Applied Neurophysiology and Pain Unit, SMBNOS Department, Bari Aldo Moro University, Polyclinic General Hospital, 70136, Bari, Italy.
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, 70126, Bari, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 18;12(1):4707. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08578-2.
Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer's sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms. Maladaptive functioning of the primary motor cortex is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. Activation of the motor cortex is known to induce an analgesic effect in patients with chronic pain. In this exploratory study, we intend to verify if the mere observation of a movement could elicit activation of the motor cortical areas in patients with FM. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the presence of MR in patients affected by fibromyalgia. We adopted a behavioral paradigm known for detecting the presence of MR and a neurophysiological experiment. Participants watched videos showing gripping movements towards a graspable or an ungraspable object, respectively, and were asked to press a button the instant the agent touched the object (Time-to-contact detection session). In a different experimental session, participants were only requested to observe and pay attention to the videos (Observation-only session). During each experimental session, the participants' cerebral hemodynamic activity was recorded using the functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy method. The behavioral task analysis revealed the presence of MR in both FM patients and healthy controls. Moreover, neurophysiological findings suggested that the observation of movement during the Observation-only session provoked activation and modulation of the cortical motor networks of FM patients. These results could represent evidence of the possible beneficial effects of movement observation in restarting motor activation, notoriously reduced, in FM patients.
科学证据表明，执行和观察动作之间存在共享的神经表示。众所周知，动作观察会导致观察者的感觉运动系统发生调制，这种现象被称为运动共鸣（MR）。纤维肌痛（FM）患者患有一种以全身骨骼肌肉疼痛为特征的疾病，即使是简单的运动也会使他们的症状恶化。原发性运动皮层的适应不良功能是慢性疼痛患者的常见发现。已知运动皮层的激活会在慢性疼痛患者中诱导镇痛效果。在这项探索性研究中，我们旨在验证观察运动是否可以在 FM 患者中引发运动皮层区域的激活。因此，本研究的目的是检查纤维肌痛患者是否存在运动共鸣。我们采用了一种众所周知的行为范式来检测运动共鸣的存在，以及一项神经生理学实验。参与者观看分别显示朝向可抓握或不可抓握物体的抓握动作的视频，并要求他们在主体接触物体的瞬间按下按钮（接触时间检测会话）。在不同的实验会话中，参与者只需观察和注意视频（仅观察会话）。在每个实验会话中，使用功能近红外光谱法记录参与者的大脑血液动力学活动。行为任务分析显示，在 FM 患者和健康对照组中均存在运动共鸣。此外，神经生理学研究结果表明，在仅观察会话中观察运动引起了 FM 患者皮质运动网络的激活和调制。这些结果可能代表了观察运动在重新启动 FM 患者明显减少的运动激活方面的可能有益效果的证据。
