Nijs, Jo, Meeus, Mira, Van Oosterwijck, Jessica et al. · European journal of clinical investigation · 2012 · DOI
This review examined whether ME/CFS involves a nervous system that becomes overly sensitive to pain and other sensations. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS do show heightened responses to various types of stimuli—including touch, pressure, heat, and electrical stimulation—across multiple body areas. Importantly, this nervous system sensitivity tends to get worse, not better, after exercise or stress, suggesting a fundamental difference in how the central nervous system responds in ME/CFS.
This review provides an integrated framework for understanding why ME/CFS patients experience widespread pain, sensory overload, and symptom exacerbation after physical exertion. Establishing central sensitisation as a biological mechanism—rather than a psychological one—validates patient experiences and may redirect treatment approaches toward nervous system dysfunction rather than deconditioning.
This review does not establish causation; it demonstrates correlation between central sensitisation and ME/CFS. It does not determine whether central sensitisation is a primary cause of ME/CFS, a secondary consequence of the illness, or one of several parallel mechanisms. The narrative design also means systematic quality appraisal of included studies is not reported.
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
Nijs, Jo, Meeus, Mira, Van Oosterwijck, Jessica, Ickmans, Kelly, Moorkens, Greta, Hans, Guy, et al. (2012). In the mind or in the brain? Scientific evidence for central sensitisation in chronic fatigue syndrome.. European journal of clinical investigation. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2362.2011.02575.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nijs-2012-mind-brain,
author = {Nijs, Jo and Meeus, Mira and Van Oosterwijck, Jessica and Ickmans, Kelly and Moorkens, Greta and Hans, Guy and De Clerck, Luc S},
title = {In the mind or in the brain? Scientific evidence for central sensitisation in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {European journal of clinical investigation},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2362.2011.02575.x},
note = {PubMed: 21793823},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nijs-2012-mind-brain},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nijs-2012-mind-brain
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