title: Brain connectivity abnormalities extend beyond the sensorimotor network in peripheral neuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate, using resting state (RS) functional connectivity (FC), the selectivity of involvement of the sensorimotor network in patients with acquired (A) and with hereditary (H) peripheral neuropathies (PN) and the correlations of RS FC abnormalities with clinical impairment and structural brain damage. Temporal associations among RS networks were also explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  RS fMRI scans were acquired from 13 APN, 12 HPN, and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Independent component analysis and functional network connectivity were used to investigate RS FC within and among RS networks with potential functional relevance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to controls, patients had a decreased FC of the right precentral gyrus and an increased RS FC of the precuneus within the sensorimotor network. Both decreased and increased RS FC also involved the visual and auditory networks, which additionally had an increased coherence of function with the sensorimotor network (more pronounced in HPN). RS FC modifications in patients extended to several cognitive networks and were correlated with disease duration. In APN, they were also correlated with the severity of clinical impairment and corpus callosum atrophy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In PN, RS FC modifications extend beyond the sensorimotor network and involve other sensory and cognitive networks. The correlations between RS FC patterns and disease duration in patients as well as with clinical impairment in patients with APN suggest that modifications of FC might reflect an adaptive mechanism, which takes time to occur and helps to limit the clinical consequences of peripheral damage.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valsasina
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: Stefano C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Previtali
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falini
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000098:blood supply; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: brain plasticity; fMRI; functional network connectivity; peripheral neuropathy; resting state functional connectivity