title: Motor network structure and function are associated with motor performance in Huntington's disease.
abstract: In Huntington's disease, the relationship of brain structure, brain function and clinical measures remains incompletely understood. We asked how sensory-motor network brain structure and neural activity relate to each other and to motor performance. Thirty-four early stage HD and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy control participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor, and intrinsic functional connectivity MRI. Diffusivity patterns were assessed in the cortico-spinal tract and the thalamus-somatosensory cortex tract. For the motor network connectivity analyses the dominant M1 motor cortex region and for the basal ganglia-thalamic network the thalamus were used as seeds. Region to region structural and functional connectivity was examined between thalamus and somatosensory cortex. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was higher in HD than controls in the basal ganglia, and lower in the external and internal capsule, in the thalamus, and in subcortical white matter. Between-group axial and radial diffusivity differences were more prominent than differences in FA, and correlated with motor performance. Within the motor network, the insula was less connected in HD than in controls, with the degree of connection correlating with motor scores. The basal ganglia-thalamic network's connectivity differed in the insula and basal ganglia. Tract specific white matter diffusivity and functional connectivity were not correlated. In HD sensory-motor white matter organization and functional connectivity in a motor network were independently associated with motor performance. The lack of tract-specific association of structure and function suggests that functional adaptation to structural loss differs between participants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorges
authors.affiliation: Section Neuropsychology and Functional Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grön
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassubek
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: G Bernhard
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Landwehrmeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Sigurd D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Süßmuth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert Christian
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany. michael.orth@uni-ulm.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016880:Anisotropy; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Fractional anisotropy; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Resting-state; Tractography