Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Altered Functional Connectivity Between the Insula and the Cingulate Cortex in Patients With Temporomandibular Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Ichesco, Eric ; Quintero, Andres ; Clauw, Daniel J ; Peltier, Scott ; Sundgren, Pia LU orcid ; Gerstner, Geoffrey E and Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias (2012) In Headache 52. p.441-454
Abstract
Background.- Among the most common chronic pain conditions, yet poorly understood, are temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), with a prevalence estimate of 3-15% for Western populations. Although it is increasingly acknowledged that central nervous system mechanisms contribute to pain amplification and chronicity in TMDs, further research is needed to unravel neural correlates that might abet the development of chronic pain. Objective.- The insular cortex (IC) and cingulate cortex (CC) are both critically involved in the experience of pain. The current study sought specifically to investigate IC-CC functional connectivity in TMD patients and healthy controls (HCs), both during resting state and during the application of a painful stimulus.... (More)
Background.- Among the most common chronic pain conditions, yet poorly understood, are temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), with a prevalence estimate of 3-15% for Western populations. Although it is increasingly acknowledged that central nervous system mechanisms contribute to pain amplification and chronicity in TMDs, further research is needed to unravel neural correlates that might abet the development of chronic pain. Objective.- The insular cortex (IC) and cingulate cortex (CC) are both critically involved in the experience of pain. The current study sought specifically to investigate IC-CC functional connectivity in TMD patients and healthy controls (HCs), both during resting state and during the application of a painful stimulus. Methods.- Eight patients with TMD, and 8 age- and sex-matched HCs were enrolled in the present study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data during resting state and during the performance of a pressure pain stimulus to the temple were acquired. Predefined seed regions were placed in the IC (anterior and posterior insular cortices) and the extracted signal was correlated with brain activity throughout the whole brain. Specifically, we were interested whether TMD patients and HCs would show differences in IC-CC connectivity, both during resting state and during the application of a painful stimulus to the face. Results.- As a main finding, functional connectivity analyses revealed an increased functional connectivity between the left anterior IC and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in TMD patients, during both resting state and applied pressure pain. Within the patient group, there was a negative correlation between the anterior IC-ACC connectivity and clinical pain intensity as measured by a visual analog scale. Conclusions.- Since the pregenual region of the ACC is critically involved in antinociception, we hypothesize that an increase in anterior IC-ACC connectivity is indicative of an adaptation of the pain modulatory system early in the chronification process. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Headache
volume
52
pages
441 - 454
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000301228800011
  • pmid:21929661
  • scopus:84858339289
  • pmid:21929661
ISSN
1526-4610
DOI
10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.01998.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
10d16d00-dae5-47f2-8170-8edabf6360c1 (old id 2168787)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21929661?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:04:49
date last changed
2022-01-29 08:11:58
@article{10d16d00-dae5-47f2-8170-8edabf6360c1,
  abstract     = {{Background.- Among the most common chronic pain conditions, yet poorly understood, are temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), with a prevalence estimate of 3-15% for Western populations. Although it is increasingly acknowledged that central nervous system mechanisms contribute to pain amplification and chronicity in TMDs, further research is needed to unravel neural correlates that might abet the development of chronic pain. Objective.- The insular cortex (IC) and cingulate cortex (CC) are both critically involved in the experience of pain. The current study sought specifically to investigate IC-CC functional connectivity in TMD patients and healthy controls (HCs), both during resting state and during the application of a painful stimulus. Methods.- Eight patients with TMD, and 8 age- and sex-matched HCs were enrolled in the present study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data during resting state and during the performance of a pressure pain stimulus to the temple were acquired. Predefined seed regions were placed in the IC (anterior and posterior insular cortices) and the extracted signal was correlated with brain activity throughout the whole brain. Specifically, we were interested whether TMD patients and HCs would show differences in IC-CC connectivity, both during resting state and during the application of a painful stimulus to the face. Results.- As a main finding, functional connectivity analyses revealed an increased functional connectivity between the left anterior IC and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in TMD patients, during both resting state and applied pressure pain. Within the patient group, there was a negative correlation between the anterior IC-ACC connectivity and clinical pain intensity as measured by a visual analog scale. Conclusions.- Since the pregenual region of the ACC is critically involved in antinociception, we hypothesize that an increase in anterior IC-ACC connectivity is indicative of an adaptation of the pain modulatory system early in the chronification process.}},
  author       = {{Ichesco, Eric and Quintero, Andres and Clauw, Daniel J and Peltier, Scott and Sundgren, Pia and Gerstner, Geoffrey E and Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{1526-4610}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{441--454}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Headache}},
  title        = {{Altered Functional Connectivity Between the Insula and the Cingulate Cortex in Patients With Temporomandibular Disorder: A Pilot Study.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.01998.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.01998.x}},
  volume       = {{52}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}