Fibromyalgia and the role of brain connectivity – new findings

Decreased connectivity between pain-related and sensorimotor brain areas could contribute to lack of pain regulation in fibromyalgia, says new research.
Experts compared brain activity in 16 women (average age 48 years) who had fibromyalgia with 24 healthy women.
The researchers recorded a pattern of “functional decoupling” between pain-related areas of the brain that process pain signals and other areas of the brain in the fibromyalgia group compared to the healthy volunteers, when there was no external pain stimulus.As a result, normal pain perception may be impaired.
“Fibromyalgia is an understudied condition with an unknown cause that can only be diagnosed by its symptoms,” says Dr Christopher Pawela, co-editor-in-chief of Brain Connectivity where the study is published. “This study by Flodin et al is an important first step in the understanding of how the brain is involved in the widespread pain perception that is characteristic of the disorder.”

To read the original research click here.

Image credit: Birth into Being

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