Brain networks underlying perceptual habituation to repeated aversive visceral stimuli in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) show decreased discomfort and pain thresholds to visceral stimuli, as well hypervigilance to gastrointestinal sensations, symptoms, and the context in which these visceral sensations and symptoms occur. Previous research demonstrated normalization of visceral hypersensitivity following repeated exposure to experimental rectal stimuli over a 12-month period that was associated with reduction in cortical regions functionally associated with attention and arousal. Building upon these functional analyses, multivariate functional and effective connectivity analyses were applied to [(15)O] water positron emission tomography (PET) data from 12 IBS patients (male=4) participating in a PET study before and after 4 visceral sensory testing sessions involv

SUBMITTER: Labus JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3399695 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature