{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T23:31:19Z","timestamp":1781825479515,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]],"date-time":"2024-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1718064000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>To investigate the central mechanism of lumbar disc herniation in patients with chronic low back pain (LDHCP) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) utilizing the Degree Centrality (DC) method.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Twenty-five LDHCP and twenty-two healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled, and rs-fMRI data from their brains were collected. We compared whole-brain DC values between the LDHCP and HC groups, and examined correlations between DC values within the LDHCP group and the Visual Analogue Score (VAS), Oswestry Dysfunction Index (ODI), and disease duration. Diagnostic efficacy was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>LDHCP patients exhibited increased DC values in the bilateral cerebellum and brainstem, whereas decreased DC values were noted in the left middle temporal gyrus and right post-central gyrus when compared with HCs. The DC values of the left middle temporal gyrus were positively correlated with VAS (<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.416, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.039) and ODI (<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.405, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.045), whereas there was no correlation with disease duration (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05). Other brain regions showed no significant correlations with VAS, ODI, or disease duration (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05). Furthermore, the results obtained from ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the Area Under the Curve (AUC) for the left middle temporal gyrus was 0.929.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>The findings indicated local abnormalities in spontaneous neural activity and functional connectivity in the bilateral cerebellum, bilateral brainstem, left middle temporal gyrus, and right postcentral gyrus among LDHCP patients.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2024.1370398","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]],"date-time":"2024-06-11T18:38:21Z","timestamp":1718131101000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Degree centrality-based resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging explores central mechanisms in lumbar disc herniation patients with chronic low back pain"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Jianbing","family":"Mei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mcna.2015.08.015","article-title":"Acute and chronic low back pain","volume":"100","author":"Patrick","year":"2016","journal-title":"Med Clin North Am"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1007\/s10143-023-02032-1","article-title":"Brain stimulation for chronic pain management: a narrative review of analgesic mechanisms and clinical evidence","volume":"46","author":"Szymoniuk","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurosurg Rev"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2356","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)30480-X","article-title":"What low back pain is and why we need to pay attention","volume":"391","author":"Hartvigsen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1180","DOI":"10.1016\/j.spinee.2017.04.034","article-title":"The relationships between low back pain and lumbar lordosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"17","author":"Chun","year":"2017","journal-title":"Spine J"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1206604","DOI":"10.3389\/fnins.2023.1206604","article-title":"Abnormal brain activity in lumbar disc herniation patients with chronic pain is associated with their clinical symptoms","volume":"17","author":"Tang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Neurosci"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjmed.2023.03.024","article-title":"Lumbar disc herniation: diagnosis and management","volume":"136","author":"Zhang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am J Med"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1007\/s00415-017-8641-6","article-title":"Advances in understanding nociception and neuropathic pain","volume":"265","author":"Smith","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Neurol"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1765","DOI":"10.1126\/science.288.5472.1765","article-title":"Neuronal plasticity: increasing the gain in pain","volume":"288","author":"Woolf","year":"2000","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2829","DOI":"10.1097\/j.pain.0000000000001674","article-title":"Whole-brain functional network disruption in chronic pain with disk herniation","volume":"160","author":"Huang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.1186\/s13075-018-1743-4","article-title":"The inflammatory response in the regression of lumbar disc herniation","volume":"20","author":"Cunha","year":"2018","journal-title":"Arthritis Res Ther"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"651","DOI":"10.1007\/s12021-023-09639-1","article-title":"Confounding effects on the performance of machine learning analysis of static functional connectivity computed from rs-fMRI multi-site data","volume":"21","author":"Artiles","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neuroinformatics"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1155\/2021\/7498714","article-title":"Enhanced temporal coupling between thalamus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mediates chronic Low Back pain and depression","volume":"2021","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neural Plast"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e303","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bja.2019.02.021","article-title":"Identifying brain regions associated with the neuropathology of chronic low back pain: a resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation study","volume":"123","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Br J Anaesth"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101661","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nicl.2019.101661","article-title":"Local connectivity of the resting brain connectome in patients with low back-related leg pain: a multiscale frequency-related Kendall's coefficient of concordance and coherence-regional homogeneity study","volume":"21","author":"Zhou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuroimage Clin"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"602","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2015.06.022","article-title":"Abnormal degree centrality in neurologically asymptomatic patients with end-stage renal disease: a resting-state fMRI