Altered Resting Brain Functions in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Overview

Journal Front Hum Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2022 May 16

PMID 35572000

Authors

Zheng Yu

Li-Ying Liu

Yuan-Yuan Lai

Zi-Lei Tian

Lu Yang

Qi Zhang

Fan-Rong Liang

Si-Yi Yu

Qian-Hua Zheng

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The neural activity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients in the resting state without any intervention has not been systematically studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the resting-state brain functions of IBS patients with healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: The published neuroimage studies were obtained from electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core, CNKI Database, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and CBMdisc. Search dates were from inception to March 14th, 2022. The studies were identified by the preidentified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two independent reviewers compiled the studies and evaluated them for quality and bias.

Results: Altogether 22 fMRI studies were included in this review. The risk of bias of the included studies was generally low. The findings indicated that in IBS patients, increased or decreased brain areas were mostly associated with visceral sensations, emotional processing, and pain processing. According to brain network research, IBS may exhibit anomalies in the DMN, CEN, and emotional arousal networks. The fluctuations in emotion (anxiety, sadness) and symptoms in IBS patients were associated with alterations in the relevant brain regions.

Conclusion: This study draws a preliminary conclusion that there are insufficient data to accurately distinguish the different neurological features of IBS in the resting state. Additional high-quality research undertaken by diverse geographic regions and teams is required to reach reliable results regarding resting-state changed brain regions in IBS.

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