Miike, Teruhisa, Tomoda, Akemi, Jhodoi, Takako et al. · Brain & development · 2004 · DOI
This study followed children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in Japan over 15 years to understand why they experience severe tiredness and difficulty learning and remembering information. The researchers found that these children had problems with their autonomic nervous system (the automatic system controlling heart rate, temperature, and digestion), disrupted sleep-wake cycles similar to jet lag, and reduced blood flow to certain brain areas. Understanding these patterns may help explain why learning becomes so difficult for children with CFS.
This study identifies potential biological mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in pediatric ME/CFS, a severely disabling symptom often dismissed as psychological. By demonstrating brain blood flow abnormalities and circadian disruption comparable to jet lag, the research provides objective evidence that learning difficulties have measurable neurobiological underpinnings, validating the experiences of affected children and potentially informing future treatment strategies.
This study cannot definitively establish causation—brain abnormalities may result from illness effects rather than causing them. The findings are correlational and were conducted in a specific Japanese population, so results may not generalize to other regions or demographics. Without control groups explicitly mentioned, it remains unclear whether these abnormalities are unique to CFS or shared with other conditions.
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
Miike, Teruhisa, Tomoda, Akemi, Jhodoi, Takako, Iwatani, Noritaka, & Mabe, Hiroyo (2004). Learning and memorization impairment in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome manifesting as school phobia in Japan.. Brain & development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.braindev.2003.10.004
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-miike-2004-learning-memorization,
author = {Miike, Teruhisa and Tomoda, Akemi and Jhodoi, Takako and Iwatani, Noritaka and Mabe, Hiroyo},
title = {Learning and memorization impairment in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome manifesting as school phobia in Japan.},
journal = {Brain & development},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1016/j.braindev.2003.10.004},
note = {PubMed: 15351079},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/miike-2004-learning-memorization},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/miike-2004-learning-memorization
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