Watanabe, Yasuyoshi · Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyu no shinpo · 2018 · DOI
This study examined the brains of people with ME/CFS using three types of imaging technology (PET scans, MRI, and MEG) to look for physical differences compared to healthy people. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have reduced blood flow and energy use in certain brain areas, decreased levels of important chemical messengers, and inflammation in the brain that appears connected to symptom severity. These findings suggest ME/CFS involves real, measurable brain changes rather than being purely psychological.
This research provides objective biological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain abnormalities, supporting the legitimacy of the condition as a neurological disorder rather than a psychiatric one. Identifying neuroinflammation as a potential core mechanism could guide development of targeted treatments and objective diagnostic biomarkers for ME/CFS patients who currently lack definitive diagnostic tests.
This study does not establish whether brain inflammation is the primary cause of ME/CFS or a consequence of the disease process. The findings are correlational rather than causal—showing that neuroinflammation associates with symptoms does not prove inflammation directly causes them. The review also does not demonstrate that these brain changes are specific to ME/CFS or present in all patients with the condition.
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
Watanabe, Yasuyoshi (2018). [Brain Science on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome].. Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyu no shinpo. https://doi.org/10.11477/mf.1416201164
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-watanabe-2018-brain-science,
author = {Watanabe, Yasuyoshi},
title = {[Brain Science on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome].},
journal = {Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyu no shinpo},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.11477/mf.1416201164},
note = {PubMed: 30416112},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/watanabe-2018-brain-science},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/watanabe-2018-brain-science
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