WWW.JNEUROSCI.ORG
-
The Journal of Neuroscience
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
-


HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP
The Journal of Neuroscience, November 17, 2004, 24(46):10410-10415; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2541-04.2004

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental data
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (143)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Apkarian, A. V.
Right arrow Articles by Gitelman, D. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Apkarian, A. V.
Right arrow Articles by Gitelman, D. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Chronic Back Pain Is Associated with Decreased Prefrontal and Thalamic Gray Matter Density

A. Vania Apkarian,1 Yamaya Sosa,1 Sreepadma Sonty,2 Robert M. Levy,3 R. Norman Harden,5 Todd B. Parrish,4 and Darren R. Gitelman2,4

1Department of Physiology and Institute of Neuroscience, and Departments of 2Neurology, 3Neurosurgery, and 4Radiology, and 5Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611

The role of the brain in chronic pain conditions remains speculative. We compared brain morphology of 26 chronic back pain (CBP) patients to matched control subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging brain scan data and automated analysis techniques. CBP patients were divided into neuropathic, exhibiting pain because of sciatic nerve damage, and non-neuropathic groups. Pain-related characteristics were correlated to morphometric measures. Neocortical gray matter volume was compared after skull normalization. Patients with CBP showed 5-11% less neocortical gray matter volume than control subjects. The magnitude of this decrease is equivalent to the gray matter volume lost in 10-20 years of normal aging. The decreased volume was related to pain duration, indicating a 1.3 cm3 loss of gray matter for every year of chronic pain. Regional gray matter density in 17 CBP patients was compared with matched controls using voxel-based morphometry and nonparametric statistics. Gray matter density was reduced in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right thalamus and was strongly related to pain characteristics in a pattern distinct for neuropathic and non-neuropathic CBP. Our results imply that CBP is accompanied by brain atrophy and suggest that the pathophysiology of chronic pain includes thalamocortical processes.

Key words: chronic pain; morphometry; frontal cortex; thalamus; neuropathic back pain; aging

