Visceral sensitivity correlates with decreased regional gray matter volume in healthy volunteers: A voxel-based morphometry study

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• 作者：Sigrid Elsenbruch ; Julia Schmid ; Jennifer S. Kullmann ; Joswin Kattoor ; Nina Theysohn ; Michael Forsting ; Vassilios Kotsis
• 关键词：Visceral sensitivity ; Voxel-based morphometry ; Gray matter volume ; Rectal distension ; Rectal sensory threshold ; Rectal pain threshold ; Interindividual differences
• 刊名：Pain
• 出版年：February, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：155
• 期：2
• 页码：244-249
• 全文大小：482 K

文摘

Regional changes in brain structure have been reported in patients with altered visceral sensitivity and chronic abdominal pain, such as in irritable bowel syndrome. It remains unknown whether structural brain changes are associated with visceral sensitivity. Therefore, we present the first study in healthy individuals to address whether interindividual variations in gray matter volume (GMV) in pain-relevant regions correlate with visceral sensitivity. In 92 healthy young adults (52 female), we assessed rectal sensory and pain thresholds and performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to compute linear regression models with visceral sensory and pain thresholds, respectively, as independent variable and GMV in a priori-defined regions of interest (ROIs) as dependent variable. All results were familywise error (FWE) corrected at a level of P_FWE < .05 and covaried for age. The mean (卤SEM) rectal thresholds were 14.78 卤 0.46 mm Hg for first sensation and 33.97 卤 1.13 mm Hg for pain, without evidence of sex differences. Lower rectal sensory threshold (ie, increased sensitivity) correlated significantly with reduced GMV in the thalamus, insula, posterior cingulate cortex, ventrolateral and orbitofrontal prefrontal cortices, amygdala, and basal ganglia (all P_FWE < .05). Lower rectal pain threshold was associated with reduced GMV in the right thalamus (P_FWE = .051). These are the first data supporting that increased visceral sensitivity correlates with decreased gray matter volume in pain-relevant brain regions. These findings support that alterations in brain morphology not only occur in clinical pain conditions but also occur according to normal interindividual variations in visceral sensitivity.