The role of the brainstem in sleep disturbances and chronic pain of Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans

This study investigates brainstem differences in veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf and Iraq/Afghanistan, and whether these differences relate to symptoms like sleep difficulty and pain. Using MRI, the study found that veterans from both deployments had smaller brainstem volumes compared to healthy controls. These structural differences may reflect autonomic dysregulation. The study found that in Gulf War veterans, brainstem structural deficits significantly correlated with increased sleep difficulties and pain intensities, but this effect was not observed in Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.

• 1
  Veterans from both Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan campaigns exhibited smaller brainstem volumes compared to healthy controls, along with larger periaqueductal gray matter volumes.
• 2
  All veterans showed reduced integrity in brainstem-spinal cord and brainstem-subcortical tracts compared to healthy controls.
• 3
  In Gulf War veterans, smaller brainstem volumes correlated with increased sleep difficulties and pain intensities, while no such correlation was observed in Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.