Inderyas, Maira, Thapaliya, Kiran, Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya et al. · Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023 · DOI
This study used advanced brain imaging to compare how different brain regions communicate in people with ME/CFS versus healthy people. Researchers found that certain connections between the brainstem (the lower part of the brain) and cerebellum (involved in balance and coordination) are weakened in ME/CFS patients. These brain communication problems may help explain why people with ME/CFS experience fatigue, memory problems, and other symptoms.
This is the first study to comprehensively map brainstem and cerebellar dysfunction in ME/CFS, providing objective neurobiological evidence for symptoms previously attributed to central nervous system involvement. Understanding these specific brain connection problems may guide development of targeted treatments and help validate ME/CFS as a neurological condition.
This study does not prove that brainstem/cerebellar dysfunction causes ME/CFS symptoms, only that the association exists. The small sample size and cross-sectional design limit generalizability. Findings are specific to brain activity during the Stroop task and may not represent all aspects of ME/CFS pathophysiology.
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
Inderyas, Maira, Thapaliya, Kiran, Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya, Barth, Markus, & Barnden, Leighton (2023). Subcortical and default mode network connectivity is impaired in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Frontiers in neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1318094
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-inderyas-2023-subcortical-default,
author = {Inderyas, Maira and Thapaliya, Kiran and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya and Barth, Markus and Barnden, Leighton},
title = {Subcortical and default mode network connectivity is impaired in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Frontiers in neuroscience},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fnins.2023.1318094},
note = {PubMed: 38347875},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/inderyas-2023-subcortical-default},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/inderyas-2023-subcortical-default
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