Altered cortical thickness and structural covariance networks in chronic low back pain

Si-Yu Gu; Feng-Chao Shi; Shu Wang; Cheng-Yu Wang; Xin-Xin Yao; Yi-Fan Sun; Chuan-Xu Luo; Wan-Ting Liu; Jian-Bin Hu; Fei Chen; Ping-Lei Pan; Wen-Hui Li

doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.110968

Altered cortical thickness and structural covariance networks in chronic low back pain

Brain Res Bull. 2024 Apr 27:212:110968. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.110968. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Si-Yu Gu¹, Feng-Chao Shi², Shu Wang¹, Cheng-Yu Wang¹, Xin-Xin Yao¹, Yi-Fan Sun¹, Chuan-Xu Luo¹, Wan-Ting Liu¹, Jian-Bin Hu¹, Fei Chen¹, Ping-Lei Pan³, Wen-Hui Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, Yancheng, PR China.
² Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, Yancheng, PR China.
³ Department of Central Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, Yancheng, PR China.
⁴ Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, Yancheng, PR China; The Affiliated Yancheng Maternity&Child Health Hospital of Yangzhou University Medical School, PR China. Electronic address: ycsylwh@gmail.com.

PMID: 38679110
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.110968

Abstract

Background: Despite regional brain structural changes having been reported in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), the topological properties of structural covariance networks (SCNs), which refer to the organization of the SCNs, remain unclear. This study applied graph theoretical analysis to explore the alterations of the topological properties of SCNs, aiming to comprehend the integration and separation of SCNs in patients with CLBP.

Methods: A total of 38 patients with CLBP and 38 healthy controls (HCs), balanced for age and sex, were scanned using three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The cortical thickness was extracted from 68 brain regions, according to the Desikan-Killiany atlas, and used to reconstruct the SCNs. Subsequently, graph theoretical analysis was employed to evaluate the alterations of the topological properties in the SCNs of patients with CLBP.

Results: In comparison to HCs, patients with CLBP had less cortical thickness in the left superior frontal cortex. Additionally, the cortical thickness of the left superior frontal cortex was negatively correlated with the Visual Analogue Scale scores of patients with CLBP. Furthermore, patients with CLBP, relative to HCs, exhibited lower global efficiency and small-worldness, as well as a longer characteristic path length. This indicates a decline in the brain's capacity to transmit and process information, potentially impacting the processing of pain signals in patients with CLBP and contributing to the development of CLBP. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the clustering coefficient, local efficiency, nodal efficiency, nodal betweenness centrality, or nodal degree between the two groups.

Conclusions: From the regional cortical thickness to the complex brain network level, our study demonstrated changes in the cortical thickness and topological properties of the SCNs in patients with CLBP, thus aiding in a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of CLBP.

Keywords: Chronic low back pain; Cortical thickness; Graph theory; Magnetic resonance imaging; Structural covariance network.