A Randomized Controlled Neuroimaging Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fibromyalgia Pain.

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by pervasive pain-related symptomatology and high levels of negative affect. Mind-body treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appear to foster improvement in FM via reductions in pain-related catastrophizing, a set of negative, pain-amplifying cognitive and emotional processes. However, the neural underpinnings of CBT's catastrophizing-reducing effects remain uncertain.

Brain-to-brain mechanisms underlying pain empathy and social modulation of pain in the patient-clinician interaction.

Social interactions such as the patient-clinician encounter can influence pain, but the underlying dynamic interbrain processes are unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamic brain processes supporting social modulation of pain by assessing simultaneous brain activity (fMRI hyperscanning) from chronic pain patients and clinicians during video-based live interaction. Patients received painful and nonpainful pressure stimuli either with a supportive clinician present (Dyadic) or in isolation (Solo).

Functional network reconfiguration supporting memory-guided attention.

Studies have identified several brain regions whose activations facilitate attentional deployment via long-term memories. We analyzed task-based functional connectivity at the network and node-specific level to characterize large-scale communication between brain regions underlying long-term memory guided attention. We predicted default mode, cognitive control, and dorsal attention subnetworks would contribute differentially to long-term memory guided attention, such that network-level connectivity would shift based on attentional demands, requiring contribution of memory-specific nodes within default mode and cognitive control subnetworks.

Functional reconfiguration of task-active frontoparietal control network facilitates abstract reasoning.

While the brain's functional network architecture is largely conserved between resting and task states, small but significant changes in functional connectivity support complex cognition. In this study, we used a modified Raven's Progressive Matrices Task to examine symbolic and perceptual reasoning in human participants undergoing fMRI scanning. Previously, studies have focused predominantly on discrete symbolic versions of matrix reasoning, even though the first few trials of the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices task consist of continuous perceptual stimuli.

Patient-clinician brain concordance underlies causal dynamics in nonverbal communication and negative affective expressivity.

Patient-clinician concordance in behavior and brain activity has been proposed as a potential key mediator of mutual empathy and clinical rapport in the therapeutic encounter. However, the specific elements of patient-clinician communication that may support brain-to-brain concordance and therapeutic alliance are unknown. Here, we investigated how pain-related, directional facial communication between patients and clinicians is associated with brain-to-brain concordance.

Increased Salience Network Connectivity Following Manual Therapy is Associated with Reduced Pain in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients.

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) has been associated with changes in brain plasticity. Nonpharmacological therapies such as Manual Therapy (MT) have shown promise for relieving cLBP. However, translational neuroimaging research is needed to understand potential central mechanisms supporting MT.

Dynamic brain-to-brain concordance and behavioral mirroring as a mechanism of the patient-clinician interaction.

The patient-clinician interaction can powerfully shape treatment outcomes such as pain but is often considered an intangible "art of medicine" and has largely eluded scientific inquiry. Although brain correlates of social processes such as empathy and theory of mind have been studied using single-subject designs, specific behavioral and neural mechanisms underpinning the patient-clinician interaction are unknown. Using a two-person interactive design, we simultaneously recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging (hyperscanning) in patient-clinician dyads, who interacted via live video, while clinicians treated evoked pain in patients with chronic pain.

Stimulus frequency modulates brainstem response to respiratory-gated transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation.

Background: The therapeutic potential of transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) is currently being explored for numerous clinical applications. However, optimized response for different clinical indications may depend on specific neuromodulation parameters, and systematic assessments of their influence are still needed to optimize this promising approach.

Hypothesis: We proposed that stimulation frequency would have a significant effect on nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) functional MRI (fMRI) response to respiratory-gated taVNS (RAVANS).

The influence of respiration on brainstem and cardiovagal response to auricular vagus nerve stimulation: A multimodal ultrahigh-field (7T) fMRI study.

Background: Brainstem-focused mechanisms supporting transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) effects are not well understood, particularly in humans. We employed ultrahigh field (7T) fMRI and evaluated the influence of respiratory phase for optimal targeting, applying our respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation (RAVANS) technique.

Hypothesis: We proposed that targeting of nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and cardiovagal modulation in response to taVNS stimuli would be enhanced when stimulation is delivered during a more receptive state, i.

Encoding of Self-Referential Pain Catastrophizing in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex in Fibromyalgia.

Objective: Pain catastrophizing is a common feature of chronic pain, including fibromyalgia (FM), and is strongly associated with amplified pain severity and disability. While previous neuroimaging studies have focused on evoked pain response modulation by catastrophizing, the brain mechanisms supporting pain catastrophizing itself are unknown. We designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-based pain catastrophizing task whereby patients with chronic pain engaged in catastrophizing-related cognitions.