Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients With Somatic Symptom Disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is characterized by distressing somatic symptoms.
• The neural underpinnings of SSD, particularly functional connectivity (FC) alterations, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within and between key brain networks in individuals with SSD.
• To explore the relationship between FC patterns and symptom severity in SSD.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
• Seed-based correlation analysis was used to assess FC in the sensorimotor network (SMN), default mode network (DMN), salience network, and dorsal attention network (DAN).
• Participants included 18 patients with SSD and 20 healthy controls.

Main Results:

• Patients with SSD exhibited significantly greater FC within the SMN, DMN, and salience network compared to controls.
• Increased FC was observed between the SMN and DMN, SMN and salience network, SMN and DAN, and salience network and DAN in the SSD group.
• Symptom severity scores correlated with specific FC alterations, particularly between the SMN and salience network/DAN.

Conclusions:

• Altered FC in SSD suggests dysregulation in sensory processing, affective influences, and attention.
• Findings indicate potential deficits in attention and sensory-discriminative processing contributing to symptom perception in SSD.