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Subcortical and default mode network connectivity is impaired in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Maira Inderyas, Kiran Thapaliya, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Markus Barth, Leighton Barnden

Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1318094 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Case-control neuroimaging study Peer reviewed
Sample size 46
Population 31 patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and 15 healthy controls
Topics Default mode network
Keywords 7 Tesla MRI Me/cfs Duration of illness FMRI Functional connectivity Impaired memory
Key findings ME/CFS patients showed reduced functional connectivity between the pontine nucleus and cerebellum vermis IX compared with healthy controls, plus impaired connectivity within ponto-cerebellar regions. Connectivity correlated with duration of illness, memory scores, and respiratory rate. The authors argue these are the first findings of extensive aberrant ponto-cerebellar connections consistent with ME/CFS symptomatology, implicating the brainstem and cerebellum in the disease.

Abstract

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex chronic condition with core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, suggesting a key role for the central nervous system in the pathophysiology of this disease. Several studies have reported altered functional connectivity (FC) related to motor and cognitive deficits in ME/CFS patients. In this study, we compared functional connectivity differences between 31 ME/CFS and 15 healthy controls (HCs) using 7 Tesla MRI. Functional scans were acquired during a cognitive Stroop color-word task, and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) time series were computed for 27 regions of interest (ROIs) in the cerebellum, brainstem, and salience and default mode networks. A region-based comparison detected reduced FC between the pontine nucleus and cerebellum vermis IX (p = 0.027) for ME/CFS patients compared to HCs. Our ROI-to-voxel analysis found significant impairment of FC within the ponto-cerebellar regions in ME/CFS. Correlation analyses of connectivity with clinical scores in ME/CFS patients detected associations between FC and 'duration of illness' and 'memory scores' in salience network hubs and cerebellum vermis and between FC and 'respiratory rate' within the medulla and the default mode network FC. This novel investigation is the first to report the extensive involvement of aberrant ponto-cerebellar connections consistent with ME/CFS symptomatology. This highlights the involvement of the brainstem and the cerebellum in the pathomechanism of ME/CFS.

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects 2008 Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis
Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects 2009 Experimental study using fMRI
Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects 2016 Experimental study
Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants 2013 Experimental study
The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers 2012 Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis

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