Center for Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Department of General Medicine, Tianjin Union Medical Center, Tianjin, China.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2023 Feb 15;44(3):1070-1078. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26139. Epub 2022 Nov 5.
The serotonergic (5-HT) system, which undergoes degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD), is involved in the pathogenesis of motor and nonmotor symptoms. The dorsal raphe (DR) and median raphe (MR) nuclei are the main source of 5-HT neurons, however, brain connectivity changes in these two nuclei have not been delineated in PD. Here we used resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) to characterize functional connectivity profiles of DR and MR and further examine the associations between dysconnectivity of raphe nuclei and clinical phenotypes of PD. We found that DR and MR commonly hypo-connected with the sensorimotor, temporal, and occipital cortex, limbic system, left thalamus, putamen, and cerebellum in PD. DR had unique decreased connectivity with the bilateral prefrontal and cingulate cortices, while MR had lower connectivity with the pons. Moreover, reduced connectivity of DR correlated with depression, drowsiness, and anxiety, whereas dysconnectivity of MR correlated with depression, cognitive deficits, sleep disturbances, and pain. Our findings highlight the complex roles of raphe nuclei in motor and nonmotor symptoms, providing novel insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of PD.
5-羟色胺能（5-HT）系统在帕金森病（PD）中发生退行性变，与运动和非运动症状的发病机制有关。中缝背核（DR）和中缝核（MR）是 5-HT 神经元的主要来源，然而，这两个核团的脑连接变化在 PD 中尚未被描述。在这里，我们使用静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）来描述 DR 和 MR 的功能连接特征，并进一步研究中缝核团的连接障碍与 PD 临床表型之间的关系。我们发现，在 PD 中，DR 和 MR 与感觉运动、颞叶和枕叶皮层、边缘系统、左侧丘脑、壳核和小脑普遍连接不足。DR 与双侧前额叶和扣带回皮质的连接具有独特的减少，而 MR 与脑桥的连接性较低。此外，DR 的连接减少与抑郁、嗜睡和焦虑有关，而 MR 的连接障碍与抑郁、认知障碍、睡眠障碍和疼痛有关。我们的发现强调了中缝核团在运动和非运动症状中的复杂作用，为 PD 的发病机制的神经生理机制提供了新的见解。
