ArticlePain2019
Abnormal medial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity and its association with clinical symptoms in chronic low back pain.
Article in Pain, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 76 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 119 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of non-invasive brain stimulation for chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Connectomic Mapping of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Neural Circuitries Identified Through a Systematic Review and ALE Meta-Analysis.Neural plasticity · 2026Pooled it
- Brain network properties in chronic pain-a systematic review and meta-analysis of graph-based connectivity metrics.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Brain stimulation targets for chronic pain: Insights from meta-analysis, functional connectivity and literature review.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Pooled it
- Coordinate-based (ALE) meta-analysis of acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Both Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Great Auricular Nerve Stimulation Modulate Functional and Structural Connectivity of Brainstem Nuclei in Chronic Low Back Pain.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2026Trial
- Transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation modulates the functional connectivity of the descending pain modulation system and reward network in patients with chronic low back pain.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025Trial
- Default mode network and dorsal attentional network connectivity changes as neural markers of spinal manipulative therapy in lumbar disc herniation.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Exploring electroencephalographic infraslow neurofeedback treatment for chronic low back pain: a double-blinded safety and feasibility randomized placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Dynamic reconfiguration of directed effective connectivity between attention networks and the default mode network in knee osteoarthritis: a combined resting-state and non-noxious thermal stimulation functional magnetic resonance imaging study.The Korean journal of pain · 2026Article
- Differential brain response to a highly palatable drink in chronic low back pain patients.Journal of neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Core Symptoms of Chronic Primary Pain: A Meta-Analysis of RCTs.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- White matter microstructure of sensorimotor projection fibers in chronic low back pain.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Cerebral blood flow alterations and machine learning classification in chronic low back pain using multi-PLD ASL radiomics.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Chronic Pain and Opioids in the Elderly: Treating the Brain, Not Just the Body.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Review
- Hypoactivity of the prelimbic cortex projecting to the lateral entorhinal cortex contributes to neuropathic pain-induced object recognition memory impairment in mice.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Article
- Transcriptional signatures of aberrant brain functional network topology in chronic low back pain with lumbar disc herniation.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
15 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Accumulating evidence has shown that complicated brain systems are involved in the development and maintenance of chronic low back pain (cLBP), but the association between brain functional changes and clinical outcomes remains unclear. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate pattern analysis to identify abnormal functional connectivity (FC) between the default mode, sensorimotor, salience, and central executive brain networks in cLBP and tested whether abnormal FCs are related to pain and comorbid symptoms. Fifty cLBP patients and 44 matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent an fMRI scan, from which brain networks were identified by independent component analysis. Multivariate pattern analysis, graph theory approaches, and correlation analyses were applied to find abnormal FCs that were associated with clinical symptoms. Findings were validated on a second cohort of 30 cLBP patients and 30 matched HCs. Results showed that the medial prefrontal cortex/rostral anterior cingulate cortex had abnormal FCs with brain regions within the default mode network and with other brain networks in cLBP patients. These altered FCs were also correlated with pain duration, pain severity, and pain interference. Finally, we found that resting-state FC could discriminate cLBP patients from HCs with 91% accuracy in the first cohort and 78% accuracy in the validation cohort. Our findings suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex/rostral anterior cingulate cortex may be an important hub for linking the default mode network with the other 3 networks in cLBP patients. Elucidating the altered FCs and their association with clinical outcomes will enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of cLBP and may facilitate the development of pain management approaches.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.