William J Cottam1,2,3, Marianne Drabek1,2,3, Diane Reckziegel1,2,3, and Dorothee P Auer1,2,3
1Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Radiological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2ARUK Pain Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 3Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Brain
network connectivity analysis arguably offers the most sensitive marker to
detect dysfunctional brain plasticity underlying the maladaptive nature of
chronic pain. Early
functional connectivity (fc) studies reveal altered functional connectivity in
chronic pain states, but to the best of our knowledge no studies have focussed
upon the amygdala. We
aimed to investigate whether patients with painful chronic knee OA show altered
amygdala connectivity compared to pain-free controls.This
study identified increased functional connectivity of specific amygdala
subnuclei in chronic OA pain patients compared to healthy subjects.