ArticlePain2020
Upregulation of cortical GABAA receptor concentration in fibromyalgia.
Article in Pain, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Structural and Functional Neuroimaging Findings in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy and mechanisms of low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation on pain: a systematic review of human and animal studies.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Pooled it
- Autoimmunity's enigmatic role: exploring the connection with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.BMC immunology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Acupuncture-Combined Tuina on Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Trial
- The Impact of 5-Hydroxytryptophan Supplementation on Cognitive Function and Mood in Singapore Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signal Variability Is Associated With Neuromodulation in Fibromyalgia.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2023Trial
- Greater Somatosensory Afference With Acupuncture Increases Primary Somatosensory Connectivity and Alleviates Fibromyalgia Pain via Insular γ-Aminobutyric Acid: A Randomized Neuroimaging Trial.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2021Trial
- Pain Mechanisms in Fibromyalgia: An Integrative Narrative Review of Central, Peripheral, Neuroimmune, and Psychobiological Factors.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Exploring gut microbiota alterations and their associations with clinical symptoms in fibromyalgia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Role of Insular Cortex and Prefrontal Cortex in the Pathogenesis of Fibromyalgia: Biochemical and Electrophysiological Rodent Study.Neurochemical research · 2025Article
- Fibromyalgia in the Era of Brain PET/CT Imaging.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Disruptive compensatory mechanisms in fibromyalgia syndrome and their association with pharmacological agents.Experimental brain research · 2024Article
- The Effectiveness of the Low-Glycemic and Insulinemic (LOGI) Regimen in Maintaining the Benefits of the VLCKD in Fibromyalgia Patients.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Article
- Mechanisms of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for pain in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2024Review
- Electro-Acupuncture Effects Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Decreased DTI-ALPS and choroid plexus enlargement in fibromyalgia: a preliminary multimodal MRI study.Neuroradiology · 2023Article
- Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Use of pain-related gene features to predict depression by support vector machine model in patients with fibromyalgia.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- EEG Beta functional connectivity decrease in the left amygdala correlates with the affective pain in fibromyalgia: A pilot study.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
An imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission has been linked to fibromyalgia (FM). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy has shown increased levels of glutamate in the insula and posterior cingulate cortex in FM as well as reduced insular levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Both of these changes have been associated with increased pain sensitivity. However, it is not clear whether excitatory and/or inhibitory neurotransmission is altered across the brain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify GABAA receptor concentration on the whole brain level in FM to investigate a potential dysregulation of the GABAergic system. Fifty-one postmenopausal women (26 FM, 25 matched controls) underwent assessments of pain sensitivity, attention and memory, psychological status and function, as well as positron emission tomography imaging using a tracer for GABAA receptors, [F]flumazenil. Patients showed increased pain sensitivity, impaired immediate memory, and increased cortical GABAA receptor concentration in the attention and default-mode networks. No decrease of GABAA receptor concentration was observed. Across the 2 groups, GABAA receptor concentration correlated positively with functional scores and current pain in areas overlapping with regions of increased GABAA receptor concentration. This study shows increased GABAA receptor concentration in FM, associated with pain symptoms and impaired function. The changes were widespread and not restricted to pain-processing regions. These findings suggest that the GABAergic system is altered, possibly indicating an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Future studies should try to understand the nature of the dysregulation of the GABAergic system in FM and in other pain syndromes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.