MacHale, S M, Lawŕie, S M, Cavanagh, J T et al. · The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2000 · DOI
Researchers used brain imaging to measure blood flow in different areas of the brain in people with ME/CFS, people with depression, and healthy volunteers. They found that people with ME/CFS had increased blood flow in certain deep brain structures (the thalamus and related areas), which was similar to what they saw in depressed patients. However, people with ME/CFS had a different pattern than depressed patients in other brain regions, suggesting these are related but distinct conditions.
This study provides objective neurobiological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain changes distinct from depression, supporting the recognition of ME/CFS as a separate medical condition. Understanding these differences in brain blood flow patterns may help clinicians better differentiate between ME/CFS and depression and could inform future research into the underlying causes of ME/CFS symptoms.
This study shows correlation between brain perfusion patterns and ME/CFS diagnosis but does not prove these perfusion changes cause ME/CFS symptoms or that they are the primary defect underlying the condition. It also cannot determine whether thalamic overactivity is a cause or consequence of increased attention to bodily sensations, nor does it establish whether these findings apply to all ME/CFS patients or only subgroups.
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
MacHale, S M, Lawŕie, S M, Cavanagh, J T, Glabus, M F, Murray, C L, Goodwin, G M, et al. (2000). Cerebral perfusion in chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.176.6.550
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-machale-2000-cerebral-perfusion,
author = {MacHale, S M and Lawŕie, S M and Cavanagh, J T and Glabus, M F and Murray, C L and Goodwin, G M and Ebmeier, K P},
title = {Cerebral perfusion in chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.},
journal = {The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1192/bjp.176.6.550},
note = {PubMed: 10974961},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/machale-2000-cerebral-perfusion},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/machale-2000-cerebral-perfusion
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