Voxel-Wise Brain-Wide Functional Connectivity Abnormalities in Patients with Primary Blepharospasm at Rest

Background. Primary blepharospasm (BSP) is one of the most common focal dystonia and its pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear. An unbiased method was used in patients with BSP at rest to observe voxel-wise brain-wide functional connectivity (FC) changes. Method. A total of 48 subjects, including 24 untreated patients with BSP and 24 healthy controls, were recruited to undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The method of global-brain FC (GFC) was adopted to analyze the resting-state fMRI data. We designed the support vector machine (SVM) method to determine whether GFC abnormalities could be utilized to distinguish the patients from the controls. Results. Relative to healthy controls, patients with BSP showed significantly decreased GFC in the bilateral superior medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex (MPFC/ACC) and increased GFC in the right postcentral gyrus/precentral gyrus/paracentral lobule, right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and left paracentral lobule/supplement motor area (SMA), which were included in the default mode network (DMN) and sensorimotor network. SVM analysis showed that increased GFC values in the right postcentral gyrus/precentral gyrus/paracentral lobule could discriminate patients from controls with optimal accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 83.33%, 83.33%, and 83.33%, respectively. Conclusion. This study suggested that abnormal GFC in the brain areas associated with sensorimotor network and DMN might underlie the pathophysiology of BSP, which provided a new perspective to understand BSP. GFC in the right postcentral gyrus/precentral gyrus/paracentral lobule might be utilized as a latent biomarker to differentiate patients with BSP from controls.

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Grey matter abnormalities in Tourette syndrome: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03187-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fang Wen ◽

Junjuan Yan ◽

Liping Yu ◽

Fang Wang ◽

Jingran Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Likelihood Estimation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Activation Likelihood Estimation ◽

Lentiform Nucleus ◽

Postcentral Gyrus

Abstract Background Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by the continual presence of primary motor and vocal tics. Grey matter abnormalities have been identified in numerous studies of TS, but conflicting results have been reported. This study was an unbiased statistical meta-analysis of published neuroimaging studies of TS structures. Methods A voxel quantitative meta-analysis technique called activation likelihood estimation (ALE) was used. The meta-analysis included six neuroimaging studies involving 247 TS patients and 236 healthy controls. A statistical threshold of p < 0.05 was established based on the false discovery rate and a cluster extent threshold of 50 voxels. Results We found that grey matter volumes were significantly increased in the bilateral thalamus, right hypothalamus, right precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, right lentiform nucleus, and left insula of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. In contrast, grey matter volumes were significantly decreased in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral insula, left posterior cingulate and left postcentral gyrus of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. Conclusions Our present meta-analysis primarily revealed significant increases in grey matter volumes in the thalamus and lentiform nucleus, and decreased grey matter volumes in the anterior cingulate gyrus, of TS patients compared to those in healthy controls. Most of these identified regions are associated with cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these changes in grey matter volumes in TS patients.

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Aberrant Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Dorsal Attention Network in Tinnitus

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2021/2804533 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Haimeng Hu ◽

Yining Lyu ◽

Shihong Li ◽

Zheng Yuan ◽

Chuntao Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Attention Network ◽

Superior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Functional Connections ◽

Dorsal Attention Network ◽

The Right

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses have shown that the dorsal attention network (DAN) is involved in the pathophysiological changes of tinnitus, but few relevant studies have been conducted, and the conclusions to date are not uniform. The purpose of this research was to test whether there is a change in intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) patterns between the DAN and other brain regions in tinnitus patients. Thirty-one patients with persistent tinnitus and thirty-three healthy controls were enrolled in this study. A group independent component analysis (ICA), degree centrality (DC) analysis, and seed-based FC analysis were conducted. In the group ICA, the tinnitus patients showed increased connectivity in the left superior parietal gyrus in the DAN compared to the healthy controls. Compared with the healthy controls, the tinnitus patients showed increased DC in the left inferior parietal gyrus and decreased DC in the left precuneus within the DAN. The clusters within the DAN with significant differences in the ICA or DC analysis between the tinnitus patients and the healthy controls were selected as regions of interest (ROIs) for seeds. The tinnitus patients exhibited significantly increased FC from the left superior parietal gyrus to several brain regions, including the left inferior parietal gyrus, the left superior marginal gyrus, and the right superior frontal gyrus, and decreased FC to the right anterior cingulate cortex. The tinnitus patients exhibited decreased FC from the left precuneus to the left inferior occipital gyrus, left calcarine cortex, and left superior frontal gyrus compared with the healthy controls. The findings of this study show that compared with healthy controls, tinnitus patients have altered functional connections not only within the DAN but also between the DAN and other brain regions. These results suggest that it may be possible to improve the disturbance and influence of tinnitus by regulating the DAN.

