Abnormal dynamic functional networks during pain-free periods: resting-state co-activation pattern analysis in primary dysmenorrhea: Abnormal dynamic functional networks in primary dysmenorrhea

Huiping Liu; Xing Su; Meiling Shang; Ling Ma; Weixian Bai; Hui Wang; Lu Quan; Youjun Li; Zigang Huang; Jiaxi He; Wanghuan Dun; Yuchen Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121009

Abnormal dynamic functional networks during pain-free periods: resting-state co-activation pattern analysis in primary dysmenorrhea: Abnormal dynamic functional networks in primary dysmenorrhea

Neuroimage. 2025 Jan 8:121009. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121009. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Huiping Liu¹, Xing Su², Meiling Shang³, Ling Ma⁴, Weixian Bai⁵, Hui Wang⁶, Lu Quan⁴, Youjun Li⁷, Zigang Huang⁷, Jiaxi He⁸, Wanghuan Dun⁴, Yuchen Zhang⁹

Affiliations

¹ School of Future Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Rehabilitation Medicine Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: liuhuipingme@163.com.
² The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.; Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: suxing@stu.xjtu.edu.cn.
³ School of Future Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Rehabilitation Medicine Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁴ Rehabilitation Medicine Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁵ Department of Medical Imaging, Xi'an No.3 Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁶ School of Future Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁷ The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.; Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁸ Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: zhangyc415@xjtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39793639
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121009

Abstract

Chronic pain alters the configuration of brain functional networks. Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) is a form of chronic visceral pain, which has been identified spatial alterations in brain functional networks using static functional connectivity analysis methods. However, the dynamics alterations of brain functional networks during pain-free periovulation phase remain unclear. Using the co-activation pattern (CAP) method, we investigated the dynamic network characteristics of brain functional networks and their relationship with pain-related emotions in a sample of 59 women with PDM and 57 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) during the pain-free periovulation phase. We observed that patients with PDM showed significant alterations in brain dynamics compared to HCs in the slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) frequency band during the pain-free periovulation phase. Additionally, the fraction of time for CAP state 2 was positively correlated with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale-helplessness score, while the persistence time for CAP state 1 was positively correlated with the McGill Pain Questionnaire score. Our results provide new insights, suggesting that the atypical brain functional network dynamics may serve as a potential biological marker of patients with PDM during the pain-free periovulation phase.

Keywords: brain network; co-activation pattern; dynamics; pain-free periovulation phase; primary dysmenorrhea.