Altered Structural Brain Network Topology in Patients With Primary Craniocervical Dystonia
Xiu Wang1,2, Wenhan Hu2,3, Huimin Wang2,4
1Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tian Tan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Frontiers in Neurology
|April 18, 2022
Summary
Craniocervical dystonia (CCD) disrupts brain networks, particularly in the right hemisphere. Key areas like the globus pallidus and middle frontal gyrus show reduced connectivity, correlating with symptom severity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Craniocervical dystonia (CCD) pathophysiology is often studied using regional MRI analyses.
- Brain network alterations are increasingly recognized as crucial in neurological disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate brain network disruptions in CCD using morphological similarity analysis.
- To identify specific brain regions and network properties affected in CCD patients.
Main Methods:
- Structural T1 MRI scans from 37 CCD patients and 30 controls.
- Construction of brain structural networks based on gray matter similarities.
- Graph theory analysis (GRETNA) of nodal and global network properties.
- Spearman's correlation to assess relationships between network properties and clinical severity.
Main Results:
- CCD patients showed decreased local nodal properties in the right globus pallidus, middle frontal gyrus, and superior temporal pole.
- Right globus pallidus centrality and efficiency correlated with ocular symptoms.
- Right middle frontal gyrus efficiency correlated with overall motor severity.
- The right hemisphere exhibited more widespread connectivity decreases in motor, associative, and limbic areas.
Conclusions:
- Morphological correlation analysis is a sensitive method for detecting brain alterations in CCD.
- The right middle frontal gyrus and globus pallidus are severely affected in CCD.
- Widespread alterations in cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical networks support a network-based mechanism for CCD.
