Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2025
Longitudinal In Vivo Imaging of the Cerebrovasculature: Relevance to CNS Diseases
Published on: December 6, 2016
Converging evidence of impaired brain function in systemic lupus erythematosus: changes in perfusion dynamics and
Efrosini Papadaki1,2, Nicholas J Simos3,4, Eleftherios Kavroulakis5
1Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. fpapada@otenet.gr.
Purpose:
Τhe study examined changes in hemodynamics and functional connectivity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with or without neuropsychiatric manifestations.
Methods:
Participants were 44 patients with neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE), 20 SLE patients without such manifestations (non-NPSLE), and 35 healthy controls. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was used to obtain whole-brain maps of (a) perfusion dynamics derived through time shift analysis (TSA), (b) regional functional connectivity (intrinsic connectivity contrast (ICC) coefficients), and (c) hemodynamic-connectivity coupling. Group differences were assessed through independent samples t-tests, and correlations of rs-fMRI indices with clinical variables and neuropsychological test scores were, also, computed.
Results:
Compared to HC, NPSLE patients demonstrated intrinsic hypoconnectivity of anterior Default Mode Network (DMN) and hyperconnectivity of posterior DMN components. These changes were paralleled by elevated hemodynamic lag. In NPSLE, cognitive performance was positively related to higher intrinsic connectivity in these regions, and to higher connectivity-hemodynamic coupling in posterior DMN components. Uncoupling between hemodynamics and connectivity in the posterior DMN was associated with worse task performance. Non-NPSLE patients displayed hyperconnectivity in posterior DMN and sensorimotor regions paralleled by relatively increased hemodynamic lag.
Conclusion:
Adaptation of regional brain function to hemodynamic changes in NPSLE may involve locally decreased or locally increased intrinsic connectivity (which can be beneficial for cognitive function). This process may also involve elevated coupling of hemodynamics with functional connectivity (beneficial for cognitive performance) or uncoupling, which may be detrimental for the cognitive skills of NPSLE patients.
