title: Motor network plasticity and low-frequency oscillations abnormalities in patients with brain gliomas: a functional MRI study.
abstract: Brain plasticity is often associated with the process of slow-growing tumor formation, which remodels neural organization and optimizes brain network function. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether motor function plasticity would display deficits in patients with slow-growing brain tumors located in or near motor areas, but who were without motor neurological deficits. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to probe motor networks in 15 patients with histopathologically confirmed brain gliomas and 15 age-matched healthy controls. All subjects performed a motor task to help identify individual motor activity in the bilateral primary motor cortex (PMC) and supplementary motor area (SMA). Frequency-based analysis at three different frequencies was then used to investigate possible alterations in the power spectral density (PSD) of low-frequency oscillations. For each group, the average PSD was determined for each brain region and a nonparametric test was performed to determine the difference in power between the two groups. Significantly reduced inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between the left and right PMC was observed in patients compared with controls (P<0.05). We also found significantly decreased PSD in patients compared to that in controls, in all three frequency bands (low: 0.01-0.02 Hz; middle: 0.02-0.06 Hz; and high: 0.06-0.1 Hz), at three key motor regions. These findings suggest that in asymptomatic patients with brain tumors located in eloquent regions, inter-hemispheric connection may be more vulnerable. A comparison of the two approaches indicated that power spectral analysis is more sensitive than functional connectivity analysis for identifying the neurological abnormalities underlying motor function plasticity induced by slow-growing tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Netra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qiuli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi-Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005910:Glioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D059906:Neuroimaging; D011859:Radiography