Neurological Functional Connectivity in Unilateral Coronal Synostosis: A Side-Based Comparison.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Unicoronal synostosis (UCS) is associated with neurocognitive deficits, including challenges in reading, language, and social interaction.
• Existing research on brain functional connectivity in UCS is limited, with no studies specifically comparing left-sided versus right-sided UCS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in brain functional connectivity between patients with left-sided and right-sided unicoronal synostosis (UCS).
• To compare functional connectivity outcomes in UCS patients to age-matched healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) was performed on 12 surgically treated UCS patients (7 right-sided, 5 left-sided) and age-matched controls.
• Intrinsic connectivity distribution and seed-connectivity analyses were conducted using BioImage Suite.
• Region of interest analysis focused on Brodmann areas associated with emotional, executive, language, motor, and visuo-spatial functions.

Main Results:

• All UCS patients exhibited reduced connectivity in parietal and temporal cortical regions crucial for visuo-motor coordination and language compared to controls.
• Right-sided UCS patients showed decreased intrinsic connectivity in areas related to complex motor control and proprioception.
• Left-sided UCS patients demonstrated significantly reduced seed connectivity between parietal and occipital lobe regions involved in motor coordination, visual processing, and language when compared to right-sided UCS patients.

Conclusions:

• Unicoronal synostosis is associated with widespread decreased functional connectivity in brain regions supporting memory, visual processing, and motor functions.
• Left-sided UCS presents with more pronounced connectivity deficits in motor coordination and language circuits compared to right-sided UCS.
• These findings suggest that the side of UCS influences long-term neurocognitive sequelae, potentially explaining observed impairments.