[Correspondence] From whole-brain metrics to circuit-specific precision: advancing fMRI biomarkers for TNF inhibitor response in rheumatoid arthritis – Authors' reply

Aikeremujiang Muheremu and Kan Jiang raise insightful and thought-provoking points on our recent paper1 on CNS activation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We are pleased to hear that the key thesis of the study—that the CNS is a key determinant of therapeutic responses to TNF inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis—has been recognised by Muheremu and Jiang. Indeed, these findings challenge the conventional, peripherally focused view of rheumatoid arthritis by providing evidence for a crucial joint–brain axis that might influence therapeutic responses to cytokine inhibition.