Task-evoked network connectivity and pain regulation success in chronic low back pain

Figures

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  Fig. 1. Cognitive reappraisal and attention regulation network regions-of-interest (ROIs) and pain regulation task results. a) Pain regulation task overview; b) Neurosynth association test map of the term “reappraisal” with cognitive reappraisal network ROIs in green; c) ROIs in cognitive reappraisal and attention regulation networks; d) Pain regulation task rating results. Overall, participants were able to successfully reduce their pain intensity and unpleasantness when engaging in cognitive reappraisal (Respond > Reframe) and attention regulation (Respond > Observe). Results presented as combined box and violin plots, with black diamonds representing means, bars representing medians, and asterisks representing the results of significance tests from paired t-tests. Note: ∗∗∗p < 0.001; Images: Fig. 1a was drawn by the first author; brain images were generated using the freely available and open-source FSL (Fig. 1b) and CONN Matlab toolbox (Fig. 1c); pain rating plot (Fig. 1d) was generated using the freely available and open-source RStudio software. Abbreviations: MTG = left middle temporal gyrus, lvlPFC = left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, Amyg = left amygdala, SFG = left superior…

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  Fig. 2. Results of analysis testing the relationship between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and pain regulation success. a) Association between rsFC and the degree of success of cognitive reappraisal of pain intensity in a separate pain regulation task; b) Association between rsFC and the degree of success of attention regulation of pain intensity in the pain regulation task; c) Association between rsFC and the degree of success of attention regulation of pain unpleasantness in the pain regulation task. Note: Red ROI-to-ROI connections indicate a positive (i.e., increased rsFC associated with increased pain regulation success) association; blue ROI-to-ROI connections indicate a negative (i.e., increased rsFC associated with decreased pain regulation success) association. The thickness of ROI-to-ROI connections indicates the strength of the association. All GLM results control for age and gender. Images: Brain images and connectivity plots in Fig. 2a–c were generated using the freely available and open-source CONN Matlab toolbox. Abbreviations: MTG = left middle temporal gyrus, lvlPFC = left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, Amyg = left amygdala, SFG = left superior frontal…

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  Fig. 3. Correlation analysis results. a) Correlation matrix showing the relationship between rsFC, cognitive reappraisal of pain intensity, and self-report measures of pain, cognition and emotion. Positive Pearson correlations are depicted with blue backgrounds; negative correlations are represented with red backgrounds. The intensity of the color in each cell is proportional to the strength of the correlation coefficient. Cells with white backgrounds show non-significant relationships (FDR-corrected p values > 0.05); b) Increased between-network right IFG-left MTG rsFC was associated with increased cognitive distortions in correlation matrix testing associations between rsFC and cognitive reappraisal of pain intensity; c) Correlation matrix showing the relationship between rsFC, attention regulation of pain intensity, and self-report measures of pain, cognition and emotion; d) Increased between-network left vlPFC-left PCC rsFC was associated with increased habitual use of cognitive reappraisal, lower pain catastrophizing, and lower depression in correlation matrix testing associations between rsFC and attention regulation of pain intensity. Images: Correlation matrices in Fig. 3a and c…