Received June 25, 2004; revised October 11, 2004; accepted October 12, 2004.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
R. Rodriguez-Raecke, A. Niemeier, K. Ihle, W. Ruether, and A. May
Brain Gray Matter Decrease in Chronic Pain Is the Consequence and Not the Cause of Pain
J. Neurosci., November 4, 2009; 29(44): 13746 - 13750.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
K. S. Taylor, D. J. Anastakis, and K. D. Davis
Cutting your nerve changes your brain
Brain, November 1, 2009; 132(11): 3122 - 3133.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
S. M. Gustin, P. J. Wrigley, P. J. Siddall, and L. A. Henderson
Brain Anatomy Changes Associated with Persistent Neuropathic Pain Following Spinal Cord Injury
Cereb Cortex, October 8, 2009; (2009) bhp205v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
M. Obermann, K. Nebel, C. Schumann, D. Holle, E. R. Gizewski, M. Maschke, P. J. Goadsby, H. -C. Diener, and Z. Katsarava
Gray matter changes related to chronic posttraumatic headache
Neurology, September 22, 2009; 73(12): 978 - 983.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
A. May
Morphing voxels: the hype around structural imaging of headache patients
Brain, June 1, 2009; 132(6): 1419 - 1425.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Psychosom. Med.Home page
M. Burgmer, M. Gaubitz, C. Konrad, M. Wrenger, S. Hilgart, G. Heuft, and B. Pfleiderer
Decreased Gray Matter Volumes in the Cingulo-Frontal Cortex and the Amygdala in Patients With Fibromyalgia
Psychosom Med, June 1, 2009; 71(5): 566 - 573.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
A. E. Metz, H.-J. Yau, M. V. Centeno, A. V. Apkarian, and M. Martina
Morphological and functional reorganization of rat medial prefrontal cortex in neuropathic pain
PNAS, February 17, 2009; 106(7): 2423 - 2428.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 FocusHome page
J. F. Karp and C. F. Reynolds III
Depression, Pain, and Aging
Focus, January 1, 2009; 7(1): 17 - 27.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Psychosom. Med.Home page
M. Valet, H. Gundel, T. Sprenger, C. Sorg, M. Muhlau, C. Zimmer, P. Henningsen, and T. R. Tolle
Patients With Pain Disorder Show Gray-Matter Loss in Pain-Processing Structures: A Voxel-Based Morphometric Study
Psychosom Med, January 1, 2009; 71(1): 49 - 56.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PhysiologyHome page
U. Bingel and I. Tracey
Imaging CNS Modulation of Pain in Humans
Physiology, December 1, 2008; 23(6): 371 - 380.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
L. Buchgreitz, L.L. Egsgaard, R. Jensen, L. Arendt-Nielsen, and L. Bendtsen
Abnormal pain processing in chronic tension-type headache: a high-density EEG brain mapping study
Brain, December 1, 2008; 131(12): 3232 - 3238.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
R. Luerding, T. Weigand, U. Bogdahn, and T. Schmidt-Wilcke
Working memory performance is correlated with local brain morphology in the medial frontal and anterior cingulate cortex in fibromyalgia patients: structural correlates of pain-cognition interaction
Brain, December 1, 2008; 131(12): 3222 - 3231.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeuroscientistHome page
P. Schweinhardt, K. M. Sauro, and M. C. Bushnell
Fibromyalgia: A Disorder of the Brain?
Neuroscientist, October 1, 2008; 14(5): 415 - 421.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
H. Tsao, M. P. Galea, and P. W. Hodges
Reorganization of the motor cortex is associated with postural control deficits in recurrent low back pain
Brain, August 1, 2008; 131(8): 2161 - 2171.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
I. Tracey
Imaging pain
Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2008; 101(1): 32 - 39.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
J. F. Karp, J. W. Shega, N. E. Morone, and D. K. Weiner
Advances in understanding the mechanisms and management of persistent pain in older adults
Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2008; 101(1): 111 - 120.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
M. N. Baliki, P. Y. Geha, A. V. Apkarian, and D. R. Chialvo
Beyond Feeling: Chronic Pain Hurts the Brain, Disrupting the Default-Mode Network Dynamics
J. Neurosci., February 6, 2008; 28(6): 1398 - 1403.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
K. D. Davis, G. Pope, J. Chen, C. L. Kwan, A. P. Crawley, and N. E. Diamant
CORTICAL THINNING IN IBS: IMPLICATIONS FOR HOMEOSTATIC, ATTENTION, AND PAIN PROCESSING
Neurology, January 8, 2008; 70(2): 153 - 154.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
A. F.M. DaSilva, C. Granziera, J. Snyder, and N. Hadjikhani
Thickening in the somatosensory cortex of patients with migraine
Neurology, November 20, 2007; 69(21): 1990 - 1995.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
D. A. Seminowicz and K. D. Davis
Interactions of Pain Intensity and Cognitive Load: The Brain Stays on Task
Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2007; 17(6): 1412 - 1422.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
A. Kuchinad, P. Schweinhardt, D. A. Seminowicz, P. B. Wood, B. A. Chizh, and M. C. Bushnell
Accelerated Brain Gray Matter Loss in Fibromyalgia Patients: Premature Aging of the Brain?
J. Neurosci., April 11, 2007; 27(15): 4004 - 4007.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 StrokeHome page
M. A. Rocca, A. Ceccarelli, A. Falini, B. Colombo, P. Tortorella, L. Bernasconi, G. Comi, G. Scotti, and M. Filippi
Brain Gray Matter Changes in Migraine Patients With T2-Visible Lesions: A 3-T MRI Study
Stroke, July 1, 2006; 37(7): 1765 - 1770.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurol. Neurosurg. PsychiatryHome page
M A Rocca, A Ceccarelli, A Falini, P Tortorella, B Colombo, E Pagani, G Comi, G Scotti, and M Filippi
Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging at 3.0 tesla shows subtle cerebral grey matter abnormalities in patients with migraine
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 77(5): 686 - 689.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
F. Benedetti, H. S. Mayberg, T. D. Wager, C. S. Stohler, and J.-K. Zubieta
Neurobiological Mechanisms of the Placebo Effect
J. Neurosci., November 9, 2005; 25(45): 10390 - 10402.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
J.-K. Zubieta, J. A. Bueller, L. R. Jackson, D. J. Scott, Y. Xu, R. A. Koeppe, T. E. Nichols, and C. S. Stohler
Placebo Effects Mediated by Endogenous Opioid Activity on {micro}-Opioid Receptors
J. Neurosci., August 24, 2005; 25(34): 7754 - 7762.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


-
-

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help
-
Copyright 2009 by Society for Neuroscience ONLINE ISSN: 1529-2401
-