Default mode network connectivity encodes clinical pain: An arterial spin labeling study
Pain October 29, 2012 Marco L. Loggia, Jieun Kim, Randy L. Gollub et al. 319 citations
Patients with chronic low back pain show stronger resting connectivity between the default mode network and the right insula, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, and left inferior parietal lobule compared to healthy controls. Baseline clinical pain correlates positively with default mode network–right insula connectivity. Physical maneuvers that exacerbate pain produce parallel changes in default mode network–right insula connectivity and disrupt default mode network–pregenual anterior cingulate cortex connectivity, which at baseline was anticorrelated with pain. Baseline default mode network connectivity also predicts maneuver-induced changes in both pain and default mode network–right insula connectivity. These findings support resting default mode network connectivity as a potential neuroimaging biomarker for chronic pain perception.