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Cerebellar Regional Dissection for Molecular Analysis
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Cerebro-cerebellar connectivity is increased in primary lateral sclerosis
Avner Meoded1, Arthur E Morrissette1, Rohan Katipally1
1National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Neuroimage. Clinical
|January 23, 2015
Summary
Patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) show increased functional connectivity in brain networks, particularly involving the cerebellum. This functional change is not explained by underlying structural connectivity differences, suggesting alternative mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Motor neuron disorders often exhibit altered functional connectivity in resting state networks.
- Diffusion tensor imaging studies typically reveal reduced white matter integrity in these conditions.
- The relationship between structural and functional brain connectivity in motor neuron diseases remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between structural and functional connectivity in patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS).
- To identify specific brain regions with altered functional connectivity in PLS patients compared to healthy controls.
- To determine if observed functional connectivity changes are supported by corresponding structural connections.
Main Methods:
- Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to construct connectivity matrices in 16 PLS patients and controls.
- Probabilistic fiber tracking was employed to assess structural connections between regions identified with differing functional connectivity.
- Statistical analysis compared functional connectivity patterns between PLS patients and healthy individuals.
Main Results:
- PLS patients exhibited increased functional connectivity in 12 brain regions compared to controls.
- Cerebro-cerebellar connections showed a predominance of increased functional connectivity.
- Strongest increases were observed between the cerebellum and cortical motor, frontal, and temporal areas.
- Fiber tracking revealed no significant differences in structural connections between these functionally connected regions.
Conclusions:
- Functional connectivity alterations in PLS are not strongly dependent on underlying structural connectivity.
- Increased functional connectivity may arise from shared neural inputs or reduced cortical activation selectivity.
- Impaired intracortical inhibition, despite intact cortical afferents, could contribute to these findings.
Keywords:
AFNI, analysis of functional neuroimagesALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosisALSFRS-R, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis rating scaleANCOVA, analysis of covarianceBOLD, blood oxygen-level dependentCerebellumConnectivityDTI, diffusion tensor imagingEpi, echo planar imagingFA, fractional anisotropyFSL, FMRIB Software LibraryFWE, family-wise errorMNI, Montreal Neurological InstituteMotor neuron diseasePLS, primary lateral sclerosisPrimary lateral sclerosisROI, region of interestResting state functional MRITBSS, tract based spatial statisticsTFCE, threshold-free cluster enhancementTORTOISE, tolerably obsessive registration and tensor optimization indolent software ensemblefMRI, functional magnetic resonance imagingMore Related Videos
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