Thapaliya, Kiran, Inderyas, Maira, Barnden, Leighton · Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025 · DOI
This review examines different brain imaging techniques that have been used to study ME/CFS and detect changes in the brain. Researchers have used three main types of imaging: MRI (which takes detailed pictures of brain structure), PET and SPECT (which show how brain activity and chemicals function). These studies have found subtle but measurable differences in the brains of people with ME/CFS compared to healthy controls.
Neuroimaging provides objective, biological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain changes, which can help validate the condition as a neurological disorder rather than purely psychological. Understanding which imaging techniques most reliably detect these changes helps guide future research and may eventually support clinical diagnosis. This review synthesizes diverse imaging methodologies to help researchers choose appropriate tools for investigating ME/CFS pathophysiology.
This review does not establish causation—detecting brain changes does not prove what causes them or whether they are primary or secondary to other ME/CFS processes. The presence of subtle neuroimaging abnormalities does not automatically translate to clinical diagnostic utility or explain specific symptoms. This is a methods review rather than original research, so it does not present new experimental data of its own.
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 →
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Primary citation
Thapaliya, Kiran, Inderyas, Maira, & Barnden, Leighton (2025). Review of Neuroimaging Methods in ME/CFS.. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4498-0_15
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-thapaliya-2025-review-neuroimaging,
author = {Thapaliya, Kiran and Inderyas, Maira and Barnden, Leighton},
title = {Review of Neuroimaging Methods in ME/CFS.},
journal = {Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1007/978-1-0716-4498-0_15},
note = {PubMed: 40372688},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/thapaliya-2025-review-neuroimaging},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/thapaliya-2025-review-neuroimaging
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