre for Vestibular and Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK;
| | - Qadeer Arshad
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK;
| | - Diego Kaski
- Neuro-Otology Department, University College London Hospitals, London WC1E 6DG, UK;
- Centre for Vestibular and Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK;
- Correspondence:
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