SynthesisJournal of translational medicine2020
Neuroimaging characteristics of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): a systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of translational medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Objective sleep measures in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep medicine reviews · 2023Pooled it
- The evidence base for physiotherapy in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome when considering post-exertional malaise: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Multimodal approach to identify neuropsychophysiological subgroups in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and their relevance for rehabilitation: protocol for a mechanistic cross-sectional and longitudinal study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Imbalance of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitter Systems in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Neurovascular and synaptic milieu of brain-resident cells in cognitive dysfunction of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- 3D Virtual Reality Performance Metrics as a Future Fatigue Biomarker in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Pathophysiological mechanisms of fatigue and multidisciplinary management strategies (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- An Overview of Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Virus-induced endothelial senescence as a cause and driving factor for ME/CFS and long COVID: mediated by a dysfunctional immune system.Cell death & disease · 2026Review
- Effects of Tai Chi on fatigue and resting-state brain activity in chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled fMRI study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Chronic stress and cognitive dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: HPA axis dysregulation and hippocampal plasticity.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Effect of Cervical Manual Therapy on Sleep Quality: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Neurodevelopment Genes Encoding Olduvai Domains Link Myalgic Encephalomyelitis to Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Resilience of Neural Networks Underlying the Stroop Effect in the Aftermath of Severe COVID-19: fMRI Pilot Study.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Fatigue in Post-COVID-Condition is accompanied by hypoperfusion of right-occipital areas.PloS one · 2025Article
- Absence of BOLD adaptation in chronic fatigue syndrome revealed by task functional MRI.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2025Observational
- Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Altered functional brain connectivity, efficiency, and information flow associated with brain fog after mild to moderate COVID-19 infection.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince the 1990s, neuroimaging has been utilised to study Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating illness with unknown aetiology. While brain abnormalities in ME/CFS have been identified, relatively little is known regarding which specific abnormalities are consistently observed across research groups and to what extent the observed abnormalities are reproducible.
methodTo identify consistent and inconsistent neuroimaging observations in ME/CFS, this retrospective and systematic review searched for studies in which neuroimaging was used to investigate brain abnormalities in ME/CFS in Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed (NCBI), and Scopus from January 1988 to July 2018. A qualitative synthesis of observations was performed to identify brain abnormalities that were consistently and inconsistently reported.
results63 full-text articles were included in the synthesis of results from 291 identified papers. Additional brain area recruitment for cognitive tasks and abnormalities in the brain stem are frequent observations in 11 and 9 studies using different modalities from different research teams respectively. Also, sluggish blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal responses to tasks, reduced serotonin transporters, and regional hypometabolism are consistent observations by more than two research teams. Single observations include abnormal brain tissue properties, regional metabolic abnormalities, and association of brain measures with ME/CFS symptoms. Reduced resting cerebral blood flow and volumetric brain changes are inconsistent observations across different studies.
conclusionNeuroimaging studies of ME/CFS have frequently observed additional brain area recruitment during cognitive tasks and abnormalities in the brain stem. The frequent observation of additional brain area recruitment and consistent observation of sluggish fMRI signal response suggest abnormal neurovascular coupling in ME/CFS.
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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.