Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Vita-Salute University and San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Vita-Salute University and San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
Cortex. 2013 Oct;49(9):2389-401. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.09.017. Epub 2012 Oct 24.
The aim of this study was to investigate, using resting state (RS) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the functional connectivity within and among brain networks in patients with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), compared with healthy controls and patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD).
Twelve bvFTD patients were compared with 30 controls and 18 pAD patients. Functional connectivity within the salience, default mode (DMN), executive (EXN), attention/working memory (ATT/WM), and dorsal attentional networks was assessed using independent component analysis. The temporal associations among RS networks (RSNs) were explored using the functional network connectivity toolbox.
A decreased dorsal salience network (DSN) connectivity, mainly involving the anterior cingulum, was observed in bvFTD versus controls and pAD. BvFTD was also characterized by a decreased ventral salience network connectivity in the basal ganglia, and divergent connectivity effects versus controls in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (decreased) and precuneus (enhanced) within the right ATT/WM network. The dorsal attentional network had a decreased connectivity with the DMN and EXN in bvFTD versus controls, and a decreased connectivity with the DSN versus pAD.
RSN functional abnormalities occur in bvFTD, involving not only the salience network, but also the DMN and fronto-parietal network associated with ATT and WM modulation. The pattern of functional changes differs from that seen in pAD. The altered interactions among RSN observed in bvFTD and pAD may provide a new venue to explore the functional correlates of cognitive abnormalities in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.
本研究旨在通过静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI），研究行为变异型额颞叶痴呆（bvFTD）患者与健康对照者和可能的阿尔茨海默病（pAD）患者之间脑网络内及脑网络间的功能连接，以此为目标。
我们将 12 名 bvFTD 患者与 30 名健康对照者和 18 名 pAD 患者进行了比较。采用独立成分分析评估了突显、默认模式（DMN）、执行（EXN）、注意/工作记忆（ATT/WM）和背侧注意网络内的功能连接。使用功能网络连接工具箱探索了 rs 网络（rsn）之间的时间关联。
与对照组和 pAD 相比，bvFTD 患者的背侧突显网络（DSN）连接减少，主要涉及前扣带。bvFTD 患者还表现出基底节腹侧突显网络连接减少，并且在右侧 ATT/WM 网络中与对照组相比，右侧背外侧前额叶皮质（减少）和楔前叶（增强）的连接效应不同。背侧注意网络与 DMN 和 EXN 的连接在 bvFTD 中减少，与对照组相比，与 DSN 的连接减少，与 pAD 相比，与 DSN 的连接减少。
rsn 的功能异常发生在 bvFTD 中，不仅涉及突显网络，还涉及与 ATT 和 WM 调节相关的 DMN 和额顶网络。与 pAD 相比，功能变化的模式不同。在 bvFTD 和 pAD 中观察到的 rsn 之间的改变的相互作用可能为探索神经退行性和精神障碍认知异常的功能相关性提供了新的途径。
