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Cerebral Blood Flow-Based Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Human Brain using Optical Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2020
Functional connectivity density alterations in children with strabismus and amblyopia based on resting-state
Yi-Dan Shi1, Qian-Min Ge1, Qi Lin1
1Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Province Ocular Disease Clinical Research Center, No 17, YongWaiZheng Street, DongHu District, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China.
Insights
Children with strabismus and amblyopia (SA) exhibit altered brain connectivity, with decreased global functional connectivity density (gFCD) in some areas and increased in others. Local functional connectivity density (lFCD) was also significantly altered in SA patients compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Strabismus and amblyopia (SA) are common pediatric visual disorders.
- The neural underpinnings of SA, particularly brain connectivity, require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore functional connectivity density (FCD) in brain areas of children with strabismus and amblyopia (SA).
- To compare FCD values between children with SA and healthy controls (HCs) using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals.
Main Methods:
- fMRI scans were performed on 26 children with SA and 26 HCs during resting state.
- Global FCD (gFCD) and local FCD (lFCD) values were calculated for each participant.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess differences between groups.
Main Results:
- Children with SA showed significantly lower gFCD in the right cerebellum, left putamen, and right superior frontal gyrus compared to HCs.
- Conversely, gFCD was higher in the right angular gyrus, left middle cingulate gyrus, left angular gyrus, right superior parietal gyrus, and right middle frontal gyrus in children with SA.
- lFCD values were decreased in several brain regions, including the right cerebellum and left putamen, but increased in the right superior parietal gyrus in children with SA.
Conclusions:
- Abnormal neural connectivity patterns were identified in brain areas of children with SA.
- Understanding these connectivity aberrations is crucial for elucidating the pathophysiology of SA.
- Findings provide valuable insights for future clinical management strategies for SA.
Purpose:
To explore functional connectivity density (FCD) values of brain areas in children with strabismus and amblyopia (SA) based on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals.
Methods:
This study recruited 26 children (14 male, 12 females) with SA and 26 healthy children (14 male, 12 female) as healthy controls (HCs). Both groups matched in age, gender, educational level and socioeconomic background. While resting, all participants underwent fMRI scanning and global FCD (gFCD) and local FCD (lFCD) values were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created to investigate whether there was a significant difference between children with SA and healthy controls.
Results:
When compared with healthy controls, children with SA had significantly lower gFCD values in the right cerebellum, left putamen, and right superior frontal gyrus; however, the same metrics showed opposite changes in the right angular gyrus, left middle cingulate gyrus, left angular gyrus, right superior parietal gyrus, and right middle frontal gyrus. In children with SA, lFCD values were found to be remarkably decreased in regions of the middle right temporal pole, right cerebellum, left putamen, left hippocampus, right hippocampus, left thalamus, left cerebellum; values were increased in the right superior parietal gyrus as compared with healthy controls.
Conclusion:
We noted abnormal neural connectivity in some brain areas of children with SA; detailing such connectivity aberrations is useful in exploring the pathophysiology of SA and providing useful information for future clinical management.
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