AUTHOR=Meier Michael L. , Stämpfli Philipp , Vrana Andrea , Humphreys Barry K. , Seifritz Erich , Hotz-Boendermaker Sabina TITLE=Neural Correlates of Fear of Movement in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain vs. Pain-Free Individuals JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience VOLUME=10 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00386 DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2016.00386 ISSN=1662-5161 ABSTRACT=
Fear of movement (FOM) can be acquired by a direct aversive experience such as pain or by social learning through observation and instruction. Excessive FOM results in heightened disability and is an obstacle for recovery from acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain (cLBP). FOM has further been identified as a significant explanatory factor in the Fear Avoidance (FA) model of cLBP that describes how individuals experiencing acute back pain may become trapped into a vicious circle of chronic disability and suffering. Despite a wealth of evidence emphasizing the importance of FOM in cLBP, to date, no related neural correlates in patients were found and this therefore has initiated a debate about the precise contribution of fear in the FA model. In the current fMRI study, we applied a novel approach encompassing: (1) video clips of potentially harmful activities for the back as FOM inducing stimuli; and (2) the assessment of FOM in both, cLBP patients (