NeuroImage. Clinical
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NeuroImage. Clinical · Jan 2014
Meta AnalysisGray matter alterations in chronic pain: A network-oriented meta-analytic approach.
Several studies have attempted to characterize morphological brain changes due to chronic pain. Although it has repeatedly been suggested that longstanding pain induces gray matter modifications, there is still some controversy surrounding the direction of the change (increase or decrease in gray matter) and the role of psychological and psychiatric comorbidities. In this study, we propose a novel, network-oriented, meta-analytic approach to characterize morphological changes in chronic pain. ⋯ Conversely, alterations in the sensorimotor and attention circuits were differentially targeted by chronic pain pathologies. Moreover, model-based clustering revealed that chronic pain, in line with some neurodegenerative diseases, selectively targets some large-scale brain networks. Altogether these findings indicate that chronic pain can be better conceived and studied in a network perspective.