Neural correlates of fear of movement in patients with chronic low back pain vs. Pain-free individuals
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Fear of movement (FOM) can be acquired by a direct aversive experience such as pain or by social learning through observation and instruction. Excessive FOM results in heightened disability and is an obstacle for recovery from acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain (cLBP). FOM has further been identified as a significant explanatory factor in the Fear Avoidance (FA) model of cLBP that describes how individuals experiencing acute back pain may become trapped into a vicious circle of chronic disability and suffering. Despite a wealth of evidence emphasizing the importance of FOM in cLBP, to date, no related neural correlates in patients were found and this therefore has initiated a debate about the precise contribution of fear in the FA model. In the current fMRI study, we applied a novel approach encompassing: (1) video clips of potentially harmful activities for the back as FOM inducing stimuli; and (2) the assessment of FOM in both, cLBP patients (N = 20) and age- and gender-matched pain-free subjects (N = 20). Derived from the FA model, we hypothesized that FOM differentially affects brain regions involved in fear processing in patients with cLBP compared to pain-free individuals due to the recurrent pain and subsequent avoidance behavior. The results of the whole brain voxel-wise regression analysis revealed that: (1) FOM positively correlated with brain activity in fear-related brain regions such as the amygdala and the insula; and (2) differential effects of FOM between patients with cLBP and pain-free subjects were found in the extended amygdala and in its connectivity to the anterior insula. Current findings support the FOM component of the FA model in cLBP.
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Kinesiophobia is associated with brain activation in the BNST in patients with chronic low-back pain compared to pain-free matched controls.
“a recent study by Meier et al. [54] reported that kinesiophobia is associated with brain activation (i.e., fMRI) in the BNST in patients with chronic low-back pain, compared to pain-free matched controls.”
From The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis as a brain correlate of psychological inflexibility in fibromyalgia (2020) · cites this paper as [54]
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“[54] reported that kinesiophobia is associated with brain activation (i.”
Background
- Authors
- Meier, M. L., Stämpfli, P., Vrana, A., Humphreys, B. K., Seifritz, E., & Hotz-Boendermaker, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Universitätsklinik Balgrist (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Meier, Michael L.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2016-07-26
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- 386-386
- ISSN
- 1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4960248
- OpenAlex
- W2494403462
- Cited by
- 73
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 6.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Keywords
- kinesiophobia, chronic low back pain, fear-avoidance model, amygdala, anterior insula, extended amygdala, fear processing, avoidance behavior, brain connectivity
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