Wortinger, Laura Anne, Glenne Øie, Merete, Endestad, Tor et al. · PloS one · 2017 · DOI
This study looked at how the brains of adolescents with ME/CFS work differently compared to healthy teenagers. Researchers used brain imaging to examine a region called the anterior insula, which helps coordinate motivation and responses to pain. They found that this brain region had weaker connections to areas involved in thinking and decision-making in ME/CFS patients, which may help explain why patients struggle with concentration, pain sensitivity, and physical activity.
Understanding the brain basis of ME/CFS in adolescents is critical since this developmental period is when symptoms often emerge and cognitive demands increase. This study provides objective neurobiological evidence that ME/CFS involves disrupted brain networks, not just symptoms, which may validate patient experiences and guide future treatment approaches targeting neural connectivity.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causation—we cannot determine whether altered brain connectivity causes ME/CFS symptoms or results from chronic illness itself. The small sample size (18 per group) limits generalizability, and the study does not prove that normalizing this connectivity would improve symptoms. Additionally, the findings describe correlation between brain connectivity patterns and functional domains, not definitive causal mechanisms.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →