Caeyenberghs Karen, Siugzdaite Roma, Drijkoningen David, Marinazzo Daniele, Swinnen Stephan P
1 Department of Physical Therapy and Motor Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Ghent , Ghent, Belgium .
2 Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Ghent , Ghent, Belgium .
Brain Connect. 2015 Sep;5(7):423-32. doi: 10.1089/brain.2014.0293. Epub 2014 Dec 2.
Our previous study provided some evidence for the relationship between abnormal structural connectivity and poor balance performance in young traumatic axonal injury (TAI) patients. An enhanced understanding of the functional connectivity following TAI may allow targeted treatments geared toward improving brain function and postural control. Twelve patients with TAI and 28 normally developing children (aged 9-19 years) performed the sensory organization test (SOT) protocol of the EquiTest (Neurocom). All participants were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging series along with anatomical scans. We applied "functional connectivity density mapping" (FCDM), a voxel-wise data-driven method that calculates individual functional connectivity maps to obtain both short-range and long-range FCD. Findings revealed that the TAI group scored generally lower than the control group on the SOT, especially when proprioceptive feedback was compromised. Between-group maps noted significantly decreased long-range FCD in the TAI group in frontal and subcortical regions and significantly increased short-range FCD in frontal regions, left inferior parietal, and cerebellar lobules. Moreover, lower balance levels in TAI patients were associated with a lower long-range FCD in left putamen and cerebellar vermis. These findings suggest that long-range connections may be more vulnerable to TAI than short-range connections. Moreover, higher values of short-range FCD may suggest adaptive mechanisms in the TAI group. Finally, this study supports the view that FCDM is a valuable tool for selectively predicting functional motor deficits in TAI patients.
我们之前的研究为年轻创伤性轴索损伤（TAI）患者的结构连接异常与平衡能力差之间的关系提供了一些证据。深入了解TAI后的功能连接情况，可能有助于制定针对性的治疗方案，以改善脑功能和姿势控制。12名TAI患者和28名正常发育儿童（9 - 19岁）进行了EquiTest（Neurocom）的感觉组织测试（SOT）方案。所有参与者均接受了静息态功能磁共振成像序列扫描以及解剖扫描。我们应用了“功能连接密度映射”（FCDM），这是一种基于体素的数据驱动方法，通过计算个体功能连接图来获得短程和长程FCD。研究结果显示，TAI组在SOT上的得分总体低于对照组，尤其是在本体感觉反馈受损时。组间图谱显示，TAI组额叶和皮质下区域的长程FCD显著降低，额叶、左侧顶下小叶和小脑小叶的短程FCD显著增加。此外，TAI患者较低的平衡水平与左侧壳核和小脑蚓部较低的长程FCD相关。这些发现表明，长程连接可能比短程连接更容易受到TAI的影响。此外，短程FCD较高的值可能表明TAI组存在适应性机制。最后，本研究支持这样一种观点，即FCDM是选择性预测TAI患者功能性运动缺陷的有价值工具。