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Alterations of Interhemispheric Functional Connectivity and Degree Centrality in Cervical Dystonia: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2019/7349894 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Wenyan Jiang ◽

Yiwu Lei ◽

Jing Wei ◽

Lu Yang ◽

Shubao Wei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Basal Ganglia ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Cervical Dystonia ◽

Degree Centrality ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Lentiform Nucleus ◽

Correlation Analyses ◽

Postcentral Gyrus ◽

The Right

Background. Cervical dystonia (CD) is a neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary head and neck movements and postures. Reports on microstructural and functional abnormalities in multiple brain regions not limited to the basal ganglia have been increasing in patients with CD. However, the neural bases of CD are unclear. This study is aimed at identifying cerebral functional abnormalities in CD by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods. Using rs-fMRI data, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and degree centrality were used to compare the alterations of the rs-functional connectivity (FC) between 19 patients with CD and 21 healthy controls. Regions showing abnormal FCs from two measurements were the regions of interest for correlation analyses. Results. Compared with healthy controls, patients with CD exhibited significantly decreased VMHC in the supplementary motor area (SMA), precuneus (PCu)/postcentral gyrus, and superior medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Significantly increased degree centrality in the right PCu and decreased degree centrality in the right lentiform nucleus and left ventral MPFC were observed in the patient group compared with the control group. Further correlation analyses showed that the VMHC values in the SMA were negatively correlated with dystonia severity. Conclusion. Local abnormalities and interhemispheric interaction deficits in the sensorimotor network (SMA, postcentral gyrus, and PCu), default mode network (MPFC and PCu), and basal ganglia may be the key characteristics in the pathogenesis mechanism of CD.

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Grey matter abnormalities in Tourette syndrome: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-22072/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yonghua Cui ◽

Fang Wen ◽

Junjuan Yan ◽

Liping Yu ◽

Fang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Likelihood Estimation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Activation Likelihood Estimation ◽

Lentiform Nucleus ◽

Postcentral Gyrus

Abstract Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by the continual presence of primary motor and vocal tics. Grey matter abnormalities have been identified in numerous studies of TS, but conflicting results have been reported. This study was an unbiased statistical meta-analysis of published neuroimaging studies of TS structures. Methods: A voxel quantitative meta-analysis technique called activation likelihood estimation (ALE) was used.The meta-analysis included six neuroimaging studies involving 247 TS patients and 236 healthy controls. A statistical threshold of p < 0.05 was established based on the false discovery rate and a cluster extent threshold of 50 voxels.Results: We found that grey matter volumes were significantly increased in the bilateral thalamus, right hypothalamus, right precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, right lentiform nucleus, and left insula of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. In contrast, grey matter volumes were significantly decreased in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral insula, left posterior cingulate, and left postcentral gyrus of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls.Conclusions: Our present meta-analysis primarily revealed significant increases in grey matter volumes in the thalamus and lentiform nucleus, and decreased grey matter volumes in the anterior cingulate gyrus, of TS patients compared to those in healthy controls. Most of these identified regions are associated with cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these changes in grey matter volumes in TS patients.

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Abstract TP57: Altered Functional Connectivity in Transient Ischemic Attack Patients

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.48.suppl_1.tp57 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Michael S Stringer ◽

Ourania Varsou ◽

Catarina Fernandes ◽

Christian Schwarzbauer ◽

Mary J MacLeod

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Control Group ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Sensorimotor Network ◽

Visual Component ◽

Transient Ischaemic Attacks ◽

Symptom Profile ◽

Clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽

The Right

Introduction: The pathophysiology and sequelae of transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) merit further study,. Particular challenges arise from the on-going debate on diagnostic criteria and the fact that few studies use the modern tissue-based definition. Differences in functional connectivity have previously been identified in a number of conditions, including stroke, have been implicated in the symptom profile and are known to vary during recovery. In this pilot study we investigate whether there were functional connectivity differences between TIA patients and healthy controls. Methods: Patients were referred for a standard clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neurovascular protocol, with the addition of a resting state functional MRI (fMRI) sequence. Eight patients diagnosed with a TIA (4 women, 57±9) were recruited, along with eight healthy controls (4 women, 30±5). Independent component analysis was used to isolate the networks before performing non-parametric two-sample t-test using both threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) and voxel-wise statistics. Results: Significant differences (p<0.05, FWE-corrected) emerged using TFCE, in particular increased connectivity was noted in the mid-cingulate area with contrasting decreases in the cerebellum within the sensorimotor network. Additionally clusters of decreased connectivity were noted in the right insula in an attentional component, the pre-cuneus within the default mode network and the supplementary motor area in a visual component. No significant differences between the TIA and control group were above the threshold using voxel-wise statistics. Conclusion: In line with previous research in groups of stroke patients, this study has identified evidence of differences in neural connectivity associated with TIA, which cannot be explained by age. Differences in the sensorimotor network may be linked to the symptoms experienced by patients, with the mid-cingluate area being implicated in memory and learning. Alterations in functional connectivity may be relevant for recovery, including the on-going cognitive deficits reported in TIA patients. These findings suggest an important area for further research with a larger cohort.

