What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to uncover how chronic somatic pain affects the neural mechanisms of depression, particularly focusing on the right Broca's homologue.

June 26, 2026BMC PsychiatryOpen Access

Right broca homologue mediates the pain-depression circuit: a case-control Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study on language network remodeling in chronic pain-depression comorbidity*

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Authors

JZJiaren ZhengXiamen University NZNing ZhuNanjing Tech University JHJiaxi HuangXiamen University

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Implication

Case-control fNIRS study reveals how the right Broca homolog links pain and depression in comorbid individuals, suggesting therapeutic targets.

Key Points

This study aims to uncover how chronic somatic pain affects the neural mechanisms of depression, particularly focusing on the right Broca's homologue.
Case-control study involving 129 participants divided into three groups: MDD + CSP, MDD-CSP, and healthy controls.
Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was performed during verbal fluency tasks and at rest.
Mediation analysis assessed the relationship between RH-Broca activation, pain, and depression.
MDD patients exhibited reduced activation in the bilateral frontopolar cortex compared to healthy controls.
The comorbid group showed significantly lower RH-Broca activation (p = 0.003) and negative correlation with pain intensity (p < 0.001).
Mediation analysis found RH-Broca activation mediated the relationships between pain and depression with indirect effect β = 1.17 and β = 0.13 respectively.

Cite This Study

Zheng et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a3e16cd030ad1a9b3090815 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08323-3

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Implication

Case-control fNIRS study reveals how the right Broca homolog links pain and depression in comorbid individuals, suggesting therapeutic targets.

Right broca homologue mediates the pain-depression circuit: a case-control Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study on language network remodeling in chronic pain-depression comorbidity*

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Right broca homologue mediates the pain-depression circuit: a case-control Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study on language network remodeling in chronic pain-depression comorbidity*

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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