title: Decreased functional connectivity between the mediodorsal thalamus and default mode network in patients with disorders of consciousness.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interactions between the thalamus and the cortex play an important role in consciousness. The thalamus as a homogenous structure is less strongly connected with the default mode network (DMN) in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), but the roles of specific thalamic nuclei are not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional connectivity between individual thalamic nuclei and the DMN in DOC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine DOC patients and nine age-matched healthy controls were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at resting state. Data-driven independent component analysis and hypothesis-driven region of interest-based correlation analysis were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In comparison with healthy controls, DOC patients had significantly decreased functional connectivity between the mediodorsal thalamus and brain areas within the DMN, including the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus. Patients and controls did not show significant differences in functional connectivity in other thalamic nuclei.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that functional connections between the mediodorsal thalamus and the DMN may play important roles in the pathogenesis of DOC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.|National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.|National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.|National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.|The Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: T Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: R X
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: default mode network; disorders of consciousness; functional connectivity; functional magnetic resonance imaging; thalamus