Altered network architecture of functional brain communities in chronic nociplastic pain
Tony E. Larkin,
Chelsea M. Kaplan,
Andrew Schrepf,
Eric Ichesco,
Ishtiaq Mawla,
Steven E. Harte,
George A. Mashour,
Daniel J. Clauw,
Richard E. Harris
Affiliations
Tony E. Larkin
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Corresponding author at: UM/CPFRC, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., PO Box 385, Lobby M, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, United States.
Chelsea M. Kaplan
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Andrew Schrepf
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Eric Ichesco
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Ishtiaq Mawla
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Steven E. Harte
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
George A. Mashour
Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Daniel J. Clauw
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Richard E. Harris
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Neuroimaging has enhanced our understanding of the neural correlates of pain. Yet, how neural circuits interact and contribute to persistent pain remain largely unknown. Here, we investigate the mesoscale organization of the brain through intrinsic functional communities generated from resting state functional MRI data from two independent datasets, a discovery cohort of 43 Fibromyalgia (FM) patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) as well as a replication sample of 34 FM patients and 21 HC. Using normalized mutual information, we found that the global network architecture in chronic pain patients is less stable (more variable). Subsequent analyses of node community assignment revealed the composition of the communities differed between FM and HC. Furthermore, differences in network organization were associated with the changes in the composition of communities between patients with varying levels of clinical pain. Together, this work demonstrates that intrinsic network communities differ substantially between patients with FM and controls. These differences may represent a novel aspect of the pathophysiology of chronic nociplastic pain.