study","volume":"127","author":"Li","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"844","DOI":"10.1007\/s00415-019-09204-4","article-title":"Transient seizure onset network for localization of epileptogenic zone: effective connectivity and graph theory-based analyses of ECoG data in temporal lobe epilepsy","volume":"266","author":"Ren","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Neurol"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"338","DOI":"10.1016\/j.schres.2019.01.025","article-title":"Altered topological characteristics of morphological brain network relate to language impairment in high genetic risk subjects and schizophrenia patients","volume":"208","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Schizophr Res"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/j.exger.2016.03.017","article-title":"Abnormal degree centrality in Alzheimer's disease patients with depression: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study","volume":"79","author":"Guo","year":"2016","journal-title":"Exp Gerontol"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"339","DOI":"10.1007\/s12021-016-9299-4","article-title":"DPABI: Data Processing & Analysis for (resting-state) brain imaging","volume":"14","author":"Yan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neuroinformatics"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"915826","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2022.915826","article-title":"Microstructural changes of the vestibulocochlear nerve in patients with M\u00e9ni\u00e8re's disease using diffusion tensor imaging","volume":"13","author":"Yuan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Neurol"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"135507","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neulet.2020.135507","article-title":"Aberrant voxel-based degree centrality in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment","volume":"741","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurosci Lett"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2159","DOI":"10.1007\/s11682-020-00411-6","article-title":"Concurrent alterations of white matter microstructure and functional activities in medication-free major depressive disorder","volume":"15","author":"Zeng","year":"2021","journal-title":"Brain Imaging Behav"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e384","DOI":"10.1212\/WNL.0000000000008754","article-title":"Cognitive correlates of cerebellar resting-state functional connectivity in Parkinson disease","volume":"94","author":"Maiti","year":"2020","journal-title":"Neurology"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2586","DOI":"10.1007\/s11682-022-00714-w","article-title":"Cortical atrophy is associated with cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: a combined analysis of cortical thickness and functional connectivity","volume":"16","author":"Zhu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Brain Imaging Behav"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"508","DOI":"10.1007\/s12311-016-0832-7","article-title":"Altered cerebellar activity in visceral pain-related fear conditioning in irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"16","author":"Claassen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Cerebellum"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1007\/s12311-018-0930-9","article-title":"Pain experience is somatotopically organized and overlaps with pain anticipation in the human cerebellum","volume":"17","author":"Michelle Welman","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cerebellum"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2019.05.003","article-title":"Cortico-cerebellar networks for visual attention and working memory","volume":"29","author":"Brissenden","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsams.2022.01.006","article-title":"A preliminary investigation of the effects of patellar displacement on brain activation and perceived pain in young females with patellofemoral pain","volume":"25","author":"Slutsky-Ganesh","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Sci Med Sport"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1160","DOI":"10.3390\/life13051160","article-title":"Electroacupuncture attenuates fibromyalgia pain via toll-like receptor 4 in the mouse brain","volume":"13","author":"Lai","year":"2023","journal-title":"Life"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6382","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhac511","article-title":"The waiting game: investigating the neurobiological transition from acute to persistent pain in adolescent rats","volume":"33","author":"Salberg","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cereb Cortex"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"831","DOI":"10.1007\/s00540-018-2561-1","article-title":"Suppressed descending pain modulatory and enhanced sensorimotor networks in patients with chronic low back pain","volume":"32","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Anesth"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1243","DOI":"10.2147\/JPR.S177502","article-title":"Altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and regional cerebral blood flow in females with primary dysmenorrhea: a resting-state fMRI and arterial spin labeling study","volume":"12","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Pain Res"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"645616","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2021.645616","article-title":"Altered posterior cerebellar lobule connectivity with Perigenual anterior cingulate cortex in women with primary dysmenorrhea","volume":"12","author":"Wu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Neurol"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1303","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pain.2014.04.006","article-title":"Altered experimental pain perception after cerebellar infarction","volume":"155","author":"Ruscheweyh","year":"2014","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1097\/j.pain.0000000000003026","article-title":"How do opioids control pain circuits in the brainstem during opioid-induced disorders and in chronic pain? Implications for the treatment of chronic pain","volume":"165","author":"Costa","year":"2024","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1009399","DOI":"10.3389\/fnimg.2022.1009399","article-title":"A structural connectivity atlas of limbic brainstem nuclei","volume":"1","author":"Levinson","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Neuroimaging"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"137407","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neulet.2023.137407","article-title":"Preemptive transcranial direct current stimulation induces analgesia, prevents chronic inflammation and fibrosis, and promotes tissue repair in a rat model of postoperative pain","volume":"813","author":"Zancanaro","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurosci