Page 9 - JCBP-2-1

Journal of Clinical and

Basic Psychosomatics

REVIEW ARTICLE
Magnetic resonance imaging and functional

constipation

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Yonghuan Feng , Guanya Li , Yang Hu , Wenchao Zhang , Weibin Ji ,
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Huiling Zhou , Zhao Yan , Zaichen La , Mengshan Li , Yi Zhang *, and
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Yongzhan Nie *
3
1 Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University and Engineering
Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
2 International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and
Treatment and Xi’an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life
Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases
and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, The Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Abstract
With the rapid development of society, the incidence of functional constipation
(FC) is steadily increasing annually. As it poses an elevated risk for various physical
and neuropsychiatric illnesses, the occurrence and development mechanisms of FC
have garnered escalating attention from researchers. Accumulating evidence from
studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggests that FC is associated with
alternations in brain function and structure, particularly within brain regions and
networks involved in emotion regulation, motor control, somatic sensation, and self-
reference. Specifically, significant differences in baseline brain activity and functional
*Corresponding authors:
Yi Zhang connectivity integrity exist between patients with FC and healthy controls. Patients
(yizhang@xidian.edu.cn) with FC exhibit abnormal cortical morphometry, a lower gray/white matter volume,
Yongzhan Nie and impaired white matter integrity. These changes correlate with somatic symptoms,
(yongznie@fmmu.edu.cn)
such as the difficulty level of defecation and the sensation of incomplete evacuation.
Citation: Feng Y, Li G, Hu Y, et al., Differences between patients with anxiety/depressive disorders (FCAD) and those
2024, Magnetic resonance imaging without such disorders (FCNAD) underscore the pivotal role of psychiatric factors in
and functional constipation. J Clin
Basic Psychosom, 2(1): 1463. FC development. In addition, studies have verified that female patients experience
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.1463 decreased emotional regulation, contributing to a higher prevalence of FC and more
Received: August 5, 2023 severe constipation symptoms than their male counterparts. This paper provides
a comprehensive literature review, drawing upon existing MRI studies to explore
Accepted: October 27, 2023
the various brain abnormalities evident in patients with FC. Through the analysis of
Published Online: December 4, 2023 these studies, our aim is to shed light on the underlying neural mechanisms and offer
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). valuable insights into the development of novel and effective treatments for FC.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Functional constipation; Neural mechanisms;
License, permitting distribution, Psychiatric factors; Brain function and structure
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional With the rapid development of society, substantial changes in people’s dietary structures
affiliations. and living habits have occurred. Coupled with the escalating pressures across various

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.1463