Reduced corticostriatal functional connectivity in temporomandibular disorders

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) show altered gray matter volumes in cortical and striatal regions.
• Functional connectivity (FC) in the corticostriatal network of TMD patients remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate corticostriatal functional connectivity (FC) in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD).
• To explore the relationship between reduced FC and clinical manifestations in TMD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 30 TMD patients and 20 healthy controls.
• Employed a seed-based approach focusing on dorsal and ventral striatal regions.
• Conducted voxel-wise comparisons and correlated FC with clinical assessments (Helkimo indices, pain).

Main Results:

• TMD patients exhibited reduced FC in ventral corticostriatal pathways (ventral striatum to ventral frontal cortices, including anterior cingulate cortex and insula).
• Reduced FC was also observed in dorsal corticostriatal pathways (dorsal striatum to dorsal cortices, including precentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus).
• Decreased FC within the striatum and correlations with clinical measurements were identified.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the hypothesis that TMD is associated with diminished corticostriatal FC.
• Reduced FC in these networks may contribute to motor control, pain processing, and cognitive deficits in TMD.
• Results enhance understanding of TMD etiology and pathology.