Chronic Back Pain Is Associated with Decreased Prefrontal and Thalamic Gray Matter Density
Northwestern University · University of Illinois Chicago · +3 more institutions
Abstract
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…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 19.63
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 49
Authors
7Topics & keywords
- Gray (unit)
- Psychology
- Chronic pain
- Prefrontal cortex
- Medicine
- Neuroscience
- Nuclear medicine
- Cognition
- Good health and well-being