Altered resting state functional connectivity of the cognitive control network in fibromyalgia and the modulation effect of mind-body intervention.
Author: Kong J1, Wolcott E2, Wang Z3, Jorgenson K3, Harvey WF2, Tao J3, Rones R3, Wang C4
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA. kongj@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu.
2Center For Complementary And Integrative Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
3Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
4Center For Complementary And Integrative Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA. cwang2@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
Conference/Journal: Brain Imaging Behav.
Date published: 2018 May 2
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s11682-018-9875-3. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 262
This study examines altered resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the cognitive control network (CCN) in fibromyalgia patients as compared to healthy controls, as well as how an effective mind-body intervention, Tai Chi, can modulate the altered rsFC of the CCN. Patients with fibromyalgia and matched healthy subjects were recruited in this study. Fibromyalgia patients were scanned 12 weeks before and after intervention. The bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was used as a seed to explore the rsFC of the CCN. Data analysis was conducted with 21 patients and 20 healthy subjects. Compared to healthy subjects, fibromyalgia patients exhibited increased rsFC between the DLPFC and the bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) at baseline. The rsFC between the CCN and rACC/MPFC further increased after Tai Chi intervention, and this increase was accompanied by clinical improvements. This rsFC change was also significantly associated with corresponding changes in the Overall Impact domain of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR). Further analysis showed that the rACC/MPFC rsFC with both the PAG and hippocampus significantly decreased following Tai Chi intervention. Our study suggests that fibromyalgia is associated with altered CCN rsFC and that effective mind-body treatment may elicit clinical improvements by further increasing this altered rsFC. Elucidating this mechanism of enhancing the allostasis process will deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying mind-body interventions in fibromyalgia patients and facilitate the development of new pain management methods.
KEYWORDS: Anterior cingulate cortex; Cognitive control network; Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex; Fibromyalgia; Mind-body intervention; Resting state functional connectivity; Tai Chi
PMID: 29721768 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-018-9875-3
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