The present invention relates to a non-invasive method for predicting the responsiveness of a human subject suffering from inflammatory disease to a treatment with a therapy against said inflammatory disease using brain imaging techniques. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising an active ingredient for the treatment of human subjects suffering from inflammatory disease and being identified as responders to therapy against the inflammatory disease according to the method of the invention. Preferably, this invention relates to a non-invasive method for predicting the responsiveness of a human subject suffering from rheumatoid arthritis to a treatment with TNF-antagonists comprising at least one step of brain imaging, preferably with an fMRI apparatus. The present invention shows that response to TNFi depends on the gestalt of brain activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
