Periaqueductal gray connectivity in spinal cord injury-induced neuropathic pain.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a debilitating condition following spinal cord injury (SCI). The role of periaqueductal gray (PAG) in NP development following SCI remains underexplored. Using resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI), our study aimed to demonstrate the alterations in functional connectivity (FC) of PAG in NP following SCI.
METHODS: Ten SCI patients (SCI + NP, n = 7, and SCI - NP, n = 3), alongside 10 healthy controls (HCs), were enrolled. rsfMRI was conducted followed by seed-to-voxel analysis using PAG as the seed region and then group-based analysis comprising three groups (SCI + NP, SCI - NP, and HC). Age and gender were considered as confounding variables.
RESULTS: Compared to HCs, SCI + NP demonstrated decreased FC between PAG and right insula, right frontal orbital cortex, right pallidum, dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), red nuclei (RN), substantia nigra (SN), and ventral posterolateral (VPL) thalamic nuclei. Compared to SCI - NP, SCI + NP demonstrated increased FC between PAG and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), hippocampus, cerebellar vermis lobules IV and V, and thalamic structures (posterior and lateral pulvinar, the mediodorsal nuclei, and the ventral lateral nuclei). Additionally, decreased FC between the PAG and VPL, geniculate bodies, intralaminar nuclei of thalamus, DRN, RN, SN, and prefrontal cortex was observed in this comparison.
CONCLUSIONS: Altered FC between PAG and right anterior insula, VPL, DRN, RN, SN, cerebellar vermis lobules IV and V, frontal cortex, and PCC was associated with NP sequelae of SCI. Additionally, SCI was independently associated with decreased FC between PAG and right posterior insula, cerebellar lobules IV and V, and cerebellar vermis lobules III, IV, and V.
Volume
34
Issue
6
First Page
704
Last Page
719
ISSN
1552-6569
Published In/Presented At
Shoraka, O., Syed, M., Mandloi, S., Thalheimer, S., Kashani, S. N., Heller, J. E., Mohamed, F. B., Sharan, A. D., Talekar, K. S., Matias, C. M., Harrop, J. S., Krisa, L., & Alizadeh, M. (2024). Periaqueductal gray connectivity in spinal cord injury-induced neuropathic pain. Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging, 34(6), 704–719. https://doi.org/10.1111/jon.13237
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
39252511
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article