Amygdala functional connectivity mediates the association between catastrophizing and threat-safety learning in youth with chronic pain

We examined amygdala rsFC in 46 youth with chronic pain and 29 healthy peers (age M = 15.8, SD = 2.9; 64 females) and its relationship with catastrophizing and threat-safety learning. We used a developmentally appropriate threat-safety learning paradigm and performed amygdala seed–based rsFC and whole-brain mediation analyses. Patients exhibited enhanced connectivity between the left amygdala and right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) (cluster-level P-FDR CS−; rp = 0.49, P = 0.001). Furthermore, in patients, elevated catastrophizing was associated with reduced left amygdala connectivity with SMG / parietal operculum, and increased left amygdala connectivity with hippocampus, dorsal striatum, paracingulate, and motor regions (P
Source: Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research