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Altered Functional Connectivity Within and Between Salience and Sensorimotor Networks in Patients With Functional Constipation

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.628880 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Shijun Duan ◽

Lei Liu ◽

Guanya Li ◽

Jia Wang ◽

Yang Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abdominal Pain ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Functional Constipation ◽

Brain Network ◽

Clustering Coefficient ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Sensorimotor Network ◽

Brain Functions

Functional constipation (FCon) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder. A considerable portion of patients with FCon is associated with anxiety/depressive status (FCAD). Previous neuroimaging studies mainly focused on patients with FCon without distinguishing FCAD from FCon patients without anxiety/depressive status (FCNAD). Differences in brain functions between these two subtypes remain unclear. Thus, we employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) and graph theory method to investigate differences in brain network connectivity and topology in 41 FCAD, 42 FCNAD, and 43 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs). FCAD/FCNAD showed significantly lower normalized clustering coefficient and small-world-ness. Both groups showed altered nodal degree/efficiency mainly in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), precentral gyrus (PreCen), supplementary motor area (SMA), and thalamus. In the FCAD group, nodal degree in the SMA was negatively correlated with difficulty of defecation, and abdominal pain was positively correlated with nodal degree/efficiency in the rACC, which had a lower within-module nodal degree. The salience network (SN) exhibited higher functional connectivity (FC) with the sensorimotor network (SMN) in FCAD/FCNAD, and FC between these two networks was negatively correlated with anxiety ratings in FCAD group. Additionally, FC of anterior insula (aINS)–rACC was only correlated with constipation symptom (i.e., abdominal pain) in the FCNAD group. In the FCAD group, FCs of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex–rACC, PreCen–aINS showed correlations with both constipation symptom (i.e., difficulty of defecation) and depressive status. These findings indicate the differences in FC of the SN–SMN between FCAD and FCNAD and provide neuroimaging evidence based on brain function, which portrays important clues for improving new treatment strategies.

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Functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex with pain-related regions in children with post-traumatic headache

Cephalalgia Reports ◽

10.1177/25158163211009477 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 251581632110094

Author(s):

Zahra Ofoghi ◽

Christiane S Rohr ◽

Deborah Dewey ◽

Signe Bray ◽

Keith Owen Yeates ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Resting State ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Pain Processing ◽

Central Pain ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Post Traumatic ◽

The Right ◽

Central Pain Processing

Introduction: Post-traumatic headaches (PTH) are common following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). There is evidence of altered central pain processing in adult PTH; however, little is known about how children with PTH process pain. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a critical role in descending central pain modulation. In this study, we explored whether the functional connectivity (FC) of the ACC is altered in children with PTH. Methods: In this case-control study, we investigated resting-state FC of 5 ACC seeds (caudal, dorsal, rostral, perigenual, and subgenual) in children with PTH ( n = 73) and without PTH ( n = 29) following mTBI, and healthy controls ( n = 27). Post-concussion symptoms were assessed using the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory and the Child Health Questionnaire. Resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data were used to generate maps of ACC FC. Group-level comparisons were performed within a target mask comprised of pain-related regions using FSL Randomise. Results: We found decreased FC between the right perigenual ACC and the left cerebellum, and increased FC between the right subgenual ACC and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in children with PTH compared to healthy controls. The ACC FC in children without PTH following mTBI did not differ from the group with PTH or healthy controls. FC between rostral and perigenual ACC seeds and the cerebellum was increased in children with PTH with pre-injury headaches compared to those with PTH without pre-injury headaches. There was a positive relationship between PTH severity and rostral ACC FC with the bilateral thalamus, right hippocampus and periaqueductal gray. Conclusions: Central pain processing is altered in children with PTH. Pre-existing headaches help to drive this process. Trial registration: The PlayGame Trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov database ( ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01874847).

