Brain Morphometric and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study on Patients with Visual Field Defects Resulting from Suprasellar Tumors: Preoperative and Postoperative Assessment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the structural and functional changes in the visual cortex in patients with suprasellar tumor with recovery of visual field defects at different times before and after surgical decompression of the optic nerves. Twenty-one patients with suprasellar tumor with visual field defects were scanned with structural images and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 1 week preoperation, 1 week postoperation, and 1 month postoperation. Paired-sample t test was performed on the gray matter volume (GMV) within the occipital cortex, and the significance level was set at false discovery rate (FDR)-adjusted P < 0.05 voxel level to define the region of interest (ROI). One-way analysis of variance was performed on GMV and amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) within the ROI. Pearson coefficients were calculated between changes of GMV and ALFF within the ROI and clinical factors. The GMV in the bilateral pericalcarine cortex increased significantly at 1 month postoperation comparedwith the preoperative period (FDR-adjusted P < 0.05), withcorrelation to visual field defects. ALFF values in thebilateral pericalcarine cortex at 1 month postoperationwere significantly higher than preoperative values. The postoperative visual improvement can be reflected in the increased GMV and ALFF of the bilateral pericalcarine cortex at 1 month postoperation, which suggests that an experience-dependent plasticity of the visual cortex was induced by an increase in sensory input.