Mary R Newsome1, Elisabeth A Wilde1,2, Erin D Bigler3, Qisheng Liu1, Andrew R Mayer4, Brian A Taylor5, Joel L Steinberg6, David F Tate7, Tracy J Abildskov3, Randall S Scheibel1, William C Walker8, Harvey S Levin1. 1. a Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center and H. Ben Taub , Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston , TX , USA. 2. b Department of Neurology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA. 3. c Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University , Provo , UT , USA. 4. d The Mind Research Network, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque , NM , USA. 5. e College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , VA , USA. 6. f Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , VA , USA. 7. g Missouri Institute of Mental Health, University of Missouri-St. Louis , St. Louis , MO , USA. 8. h Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , VA , USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Investigate the relation of chronic pain interference to functional connectivity (FC) of brain regions and to cortical thickness in post-911 Veterans and Service Members (SMs) who sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). METHODS: This is an observational study with cross-sectional analyses. A sample of 65 enrollees completing initial evaluation at a single site of the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) reported pain interference ratings on the TBI QOL. Functional connectivity and cortical thickness were measured. RESULTS: Severity of pain interference was negatively related to FC of the default mode network (DMN), i.e., participants who reported more severe pain interference had less FC between mesial prefrontal cortex and posterior regions of the DMN including posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. Cortical thickness of specific regions was positively related to severity of pain interference. CONCLUSION: The more that pain was perceived to interfere with daily life, the less the FC between regions in a network associated with self-referential thought and mind wandering. Although cortical thickness in specific brain regions was positively related to severity of pain interference, follow-up longitudinal data, control group data, and study of individual differences in this cohort will expand this initial report and replicate these findings.
OBJECTIVES: Investigate the relation of chronic pain interference to functional connectivity (FC) of brain regions and to cortical thickness in post-911 Veterans and Service Members (SMs) who sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). METHODS: This is an observational study with cross-sectional analyses. A sample of 65 enrollees completing initial evaluation at a single site of the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) reported pain interference ratings on the TBI QOL. Functional connectivity and cortical thickness were measured. RESULTS: Severity of pain interference was negatively related to FC of the default mode network (DMN), i.e., participants who reported more severe pain interference had less FC between mesial prefrontal cortex and posterior regions of the DMN including posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. Cortical thickness of specific regions was positively related to severity of pain interference. CONCLUSION: The more that pain was perceived to interfere with daily life, the less the FC between regions in a network associated with self-referential thought and mind wandering. Although cortical thickness in specific brain regions was positively related to severity of pain interference, follow-up longitudinal data, control group data, and study of individual differences in this cohort will expand this initial report and replicate these findings.
Authors: Ashley L Ware; Naomi J Goodrich-Hunsaker; Catherine Lebel; Ayushi Shukla; Elisabeth A Wilde; Tracy J Abildskov; Erin D Bigler; Daniel M Cohen; Leslie K Mihalov; Ann Bacevice; Barbara A Bangert; H Gerry Taylor; Keith Owen Yeates Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2020-05-11 Impact factor: 5.269
Authors: Michael Vaninetti; Mike Lim; Aladdin Khalaf; Valerie Metzger-Smith; Matthew Flowers; Alphonsa Kunnel; Eric Yang; David Song; Lisa Lin; Alice Tsai; Roland Lee; Shahrokh Golshan; Albert Leung Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-05-05 Impact factor: 4.996