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Grey matter abnormalities in Tourette syndrome: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-22072/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fang Wen ◽

Junjuan Yan ◽

Liping Yu ◽

Fang Wang ◽

Jingran Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Likelihood Estimation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Activation Likelihood Estimation ◽

Lentiform Nucleus ◽

Postcentral Gyrus

Abstract Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by the continual presence of primary motor and vocal tics. Grey matter abnormalities have been identified in numerous studies of TS, but conflicting results have been reported. This study was an unbiased statistical meta-analysis of published neuroimaging studies of TS structures.Methods: A voxel quantitative meta-analysis technique called activation likelihood estimation (ALE) was used.The meta-analysis included six neuroimaging studies involving 247 TS patients and 236 healthy controls. A statistical threshold of p < 0.05 was established based on the false discovery rate and a cluster extent threshold of 50 voxels.Results: We found that grey matter volumes were significantly increased in the bilateral thalamus, right hypothalamus, right precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, right lentiform nucleus, and left insula of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. In contrast, grey matter volumes were significantly decreased in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral insula, left posterior cingulate, and left postcentral gyrus of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls.Conclusions: Our present meta-analysis primarily revealed significant increases in grey matter volumes in the thalamus and lentiform nucleus, and decreased grey matter volumes in the anterior cingulate gyrus, of TS patients compared to those in healthy controls. Most of these identified regions are associated with cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these changes in grey matter volumes in TS patients.

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The Role of the Right Prefrontal Cortex in Self-evaluation of the Face: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2008.20024 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 342-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Tomoyo Morita ◽

Shoji Itakura ◽

Daisuke N. Saito ◽

Satoshi Nakashita ◽

Tokiko Harada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Face Recognition ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Video Recording ◽

Imaging Study ◽

The Self ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

The Right

Individuals can experience negative emotions (e.g., embarrassment) accompanying self-evaluation immediately after recognizing their own facial image, especially if it deviates strongly from their mental representation of ideals or standards. The aim of this study was to identify the cortical regions involved in self-recognition and self-evaluation along with self-conscious emotions. To increase the range of emotions accompanying self-evaluation, we used facial feedback images chosen from a video recording, some of which deviated significantly from normal images. In total, 19 participants were asked to rate images of their own face (SELF) and those of others (OTHERS) according to how photogenic they appeared to be. After scanning the images, the participants rated how embarrassed they felt upon viewing each face. As the photogenic scores decreased, the embarrassment ratings dramatically increased for the participant's own face compared with those of others. The SELF versus OTHERS contrast significantly increased the activation of the right prefrontal cortex, bilateral insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral occipital cortex. Within the right prefrontal cortex, activity in the right precentral gyrus reflected the trait of awareness of observable aspects of the self; this provided strong evidence that the right precentral gyrus is specifically involved in self-face recognition. By contrast, activity in the anterior region, which is located in the right middle inferior frontal gyrus, was modulated by the extent of embarrassment. This finding suggests that the right middle inferior frontal gyrus is engaged in self-evaluation preceded by self-face recognition based on the relevance to a standard self.

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Altered Functional Connectivity Patterns of Parietal Subregions Contribute to Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with White Matter Hyperintensities

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-210315 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Qiang Wei ◽

Shanshan Cao ◽

Yang Ji ◽

Jun Zhang ◽

Chen Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

White Matter Hyperintensities ◽

Parietal Lobe ◽

Small Vessel Disease ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Anterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity

Background: The white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are considered as one of the core neuroimaging findings of cerebral small vessel disease and independently associated with cognitive deficit. The parietal lobe is a heterogeneous area containing many subregions and play an important role in the processes of neurocognition. Objective: To explore the relationship between parietal subregions alterations and cognitive impairments in WHMs. Methods: Resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analyses of parietal subregions were performed in 104 right-handed WMHs patients divided into mild (n = 39), moderate (n = 37), and severe WMHs (n = 28) groups according to the Fazekas scale and 36 healthy controls. Parietal subregions were defined using tractographic Human Brainnetome Atlas and included five subregions for superior parietal lobe, six subregions for inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and three subregions for precuneus. All participants underwent a neuropsychological test battery to evaluate emotional and general cognitive functions. Results: Differences existed between the rs-FC strength of IPL_R_6_2 with the left anterior cingulate gyrus, IPL_R_6_3 with the right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, and the IPL_R_6_5 with the left anterior cingulate gyrus. The connectivity strength between IPL_R_6_3 and the left anterior cingulate gyrus were correlated with AVLT-immediate and AVLT-recognition test in WMHs. Conclusion: We explored the roles of parietal subregions in WMHs using rs-FC. The functional connectivity of parietal subregions with the cortex regions showed significant differences between the patients with WMHs and healthy controls which may be associated with cognitive deficits in WMHs.

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