Purpose: To explore the difference of the default mode network (DMN) in patients with retinal detachment (RD) by the study of the resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC).
Methods: A total of 30 patients with RD (16 men, 14 women) and 30 similarly matched normal controls (NCs) were examined and recorded with rs-fMRI. The DMN was divided into eight core regions, and each rs-FC map of each subregion was obtained. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to classify the mean FC values of RD patients from NCs, and the interrelationships between the FC and each region were evaluated with Pearson's correlation analysis.
Results: Compared with NCs, there were significantly increased FC in the left medial temporal lobe (MTL.L) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), MTL.L and left hippocampus formation (HF.L), MTL.L and HF.R, MTL.L and left inferior parietal cortices (IPC.L), MTL.L and IPC.R in the RD group (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, no correlation between the FC values of each paired region and the manifestations was found in the RD group. ROC curve analysis showed that the accuracy of the area under the curve was excellent in MTL.L-HF.R and MTL.L-IPC.R and less reliable in MTL.L-PCC, MTL.L-HF.L, and MTL.L-IPC.L.
Conclusions: The visual function impairments of RD patients were closely related to the DMN functional connections, which provided insight into the neural variation in RD patients and assisted in revealing the potential mechanisms of RD.
Translational relevance: This study provided insight into the neural variation in RD patients and assisted in revealing the potential mechanisms of RD.
Keywords: default mode network; functional MRI; functional connectivity; retinal detachment.