Abstract

Purpose

Although numerous clinical neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that there are functional abnormalities of motor-related regions in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), little studies have explored the causal interactions within these motor-related regions. The present study aimed to examine Granger causality connectivity patterns within motor-related regions in PD patients.

Methods

Resting-state fMRI was conducted to investigate the causal connectivity differences within motor-related regions between 17 PD patients and 17 matched healthy controls. Subsequently, the relationship between the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale scores and causal connectivity values within motor-related regions was examined in PD patients.

Results

An increased causal connectivity from the left premotor cortex (PMC) to right primary motor cortex (M1) was found in PD patients compared with that of healthy controls. Also, increased causal flow from the PMC to M1 was negatively correlated with motor scores.

Conclusion

PD patients have abnormal causal connectivity in specific motor-related regions, which may reflect a compensatory role of motor deficits in PD patients.

中文翻译：

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帕金森氏病患者运动相关区域内的格兰杰因果关系改变：静态fMRI研究

摘要

目的

尽管大量的临床神经影像学研究表明，通过静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI），帕金森氏病（PD）患者的运动相关区域存在功能异常，但很少有研究探讨这些运动相关区域内的因果关系。本研究旨在检查PD患者运动相关区域内的格兰杰因果关系模式。

方法

进行了静止状态功能磁共振成像，以调查17名PD患者和17名匹配的健康对照者在运动相关区域内的因果关系差异。随后，在帕金森病患者中检查了帕金森病综合评分量表评分与运动相关区域内因果联系值之间的关系。

结果

与健康对照组相比，PD患者发现从左前运动皮层（PMC）到右主运动皮层（M1）的因果关系增加。同样，从PMC到M1的因果流量增加与运动成绩负相关。

结论

PD患者在特定的运动相关区域具有异常的因果联系，这可能反映了PD患者中运动缺陷的代偿作用。