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The following is a summary of “Does practice make perfect? Functional connectivity of the salience network and somatosensory network predicts response to mind–body treatments for fibromyalgia,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pain by Medina et al.

Mind-body treatments have been shown to improve coping mechanisms, QoL, and pain in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), but their effectiveness varies broadly. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate changes in brain functional connectivity (FC) associated with mind-body treatment that might explain and predict pain relief, using resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent (rsBOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

 They recruited patients with FMS who participated in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR; n=18), a psychoeducational program (FibroQoL; n=22), or a treatment-as-usual FMS group (TAU; n=18). Before and after treatment, rsBOLD data was collected along with subjective pain, anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing measures. Behavioral changes and FC changes in the salience network (SN) and sensorimotor network (SMN) were examined, and regression analyses were employed to determine predictors of treatment response.

The results showed MBSR and FibroQoL groups experienced significant pain reductions. After treatment, the MBSR group revealed a decline in FC between the sensorimotor cortex and the SMN compared to the TAU group. Baseline FC between the SN and SMN was negatively correlated with pain reduction in the MBSR group but positively correlated with pain reduction in the FibroQoL group, resulting in substantial effect sizes. In the MBSR group, only patients with lower baseline SMN-SN FC showed a positive association between minutes of mindfulness practice and clinical improvement, with a small to medium effect size. 

They concluded the different mind-body treatments involving distinct brain networks measure functional interplay between SN and SMN, which may predict treatment response in patients with FMS.

Source: frontiersin.org/journals/pain-research/articles/10.3389/fpain.2024.1245235/full