ReviewBrain sciences2022
Review of the Midbrain Ascending Arousal Network Nuclei and Implications for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Gulf War Illness (GWI) and Postexertional Malaise (PEM).
Review in Brain sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- PTPRN2 hypomethylation and PHB2-associated miR-153-3p maturation define dual epigenetic features linked to symptom variability in Myalgic encephalomyelitis.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Exertional Exhaustion (Post-Exertional Malaise, PEM) Evaluated by the Effects of Exercise on Cerebrospinal Fluid Metabolomics-Lipidomics and Serine Pathway in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Large-scale investigation confirms TRPM3 ion channel dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Fatigue, interoplastic and nociplastic distress in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Illness, and chronic idiopathic fatigue.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Dysregulation of lipid metabolism, energy production, and oxidative stress in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Syndrome and fibromyalgia.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Novel characterization of endogenous transient receptor potential melastatin 3 ion channels from Gulf War Illness participants.PloS one · 2024Article
- Proteomics and cytokine analyses distinguish myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome cases from controls.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Article
- Exercise-induced changes in gene expression do not mediate post exertional malaise in Gulf War illness.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2023Article
- Autoantibody Correlation Signatures in Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Association with Symptom Severity.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- ME/CFS and Long COVID share similar symptoms and biological abnormalities: road map to the literature.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Review
- Editorial: Novel imaging technologies for neuroinflammation.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS and Gulf War Illness (GWI) share features of post-exertional malaise (PEM), exertional exhaustion, or postexertional symptom exacerbation. In a two-day model of PEM, submaximal exercise induced significant changes in activation of the dorsal midbrain during a high cognitive load working memory task (Washington 2020) (Baraniuk this issue). Controls had no net change. However, ME/CFS had increased activity after exercise, while GWI had significantly reduced activity indicating differential responses to exercise and pathological mechanisms. These data plus findings of the midbrain and brainstem atrophy in GWI inspired a review of the anatomy and physiology of the dorsal midbrain and isthmus nuclei in order to infer dysfunctional mechanisms that may contribute to disease pathogenesis and postexertional malaise. The nuclei of the ascending arousal network were addressed. Midbrain and isthmus nuclei participate in threat assessment, awareness, attention, mood, cognition, pain, tenderness, sleep, thermoregulation, light and sound sensitivity, orthostatic symptoms, and autonomic dysfunction and are likely to contribute to the symptoms of postexertional malaise in ME/CFS and GWI.
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.