Back to Search
Start Over
Probing the working memory system in chronic fatigue syndrome: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using the n-back task.
- Source :
-
Psychosomatic medicine [Psychosom Med] 2006 Nov-Dec; Vol. 68 (6), pp. 947-55. Date of Electronic Publication: 2006 Nov 01. - Publication Year :
- 2006
-
Abstract
- Objective: Up to 90% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) report substantial cognitive difficulties. However, objective evidence supporting these claims is inconsistent. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the neural correlates of working memory in patients with CFS compared with controls.<br />Methods: Seventeen patients with CFS and 12 healthy control subjects were scanned while performing a parametric version of the n-back task (0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-back).<br />Results: Both groups performed comparably well and activated the verbal working memory network during all task levels. However, during the 1-back condition, patients with CFS showed greater activation than control subjects in medial prefrontal regions, including the anterior cingulate gyrus. Conversely, on the more challenging conditions, patients with CFS demonstrated reduced activation in dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Furthermore, on the 2- and 3-back conditions, patients but not control subjects significantly activated a large cluster in the right inferior/medial temporal cortex. Trend analyses of task load demonstrated statistically significant differences in brain activation between the two groups as the demands of the task increased.<br />Conclusions: These results suggest that patients with CFS show both quantitative and qualitative differences in activation of the working memory network compared with healthy control subjects. It remains to be determined whether these findings stay stable after successful treatment.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Case-Control Studies
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic psychology
Female
Gyrus Cinguli metabolism
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Prefrontal Cortex metabolism
Task Performance and Analysis
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic complications
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic metabolism
Memory physiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1534-7796
- Volume :
- 68
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 17079703
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000242770.50979.5f