Table 4.
Neuroimaging studies investigating SCI subjects with NP compared to healthy controls.
| References | Modality | Region of interest(s) | Statistical correction | Main findings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jutzeler et al. (55) | sMRI | Whole brain; M1, S1, S2, PMC, insula, thalamus and ACC as regions of interests |
p < 0.05 FWE correction | SCI-NP vs. controls: ↑ GMV in ACC. ↓ GMV in Thalamus |
|
| Mole et al. (56) | sMRI | Whole brain: M1, S1, thalamus, L posterior cingulate, R insula as regions of interests |
p < 0.001 uncorrected; p < 0.05 FWE correction |
SCI-NP vs. controls: ↔GMV. ↓ WMV of bilateral pyramids, L medial cuneus, deep to L S2 and R posterior corona radiata |
|
| Min et al. (59)§ | rsfMRI | M1, SMA, S1, S2, BG, dlPM, vlPM |
p <0.05, k = 64 FDR correction |
SCI-pain vs. controls: ↓ FC: •R M1—R S1, R S2 •R S1—L S1, R S2, L S2 •L S1—R S2 •R S2—R dlPM |
↑ FC: •R M1—R SMA, L SMA •L BG—L S2 |
| Yoon et al. (57) | sMRI DTI PET |
Whole brain | sMRI and PET: p < 0.001 uncorrected, p < 0.05 SVC with 10 mm spheres; DTI: p < 0.05 TFCE |
SCI-NP vs. controls: ↓ GMV in L mFG, R ACC and bilateral anterior insula ↓ MD: splenium and body of CC, R SLF, CST regions, thalamocortical tract, superior parietal white matter, R pre and post central, bilateral superior frontal and middle frontal area, cerebral peduncle, anterior corona radiata and internal capsule. ↔ FA ↓ metabolism in L middle frontal gyrus and R mFG |
|
| Gustin et al. (58) | DTI | Whole brain |
p < 0.005 uncorrected, k = 20 |
SCI-NP vs. controls: ↑ MD of dorsolateral PFC, PPC and PMC ↓ MD in ventroposterior thalamus, amygdala and ventral pons ↔ FA |
|
| Widerström- Noga et al. (60) | MRS | Thalamus | Independent t tests p < 0.05 |
SCI-NP high pain vs. controls: ↓ NAA/Ins and Glx/Ins SCI-NP low pain vs. controls: ↔ metabolite concentrations |
|
| Gustin et al. (61) | MRS | Thalamus | Independent t tests p < 0.05 |
SCI-NP vs. controls: ↓ NAA/Cr and GABA/Cr |
|
| Widerström-Noga et al. (62) | MRS | ACC | Independent t tests p < 0.05 |
SCI -NP high pain vs. controls: ↑ Glx/Ins SCI-NP low pain vs. controls: n/a |
|
| Stanwell et al. (63) | MRS | Thalamus, PFC, and ACC |
Wavelet-based significant testing p < 0.05 |
SCI-NP vs. controls: n/a | |
| Pattany et al. (64) | MRS | Thalamus | Post hoc t tests p < 0.05 |
SCI-NP vs. controls: ↔ NAA and NAA/Ins |
|
Results of studies investigating differences between SCI-NP subjects and healthy controls unless stated otherwise. Study order is based on neuroimaging modality as reported in Table 1, starting with structural, DTI, rsfMRI, then MRS.
ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; BG, basal ganglia; CC, corpus callosum; Cr, creatine; CST, corticospinal tract; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; dlPM, dorsolateral premotor cortex; FA, fractional anisotropy; FC, functional connectivity; FDR, false-discovery rate; FWE, family-wise error; GABA, gamma (γ)-aminobutyric acid; Glx, glutamate and glutamine; GMV, gray matter volume; Ins, myo-inositol; k, minimum cluster size; L, Left; M1, motor cortex; MD, mean diffusivity; mFG, medial frontal gyrus; MRS, magnetic resonance spectroscopy; NAA, N-acetyl aspartate; PET, positron emission tomography; PFC, prefrontal cortex; PMC, premotor cortex; PPC, posterior parietal cortex; R, right; rsfMRI, resting-state fMRI; S1, somatosensory cortex 1; S2, somatosensory cortex 2; SCI, spinal cord injury; SLF, superior longitudinal fasciculus; SMA, supplementary motor area; sMRI, structural MRI; SCI NP, SCI subjects with NP; SCI no NP, SCI subjects without NP; SVC, small volume correction; TFCE, threshold-free cluster enhancement; vlPM, ventrolateral premotor cortex; WMV, white matter volume.
↔ No significant changes; ↑ significant increase; ↓ significant decrease.