Resting state functional connectivity of the pain matrix and default mode network in irritable bowel syndrome: a graph theoretical analysis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 11015
• Main Authors: Kano, Michiko, Grinsvall, Cecilia, Ran, Qian, Dupont, Patrick, Morishita, Joe, Muratsubaki, Tomohiko, Mugikura, Shunji, Ly, Huynh Giao, Törnblom, Hans, Ljungberg, Maria, Takase, Kei, Simrén, Magnus, Van Oudenhove, Lukas, Fukudo, Shin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.07.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 59/36; 631/378/2620/410/2610; 692/4020/1503/1502/2071; abdominal-pain; Anxiety; brain connectivity; Case-Control Studies; Connectome - methods; depression; Female; fmri; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; ibs; Intestine; Irritable bowel syndrome; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - diagnostic imaging; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; multidisciplinary; Neural networks; Neurosciences; Neurovetenskaper; Pain; Pain - diagnostic imaging; Pain - physiopathology; parcellation; rectal distension; Rectum; Rest; scale; Science; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Science (multidisciplinary); Theoretical analysis; validation; visceral sensitivity; Young Adult
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67048-9
• ISSN: 2045-2322

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of brain-gut interactions. Differential brain responses to rectal distention between IBS and healthy controls (HCs) have been demonstrated, particularly in the pain matrix and the default mode network. This study aims to compare resting-state functional properties of these networks between IBS patients and HCs using graph analysis in two independent cohorts. We used a weighted graph analysis of the adjacency matrix based on partial correlations between time series in the different regions in each subject to determine subject specific graph measures. These graph measures were normalized by values obtained in equivalent random networks. We did not find any significant differences between IBS patients and controls in global normalized graph measures, hubs, or modularity structure of the pain matrix and the DMN in any of our two independent cohorts. Furthermore, we did not find consistent associations between these global network measures and IBS symptom severity or GI-specific anxiety but we found a significant difference in the relationship between measures of psychological distress (anxiety and/or depressive symptoms) and normalized characteristic path length. The responses of these networks to visceral stimulation rather than their organisation at rest may be primarily disturbed in IBS.