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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Imaging Methods
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1535288
This article is part of the Research Topic Brain Metabolic Imaging by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy: Methods and Clinical Applications Volume II View all 4 articles

Multimodal Abnormalities of Brain Function in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies

Provisionally accepted
Xingyao Chen Xingyao Chen 1*Nuo Chen Nuo Chen 1Peng Lai Peng Lai 1Yiqi Sun Yiqi Sun 1Jie Yu Jie Yu 2Ming Xin Ming Xin 3Deliang Zhu Deliang Zhu 3FanRong Liang FanRong Liang 1Qian Song Qian Song 4Shirui Cheng Shirui Cheng 1Zheng-jie Li Zheng-jie Li 1
  • 1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Chengdu Fifth People’s Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nankai District, Tianjin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Neuroimaging investigations into chronic low back pain (CLBP) have detected functional abnormalities across a spectrum of brain regions, yet the findings have often been inconsistent. In this meta-analysis, we integrated the existing data, delineating a pattern of coherent results from the encompassed studies.A systematic search of neuroimaging studies investigating the brain activity differences between CLBP and Healthy controls (HCs) was conducted in seven databases up to December 22, 2024. An anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping (AES-SDM) -based meta-analysis was carried out to report the results and perform a multimodal analysis.A total of 20 publications reporting on 24 experiments in this meta-analysis. The ReHo meta-analysis showed abnormal spontaneous activity of left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), right precuneus, right fusiform gyrus and bilateral postcentral gyrus (PoCG) in CLBP patients. The ALFF meta-analysis demonstrated functional alterations in the right rolandic operculum (extending to the right insula and right IFG), left ITG, left middle 5 occipital gyrus (MOG), left paracentral lobule, left PoCG and bilateral cuneus cortex in CLBP patients. The results of the functional group meta-analysis revealed that patients with CLBP displayed new decreased functional activity in the right thalamus, right precentral gyrus (PreCG) and right lingual gyrus.Patients with CLBP exhibit extensive multimodal functional neuroimaging abnormalities, involving brain regions related to pain perception, emotional processing, cognitive functions, and both the visual and motor cortices. These meta-analysis findings might provide a valuable reference for the identification of potential therapeutic targets for CLBP in the brain.

    Keywords: data curation, methodology, software, drafted the manuscript. NC: data curation, formal analysis, original graft. PL, YS: investigation, original graft. JY, MX, DZ, FL, chronic low back pain, functional magnetic resonance imaging, spontaneous brain activity, Meta-analysis, resting-state

    Received: 27 Nov 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Chen, Lai, Sun, Yu, Xin, Zhu, Liang, Song, Cheng and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xingyao Chen, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China

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