Lett"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"705345","DOI":"10.3389\/fpain.2021.705345","article-title":"Brainstem pain-modulation circuitry and its plasticity in neuropathic pain: insights from human brain imaging investigations","volume":"2","author":"Mills","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Pain Res"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3230","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-023-07717-1","article-title":"The importance of inflammatory biomarkers in non-specific acute and chronic low back pain: a systematic review","volume":"32","author":"Pinto","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur Spine J"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"667","DOI":"10.1038\/s41583-019-0218-1","article-title":"Astrocytes in chronic pain and itch","volume":"20","author":"Ji","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"abed83","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-2552\/abed83","article-title":"A novel beamformer-based imaging of phase-amplitude coupling (BIPAC) unveiling the inter-regional connectivity of emotional prosody processing in women with primary dysmenorrhea","volume":"18","author":"Chan","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Neural Eng"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1037","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhs378","article-title":"Multivariate classification of structural MRI data detects chronic low back pain","volume":"24","author":"Ung","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cereb Cortex"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"tgad 002","DOI":"10.1093\/texcom\/tgad002","article-title":"Dysfunctional cerebello-cerebral network associated with vocal emotion recognition impairments","volume":"4","author":"Thomasson","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cereb Cortex Commun"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7166","DOI":"10.1007\/s12035-023-03415-7","article-title":"Proteomic analysis of the amygdala reveals dynamic changes in glutamate Transporter-1 during progression of complete Freund's adjuvant-induced pain aversion","volume":"60","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mol Neurobiol"},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"734","DOI":"10.1097\/j.pain.0000000000001428","article-title":"Whole-brain structural magnetic resonance imaging-based classification of primary dysmenorrhea in pain-free phase: a machine learning study","volume":"160","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1186\/s10194-021-01312-9","article-title":"Investigation of cortical thickness and volume during spontaneous attacks of migraine without aura: a 3-tesla MRI study","volume":"22","author":"Amin","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Headache Pain"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neurobiolaging.2021.06.009","article-title":"Pain processing in older adults with dementia-related cognitive impairment is associated with frontal neurodegeneration","volume":"106","author":"Bunk","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurobiol Aging"},{"key":"ref48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1098573","DOI":"10.3389\/fnins.2023.1098573","article-title":"Altered brain activities in mesocorticolimbic pathway in primary dysmenorrhea patients of long-term menstrual pain","volume":"17","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Neurosci"},{"key":"ref49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"fcad132","DOI":"10.1093\/braincomms\/fcad132","article-title":"A parahippocampal-sensory Bayesian vicious circle generates pain or tinnitus: a source-localized EEG study","volume":"5","author":"De Ridder","year":"2023","journal-title":"Brain Commun"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1071","DOI":"10.21037\/qims-22-683","article-title":"Changes in brain structure and related functional connectivity during menstruation in women with primary dysmenorrhea","volume":"13","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Quant Imaging Med Surg"},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"880228","DOI":"10.3389\/fnmol.2022.880228","article-title":"Abnormal dynamics of functional connectivity density associated with chronic neck pain","volume":"15","author":"Ni","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Mol Neurosci"},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"717","DOI":"10.1080\/01616412.2023.2199377","article-title":"Functional brain alterations in migraine patients: an activation likelihood estimation study","volume":"45","author":"Gu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurol Res"},{"key":"ref53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12385","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2180-16.2016","article-title":"Distinct regions within medial prefrontal cortex process pain and cognition","volume":"36","author":"Jahn","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"990","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejpain.2008.01.007","article-title":"Quantitative somatic sensory testing and functional imaging of the response to painful stimuli before and after cingulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)","volume":"12","author":"Greenspan","year":"2008","journal-title":"Eur J Pain"},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2630","DOI":"10.1002\/hbm.23199","article-title":"Cortical influences on brainstem circuitry responsible for conditioned pain modulation in humans","volume":"37","author":"Youssef","year":"2016","journal-title":"Hum Brain Mapp"},{"key":"ref56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2491","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pain.2014.07.008","article-title":"Distinct brain mechanisms support spatial vs temporal filtering of nociceptive information","volume":"155","author":"Nahman-Averbuch","year":"2014","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1059","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2009.10.003","article-title":"Complex network measures of brain connectivity: uses and interpretations","volume":"52","author":"Rubinov","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuroimage"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Neurology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fneur.2024.1370398\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]],"date-time":"2024-06-11T18:38:33Z","timestamp":1718131113000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fneur.2024.1370398\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]]},"references-count":57,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fneur.2024.1370398"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fneur.2024.1370398","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-2295"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-2295","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]]},"article-number":"1370398"}}