title: Resting-state functional connectivity density mapping of etiology confirmed unilateral pulsatile tinnitus patients: Altered functional hubs in the early stage of disease.
abstract: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been widely used to identify altered intrinsic local neural activities and global networks of tinnitus patients. In this study, functional connectivity density (FCD) mapping, a newly developed voxelwise data-driven method based on fMRI, was applied for the first time to measure the functional reorganization pattern in thirty-two unilateral pulsatile tinnitus (PT) patients in the early stage of disease (less than 48 months). FCD analysis was employed to compute short-range and long-range FCD values. A correlation analysis with clinical variables was also performed. Compared with normal controls, PT patients showed significantly increased short-range FCD, mainly in the precuneus (PCu), bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and increased long-range FCD in the PCu, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG). In addition, correlation analysis showed positive correlations between PT duration and short-range FCD values in the right MOG. Positive correlations were also found between the disease duration and the long-range FCD value in the PCC. The increased short-/long-range FCD in bilateral dorsal visual areas indicated that the enhanced pathway between the auditory cortex and bilateral dorsal visual areas may have activated the "auditory occipital activations" (AOAs) pathway. The bilaterally altered FCD values in the dorsal visual areas reflected the cooperation of different brain areas. This study is a foundation of the connectivity research in PT patients. Our work may advance the understanding of the disrupted neural network of patients with PT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pengfei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhaohui
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China. Electronic address: cjr.wzhch@vip.163.com.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhenchang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012146:Rest; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: fMRI; long-range FCD; neural plasticity; pulsatile tinnitus; resting-state functional connectivity; short-range FCD