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Neuroimaging of Fatigue

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Brain Imaging in Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience

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Abstract

Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom experienced in both clinical and healthy populations. In particular, individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) frequently report high levels of fatigue which negatively affects their quality of life, including their ability to maintain a career. Even though fatigue is rated the most debilitating symptom of multiple clinical disorders and has therefore been the subject of scientific inquiry, scientists have been unsuccessful at finding an objective measure of fatigue using behavioral measures, and have had to rely on “self-reported fatigue.” This chapter focuses on the utilization of neuroimaging techniques to investigate fatigue in clinical samples (including CFS, MS, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Parkinson’s Disease) and how these techniques could potentially be used to uncover a more objective measure of fatigue.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USAand

    John DeLuca

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA

    John DeLuca

Authors
  1. Helen M. Genova
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  2. Glenn R. Wylie
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  3. John DeLuca
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Correspondence to John DeLuca .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown Un, Providence, 02912, Rhode Island, USA

    Ronald A. Cohen

  2. Dept. Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown Un, Providence, 02912, Rhode Island, USA

    Lawrence H. Sweet

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Genova, H.M., Wylie, G.R., DeLuca, J. (2011). Neuroimaging of Fatigue. In: Cohen, R., Sweet, L. (eds) Brain Imaging in Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6373-4_22

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