Disruption of Periaqueductal Gray-default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Patients with Crohn's Disease with Abdominal Pain.
Fenrong Chen, Shuming Zhang, Pengyu Li, Ke Xu, Chengxiang Liu, Bowen Geng, Ruiqing Piao, Peng Liu
Neuroscience March 9, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.03.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 76 |
| Population | 24 Crohn's disease patients in remission with abdominal pain, 24 Crohn's disease patients without abdominal pain, and 28 healthy controls |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Periaqueductal gray Prefrontal cortex Humans Crohn disease Abdominal pain Magnetic resonance imaging Brain mapping Crohn's disease Functional connectivity |
| Key findings | Functional connectivity between periaqueductal gray subregions and default mode network regions (precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, angular gyrus, premotor cortex) decreased progressively from healthy controls to Crohn's patients without abdominal pain to Crohn's patients with abdominal pain. In patients with pain, higher pain scores were associated with lower connectivity between the lateral and ventrolateral PAG and the precuneus, angular gyrus, and medial prefrontal cortex. The authors interpret these patterns as disrupted PAG-default mode network communication relevant to visceral pain in Crohn's disease. |
Abstract
Abdominal pain in Crohn's disease (CD) has been known to be associated with changes in the central nervous system. The periaqueductal gray (PAG) plays a well-established role in pain processing. However, the role of PAG-related network and the effect of pain on the network in CD remain unclear.Resting-state functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 24 CD patients in remission with abdominal pain, 24 CD patients without abdominal pain and 28 healthy controls (HCs). Using the subregions of PAG (dorsomedial (dmPAG), dorsolateral (dlPAG), lateral (lPAG) and ventrolateral (vlPAG)) as seeds, the seed-based FC maps were calculated and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to investigate the differences among the three groups.Results showed that the group differences were mainly involved in the FC of the vlPAG with the precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as well as orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the FC of the right lateral PAG (lPAG) with the precuneus, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), angular gyrus and premotor cortex. The FC values of all these regions decreased successively in the order of HCs, CD without abdominal pain and CD with abdominal pain. The pain score was negatively correlated with the FC of the l/vlPAG with the precuneus, angular gyrus and mPFC in CD patients with abdominal pain.This study implicated the disrupt communication between the PAG and the default mode network (DMN). These findings complemented neuroimaging evidence for the pathophysiology of visceral pain in CD patients.
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 |