Growing evidence suggests that aging is associated with impaired endogenous pain modulation, and that this likely underlies the increased transition from acute to chronic pain in older individuals. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) offers a valuable tool to examine the neural mechanisms behind these age-related changes in pain modulation. RsFC studies generally observe decreased within-network connectivity due to aging, but its relevance for pain modulation remains unknown. We compared rsFC within a set of brain regions involved in pain modulation between young and older adults and explored the relationship with the efficacy of distraction from pain. This revealed several age-related increases and decreases in connectivity strength. Importantly, we found a significant association between lower pain relief and decreased strength of three connections in older adults, namely between the periaqueductal gray and right insula, between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and right insula, and between the ACC and left amygdala. These findings suggest that the functional integrity of the pain control system is critical for effective pain modulation, and that its function is compromised by aging.

中文翻译：

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与疼痛调节相关的功能连接的年龄相关差异


越来越多的证据表明，衰老与内源性疼痛调节受损有关，这可能是老年人从急性疼痛向慢性疼痛转变加剧的基础。静息态功能连接（rsFC）提供了一个有价值的工具来检查这些与年龄相关的疼痛调节变化背后的神经机制。 RsFC 研究普遍观察到由于衰老导致网络内连接性下降，但其与疼痛调节的相关性仍然未知。我们比较了年轻人和老年人之间一组参与疼痛调节的大脑区域内的 rsFC，并探讨了其与分散疼痛功效的关系。这揭示了一些与年龄相关的连接强度的增加和减少。重要的是，我们发现老年人疼痛缓解程度较低与三个连接强度下降之间存在显着关联，即导水管周围灰质和右侧岛叶之间、前扣带皮层 (ACC) 和右侧岛叶之间以及 ACC 和左侧杏仁核之间。这些发现表明，疼痛控制系统的功能完整性对于有效的疼痛调节至关重要，并且其功能会因衰老而受到损害。