The influence of interoceptive awareness on functional connectivity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

• Published in: Brain imaging and behavior Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 1117 - 1128
• Main Authors: Longarzo, Mariachiara, Quarantelli, M., Aiello, M., Romano, M., Del Prete, A., Cimminiello, C., Cocozza, S., Olivo, G., Loguercio, C., Trojano, L., Grossi, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anxiety; Awareness; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Clusters; Consciousness; Cortex (cingulate); Cortex (somatosensory); Cortex (temporal); Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Information processing; Interoception; Intestine; Irritable bowel syndrome; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - diagnostic imaging; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - physiopathology; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - psychology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Neural networks; Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Neuropsychology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Original Research; Patients; Psychiatry; Sensory integration; Sensory stimuli; Structure-function relationships; Superior temporal gyrus; Surveys and Questionnaires; Temporal gyrus; Young Adult; Functional connectivity; Insula; Default-mode network; Interoception; Irritable bowel syndrome; Rs-fMRI
• ISSN: 1931-7557; 1931-7565
• DOI: 10.1007/s11682-016-9595-5

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by visceral hypersensitivity likely related to altered processing of sensory stimuli along the brain-gut axis. Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated structural and functional alteration of several brain areas involved in bodily representation, e.g. the insula, in patients with IBS. By means of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) we searched for alteration of functional connectivity within the network involved in self-bodily consciousness. We found significant inverse correlation between hypochondriasis assessed through a clinical questionnaire and connectivity between posterior cingulate cortex and left supramarginal gyrus, extending into the adjacent superior temporal gyrus. Moreover, we observed a significant and positive correlation between a clinical questionnaire assessing interoception and connectivity between left anterior ventral insula and two clusters located in supramarginal gyrus bilaterally.
Our findings highlight an “abnormal network synchrony” reflecting functional alteration, in the absence of structural and micro-structural changes, which might represent a possible therapeutic target for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.