Lesions causing central sleep apnea localize to one common brain network

Taoyang Yuan; Zhentao Zuo; Jianguo Xu

doi:10.3389/fnana.2022.819412

Lesions causing central sleep apnea localize to one common brain network

Front Neuroanat. 2022 Sep 29:16:819412. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2022.819412. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Taoyang Yuan¹, Zhentao Zuo^{2

3

4}, Jianguo Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei, China.
⁴ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objectives: To characterize the specific brain regions for central sleep apnea (CSA) and identify its functional connectivity network.

Methods: We performed a literature search and identified 27 brain injuries causing CSA. We used a recently validated methodology termed "lesion network mapping" to identify the functional brain network subtending the pathophysiology of CSA. Two separate statistical approaches, the two-sample t-test and the Liebermeister test, were used to evaluate the specificity of this network for CSA through a comparison of our results with those of two other neurological syndromes. An additional independent cohort of six CSA cases was used to assess reproducibility.

Results: Our results showed that, despite lesions causing CSA being heterogeneous for brain localization, they share a common brain network defined by connectivity to the middle cingulate gyrus and bilateral cerebellar posterior lobes. This CSA-associated connectivity pattern was unique when compared with lesions causing the other two neurological syndromes. The CAS-specific regions were replicated by the additional independent cohort of six CSA cases. Finally, we found that all lesions causing CSA aligned well with the network defined by connectivity to the cingulate gyrus and bilateral cerebellar posterior lobes.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that brain injuries responsible for CSA are part of a common brain network defined by connectivity to the middle cingulate gyrus and bilateral cerebellar posterior lobes, lending insight into the neuroanatomical substrate of CSA.

Keywords: brain imaging; central sleep apnea (CSA); focal brain lesions; lesion network mapping; neuroanatomical substrate.