Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29077602›Full record

ArticleSpine2018

Thermal Stimulation Changes Diffusivity of the Spinothalamic Tract.

Joanne C Lin, Christina Mueller, Jarred W Younger

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Spine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Joanne C LinDepartment of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama.
Christina Mueller
Jarred W Younger
Creative Commons · USOctober 6 University · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designAn experimental study.

objectiveThis study aimed to investigate task-dependent changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) within the spinal cord during painful stimulation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Earlier experiments by Mandl et al (2008, 2013) used non-invasive functional diffusion tensor imaging (fDTI) to detect white matter fibers that were active during functional tasks. In two studies, it was observed that FA of involved white matter tracts exhibited repeatable task-related increases. In this study, we attempted to extend the fDTI work in the spinal cord.

methodsTwenty-three healthy, right-handed men (mean age 22 yrs, standard deviation [SD] = 4) were invited to participate in this study. Diffusion-weighted images were collected over spinal levels C2 to T4 during a painful thermal stimulus applied to the left thenar eminence. In order to investigate task-related activity, FA values within the contralateral (right) spinothalamic tract were analyzed using a generalized estimating equations (GEE) procedure. As a control, we also examined activity in the ipsilateral and contralateral corticospinal tracts, which are not considered to be involved in nociception.

resultsSignificant task-related decreases in FA were observed in the right spinothalamic tract at vertebral levels C2-C5 (Wald X(1) = 17.754, P < 0.001). There was no change in control regions at levels C7-T2 of the same tract, which are located below the level of input from dermatome C6, Wald X(1) = 0.185, P = 0.667. Results in all other regions assessed, that is, the left spinothalamic tract and bilateral corticospinal tract, were also not significant (P > 0.05).

conclusionThe current findings suggest that task-related changes in FA associated with the transmission of pain signals along the spinal cord can be detected using fDTI. We observed decreased FA values in the contralateral (right) spinothalamic tract following painful stimulation, while no such activity was apparent in control regions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5.

Indexed as

Hot TemperatureAdolescentAdultAnisotropyDiffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingHumansMalePainSpinothalamic TractsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID29077602
PMCPMC5991176
OpenAlexW2766082812

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.