Lumbar tactile acuity associated with S1-thalamic functional connectivity and S1 microstructure in patients with low back pain and pain-free controls

Abstract Impairments in lumbar sensory perception, including reduced tactile acuity, occur in patients with nonspecific low back pain (LBP). Tactile acuity is linked to primary somatosensory cortex (S1) activity and structure, but neural markers of lumbar-specific tactile acuity tests remain unvalidated. This cross-sectional study investigated associations between lumbar two-point discrimination (TPD) and estimation (TPE) with functional and structural properties of S1, as well as S1-thalamic connectivity. Resting-state functional MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI assessed S1-thalamic functional connectivity (FC) and structural connectivity, as well as regional homogeneity (ReHo) and mean diffusivity (MD) of S1 grey matter in 78 LBP patients and 39 pain-free controls. Participants with LBP were subdivided into 2 groups: 1 with pain (LBP+, n = 39) and 1 without pain (LBP−, n = 39) on the day of assessment. Higher TPD (ie, worse tactile acuity) was associated with higher contralateral S1-thalamic FC (β = 19.97 mm, 95% CI = 8.47-31.46 mm) and lower contralateral S1-MD (β = −76.98 mm, 95% CI = −142.83 to −11.13 mm). Higher TPE was associated with higher S1-ReHo (β = 19.67 mm, 95% CI = 0.35-39 mm). Two-point discrimination and two-point estimation were positively correlated (r = 0.25, P < 0.001). No between-group differences were found for the MRI variables or TPE, but the LBP+ group showed higher TPD thresholds than pain-free controls (MDiff. = 6.05 mm, P adj. = 0.023). Our findings question the validity of TPE as a measure of tactile acuity. Both neural markers of TPD may not explain tactile acuity impairments in LBP but instead reflect a baseline indicator of tactile performance capability, suggesting poor validity as an LBP-specific marker of neuroplasticity.