Gender differences in functional connectivities between insular subdivisions and selective pain-related brain structures.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The incidence of pain disorders in women is higher than in men, making gender differences in pain a research focus. The human insular cortex is an important brain hub structure for pain processing and is divided into several subdivisions, serving different functions in pain perception. Here we aimed to examine the gender differences of the functional connectivities (FCs) between the twelve insular subdivisions and selected pain-related brain structures in healthy adults.

Methods

Twenty-six healthy males and 11 age-matched healthy females were recruited in this cross-sectional study. FCs between the 12 insular subdivisions (as 12 regions of interest (ROIs)) and the whole brain (ROI-whole brain level) or 64 selected pain-related brain regions (64 ROIs, ROI-ROI level

SUBMITTER: Dai YJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5852124 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature