Psychotherapy with somatosensory stimulation for endometriosis-associated pain: the role of the anterior hippocampus
Background: Endometriosis is a gynecological disorder affecting 6%-10% of all women in their reproductive age. There is an emerging view in the literature that psychological trauma plays a central role in the pathogenesis of pelvic pain, one of the core symptoms of endometriosis. Here we report cent...
Gespeichert in:
| Hauptverfasser: | , |
|---|---|
| Dokumenttyp: | Article (Journal) |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
15 November 2018
|
| In: |
Biological psychiatry
Year: 2018, Jahrgang: 84, Heft: 10, Pages: 734-742 |
| ISSN: | 1873-2402 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.01.006 |
| Online-Zugang: | Volltext Volltext 
|
| Verfasserangaben: | Florian Beissner, Christine Preibisch, Annemarie Schweizer-Arau, Roxana M. Popovici, and Karin Meissner |
| Zusammenfassung: | Background: Endometriosis is a gynecological disorder affecting 6%-10% of all women in their reproductive age. There is an emerging view in the literature that psychological trauma plays a central role in the pathogenesis of pelvic pain, one of the core symptoms of endometriosis. Here we report central nervous system mechanisms of a novel combination of psychotherapy and somatosensory stimulation that has recently shown remarkable effects in reducing pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in these patients. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial; 67 patients with severe endometriosis-associated pain (maximum pain: 7.6 ± 2.0, average pain: 4.5 ± 2.0 on a 10-point numeric rating scale) were included in the study and randomly allocated to intervention (35 patients) or waitlist control (32 patients) groups. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess brain connectivity of these patients at baseline, after 3 months of therapy, and after 6 months. The analysis focused on the hippocampus. Results: We identified a cortical network comprising the right anterolateral hippocampus—a region modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis—and somatosensory, viscerosensory, and interoceptive brain regions. Regression analysis showed that reduction in connectivity predicted therapy-induced improvement in patients׳ anxiety. Conclusions: We have identified a putative neurobiological mechanism underlying the potent combination of psychotherapy and somatic stimulation in treating symptoms of endometriosis. |
|---|---|
| Beschreibung: | Available online 16 January 2017 Gesehen am 11.03.2020 |
| Beschreibung: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1873-2402 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.01.006 |