Investigation of neural correlates of bladder control using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with overactive bladder (OAB)

Abstract

Overactive bladder (OAB) is considered to be a disorder of the urinary bladder and is defined by the International Continence Society Terminology Committee as "urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia". There is some preliminary evidence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that the brain response to bladder filling in OAB patients is abnormal. The purpose of this research is to determine whether there are Central Nervous System (CNS) differences in modulating bladder function that contribute to, or are themselves the cause of the symptoms in OAB patients. We further investigated the pharmacological fMRI changes