Morphological changes of the limbic system associated with acute and chronic low-back pain: A UK biobank imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health issue that influences physical and emotional factors integral to the limbic system. This study aims to investigate the association between LBP and brain morphometry alterations as the duration of LBP increases (acute vs. chronic). METHODS: We used the UK Biobank data to investigate the morphological features of the limbic system in acute LBP (N = 115), chronic LBP (N = 243) and controls (N = 358), and tried to replicate our findings with an independent dataset composed of 45 acute LBP participants evaluated at different timepoints throughout 1 year from the OpenPain database. RESULTS: We found that in comparison with chronic LBP and pain-free controls, acute LBP was associated with increased volumes of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus, and increased grey matter volumes in the hippocampus and posterior cingulate gyrus. In the replication cohort, we found non-significantly larger hippocampus and thalamus volumes in the 3-month visit (acute LBP) compared to the 1-year visit (chronic LBP), with similar effect sizes as the UK Biobank dataset. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that acute LBP is associated with dramatic morphometric increases in the limbic system and mesolimbic pathway, which may reflect an active brain response and self-regulation in the early stage of LBP. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study suggests that LBP in the acute phase is associated with the brain morphometric changes (increase) in some limbic areas, indicating that the acute phase of LBP may represent a crucial stage of self-regulation and active response to the disease's onset.

Scalp Stimulation Targets for Neurological Conditions-Evidence from Large-Scale Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Neurological disorders are a major source of suffering for patients worldwide. Scalp stimulation methods have been widely applied in treating a number of neurological disorders. Recently, our understanding of pathological mechanisms associated with neurological disorders has been enhanced significantly. Nevertheless, these findings have yet to be well-integrated into scalp stimulation treatments for neurological disorders. METHODS: In a previous study, we proposed new brain targets for scalp stimulation in the treatment of eight common mental disorders based on the results of a large-scale meta-analyses using Neurosynth. This study aims to extend our previous findings in identifying surface brain targets for seven common neurological disorders: Alzheimer's disease, aphasia, chronic pain, dementia, dyslexia, mild cognitive impairment, and Parkinson's disease, utilizing a similar method. RESULTS: We hidentified seven to eight potential scalp stimulation targets for each disorder and used both 10-20 EEG system and acupuncture points to locate these targets to facilitate its clinical application. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed target protocols may facilitate and extend clinical applications of scalp stimulation methods such as transcranial electrical stimulation and scalp acupuncture in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Potential scalp stimulation targets for mental disorders: evidence from neuroimaging studies.

Mental disorders widely contribute to the modern global disease burden, creating a significant need for improvement of treatments. Scalp stimulation methods (such as scalp acupuncture and transcranial electrical stimulation) have shown promising results in relieving psychiatric symptoms. However, neuroimaging findings haven't been well-integrated into scalp stimulation treatments. Identifying surface brain regions associated with mental disorders would expand target selection and the potential for these interventions as treatments for mental disorders. In this study, we performed large-scale meta-analyses separately on eight common mental disorders: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, compulsive disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia; utilizing modern neuroimaging literature to summarize disorder-associated surface brain regions, and proposed neuroimaging-based target protocols. We found that the medial frontal gyrus, the supplementary motor area, and the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex are commonly involved in the pathophysiology of mental disorders. The target protocols we proposed may provide new brain targets for scalp stimulation in the treatment of mental disorders, and facilitate its clinical application.