Gay, Charles W, Robinson, Michael E, Lai, Song et al. · Brain connectivity · 2016 · DOI
This study used brain imaging (MRI) to examine how different regions of the brain communicate with each other in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have weaker communication between certain brain regions, particularly in areas involved in attention and movement. These abnormal communication patterns were directly linked to how severe patients' fatigue symptoms were.
This study provides neurobiological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable, objective changes in how the brain communicates internally at rest. The correlation between these brain imaging findings and symptom severity suggests that fatigue in ME/CFS has a biological basis in brain function, potentially opening avenues for biomarkers and targeted interventions. Understanding these brain connectivity changes helps validate ME/CFS as a neurological condition.
This study demonstrates association but not causation—it does not prove that abnormal connectivity causes fatigue, only that they co-occur. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether connectivity changes precede, follow, or develop alongside ME/CFS symptoms. Findings apply only to the female population studied and may not generalize to male patients or other demographic groups.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Gay, Charles W, Robinson, Michael E, Lai, Song, O'Shea, Andrew, Craggs, Jason G, Price, Donald D, et al. (2016). Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Results of Seed and Data-Driven Analyses.. Brain connectivity. https://doi.org/10.1089/brain.2015.0366
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-gay-2016-abnormal-resting,
author = {Gay, Charles W and Robinson, Michael E and Lai, Song and O'Shea, Andrew and Craggs, Jason G and Price, Donald D and Staud, Roland},
title = {Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Results of Seed and Data-Driven Analyses.},
journal = {Brain connectivity},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1089/brain.2015.0366},
note = {PubMed: 26449441},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gay-2016-abnormal-resting},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gay-2016-abnormal-resting
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