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Conejero I, Thouvenot E, Hingray C, Hubsch C, El-Hage W, Carle-Toulemonde G, Rotge JY, Drapier S, Drapier D, Mouchabac S. [Understanding functional neurological disorders: From biological markers to pathophysiological models]. L'ENCEPHALE 2023:S0013-7006(23)00085-4. [PMID: 37394415 DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Functional neurological disorders have witnessed intense research activity in the fields of structural and functional neuroimaging for more than twenty years. Thus, we propose a synthesis of recent research findings and etiological hypotheses that have been proposed so far. This work should help clinicians to better understand the nature of the mechanisms involved, but also help patients to increase their knowledge about the biological features underlying their functional symptoms. METHODS We carried out a narrative review of international publications dealing with neuroimaging and biology of functional neurological disorders, from 1997 to 2023. RESULTS Several brain networks underlie functional neurological symptoms. These networks play a role in the management of cognitive resources, in attentional control, emotion regulation, in agency and in the processing of interoceptive signals. The mechanisms of the stress response are also associated with the symptoms. The biopsychosocial model helps to better understand predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors involved. The functional neurological phenotype results from the interaction between: i) a specific pre-existing vulnerability resulting from biological background and epigenetic modifications, and ii) exposure to stress factors, according to the stress-diathesis model. This interaction causes emotional disturbances including hypervigilance, lack of integration of sensations and affects, and emotional dysregulation. These characteristics in turn impact the cognitive, motor and affective control processes related with the functional neurological symptoms. CONCLUSIONS A better knowledge of the biopsychosocial determinants of brain network dysfunctions is necessary. Understanding them would help developing targeted treatments, but is also critical for patients care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Conejero
- Département de psychiatrie, CHU de Nîmes, PSNREC, Inserm, université de Montpellier, Nîmes, France.
| | - Eric Thouvenot
- Département de Neurologie, CHU Nîmes, université de Montpellier, institut de génomique fonctionnelle, University Montpellier, CNRS, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Coraline Hingray
- Pôle hospitalo-universitaire de psychiatrie d'adultes du Grand Nancy, centre psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France
| | - Cécile Hubsch
- Département de neurologie, unité Parkinson, hôpital Fondation Adolphe-de-Rothschild, Paris, France
| | - Wissam El-Hage
- Clinique psychiatrique universitaire, CHRU de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Guilhem Carle-Toulemonde
- Cabinet de psychosomatique et stimulation magnétique transcrânienne, clinique Saint-Exupéry, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-Yves Rotge
- Service de psychiatrie d'adultes, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, Sorbonne université, 47-83, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75651 Paris, France
| | - Sophie Drapier
- Département de neurologie, CHU de Rennes, CIC Inserm 1414, Rennes, France
| | - Dominique Drapier
- Département de psychiatrie adulte, CH Guillaume-Régnier, université de Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Stéphane Mouchabac
- Département de psychiatrie, CHU Saint-Antoine, AP-HP, iCRIN Psychiatry (Infrastructure of Clinical Research in Neurosciences-Psychiatry), Institut du cerveau et de la moelle (ICM), Université Sorbonne, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, France
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Nisticò V, Rossi RE, D'Arrigo AM, Priori A, Gambini O, Demartini B. Functional neuroimaging in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a systematic review highlights common brain alterations with Functional Movement Disorders. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2022; 28:185-203. [PMID: 35189600 PMCID: PMC8978134 DOI: 10.5056/jnm21079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurring abdominal pain and altered bowel habits without detectable organic causes. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on functional neuroimaging in IBS and to highlight brain alterations similarities with other functional disorders - functional movement disorders in particular. We conducted the bibliographic search via PubMed in August 2020 and included 50 studies following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic reviews. Overall, our findings showed an aberrant activation and functional connectivity of the insular, cingulate, sensorimotor and frontal cortices, the amygdala and the hippocampus, suggesting an altered activity of the homeostatic and salience network and of the autonomous nervous system. Moreover, glutamatergic dysfunction in the anterior insula and hypothalamic pituitary axis dysregulation were often reported. These alterations seem to be very similar to those observed in patients with functional movement disorders. Hence, we speculate that different functional disturbances might share a common pathophysiology and we discussed our findings in the light of a Bayesian model framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Nisticò
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberta E Rossi
- Gastro-intestinal Surgery and Liver Transplantation Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.,Department of Pathophysiology and Organ Transplant, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea M D'Arrigo
- Department of Neurology, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Ospedale Fatebenefratelli, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Priori
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,III Clinica Neurologica, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Presidio San Paolo, Milan, Italy
| | - Orsola Gambini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Unità di Psichiatria 52, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Presidio San Paolo, Milan, Italy
| | - Benedetta Demartini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Unità di Psichiatria 52, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Presidio San Paolo, Milan, Italy
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The pathophysiology of functional movement disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 120:387-400. [PMID: 33159917 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Functional neurological disorder is characterized by neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by typical neurological diseases or other medical conditions. This review will critically discuss the literature on the pathophysiology of functional movement disorders (FMD), including functional neuroimaging studies, neurophysiological studies, studies on biomarkers and genetic studies. According to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we selected 39 studies. A complex scenario emerged, with the involvement of different areas of the brain in the pathophysiology of FMD. Our findings showed a hypoactivation of the contralateral primary motor cortex, a decreased activity in the parietal lobe, an aberrant activation of the amygdala, an increased temporo-parietal junction activity and a hyperactivation of insular regions in patients with FMD. Functional connectivity (FC) findings underlined aberrant connections between amygdala and motor areas, temporo-parietal junction and insula. We proposed amygdala hyperactivation as a possible biological marker for FMD and FC alterations between amygdala and other areas of the brain as consequent epiphenomena, accounting for the pathophysiological complexity of FMD. These conclusions might drive novel treatment hypotheses.
