Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Thalamus in Complete Spinal Cord Injury

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-133
Author(s):  
Keerthana Deepti Karunakaran ◽  
Rui Yuan ◽  
Jie He ◽  
Jian Zhao ◽  
Jian-Ling Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Connectivity Analysis ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Ventrolateral Nucleus

Background. Neuroimaging studies of spinal cord injury (SCI) have mostly examined the functional organization of the cortex, with only limited focus on the subcortical substrates of the injury. However, thalamus is an important modulator and sensory relay that requires investigation at a subnuclei level to gain insight into the neuroplasticity following SCI. Objective. To use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the functional connectivity (FC) of thalamic subnuclei in complete SCI patients. Methods. A seed-based connectivity analysis was applied for 3 thalamic subnuclei: pulvinar, mediodorsal, and ventrolateral nucleus in each hemisphere. A nonparametric 2-sample t test with permutations was applied for each of the 6 thalamic seeds to compute FC differences between 22 healthy controls and 19 complete SCI patients with paraplegia. Results. Connectivity analysis showed a decrease in the FC of the bilateral mediodorsal nucleus with right superior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex in the SCI group. Similarly, the left ventrolateral nucleus exhibited decreased FC with left superior temporal gyrus in SCI group. In contrast, left pulvinar nucleus demonstrated an increase in FC with left inferior frontal gyrus and left inferior parietal lobule in SCI group. Our findings also indicate a negative relationship between postinjury durations and thalamic FC to regions of sensorimotor and visual cortices, where longer postinjury durations (~12 months) is associated with higher negative connectivity between these regions. Conclusion. This study provides evidence for reorganization in the thalamocortical connections known to be involved in multisensory integration and affective processing, with possible implications in the generation of sensory abnormalities after SCI.

Alterations of resting-state regional and network-level neural function after acute spinal cord injury

Neuroscience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 277 ◽  
pp. 446-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Hou ◽  
T.-S. Sun ◽  
Z.-M. Xiang ◽  
J.-Z. Zhang ◽  
Z.-C. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Acute Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Neural Function ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
State Regional

scholarly journals Functional Brain Connectivity during Multiple Motor Imagery Tasks in Spinal Cord Injury

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alkinoos Athanasiou ◽  
Nikos Terzopoulos ◽  
Niki Pandria ◽  
Ioannis Xygonakis ◽  
Nicolas Foroglou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Descending Pathways ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
Cord Injury

Reciprocal communication of the central and peripheral nervous systems is compromised during spinal cord injury due to neurotrauma of ascending and descending pathways. Changes in brain organization after spinal cord injury have been associated with differences in prognosis. Changes in functional connectivity may also serve as injury biomarkers. Most studies on functional connectivity have focused on chronic complete injury or resting-state condition. In our study, ten right-handed patients with incomplete spinal cord injury and ten age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed multiple visual motor imagery tasks of upper extremities and walking under high-resolution electroencephalography recording. Directed transfer function was used to study connectivity at the cortical source space between sensorimotor nodes. Chronic disruption of reciprocal communication in incomplete injury could result in permanent significant decrease of connectivity in a subset of the sensorimotor network, regardless of positive or negative neurological outcome. Cingulate motor areas consistently contributed the larger outflow (right) and received the higher inflow (left) among all nodes, across all motor imagery categories, in both groups. Injured subjects had higher outflow from left cingulate than healthy subjects and higher inflow in right cingulate than healthy subjects. Alpha networks were less dense, showing less integration and more segregation than beta networks. Spinal cord injury patients showed signs of increased local processing as adaptive mechanism. This trial is registered with NCT02443558.

Central Nervous System Reorganization and Pain After Spinal Cord Injury: Possible Targets for Physical Therapy—A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 946-962
Author(s):  
Thomas Osinski ◽  
Sessi Acapo ◽  
Djamel Bensmail ◽  
Didier Bouhassira ◽  
Valéria Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Cord Injury

