title: Overlapping structural and functional brain changes in patients with long-term exposure to fibromyalgia pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is vast evidence to support the presence of brain aberrations in patients with fibromyalgia (FM), and it is possible that central plasticity is critical for the transition from acute to chronic pain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between brain structure and function in patients with FM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Functional connectivity of the brain during application of intermittent pressure-pain stimuli and measures of brain structure were compared between 26 patients with FM and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to obtain high-resolution anatomic images and functional MRI scans of the brain, which were used for measurements of pain-evoked brain activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FM patients displayed a distinct overlap between decreased cortical thickness, decreased brain volumes, and decreased functional regional coherence in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. The morphometric changes were more pronounced with longer exposure to FM pain. In addition, there was evidence of an association between structural and functional changes in the mesolimbic areas of the brain and the severity of comorbid depression symptoms in FM patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combined integration of structural and functional measures allowed for a unique characterization of the impact of FM pain on the brain. These data may lead to the identification of early structural and functional brain alterations in response to pain, which could be used to develop markers for predicting the development of FM and other pain disorders.
authors: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Karin B
authors: KB
authors: Jensen
authors: Priti
authors: P
authors: Srinivasan
authors: Rosa
authors: R
authors: Spaeth
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Tan
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Kosek
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Petzke
authors: Serena
authors: S
authors: Carville
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Fransson
authors: Hanke
authors: H
authors: Marcus
authors: Steven C R
authors: SC
authors: Williams
authors: Ernest
authors: E
authors: Choy
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Vitton
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Gracely
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Ingvar
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Kong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement
references: J Neurosci. 2009 Nov 4;29(44):13746-50
references: 19889986
references: Neuroimage. 2004 May;22(1):394-400
references: 15110032
references: Pain. 1997 Mar;70(1):41-51
references: 9106808
references: Psychosom Med. 2009 Jun;71(5):566-73
references: 19414621
references: J Pain. 2007 Sep;8(9):737-45
references: 17611164
references: J Pain. 2011 Apr;12(4):436-43
references: 21146463
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2002 May;46(5):1333-43
references: 12115241
references: Mol Pain. 2012 Apr 26;8:32
references: 22537768
references: Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Jun;36(6):339-56
references: 17350675
references: Brain Res. 2011 Feb 10;1373:221-9
references: 21146507
references: Arch Intern Med. 2003 Nov 10;163(20):2433-45
references: 14609780
references: Pain. 1996 Dec;68(2-3):375-83
references: 9121827
references: Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2010 May;62(5):583-4
references: 20461781
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961 Jun;4:561-71
references: 13688369
references: Pain. 2009 Jul;144(1-2):95-100
references: 19410366
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Nov;62(11):3488-95
references: 20617526
references: Pain. 2009 Jun;143(3):262-267
references: 19375224
references: Clin J Pain. 1997 Sep;13(3):189-96
references: 9303250
references: J Neurosci. 2011 May 18;31(20):7540-50
references: 21593339
references: Neuroimage. 2010 Oct 15;53(1):119-31
references: 20451631
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2004 Jul;5(7):565-75
references: 15208698
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 9;107(10):4734-9
references: 20176931
references: Arthritis Rheum. 1990 Feb;33(2):160-72
references: 2306288
references: Brain Struct Funct. 2008 Sep;213(1-2):93-118
references: 18704495
references: J Neurosci. 2007 Sep 12;27(37):10000-6
references: 17855614
references: Pain. 2007 Nov;132 Suppl 1:S109-S116
references: 17587497
references: J Neurosci. 2007 Apr 11;27(15):4004-7
references: 17428976
references: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94
references: 9931268
references: Neuroscientist. 2008 Oct;14(5):415-21
references: 18270311
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Aug;62(8):2545-55
references: 20506181
references: J Rheumatol. 2004 Feb;31(2):364-78
references: 14760810
references: Front Syst Neurosci. 2010 May 14;4:13
references: 20577591
references: Pain. 2005 Mar;114(1-2):295-302
references: 15733656
references: J Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Apr;13(2):102-9
references: 17414543
references: Brain Res. 2010 Mar 19;1321:169-79
references: 20053346
references: Pain. 2006 Jan;120(1-2):8-15
references: 16364549
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Dec;58(12):3960-9
references: 19035484
references: J Neurophysiol. 2010 Jan;103(1):297-321
references: 19889849
references: J Rheumatol. 2002 Apr;29(4):818-25
references: 11950027
references: Neuron. 2002 Jan 31;33(3):341-55
references: 11832223
references: J Rheumatol. 1999 Nov;26(11):2458-67
references: 10555910
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Oct;60(10):3146-52
references: 19790053
references: Neuroimage. 2009 Nov 15;48(3):515-24
references: 19607928
references: Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Jul;64(7):2398-403
references: 22294427
references: Pain. 2003 Oct;105(3):403-413
references: 14527701
references: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):195-207
references: 9931269
references: J Neuroimmunol. 2012 Jan 18;242(1-2):33-8
references: 22126705
references: Psychiatry Res. 2011 Oct 31;194(1):47-53
references: 21831605