Thalamocortical bistable switch as a theoretical model of fibromyalgia pathogenesis inferred from a literature survey.
J Comput Neurosci
; 50(4): 471-484, 2022 11.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35816263
ABSTRACT
Fibromyalgia (FM) is an unsolved central pain processing disturbance. We aim to provide a unifying model for FM pathogenesis based on a loop network involving thalamocortical regions, i.e., the ventroposterior lateral thalamus (VPL), the somatosensory cortex (SC), and the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). The dynamics of the loop have been described by three differential equations having neuron mean firing rates as variables and containing Hill functions to model mutual interactions among the loop elements. A computational analysis conducted with MATLAB has shown a transition from monostability to bistability of the loop behavior for a weakening of GABAergic transmission between TRN and VPL. This involves the appearance of a high-firing-rate steady state, which becomes dominant and is assumed to represent pathogenic pain processing giving rise to chronic pain. Our model is consistent with a bulk of literature evidence, such as neuroimaging and pharmacological data collected on FM patients, and with correlations between FM and immunoendocrine conditions, such as stress, perimenopause, chronic inflammation, obesity, and chronic dizziness. The model suggests that critical targets for FM treatment are to be found among immunoendocrine pathways leading to GABA/glutamate imbalance having an impact on the thalamocortical system.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fibromialgia
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Comput Neurosci
Asunto de la revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
NEUROLOGIA
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia