Dyspnea-related cues engage the prefrontal cortex: evidence from functional brain imaging in COPD.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Dyspnea is the major source of disability in COPD. In COPD, environmental cues (eg, the prospect of having to climb stairs) become associated with dyspnea and may trigger dyspnea even before physical activity commences. We hypothesized that brain activation relating to such cues would be different between patients with COPD and healthy control subjects, reflecting greater engagement of emotional mechanisms in patients.

Methods

Using functional MRI (FMRI), we investigated brain responses to dyspnea-related word cues in 41 patients with COPD and 40 healthy age-matched control subjects. We combined these findings with scores on self-report questionnaires, thus linking the FMRI task with clinically relevant measures. This approach was adapted from studies in pain that

SUBMITTER: Herigstad M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4594628 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature