Gray-matter alterations in pain processing brain structures in patients with somatoform pain disorder – a voxel-based morphometric study

Objective: Somatoform pain disorder is defined as persistent and chronic pain at one or more sites in which psychological factors are thought to play a major role. This disease is characterized by severe pain without somatic pathologies which sufficiently explain the painful condition. We investigated whether subtle structural gray matter changes occur in this patient group which was thought to have no underlying structural pathology so far. Methods: 14 right handed women (mean age 51yrs) fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for somatoform pain disorder were recruited from an interdisciplinary pain clinic. The screening f…