Structural insights into aberrant cortical morphometry and network organization in psychogenic erectile dysfunction.
Functional neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormal brain dynamics of male sexual arousal (SA) in psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED). However, the neuroanatomical correlates of pED are still unclear. In this work, we obtained cortical thickness (CTh) measurements from structural magnetic resonance images of 40 pED patients and 39 healthy control subjects. Abnormalities in CTh related to pED were explored using a scale space search based brain morphometric analysis. Organizations of brain structural covariance networks were analyzed as well. Compared with healthy men, pED patients showed significantly decreased CTh in widespread cortical regions, most of which were previously reported to show abnormal dynamics of male SA in pED, such as the medial prefrontal, orbitofrontal, cingulate, inferotemporal, and insular cortices. CTh reductions in these areas were found to be significantly correlated with male sexual functioning degradation. Moreover, pED patients showed decreased interregional CTh correlations from the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex to the right supramarginal gyrus and the left angular cortex, implying disassociations between the cognitive, motivational, and inhibitory networks of male SA in pED. This work provides structural insights on the complex phenomenon of psychogenic sexual dysfunction in men, and suggests a specific vulnerability factor, possibly as an extra "organic" factor, that may play an important role in pED.
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Lu
L
Zhao
Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, China.
Min
M
Guan
Department of Urology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, China.
Xiangsheng
X
Zhang
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sherif
S
Karama
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Budhachandra
B
Khundrakpam
Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, China.
Meiyun
M
Wang
School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'dian University, Shaanxi, China.
Minghao
M
Dong
School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'dian University, Shaanxi, China.
Wei
W
Qin
School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'dian University, Shaanxi, China.|Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jie
J
Tian
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Alan C
AC
Evans
Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, China.
Dapeng
D
Shi
D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology*
cortical thickness; magnetic resonance imaging; psychogenic erectile dysfunction; scale space search; structural covariance network