title: Analysis of cortical thickness in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate differences in cortical thickness in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy and control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cortical thickness was measured using a 3-D surface-based method that enables more accurate measurement in deep sulci and localized regional mapping.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 28 patients with narcolepsy and cataplexy and 33 age-and sex-matched control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cortical thickness was measured using a direct method for calculating the distance between corresponding vertices from inner and outer cortical surfaces.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We normalized cortical surfaces using 2-D surface registration and performed diffusion smoothing to reduce the variability of folding patterns and to increase the power of the statistical analysis. Localized cortical thinning in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy was found in orbitofrontal gyri, dorsolateral and medial prefrontal cortexes, insula, cingulate gyri, middle and inferior temporal gyri, and inferior parietal lobule of the right and left hemispheres at the level of a false discovery rate P<0.05. No significant local increases in cortical thickness were observed in narcolepsy patients. A significant negative correlation was observed between the narcolepsy patients' scores on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the cortical thickness of the left supramarginal gyrus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cortical thinning in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy in localized anatomic brain regions may serve as a possible neuroanatomic mechanism of the disturbances in attention, memory, emotion, and sleepiness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Yeon
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Seun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Minjoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung Tae
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Uicheul
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Dae Lim
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung Bong
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002385:Cataplexy / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult