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Resting-State fMRI Functional Connectivity Strength Predicts Local Activity Change in the Dorsal Cingulate Cortex: A
Zi-Jian Feng1,2,3, Xin-Ping Deng1,2,3, Na Zhao1,2,3
1Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310015, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|October 24, 2021
Summary
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the right middle frontal gyrus (rMFG) reduced activity in the deep dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Stronger functional connectivity (FC) between rMFG and dACC predicted greater activity changes, suggesting FC influences rTMS effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Brain Stimulation
Background:
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can modulate brain activity in distant regions through functional connectivity (FC).
- Understanding how to target deep brain regions indirectly via superficial stimulation is crucial for therapeutic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a multi-target focused rTMS protocol can indirectly stimulate the deep dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC).
- To determine if FC strength between stimulation targets (right middle frontal gyrus [rMFG] and right inferior parietal lobule [rIPL]) and the dACC predicts local activity changes in the dACC.
- To assess if multiple stimulation targets can effectively focus rTMS effects on the dACC via FC.
Main Methods:
- 24 healthy participants underwent four rTMS conditions (rMFG-target, rIPL-target, Double-targets, Sham) separated by over a week.
- Each condition involved 10 Hz stimulation with 1800 pulses (900 per target for Double-targets).
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) was used to assess functional connectivity (FC).
Main Results:
- The multi-target focused rTMS hypothesis was not validated.
- rTMS targeting the rMFG significantly decreased local activity in the dACC.
- Stronger FC between the dACC and rMFG was associated with a greater magnitude of local activity change in the dACC.
Conclusions:
- While the multi-target approach did not focus stimulation on the dACC, single-target rTMS to the rMFG can modulate dACC activity.
- FC strength is a potential predictor of rTMS-induced modulations in targeted deep brain regions.
- Future research should leverage stronger FC to enhance the precision of focused stimulation on deep brain areas.
