Intrinsic brain activity alterations in patients with Parkinson's disease

Xinhui Wang; Wei Wei; Yan Bai; Yu Shen; Ge Zhang; Hang Ma; Nan Meng; Xipeng Yue; Jiapei Xie; Xianchang Zhang; Zhiping Guo; Meiyun Wang

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137298

Intrinsic brain activity alterations in patients with Parkinson's disease

Neurosci Lett. 2023 Jul 13:809:137298. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137298. Epub 2023 May 15.

Authors

Xinhui Wang¹, Wei Wei¹, Yan Bai¹, Yu Shen¹, Ge Zhang¹, Hang Ma¹, Nan Meng², Xipeng Yue², Jiapei Xie², Xianchang Zhang³, Zhiping Guo⁴, Meiyun Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital & Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
² Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital & Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China; Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
³ MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthineers Ltd., Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital & Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China; Health Management Center of Henan Province, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University & FuWai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address: gzpsohu@126.com.
⁵ Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital & Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China; Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Like Intelligence Technology, Institute for Integrated Medical Science and Engineering, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address: mywang@zzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37196973
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137298

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the brain activity alterations in Parkinson's disease (PD) from the perspectives of neuronal activity, synchronization of neuronal activity, and coordination of whole-brain activity.

Methods: In this study, we recruited 38 PD patients and 35 matched healthy controls (HCs). We explored intrinsic brain activity alterations in PD by comparing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) metrics of the amplitude of low-frequency of fluctuation (ALFF), the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC). Two-sample t-tests were used to determine the differences between the two groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships between abnormal ALFF, fALFF, PerAF, ReHo, and DC values and clinical indicators such as the Movement Disorder Society's Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage, and duration of disease.

Results: Compared with the HCs, PD had increased ALFF,fALFF, and PerAF in the temporal lobe and cerebellum, and decreased ALFF,fALFF, and PerAF in the occipital-parietal lobe in the neuronal activity. In the synchronization of neuronal activity, PD patients had increased ReHo in the right inferior parietal lobule and decreased ReHo in the caudate. In the coordination of whole-brain activity, PD patients had increased DC in the cerebellum and decreased DC in the occipital lobe. Correlation analysis showed that there is a correlation between abnormal brain regions and clinical indicators in PD. Notably, the changes in occipital lobe brain activity were found in ALFF, fALFF, PerAF, and DC, and were most correlated with the clinical indicators of PD patients.

Conclusions: This study found that intrinsic brain function in several occipital-temporal-parietal and cerebellum regions was altered in PD patients, potentially related to the clinical indicators of PD. These results may enhance our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of PD and may contribute to further exploring the selection of therapeutic targets in PD patients.

Keywords: Functional connectivity; Neuronal activity; Parkinson’s disease; Resting-state fMRI.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain Mapping* / methods
Cerebellum
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Parkinson Disease* / diagnostic imaging