Abstract Background Pain is one of the main symptoms associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) and can be associated with changes to the central nervous system (CNS). Purpose This article provides an overview of the evidence relating to CNS changes (structural and functional) associated with pain in SCIs. Data Sources A systematic review was performed, according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations, on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science in March 2018. Study Selection Studies were selected if they concerned changes in the CNS of patients with SCI, regardless of the type of imagery. Data Extraction Data were extracted by 2 blinded reviewers. Data Synthesis There is moderate evidence for impaired electroencephalographic function and metabolic abnormalities in the anterior cingulate in patients experiencing pain. There is preliminary evidence that patients with pain have morphological and functional changes to the somatosensory cortex and alterations to thalamic metabolism. There are conflicting data regarding the relationships between lesion characteristics and pain. In contrast, patients without pain can display protective neuroplasticity. Limitations and Conclusion Further studies are required to elucidate fully the relationships between pain and neuroplasticity in patients with SCIs. However, current evidence might support the use of physical therapist treatments targeting CNS plasticity in patients with SCI pain.

scholarly journals Dysfunction of Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Amygdala Subregions in Drug-Naïve Patients With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Wang ◽  
Lingxiao Cao ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Hongqi Xiao ◽  
Yao Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Drug Naïve ◽  
State And Trait Anxiety

Objective: Although previous studies have reported on disrupted amygdala subregional functional connectivity in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), most of these studies were conducted in GAD patients with comorbidities or with drug treatment. Besides, whether/how the amygdala subregional functional networks were associated with state and trait anxiety is still largely unknown.Methods: Resting-state functional connectivity of amygdala subregions, including basolateral amygdala (BLA) and centromedial amygdala (CMA) as seed, were mapped and compared between 37 drug-naïve, non-comorbidity GAD patients and 31 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Relationships between amygdala subregional network dysfunctions and state/trait anxiety were examined using partial correlation analyses.Results: Relative to HCs, GAD patients showed weaker functional connectivity of the left BLA with anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortices. Significantly increased functional connectivity of right BLA and CMA with superior temporal gyrus and insula were also identified in GAD patients. Furthermore, these functional connectivities showed correlations with state and trait anxiety scores.Conclusions: These findings revealed abnormal functional coupling of amygdala subregions in GAD patients with regions involved in fear processing and emotion regulation, including anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus, which provide the unique biological markers for GAD and facilitating the future accurate clinical diagnosis and target treatment.

scholarly journals Changes in spinal cord hemodynamic reflect modulation of spinal network with different parameters of epidural stimulation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Tang ◽  
Carlos A. Cuellar ◽  
Pengfei Song ◽  
Riazul Islam ◽  
Chengwu Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Hemodynamic Response ◽  
Epidural Stimulation ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Spinal Circuitry ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
First Time

AbstractIn this study functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging has been implemented to explore the local hemodynamic response induced by electrical epidural stimulation and to study real-time in vivo functional changes of the spinal cord, taking advantage of the superior spatiotemporal resolution provided by fUS. By quantifying the hemodynamic and electromyographic response features, we tested the hypothesis that the transient hemodynamic response of the spinal cord to electrical epidural stimulation could reflect modulation of the spinal circuitry and accordingly respond to the changes in parameters of electrical stimulation. The results of this study for the first time demonstrate that the hemodynamic response to electrical stimulation could reflect functional organization of the spinal cord. Response in the dorsal areas to epidural stimulation was significantly higher and faster compared to the response in ventral spinal cord. Positive relation between the hemodynamic and the EMG responses was observed at the lower frequencies of epidural stimulation (20 and 40 Hz), which according to our previous findings can facilitate spinal circuitry after spinal cord injury, compared to higher frequencies (200 and 500 Hz). These findings suggest that different mechanisms could be involved in spinal cord hemodynamic changes during different parameters of electrical stimulation and for the first time provide the evidence that functional organization of the spinal cord circuitry could be related to specific organization of spinal cord vasculature and hemodynamic.Significance StatementElectrical epidural stimulation (EES) has been successfully applied to control chronic refractory pain and was evolved to alleviate motor impairment after spinal cord injury, in Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological conditions. The mechanisms underlying the EES remain unclear, and current methods for monitoring EES are limited in sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolutions to evaluate functional changes in response to EES. We tested the hypothesis that the transient hemodynamic response of the spinal cord to EES could reflect modulation of the spinal cord circuitry and accordingly respond to the changes in parameters of EES. The proposed methodology opens a new direction for quantitative evaluation of the spinal cord hemodynamic in understanding the mechanisms of spinal cord functional organization and effect of neuromodulation.

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