• Satomi Sugimine, Yuichi Ogino, Hiroaki Kawamichi, Hideaki Obata, and Shigeru Saito.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
• Mol Pain. 2016 Jan 1; 12.

BackgroundNeuropathic characteristics are highly involved in the development of chronic pain both physically and psychologically. However, little is known about the relationship between neuropathic characteristics and brain morphological alteration.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of chronic pain development by examining the above-mentioned relationships by voxel-based morphometry in patients with chronic pain.MethodsFirst, we assessed neuropathic characteristics using the painDETECT Questionnaire in 12 chronic pain patients. Second, to assess the gray matter volume changes by voxel-based morphometry, we conducted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. We applied multiregression analysis of these two assessment methods.ResultsThere were significant positive correlations between painDETECT Questionnaire scores and the gray matter volume in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and right posterior cingulate cortex.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that neuropathic characteristics strongly affect the brain regions related to modulation of pain in patients with chronic pain and, therefore, contribute to the severity of chronic pain.© The Author(s) 2016.

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