Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Discordance of clinical symptoms with markers of disease severity remains a conundrum in a variety of respiratory conditions. The breathlessness of chronic lung disease correlates poorly with spirometry, yet is a better predictor of mortality. In chronic cough, symptoms are often evident without clear physical cause. In asthma, the terms 'over perceivers' and 'under perceivers' are common parlance. In all these examples, aberrant brain mechanisms may explain the mismatch between symptoms and pathology. Functional MRI is a non-invasive method of measuring brain function. It has recently become significantly advanced enough to be useful in clinical research and to address these potential mechanisms. This article explains how FMRI works, current understanding from FMRI in breathlessness, cough and asthma and suggests possibilities for future research.

Original publication

DOI

10.1136/thoraxjnl-2014-206688

Type

Journal article

Journal

Thorax

Publication Date

06/2015

Volume

70

Pages

598 - 600

Keywords

Perception of Asthma/Breathlessness, Asthma, Brain, Brain Mapping, Chronic Disease, Cough, Functional Neuroimaging, Humans, Lung Diseases, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Predictive Value of Tests, Pulmonary Medicine, Sensitivity and Specificity, Severity of Illness Index