Altered resting-state networks dynamics in fibromialgia

I. CIFRE; C. SITGES; M .A. MUÑOZ-GARCIA; W. LARBIG; DANIEL FRAIMAN; PABLO BALENZUELA; N. BIRBAUMER; DANTE CHIALVO; PEDRO MONTOYA

Chicago, Illinois, EEUU

Conferencia; Meeting of Neuroscience 2009; 2009

Society for Neuroscience, USA.

           Chronic pain has been associated with functional changes in pain-related brain activity (e. gr., pain matrix). Recent evidence further suggests that persistence of spontaneous pain over time could also disrupt brain dynamics beyond the pain matrix . The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of pain over functionally-interconnected resting-state networks in fibromyalgia. Eight fibromyalgia patients (aged 60.14 yrs, SD=6.78) and 8 healthy volunteers (aged 58 yrs, SD=5.43) underwent 10-min fMRI scans while resting quietly with closed eyes. Probabilistic independent component analyses (PICA) were used to identify resting-state networks from low-frequency fluctuations of fMRI time-series in each subject. Spatial group maps for the default-mode network (DMN), the core network, and two lateralized parietal-frontal networks were compared. Results indicated that DMN in fibromyalgia patients splits into partially overlapping resting-state sub-networks encompassing brain areas such as the posterior cingulate cortices, inferior and superior parietal, and medial prefrontal regions. These findings suggest that spontaneous pain in fibromyalgia is influencing overall brain activity during rest and thus altering network dynamic beyond the pain matrix itself.