Reduced Cortico-Cortical Resting-State Connectivity in Sensory Systems Related to Bodily Pain in Juvenile Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Objective: Juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM) is a paradigmatic chronic pain condition for which the underlying neurobiological substrates are poorly understood. This study examined, for the first time, data-driven resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) alterations in 37 female adolescents with JFM compared with 43 healthy female adolescents and identified associations with bodily pain. Methods: Whole-brain voxel-wise rsFC alterations were assessed using the intrinsic connectivity contrast, a measure of node centrality at each voxel, and seed-based analyses for interpretability. We studied the relationship between rsFC alterations in somatosensory systems and the location and extension of bodily pain. Results: Adolescents with JFM had voxel-wise rsFC reductions in the paracentral lobule (PCL)/primary somatosensory cortex (S1) (T = 4.89, family-wise error corrected p-value (pFWE) < 0.001) and left midcingulate cortex (T = 4.67, pFWE = 0.043). Post hoc analyses revealed reduced rsFC spanning major cortical sensory hubs (T > 4.4, pFWE < 0.030). Cortico-cortical rsFC reductions within PCL/S1 in JFM occurred in locations innervated by bodily areas where the pain was most frequent (F = 3.15; positive false discovery rate = 0.029) and predicted widespread pain (T > 4.4, pFWE < 0.045). Conversely, adolescents with JFM had increases in PCL/S1–thalamus (T = 4.75, pFWE = 0.046) and PCL/S1–anterior insula rsFC (T = 5.13, pFWE = 0.039). Conclusion: Reduced cortico-cortical sensory integration involving PCL/S1 and spanning the sensory systems may underly critical pain sensory features in youth with JFM. Reduced sensory integration is paralleled by augmented cross-talk between sensory and affective/salience-processing regions, potentially indicating a shift toward more affectively colored sensory experiences to the detriment of specific sensory discrimination.