Tang, Le-Wei, Zheng, Hui, Chen, Liang et al. · Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2015 · DOI
This review examines brain imaging studies that found smaller brain regions in people with ME/CFS. The researchers looked at how other conditions—like chronic pain, stress, sleep problems, and depression—might affect these brain changes and make it harder to understand what's really happening in ME/CFS. By separating out these overlapping factors, scientists hope to better understand the true brain mechanisms behind ME/CFS.
Understanding whether brain structure changes are fundamental to ME/CFS or secondary to its associated conditions (pain, stress, inactivity) is crucial for developing targeted treatments and validating biomarkers. This critical examination helps researchers design better-controlled studies that can identify the true neurobiological basis of ME/CFS rather than artifacts of overlapping symptoms.
This review does not establish whether gray matter changes are a primary cause of ME/CFS or merely a consequence of living with the disease and its comorbidities. It does not prove specific brain regions are uniquely affected by ME/CFS, nor does it establish causation—only that association has been reported across multiple studies with varying controls for confounding factors.
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
Tang, Le-Wei, Zheng, Hui, Chen, Liang, Zhou, Si-Yuan, Huang, Wen-Jing, Li, Ying, et al. (2015). Gray matter volumes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/380615
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-tang-2015-gray-matter,
author = {Tang, Le-Wei and Zheng, Hui and Chen, Liang and Zhou, Si-Yuan and Huang, Wen-Jing and Li, Ying and Wu, Xi},
title = {Gray matter volumes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1155/2015/380615},
note = {PubMed: 25792998},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tang-2015-gray-matter},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tang-2015-gray-matter
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