Aberrant local and global neural activation patterns in pediatric Prader-Willi syndrome
Jie Liu1, Zhongxin Huang2,3, Jinhua Cai1
1Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) show altered brain activation and connectivity. Decreased neural activity in key brain regions may indicate cognitive issues in pediatric PWS patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated with cognitive impairments.
- Neural activation and functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities are implicated in PWS cognitive deficits.
- Specific neural patterns in young PWS patients remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate local and global neural activation patterns in pediatric PWS.
- To explore functional connectivity (FC) in children with PWS.
- To correlate neural findings with cognitive assessments.
Main Methods:
- Utilized amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) to assess local neural activity.
- Employed seed-based whole-brain FC analysis.
- Included 35 pediatric PWS patients and 33 healthy controls (HC).
- Analyzed relationships between neural measures and Griffiths Developmental Scales (GDS) using partial correlation.
Main Results:
- Decreased ALFF and ReHo observed in the occipital lobe, temporal lobe, and cingulate gyrus.
- Altered ReHo noted in the parietal lobe, frontal lobe, and basal ganglia.
- Increased ALFF and ReHo found in occipital and temporal lobes.
- Reduced FC detected in visual, sensorimotor, salience, and default mode networks.
- Positive correlations between SMN, cingulate, and occipital neural patterns and GDS scores.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric PWS is characterized by reduced neuronal physiological function.
- ReHo alterations were more widespread than ALFF.
- Decreased local and global brain activation may serve as early indicators of cognitive abnormalities in PWS.
Purpose:
Although cognitive disorders in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) are linked to abnormalities in spontaneous neural activation and functional connectivity (FC), the specific neural activation patterns remain uncertain, especially in young children with PWS.
Methods:
The current study set out to explore specific local and global neural activation in pediatric PWS using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and seed-based whole brain FC. Information was gathered from 35 pediatric PWS patients and 33 healthy controls (HC). Both groups' ALFF and ReHo values were computed, and FC were constructed on the basis of altered ALFF and ReHo regions. The relationships between altered ALFF, ReHo, and FC and the Griffiths Developmental Scales (GDS) of the PWS group were analyzed using partial correlation analysis.
Results:
Both ALFF and ReHo exhibited decreases in occipital lobe, temporal lobe, and cingulate gyrus, and altered ReHo was present in parietal lobe, frontal lobe, and basal ganglia areas. Moreover, ALFF and ReHo also exhibited increases in occipital and temporal lobes. Decreased FC was detected in the visual network (VN), sensorimotor network (SMN), salience network (SAN), and default mode network (DMN). The SMN-, cingulate-, and occipital lobe-related neural activation patterns were significantly positively correlated with the GDS score.
Conclusion:
The PWS group was characterized mainly by decreased neuronal physiological function and the ReHo was similar to ALFF but more extensive. The decreased local and global brain neural activation patterns may serve as early physiological indicators of cognitive abnormalities.
