Beyond Feeling: Chronic Pain Hurts the Brain, Disrupting the Default-Mode Network Dynamics

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4123-07.2008
• Publication Date: 2008-02-06T17:27:56Z
• Authors: Marwan N. Baliki; Paul Y. Geha; A. Vania Apkarian; Dante R. Chialvo
• Keywords: Depression

Chronic pain patients suffer from more than just pain; depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances, decision-making abnormalities (Apkarian et al., 2004a) also significantly diminish their quality of life. Recent studies have demonstrated that chronic harms cortical areas unrelated to 2004b; Acerra Moseley, 2005), but whether these structural impairments behavioral deficits are connected by a single mechanism is as yet unknown. Here we propose long-term alters the functional connectivity regions known be active at rest, i.e., components "default mode network" (DMN). This DMN (Raichle 2001; Greicius 2003; Vincent 2007) marked balanced positive negative correlations between activity in component brain regions. In several disorders, however this balance disrupted (Fox Raichle, 2007). Using well validated magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms study investigated could rooted disturbed dynamics. Studying with fMRI group back (CBP) healthy controls while executing simple visual attention task, discovered CBP patients, despite performing task equally controls, displayed reduced deactivation key These findings demonstrate has widespread impact on overall function, suggest disruptions may underlie cognitive accompanying pain.