RESTING BRAIN ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH SPONTANEOUS FIBROMYALGIA PAIN
Published Thursday, July 29, 2010 in Psychology & Sociology
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Michigan discovered evidence of a linkage between elevated intrinsic (resting-state) brain connectivity and spontaneous pain intensity in FM patients. Details of the study appear online and in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
In this study conducted by Vitaly Napadow, Ph.D. and colleagues indicate that individuals with FM have a greater connectivity between multiple brain networks and the insular cortex, a brain region previously linked with evoked pain processing and hyperexcitability.
The current findings provide a better understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms of clinical pain in FM and may potentially lead to markers of disease progression. Dr. Napadow pointed out, however, that their results were derived strictly from FM patients and may not be generalized to other pain states.
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