Resting-state fMRI reveals potential neural correlates of impaired cognition in Huntington's disease.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is characterized by motor, cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction. Functional MRI (fMRI) provides new insight into the pathologic mechanism underlying the cognitive symptoms. Previous fMRI studies of HD focused on functional synchronization of various brain areas by measuring functional connectivity, a method that is unable to identify regional intrinsic neural activity changes in the brain. To fill in this gap, we utilized amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF).



To investigate alterations in regional brain activity and their association with clinical characteristics in the early stages of HD.



Ten early stage HD patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were scanned to obtain imaging data. HD patients were assessed with the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Stroop test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Verbal Fluency Test and Beck Depression Index.



Gray matter volume (GMV) reduction was detected in bilateral striatum and left calcarine cortex in the HD group. After correcting for GMV, HD patients demonstrated significantly decreased ALFF in the right precuneus and angular gyrus, and increased ALFF in bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and left superior frontal gyrus. Increased mean values of ALFF in the left ITG were correlated with worse performance in SDMT, and decreased mean values of ALFF in the precuneus were correlated with worse performance in the Stroop test and SDMT.



Our results suggest that intrinsic brain activity alterations in the precuneus and cortico-striatal circuit may be the mechanism underlying impaired cognition in early HD.
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Wanglin
W
Liu
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jing
J
Yang
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Ke
K
Chen
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
ChunYan
C
Luo
Department of Neurology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
JeanMarc
J
Burgunder
Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
QiYong
Q
Gong
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: hfshang2002@126.com.
Huifang
H
Shang
D000328:Adult; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
ALFF; Cognitive impairment; Huntington's disease; Regional intrinsic brain activity; Resting-state fMRI