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Ospina JP, Jalilianhasanpour R, Perez DL. The role of the anterior and midcingulate cortex in the neurobiology of functional neurologic disorder. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2019; 166:267-279. [PMID: 31731915 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64196-0.00014-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Functional neurologic disorder (FND)/conversion disorder is a prevalent and disabling condition at the intersection of neurology and psychiatry. Clinicians often report feeling ill-equipped treating patients with FND, perpetuated by a historically limited understanding of neurobiologic disease mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the neuroimaging literature across the spectrum of sensorimotor FND, including functional imaging studies during rest, sensorimotor performance, and emotional-processing tasks as well as structural magnetic resonance imaging findings. Particular attention is given to studies implicating the anterior and middle cingulate cortex and related salience network structures (insula, amygdala, and periaqueductal gray) in the neurobiology of FND. Neuroimaging studies identify cingulo-insular functional alterations during rest, motor performance, and emotion processing in FND populations. The literature also supports that patients with FND exhibit heightened amygdalar and periaqueductal gray reactivity to emotionally valenced stimuli, enhanced coupling between amygdalar and motor control areas, and increased amygdalar volumes. The structural neuroimaging literature also implicates cingulo-insular areas in the pathophysiology of FND, though these findings require replication and clarification. While more research is needed to fully elucidate the pathophysiology of FND, salience network alterations appear present in some FND populations and can be contextualized using biopsychosocial models for FND.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Pablo Ospina
- Department of Neurology, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Functional Neurology Research Group, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Rozita Jalilianhasanpour
- Department of Neurology, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Functional Neurology Research Group, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - David L Perez
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Units, Functional Neurology Research Group, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
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Conejero I, Thouvenot E, Abbar M, Mouchabac S, Courtet P, Olié E. Neuroanatomy of conversion disorder: towards a network approach. Rev Neurosci 2018; 29:355-368. [DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2017-0041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
The pathophysiology of conversion disorder is not well understood, although studies using functional brain imaging in patients with motor and sensory symptoms are progressively increasing. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with the aim of summarising the available data on the neuroanatomical features of this disorder. We also propose a general model of the neurobiological disturbance in motor conversion disorder. We systematically searched articles in Medline using the Medical Subject Headings terms ‘(conversion disorder or hysterical motor disorder) and (neuropsychology or cognition) or (functional magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography or neuroimaging) or (genetics or polymorphisms or epigenetics) or (biomarkers or biology)’, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two authors independently reviewed the retrieved records and abstracts, assessed the exhaustiveness of data abstraction, and confirmed the quality rating. Analysis of the available literature data shows that multiple specialised brain networks (self-agency, action monitoring, salience system, and memory suppression) influence action selection and modulate supplementary motor area activation. Some findings suggest that conceptualisation of movement and motor intention is preserved in patients with limb weakness. More studies are needed to fully understand the brain alterations in conversion disorders and pave the way for the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
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Monsa R, Peer M, Arzy S. Self-reference, emotion inhibition and somatosensory disturbance: preliminary investigation of network perturbations in conversion disorder. Eur J Neurol 2018; 25:888-e62. [DOI: 10.1111/ene.13613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- R. Monsa
- Department of Medical Neurobiology; Neuropsychiatry Lab; Hadassah Hebrew University Medical School; Jerusalem
- Department of Neurology; Hadassah Medical Center; Jerusalem Israel
| | - M. Peer
- Department of Medical Neurobiology; Neuropsychiatry Lab; Hadassah Hebrew University Medical School; Jerusalem
- Department of Neurology; Hadassah Medical Center; Jerusalem Israel
| | - S. Arzy
- Department of Medical Neurobiology; Neuropsychiatry Lab; Hadassah Hebrew University Medical School; Jerusalem
- Department of Neurology; Hadassah Medical Center; Jerusalem Israel
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Gazit S, Elkana O, Dawidowicz L, Yeshayahu L, Biran I. Downwards Vertical Attention Bias in Conversion Disorder vs Controls: A Pilot Study. PSYCHOSOMATICS 2017; 58:633-642. [PMID: 28844417 DOI: 10.1016/j.psym.2017.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2016] [Revised: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conversion disorder (CD) is a largely enigmatic disorder, one that requires a thorough ruling-out process. Prior research suggests that metaphors and conceptualization are rooted in physical experience, and that we interpret our affective world through metaphors. Spatial metaphors (interaction of affect and vertical space) are a prominent example of the grounding of metaphors. This is a relatively unpaved direction of research of CD. OBJECTIVES The present pilot study sought to explore this view by investigating the "healthy is up, sick is down" spatial metaphors (e.g., "fell ill" and "top shape") in patients with CD, examining the correlation between the processing of bodily-related words, CD, and vertical space. We hypothesized that patients with CD, who experience their bodies as ill, will demonstrate a downwards bias when processing bodily-related words; corresponding to the "healthy is up, sick is down" spatial metaphor. METHODS A total of 8 female patients (ages M-38.13 SD-10.44) and 42 female controls (ages M-36.4 SD-14.57) performed a visual attention task. Participants were asked to identify a spatial probe at the top or the bottom of a screen, following either a bodily related (e.g., arm) or non-bodily related (e.g., clock) prime word. RESULTS As predicted, when processing bodily-related words, patients with CD demonstrated a downwards attention bias. Moreover, the higher the patient's level of somatization, the faster the patient detected lower (vs upper) spatial targets. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the changed health paradigm of patients with CD is grounded in sensorimotor perception. Further research could propose new diagnostic and treatment options for CD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Gazit
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
| | - Odelia Elkana
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Liraz Dawidowicz
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Liel Yeshayahu
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Iftah Biran
- Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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