Abnormal Network Homogeneity in the Right Superior Medial Frontal Gyrus in Cervical Dystonia.

Shubao Wei,Qiong Yin,Wenyan Jiang,Yang Liu,Shuguang Luo,Yousheng Xiao,Chunhui Lu,Wenbin Guo,Xiuqiong Chen,Lu Yang,Jing Wei,Wenmei Li,Jingqun Tang

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.729068

Abstract

Background: Increasing evidence from modern neuroimaging has confirmed that cervical dystonia (CD) is caused by network abnormalities. Specific brain networks are known to be crucial in patients suffering from CD. However, changes in network homogeneity (NH) in CD patients have not been characterized. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the NH of patients with CD.Methods: An automated NH method was used to analyze resting-state functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data from 19 patients with CD and 21 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HC). Correlation analysis were conducted between NH, illness duration and symptom severity measured by the Tsui scale.Results: Compared with the HC group, CD patients showed a lower NH in the right superior medial frontal gyrus. No significant correlations were found between abnormal NH values and illness duration or symptom severity.Conclusion: Our findings suggest the existence of abnormal NH in the default mode network (DMN) of CD patients, and thereby highlight the importance of the DMN in the pathophysiology of CD.

Highlights

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a disorder of the nervous system characterized by involuntary sustained contractions of the cervical musculature, causing an abnormal and involuntary rotation or tilt of the head in specific directions [1]
Compared with Healthy controls (HC), CD patients showed a lower network homogeneity (NH) in the right superior medial frontal gyrus
The abnormality found for NH values in the right superior medial frontal gyrus of CD patients was further validated by the ROC method

Summary

Introduction

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a disorder of the nervous system characterized by involuntary sustained contractions of the cervical musculature, causing an abnormal and involuntary rotation or tilt of the head in specific directions [1]. Abnormal posture can cause pain and lead to significant disability in daily living activities, such as reading and driving [4, 5], which can lead to unemployment [6, 7]. Network Homogeneity in Cervical Dystonia it is important to diagnose patients with CD and offer these patients an effective therapy, the pathological mechanism of CD is still poorly understood. Increasing evidence from modern neuroimaging has confirmed that cervical dystonia (CD) is caused by network abnormalities. Changes in network homogeneity (NH) in CD patients have not been characterized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the NH of patients with CD

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Methods

Results

Conclusion