Reduced resting-state brain functional network connectivity and poor regional homogeneity in patients with CADASIL

• Published in: Journal of headache and pain 2019-11, Vol.20 (1), p.103-103, Article 103
• Main Authors: Su, Jingjing, Ban, Shiyu, Wang, Mengxing, Hua, Fengchun, Wang, Liang, Cheng, Xin, Tang, Yuping, Zhou, Houguang, Zhai, Yu, Du, Xiaoxia, Liu, Jianren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Brain mapping; CADASIL; CADASIL - diagnostic imaging; CADASIL - physiopathology; CADASIL - psychology; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology; Cortex (parietal); Executive Function; Female; Frontal gyrus; Frontal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional network connectivity; Functional Neuroimaging; Gyrus Cinguli - diagnostic imaging; Gyrus Cinguli - physiopathology; Humans; Information processing; Internal Medicine; Leukoencephalopathy; Limbic lobe; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neural networks; Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Oculomotor behavior; Pain Medicine; Parahippocampal gyrus; Parietal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Parietal Lobe - physiopathology; Postcentral gyrus; Precentral gyrus; Regional homogeneity; Research Article; Rest; Resting-state fMRI; Sensorimotor integration; Visual cortex; Visual Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Visual Cortex - physiopathology; Visual perception; Visuomotor behaviors
• ISSN: 1129-2369; 1129-2377
• DOI: 10.1186/s10194-019-1052-6

Background Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) manifests principally as a suite of cognitive impairments, particularly in the executive domain. Executive functioning requires the dynamic coordination of neural activity over large-scale networks. It remains unclear whether changes in resting-state brain functional network connectivity and regional homogeneities (ReHos) underly the mechanisms of executive dysfunction evident in CADASIL patients. Methods In this study, 22 CADASIL patients and 44 matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to measure functional brain network connectivity, and ReHos were calculated to evaluate local brain activities. We used seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses to determine whether dysfunctional areas (as defined by ReHos) exhibited abnormal FC with other brain areas. Relationships among the mean intra-network connectivity z-scores of dysfunctional areas within functional networks, and cognitive scores were evaluated using Pearson correlation analyses. Results Compared to the controls, CADASIL patients exhibited decreased intra-network connectivity within the bilateral lingual gyrus (LG) and the right cuneus (CU) (thus within the visual network [VIN)], and within the right precuneus (Pcu), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and precentral gyrus (thus within the frontal network [FRN]). Compared to the controls, patients also exhibited significantly lower ReHos in the right precuneus and cuneus (Pcu/CU), visual association cortex, calcarine gyri, posterior cingulate, limbic lobe, and weaker FC between the right Pcu/CU and the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), and between the right Pcu/CU and the right postcentral gyrus. Notably, the mean connectivity z-scores of the bilateral LG and the right CU within the VIN were positively associated with compromised attention, calculation and delayed recall as revealed by tests of the various cognitive domains explored by the Mini-Mental State Examination. Conclusions The decreases in intra-network connectivity within the VIN and FRN and reduced local brain activity in the posterior parietal area suggest that patients with CADASIL may exhibit dysfunctional visuomotor behaviors (a hallmark of executive function), and that all visual information processing, visuomotor planning, and movement execution may be affected.