FMRI reveals abnormal central processing of sensory and pain stimuli in ill Gulf War veterans.
Many veterans chronically ill from the 1991 Gulf War exhibit symptoms of altered sensation, including chronic pain. In this study of 55 veterans of a Construction Battalion previously examined in 1995-1996 and 1997-1998, brain activation to innocuous and noxious heat stimuli was assessed in 2008-2009 with a quantitative sensory testing fMRI protocol in control veterans and groups representing three syndrome variants. Testing outside the scanner revealed no significant differences in warm detection or heat pain threshold among the four groups. In the fMRI study, Syndrome 1 and Syndrome 2, but not Syndrome 3, exhibited hypo-activation to innocuous heat and hyper-activation to noxious heat stimuli compared to controls. The results indicate abnormal central processing of sensory and painful stimuli in 2 of 3 variants of Gulf War illness and call for a more comprehensive study with a larger, representative sample of veterans.
Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States. kaundinya.s.gopinath@emory.edu
Kaundinya
K
Gopinath
Parina
P
Gandhi
Aman
A
Goyal
Lei
L
Jiang
Yan
Y
Fang
Luo
L
Ouyang
Sandeepkumar
S
Ganji
David
D
Buhner
Wendy
W
Ringe
Jeffrey
J
Spence
Melanie
M
Biggs
Richard
R
Briggs
Robert
R
Haley
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology; D047830:Gulf War; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017288:Pain Threshold; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology; D013697:Thermosensing; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans; D058014:Veterans Health