ArticlePloS one2020
Reduced activity, reactivity and functionality of the sympathetic nervous system in fibromyalgia: An electrodermal study.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT05704374 (The Effect of Sympathetic Dysfunction on Muscle Spindle Activity in Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome), which is not on this map. Cited by 24 papers.
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.
The Effect of Sympathetic Dysfunction on Muscle Spindle Activity in Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Osteopathic manual therapy in fibromyalgia: a pilot study.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2026Trial
- Justify your disability! A simulated medical evaluation as a novel stress induction model in chronic pain.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Non-Invasive Electrochemical Biosensors for Fibromyalgia: A Path Toward Objective Physiological Monitoring and Personalized Management.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Combined Proxies for Heart Rate Variability as a Global Tool to Assess and Monitor Autonomic Dysregulation in Fibromyalgia and Disease-Related Impairments.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Observational
- Small Fibre Pathology in Fibromyalgia: A review.Pain and therapy · 2025Review
- Fibromyalgia diagnosis from a multi-omics approach: a gut feeling.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Investigating the effects of artificial baroreflex stimulation on pain perception: A comparative study in no-pain and chronic low back pain individuals.The Journal of physiology · 2024Article
- Effect of neuromodulation for chronic pain on the autonomic nervous system: a systematic review.BJA open · 2024Review
- Review
- Development and validation of a mental hyperactivity questionnaire for the evaluation of chronic stress in higher education.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Functional neurological disorder, physical activity and exercise: What we know and what we can learn from comorbid disorders.Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2024Review
- Coexistence of fibromyalgia syndrome and inflammatory rheumatic diseases, and autonomic cardiovascular system involvement in fibromyalgia syndrome.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Review
- Emotion regulation and the salience network: a hypothetical integrative model of fibromyalgia.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2023Review
- The Role of Neuro-Immune Interaction in Chronic Pain Conditions; Functional Somatic Syndrome, Neurogenic Inflammation, and Peripheral Neuropathy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Relationships of autonomic dysfunction with disease severity and neuropathic pain features in fibromyalgia: is it really a sympathetically maintained neuropathic pain?The Korean journal of pain · 2022Article
- Association between biophysical properties and anxiety in patients with sensitive skin.Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI) · 2022Article
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Small Fibre Impairment in Patients with Fibromyalgia.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Neurophysiological and ultrasonographic comparative study of autonomous nervous system in patients suffering from fibromyalgia and generalized anxiety disorder.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Article
- Fibromyalgia-associated hyperalgesia is related to psychopathological alterations but not to gut microbiome changes.PloS one · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Alterations in autonomic activity are well established in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Previous studies found reduced parasympathetic activity and sympathetic reactivity to physical and stress manipulations. However, sympathetic activity at rest has not been well studied in FMS. Sweating is exclusively controlled by sympathetic mechanisms. In this study, skin conductance (SC), as an indirect measure of sweating, was analyzed in 45 women with FMS and 38 healthy women. Tonic SC levels were recorded during a 4-minute rest period, and a breathing maneuver consisting of deep breathing with posterior breath holding was used to evoke SC responses. Associations of tonic SC with state anxiety and body temperature, measured in the hand, were explored to determine sweat functionality. The results showed reduced tonic SC levels, with a less marked decrease in SC during the recording period, and blunted SC reactivity to the breathing manipulation in FMS patients relative to healthy participants. Positive associations of SC with state anxiety and body temperature were observed in healthy participants, but these associations were absent in FMS patients. These results indicate alterations of sweating in FMS, suggesting reduced tonic and reactivity sympathetic influences. Furthermore, the absence of associations between SC levels and state anxiety and body temperature in the patient sample suggested a loss of functionality of the autonomic nervous system in FMS. Diminished autonomic regulation in FMS would reduce the ability to cope with environmental demands, thus favoring increases in stress and pain levels. Finally, the observed reduction in sweating is in accordance with evidence of small nerve fiber neuropathy in FMS.
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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.