Big news! Researchers have identified structural abnormalities in the brains of POTS patients. One of the areas identified, the left insula, is part of the insular cortex, an area of the brain involved with the body's regulation of the autonomic nervous system and perceptions of pain. The full article is not available yet, but as soon as it's published, we will provide a patient-friendly explanation of the findings. This study could open the door for a whole new area of POTS research!
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http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/119937/abstract
tructural brain abnormalities in postural tachycardia syndrome: A VBM-DARTEL study
Satoshi Umeda1*, Neil A. Harrison2, Marcus Gray3, Christopher Mathias4 and Hugo Critchley2
common as the better-known condition orthostatic hypotension, the neural substrates of the syndrome are poorly characterized. In the present study, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) applying the diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra (DARTEL) procedure to examine variation in regional brain structure associated with PoTS. We recruited eleven patients with established PoTS and twenty-three age-matched normal controls. Group comparison of grey matter volume revealed diminished grey matter volume within the left anterior insula, right middle frontal gyrus and right cingulate gyrus in the PoTS group. We also observed lower white matter volume beneath the precentral gyrus and paracentral lobule, right pre- and post-central gyrus, paracentral lobule and superior frontal gyrus in PoTS patients. Subsequent ROI analyses revealed significant negative correlations between left insula volume and trait anxiety and depression scores. Together, these findings of structural differences, particularly within insular and cingulate components of the salience network, suggest a link between dysregulated physiological reactions arising from compromised central autonomic control (and interoceptive representation) and increased vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms in PoTS patients.
Keywords: Autonomic Disorders, postural tachycardia syndrome, MRI, VBM, DARTEL, insula, interoception, salience network, Anxiety, Depression
Citation: Umeda S, Harrison NA, Gray M, Mathias C and Critchley H
Received: 30 Sep 2014; Paper pending published: 01 Dec 2014.
https://www.facebook.com/DysautonomiaInternational
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/119937/abstract
tructural brain abnormalities in postural tachycardia syndrome: A VBM-DARTEL study
Satoshi Umeda1*, Neil A. Harrison2, Marcus Gray3, Christopher Mathias4 and Hugo Critchley2
- 1Psychology, Keio University, Japan
- 2Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
- 3The University of Queensland, Australia
- 4National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London, United Kingdom
common as the better-known condition orthostatic hypotension, the neural substrates of the syndrome are poorly characterized. In the present study, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) applying the diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra (DARTEL) procedure to examine variation in regional brain structure associated with PoTS. We recruited eleven patients with established PoTS and twenty-three age-matched normal controls. Group comparison of grey matter volume revealed diminished grey matter volume within the left anterior insula, right middle frontal gyrus and right cingulate gyrus in the PoTS group. We also observed lower white matter volume beneath the precentral gyrus and paracentral lobule, right pre- and post-central gyrus, paracentral lobule and superior frontal gyrus in PoTS patients. Subsequent ROI analyses revealed significant negative correlations between left insula volume and trait anxiety and depression scores. Together, these findings of structural differences, particularly within insular and cingulate components of the salience network, suggest a link between dysregulated physiological reactions arising from compromised central autonomic control (and interoceptive representation) and increased vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms in PoTS patients.
Keywords: Autonomic Disorders, postural tachycardia syndrome, MRI, VBM, DARTEL, insula, interoception, salience network, Anxiety, Depression
Citation: Umeda S, Harrison NA, Gray M, Mathias C and Critchley H
Received: 30 Sep 2014; Paper pending published: 01 Dec 2014.