Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41381586›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

A corticospinal signature for interindividual pain sensitivity.

Xiao-Min Lin, Ling-Fei Guo, Bing Ni, Jiu-Quan Zhang, Xiao-Shuo Zhang, Li-Bo Zhang, Zhao-Xing Wei, Yun-Yun Duan, Li Hu, Ming Zhang and 11 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

21 authors.

Xiao-Min LinState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0081-662X
Ling-Fei GuoKey Laboratory of Endocrine Glucose & Lipids Metabolism and Brain Aging, Ministry of Education, Department of Radiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China. glfsci@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4885-625X
Bing NiFunctional neurosurgery Department, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. nibing@xwh.ccmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5548-9200
Jiu-Quan ZhangDepartment of Radiology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China. zhangjq_radiol@foxmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0239-6988
Xiao-Shuo ZhangState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3042-2242
Li-Bo ZhangState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7500-7985
Zhao-Xing WeiState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5629-4384
Yun-Yun DuanDepartment of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Li HuState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-2903
Ming ZhangState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4761-5032
Jing-Yi ZhangState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Min ShaoState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zai-Ying JiangFunctional neurosurgery Department, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Yun-Jian HuangFunctional neurosurgery Department, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Ji-Xin LiuCenter for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4239-1201
Li-Ming ChengKey Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury Repair and Regeneration, Tongji University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.
Jonathan C W BrooksInstitute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Tor D WagerDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1936-5574
Irene TraceyWellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Ya-Ou LiuDepartment of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. liuyaou@bjtth.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4352-5774
Ya-Zhuo KongState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. kongyz@psych.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8249-4723

Funding

The neural bases of placebo effects and their relation to regulatory processesR37MH076136 · NIMH · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI TOR D. WAGER · 2024 to 2026
$2.4M
NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH076136
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pain sensitivity variations represent a critical frontier in pain neuroscience, where advanced neuroimaging has mapped cerebral correlates of nociception for decades, yet conventional brain-centric models persistently overlook the spinal cord's hub role in pain gating and amplification. Here we show that a corticospinal pain sensitivity signature, a pattern of functional connectivity from simultaneous corticospinal magnetic resonance imaging, predicts individual pain sensitivity and clinical pain. Trained on resting-state data and validated across independent healthy (n = 723) and patient cohorts (n = 46), the model generalized to new datasets, distinguished pain from non-pain, and outperformed brain-centric models. Crucially, transcranial magnetic stimulation perturbation revealed a causal axis where enhanced motor cortex-spinal connectivity directly changes pain perception (r = 0.55). These results indicate a previously unknown corticospinal biomarker that bridges laboratory pain measures and patient symptoms, providing insights into translating pain mechanisms from healthy individuals to clinical populations and informing neuromodulation approaches.

Indexed as

PainPain ThresholdPyramidal TractsAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedMotor CortexPain PerceptionSpinal CordTranscranial Magnetic StimulationYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID41381586
PMCPMC12800335

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.