Cerebellum drives functional dysfunctions in restless leg syndrome

Jiang Zhang; Jingyue Zhang; Hui Sun; Jia Yang; Yingzi Ma; Kexuan Chen; Jing Su; Xiaohui Yu; Futing Yang; Zhiwei Zhang; Tianyu Zhao; Xiuying Hu; Yiran Zhai; Qihong Liu; Jiaojian Wang; Chunyan Liu; Zhengbo Wang

doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2023.08.014

Cerebellum drives functional dysfunctions in restless leg syndrome

Sleep Med. 2023 Oct:110:172-178. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2023.08.014. Epub 2023 Aug 16.

Authors

Jiang Zhang¹, Jingyue Zhang², Hui Sun², Jia Yang³, Yingzi Ma³, Kexuan Chen⁴, Jing Su³, Xiaohui Yu³, Futing Yang³, Zhiwei Zhang², Tianyu Zhao², Xiuying Hu⁵, Yiran Zhai¹, Qihong Liu⁶, Jiaojian Wang⁷, Chunyan Liu⁸, Zhengbo Wang⁹

Affiliations

¹ College of Electrical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² College of Electrical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
⁴ Medical School, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
⁵ Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Innovation Center of Nursing Research, Nursing Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁶ College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: jiaojianwang@uestc.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Beijing, China. Electronic address: lcy_e_mail@163.com.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: wangzb@lpbr.cn.

PMID: 37595434
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2023.08.014

Abstract

Objective: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has serious effects on patients' sleep quality, physical and mental health. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms of RLS remain unclear. This study utilized both static and dynamic functional activity and connectivity analyses approaches as well as effective connectivity analysis to reveal the neurophysiological basis of RLS.

Methods: The resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 32 patients with RLS and 33 age-, and gender-matched healthy control (HC) were collected. Dynamic and static amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF), functional connectivity (FC), and Granger causality analysis (GCA) were employed to reveal the abnormal functional activities and couplings in patients with RLS.

Results: RLS patients showed over-activities in left parahippocampus and right cerebellum, hyper-connectivities of right cerebellum with left basal ganglia, left postcentral gyrus and right precentral gyrus, and enhanced effective connectivity from right cerebellum to left postcentral gyrus compared to HC.

Conclusions: Abnormal cerebellum-basal ganglia-sensorimotor cortex circuit may be the underlying neuropathological basis of RLS. Our findings highlight the important role of right cerebellum in the onset of RLS and suggest right cerebellum may be a potential target for precision therapy.

Keywords: Amplitude of low frequency fluctuation; Dynamic; Functional connectivity; Granger causality analysis; Restless legs syndrome.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Cerebellum / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Motor Cortex*
Restless Legs Syndrome*
Sleep Quality