Spinal cord neural activity of patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls during temporal summation of pain: an fMRI study

Staud, Roland; Boissoneault, Jeff; Lai, Song; Mejia, Marlin S; Ramanlal, Riddhi; Godfrey, Melyssa M.; Stroman, Patrick W.

doi:10.1152/jn.00276.2021

Cited by 21 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Considering that pain is the main symptom of FM, our study is focused on pain processing pathways. Studies concerning central pathogenic mechanisms of FM have considered dorsal horns at the intersection site of ascending and descending pain processing pathways (Staud et al, 2021 ). However, the partial or insufficient efficacy of pharmacological treatments aimed at enhancing descending pain control, e.g.…”

Section: Identification Of a Thalamocortical Loop In Literature Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Thalamocortical bistable switch as a theoretical model of fibromyalgia pathogenesis inferred from a literature survey

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fibromyalgia (FM) is an unsolved central pain processing disturbance. We aim to provide a unifying model for FM pathogenesis based on a loop network involving thalamocortical regions, i.e., the ventroposterior lateral thalamus (VPL), the somatosensory cortex (SC), and the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). The dynamics of the loop have been described by three differential equations having neuron mean firing rates as variables and containing Hill functions to model mutual interactions among the loop elements. A computational analysis conducted with MATLAB has shown a transition from monostability to bistability of the loop behavior for a weakening of GABAergic transmission between TRN and VPL. This involves the appearance of a high-firing-rate steady state, which becomes dominant and is assumed to represent pathogenic pain processing giving rise to chronic pain. Our model is consistent with a bulk of literature evidence, such as neuroimaging and pharmacological data collected on FM patients, and with correlations between FM and immunoendocrine conditions, such as stress, perimenopause, chronic inflammation, obesity, and chronic dizziness. The model suggests that critical targets for FM treatment are to be found among immunoendocrine pathways leading to GABA/glutamate imbalance having an impact on the thalamocortical system.

show abstract

Section: Identification Of a Thalamocortical Loop In Literature Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Thalamocortical bistable switch as a theoretical model of fibromyalgia pathogenesis inferred from a literature survey

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, some reports have described the promising role of fMRI in the eventual assessment of neurological changes in FM, with a special focus on the eventual specific pattern of network connection in FM patients that may include changes in activity in the insula, cerebellum, amygdala and thalamus [ 59 , 60 , 61 ]. However, different authors have described changes in the fMRI findings in the brainstem [ 23 , 24 , 54 ]. In addition, further studies have reported that peripheral assessment may provide further findings concerning the potential alteration in spinal cord findings [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, different authors have described changes in the fMRI findings in the brainstem [ 23 , 24 , 54 ]. In addition, further studies have reported that peripheral assessment may provide further findings concerning the potential alteration in spinal cord findings [ 23 , 24 ]. Further data are needed for the evaluation of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in FM research and clinical management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, some authors have focused on the role of fMRI in the peripheral assessment of the brainstem and spinal cord [ 23 ], describing significant differences in brainstem/spinal cord network connectivity between the FM and healthy controls, which correlated with subjective differences in pain responses. Other authors used fMRI to study brainstem and spinal cord activation during temporal summation of second pain (TSSP), characterizing the time course of spinal cord and brainstem BOLD activity during TSSP; an alteration in brainstem activity was reported in patients with FM, possibly caused by deficient pain modulation [ 24 ].…”

Section: Novel Imaging Approaches To Fibromyalgiamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Novel Approaches in Molecular Imaging and Neuroimaging of Fibromyalgia

Ricci

Cimini

Fojaja

et al. 2022

IJMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fibromyalgia (FM) represents a condition that is still controversial in its entity, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. The aim of this review is to focus on imaging aspects of FM, especially on novel approaches in molecular imaging, with a special focus on neuroimaging. Novel functional and molecular imaging findings may represent, eventually, future biomarkers both in research settings and in terms of clinical practice. Several imaging techniques have already been tested in clinical trials in the FM field, including functional MRI, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 18F-FDG in FM, PET imaging of the dopaminergic system, PET imaging of the GABAergic system, PET imaging with neuroinflammation and neuroimmune parameters, PET imaging of the opioid system and H215O-PET activation studies. Therefore, the potential role in the FM field of fMRI and different PET tracers has been discussed in different settings, serving as a comprehensive guide of novel imaging options both in research and in the clinical field.

show abstract

“…Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition that is characterized by both hyperalgesia (heightened pain sensitivity) and allodynia (disproportionate pain or sensitivity from sensory stimuli that would not normally be painful) (1)(2)(3). Most evidence to date suggests that the abnormal pain responses in FM may be the result of central sensitization (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11), which has prompted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of the central nervous system. However, the majority of these studies focus on the brain (8,(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) and a large proportion used modeldriven analyses, which we have recently shown may provide an incomplete picture when investigating pain processing with fMRI (21,22).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altered Pain in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord of Fibromyalgia Patients During the Anticipation and Experience of Experimental Pain

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia (FM) affects a large portion of the population but the underlying mechanisms leading to this altered pain are still poorly understood. Evidence suggests that FM involves altered neural processes in the central nervous system and neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are used to reveal these underlying alterations. While many fMRI studies of FM have been conducted in the brain, recent evidence shows that the changes in pain processing in FM may be linked to autonomic and homeostatic dysregulation, thus requiring further investigation in the brainstem and spinal cord. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 15 women with FM and 15 healthy controls were obtained in the cervical spinal cord and brainstem at 3 tesla using previously established methods. In order to investigate differences in pain processing in these groups, participants underwent trials in which they anticipated and received a predictable painful stimulus, randomly interleaved with trials with no stimulus. Differences in functional connectivity between the groups were investigated by means of structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate significant differences in brainstem/spinal cord network connectivity between the FM and control groups which also correlated with individual differences in pain responses. The regions involved in these differences in connectivity included the LC, hypothalamus, PAG, and PBN, which are known to be associated with autonomic homeostatic regulation, including fight or flight responses. This study extends our understanding of altered neural processes associated with FM and the important link between sensory and autonomic regulation systems in this disorder.

show abstract

Spinal cord neural activity of patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls during temporal summation of pain: an fMRI study

Cited by 21 publications

References 66 publications

Thalamocortical bistable switch as a theoretical model of fibromyalgia pathogenesis inferred from a literature survey

Thalamocortical bistable switch as a theoretical model of fibromyalgia pathogenesis inferred from a literature survey

Novel Approaches in Molecular Imaging and Neuroimaging of Fibromyalgia

Altered Pain in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord of Fibromyalgia Patients During the Anticipation and Experience of Experimental Pain

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About