Mueller, Christina, Lin, Joanne C, Sheriff, Sulaiman et al. · Brain imaging and behavior · 2020 · DOI
Researchers used advanced brain imaging to measure chemical substances in the brains of ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy people. They found several differences in brain chemistry and temperature in ME/CFS patients, particularly in areas involved in processing pain and regulating energy. These changes suggest that inflammation in the brain may contribute to ME/CFS symptoms.
This is the first whole-brain spectroscopy study in ME/CFS, providing broader evidence of neurochemical dysfunction beyond previously studied discrete regions. The findings support the neuroinflammation hypothesis of ME/CFS, potentially validating a biological basis for symptoms and opening avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions.
This study does not prove that neuroinflammation causes ME/CFS—it only shows associations between brain chemistry changes and the disease. It cannot establish whether these metabolic abnormalities are primary contributors to symptoms or secondary consequences of the illness. The small sample size and cross-sectional design limit generalizability and prevent causal inference.
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
Mueller, Christina, Lin, Joanne C, Sheriff, Sulaiman, Maudsley, Andrew A, & Younger, Jarred W (2020). Evidence of widespread metabolite abnormalities in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment with whole-brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy.. Brain imaging and behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-0029-4
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mueller-2020-evidence-widespread,
author = {Mueller, Christina and Lin, Joanne C and Sheriff, Sulaiman and Maudsley, Andrew A and Younger, Jarred W},
title = {Evidence of widespread metabolite abnormalities in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment with whole-brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy.},
journal = {Brain imaging and behavior},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1007/s11682-018-0029-4},
note = {PubMed: 30617782},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mueller-2020-evidence-widespread},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mueller-2020-evidence-widespread
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