Right anterior insula is associated with pain generalization in patients with fibromyalgia

Hung Yu Liu, Kun Hsien Chou, Pei Lin Lee, Yen Feng Wang, Shih Pin Chen, Kuan Lin Lai, Ching Po Lin, Shuu-Jiun Wang*, Wei Ta Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite diffuse tenderness, patients with fibromyalgia (FM) have reported a wide range of areas with musculoskeletal pain. This study investigated the neural structures and neuroanatomical networks associated with self-reported widespread pain in FM using magnetic resonance imaging. We collected clinical profiles and brain magnetic resonance imaging data of newly diagnosed patients with FM. A total of 138 patients with FM were divided into 3 subgroups based on the number of pain areas, with 3 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 19 areas, respectively. Using voxel-based morphometry analysis, we first identified the neural structure that showed a trend of volumetric change across the 3 subgroups. We then used it as a candidate seed of interest with a seed-to-voxel analytical approach to explore the structural covariance (SC) networks of the whole brain. Finally, we studied the trend of changes in the distribution and strength of SC networks across subgroups of patients. We found a decreasing trend in the volumes of the right anterior insular cortex (rAIC) across the 3 subgroups that had an increased number of pain areas. An increasing trend in the number of neural substrates over the subcortical regions, especially the basal ganglion, showed SC to the rAIC, and a decreasing trend of SC strength was shown between the rAIC and the precuneus, frontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate, and lingual gyri, across the patient subgroups with increased pain areas. The rAIC and its altered connection with specific brain regions indicates widespread pain in patients with FM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)E572-E579
JournalPain
Volume163
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Anterior insula
  • Fibromyalgia
  • MRI
  • Structural covariance
  • Widespread pain

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