Wang Tao, Huang Xin, Dai Li-Xue, Zhan Kang-Min, Wang Jun
Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, China.
Front Neurol. 2024 May 10;15:1378362. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1378362. eCollection 2024.
Bronchial Asthma (BA) is a common chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Earlier research has demonstrated abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in multiple cognition-related cortices in asthma patients. The thalamus (Thal) serves as a relay center for transmitting sensory signals, yet the modifications in the thalamic FC among individuals with asthma remain uncertain. This research employed the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) approach to explore alterations in thalamic functional connectivity among individuals with BA.
After excluding participants who did not meet the criteria, this study finally included 31 patients with BA, with a gender distribution of 16 males and 15 females. Subsequently, we recruited 31 healthy control participants (HC) matched for age, gender, and educational background. All participants underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) assessment. Following this, both groups underwent head magnetic resonance imaging scans, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data was collected. Based on the AAL (Automated Anatomical Labeling) template, the bilateral thalamic regions were used as seed points (ROI) for subsequent rsFC research. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between thalamic functional connectivity and neuropsychological scales in both groups. After controlling for potential confounding factors such as age, gender, intelligence, and emotional level, a two-sample t-test was further used to explore differences in thalamic functional connectivity between the two groups of participants.
Compared to the HC group, the BA group demonstrated heightened functional connectivity (FC) between the left thalamus and the left cerebellar posterior lobe (CPL), left postcentral gyrus (PCG), and right superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Concurrently, there was a decrease in FC with both the Lentiform Nucleus (LN) and the left corpus callosum (CC). Performing FC analysis with the right thalamus as the Region of Interest (ROI) revealed an increase in FC between the right thalamus and the right SFG as well as the left CPL. Conversely, a decrease in FC was observed between the right thalamus and the right LN as well as the left CC.
In our study, we have verified the presence of aberrant FC patterns in the thalamus of BA patients. When compared to HCs, BA patients exhibit aberrant alterations in FC between the thalamus and various brain areas connected to vision, hearing, emotional regulation, cognitive control, somatic sensations, and wakefulness. This provides further confirmation of the substantial role played by the thalamus in the advancement of BA.
支气管哮喘（BA）是一种全球常见的慢性呼吸道疾病。早期研究表明，哮喘患者多个与认知相关的皮层存在功能连接异常（FC）。丘脑作为感觉信号传递的中继中心，但哮喘患者丘脑FC的变化仍不明确。本研究采用静息态功能连接（rsFC）方法探讨BA患者丘脑功能连接的改变。
排除不符合标准的参与者后，本研究最终纳入31例BA患者，性别分布为16例男性和15例女性。随后，我们招募了31名年龄、性别和教育背景相匹配的健康对照参与者（HC）。所有参与者均接受蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）和汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）评估。在此之后，两组均接受头部磁共振成像扫描，并收集静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）数据。基于AAL（自动解剖标记）模板，将双侧丘脑区域用作种子点（ROI），用于后续的rsFC研究。采用Pearson相关分析探讨两组丘脑功能连接与神经心理量表之间的关系。在控制年龄、性别、智力和情绪水平等潜在混杂因素后，进一步采用两样本t检验探讨两组参与者丘脑功能连接的差异。
与HC组相比，BA组左侧丘脑与左侧小脑后叶（CPL）、左侧中央后回（PCG）和右侧额上回（SFG）之间的功能连接（FC）增强。同时，与豆状核（LN）和左侧胼胝体（CC）的FC降低。以右侧丘脑作为感兴趣区域（ROI）进行FC分析，结果显示右侧丘脑与右侧SFG以及左侧CPL之间的FC增加。相反，右侧丘脑与右侧LN以及左侧CC之间的FC降低。
在我们的研究中，我们验证了BA患者丘脑中存在异常的FC模式。与HC相比，BA患者在丘脑与与视觉、听觉、情绪调节、认知控制、躯体感觉和觉醒相关的各个脑区之间的FC存在异常改变。这进一步证实了丘脑在BA进展中所起的重要作用。
