Unaltered intrinsic functional brain architecture in young women with primary dysmenorrhea

Lin Chien Lee, Yueh Hua Chen, Chia Shu Lin, Wei Chi Li, Intan Low, Cheng Hao Tu, Chih Che Chou, Chou Ming Cheng, Tzu Chen Yeh, Li Fen Chen, Hsiang Tai Chao, Jen Chuen Hsieh*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM), painful menstruation without organic causes, is the most prevalent gynecological problem in women of reproductive age. Dysmenorrhea later in life often co-occurs with many chronic functional pain disorders, and chronic functional pain disorders exhibit altered large-scale connectedness between distributed brain regions. It is unknown whether the young PDM females exhibit alterations in the global and local connectivity properties of brain functional networks. Fifty-seven otherwise healthy young PDM females and 62 age- and education-matched control females participated in the present resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study. We used graph theoretical network analysis to investigate the global and regional network metrics and modular structure of the resting-state brain functional networks in young PDM females. The functional network was constructed by the interregional functional connectivity among parcellated brain regions. The global and regional network metrics and modular structure of the resting-state brain functional networks were not altered in young PDM females at our detection threshold (medium to large effect size differences [Cohen’s d ≥ 0.52]). It is plausible that the absence of significant changes in the intrinsic functional brain architecture allows young PDM females to maintain normal psychosocial outcomes during the pain-free follicular phase.

Original languageEnglish
Article number12971
JournalScientific reports
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2018

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