Chen Lu, Huang Ting, Ma Di, Chen Yu-Chen
Department of Radiology, Nanjing Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated With Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Department of Neurology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Front Neurosci. 2022 Jun 3;16:905121. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.905121. eCollection 2022.
Whether the intrinsic functional connectivity pattern of the default mode network (DMN) is involved in the progression of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) pattern of the DMN anchored on the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in patients with PD by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Fifty patients with PD and 50 healthy controls (HCs) were included for resting-state fMRI scanning. A seed-based FC method was used to reveal FC patterns in the DMN with region of interest (ROI) in the PCC. Relationships between FC patterns and disease severity (UPDRS-III) were detected.
Compared with the HCs, the patients with PD showed increased FC between the PCC and the right precuneus, left cuneus, and right angular gyrus. In the PD group, the increased FC values in the right precuneus were significantly and positively correlated with motor severity as assessed with UPDRS-III scores (rho = 0.337, = 0.02).
Our result highlights that the patients with PD showed increased FC between the PCC and the right precuneus, left cuneus, and right angular gyrus in the DMN. The altered connectivity pattern in the DMN may play a crucial role in the neurophysiological mechanism of cognitive decline in patients with PD. These findings might provide new insights into neural mechanisms of cognitive decline in PD.
默认模式网络（DMN）的内在功能连接模式是否参与帕金森病（PD）认知功能衰退的进展尚不清楚。本研究旨在通过静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究PD患者中以扣带回后部（PCC）为锚点的DMN的内在功能连接（FC）模式。
纳入50例PD患者和50名健康对照（HCs）进行静息态fMRI扫描。采用基于种子的FC方法，通过PCC中的感兴趣区域（ROI）揭示DMN中的FC模式。检测FC模式与疾病严重程度（UPDRS-III）之间的关系。
与HCs相比，PD患者的PCC与右侧楔前叶、左侧楔叶和右侧角回之间的FC增加。在PD组中，右侧楔前叶增加的FC值与UPDRS-III评分评估的运动严重程度显著正相关（rho = 0.337， = 0.02）。
我们的结果表明，PD患者的DMN中PCC与右侧楔前叶、左侧楔叶和右侧角回之间的FC增加。DMN中连接模式的改变可能在PD患者认知衰退的神经生理机制中起关键作用。这些发现可能为PD认知衰退的神经机制提供新的见解。
