Increased cortical activation upon painful stimulation in fibromyalgia syndrome

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125230
  • Background Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain and associated symptoms. We investigated cerebral activation in FMS patients by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods Two stimulation paradigms were applied: a) painful pressure stimulation at the dorsal forearm; b) verbal fluency test (VFT). We prospectively recruited 25 FMS patients, ten patients with unipolar major depression (MD) without pain, and 35 healthy controls. All patients underwent neurological examination and allBackground Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain and associated symptoms. We investigated cerebral activation in FMS patients by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods Two stimulation paradigms were applied: a) painful pressure stimulation at the dorsal forearm; b) verbal fluency test (VFT). We prospectively recruited 25 FMS patients, ten patients with unipolar major depression (MD) without pain, and 35 healthy controls. All patients underwent neurological examination and all subjects were investigated with questionnaires (pain, depression, FMS, empathy). Results FMS patients had lower pressure pain thresholds than patients with MD and controls (p < 0.001) and reported higher pain intensity (p < 0.001). Upon unilateral pressure pain stimulation fNIRS recordings revealed increased bilateral cortical activation in FMS patients compared to controls (p < 0.05). FMS patients also displayed a stronger contralateral activity over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in direct comparison to patients with MD (p < 0.05). While all three groups performed equally well in the VFT, a frontal deficit in cortical activation was only found in patients with depression (p < 0.05). Performance and cortical activation correlated negatively in FMS patients (p < 0.05) and positively in patients with MD (p < 0.05). Conclusion Our data give further evidence for altered central nervous processing in patients with FMS and the distinction between FMS and MD.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Nurcan Üçeyler, Susanne Kewenig, Sarah Kittel-Schneider, Andreas J. Fallgatter, Claudia Sommer
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125230
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Medizinische Fakultät / Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik
Medizinische Fakultät / Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie
Language:English
Parent Title (English):BMC Neurology
Year of Completion:2015
Volume:15
Issue:210
Source:BMC Neurology (2015) 15:210. DOI 10.1186/s12883-015-0472-4
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-015-0472-4
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Tag:cortical activation; depression; fibromyalgia syndrome; near-infrared spectroscopy; pain
Release Date:2016/01/26
EU-Project number / Contract (GA) number:602133
OpenAIRE:OpenAIRE
Collections:Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2015
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung