Shan, Zack Y, Finegan, Kevin, Bhuta, Sandeep et al. · Brain connectivity · 2018 · DOI
This study used brain imaging to look at how a specific network in the brain (called the default mode network) works differently in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Researchers found that in ME/CFS patients, this brain network shows more chaotic activity and weaker communication between different regions. These differences might one day help doctors diagnose ME/CFS using brain scans.
ME/CFS lacks objective diagnostic biomarkers, forcing reliance on symptom reporting. This study provides evidence that brain imaging could identify consistent neurobiological differences, potentially leading to objective diagnostic tools. Understanding DMN dysfunction may also illuminate the cognitive and fatigue symptoms that characterize ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that DMN changes cause ME/CFS symptoms or that these brain differences are specific to ME/CFS (other conditions may show similar patterns). As a cross-sectional study, it cannot determine whether brain changes precede symptom onset or result from the disease. The modest effect sizes (7-11% variance explained) mean these measures alone cannot yet reliably diagnose individual patients.
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
Shan, Zack Y, Finegan, Kevin, Bhuta, Sandeep, Ireland, Timothy, Staines, Donald R, Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya M, et al. (2018). Decreased Connectivity and Increased Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Complexity in the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Brain connectivity. https://doi.org/10.1089/brain.2017.0549
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-shan-2018-decreased-connectivity,
author = {Shan, Zack Y and Finegan, Kevin and Bhuta, Sandeep and Ireland, Timothy and Staines, Donald R and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya M and Barnden, Leighton R},
title = {Decreased Connectivity and Increased Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Complexity in the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Brain connectivity},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1089/brain.2017.0549},
note = {PubMed: 29152994},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shan-2018-decreased-connectivity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shan-2018-decreased-connectivity
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