Abnormal functional connectivity within the prefrontal cortex in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS): A pilot study using resting state functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (rs‐fNIRS)

Abstract Purpose To investigate the abnormalities of functional connectivity (FC) within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) based on resting state functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (rs‐fNIRS) data using FC matrix analysis. Materials and Methods Ten patients with IC/BPS (females, 9; mean age, 56.9 ± 12.432 years) and 15 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy controls (HC) (females, 12; mean age, 55.067 ± 7.46 years) participated in this rs‐fNIRS study. Two rs‐fNIRS scans were performed (when the bladder was empty and when the desire to void was strong). The Pearson's correlation coefficient between the time series of the 22 channels was calculated to obtain a 22 × 22 FC matrix for each subject. A two‐sample t ‐test ( p < .05) was performed to compare group differences in the FC matrix between patients with IC/BPS and HC. Results FC was significantly decreased within the PFC in the IC/BPS group based on a two‐sample t ‐test ( p < .05) compared with HC. FC decreased in a wider range of brain regions during the strong desire to void state (4 brain regions and 28 edges) when compared with the empty bladder state (3 brain regions and 18 edges). Conclusion FC abnormalities in IC/BPS patients may lead to frontal lobe disorders involved in processing sensory integration, motivation drive, emotional control, and decision‐making whether to urinate, leading to urinary control dysfunction manifested as typical clinical IC/BPS symptoms. Our results may provide new insight into the pathogenesis of IC/BPS and new brain biomarkers for diagnosis.