title: Striatal morphology correlates with frontostriatal electrophysiological motor processing in Huntington's disease: an IMAGE-HD study.
abstract: Huntington's disease (HD) causes progressive atrophy to the striatum, a critical node in frontostriatal circuitry. Maintenance of motor function is dependent on functional connectivity of these premotor, motor, and dorsolateral frontostriatal circuits, and structural integrity of the striatum itself. We aimed to investigate whether size and shape of the striatum as a measure of frontostriatal circuit structural integrity was correlated with functional frontostriatal electrophysiological neural premotor processing (contingent negative variation, CNV), to better understand motoric structure-function relationships in early HD.
  
  
  
  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and electrophysiological (EEG) measures of premotor processing were obtained from a combined HD group (12 presymptomatic, 7 symptomatic). Manual segmentation of caudate and putamen was conducted with subsequent shape analysis. Separate correlational analyses (volume and shape) included covariates of age, gender, intracranial volume, and time between EEG and MRI.
  
  
  
  Right caudate volume correlated with early CNV latency over frontocentral regions and late CNV frontally, whereas right caudate shape correlated with early CNV latency centrally. Left caudate volume correlated with early CNV latency over centroparietal regions and late CNV frontally. Right and left putamen volumes correlated with early CNV latency frontally, and right and left putamen shape/volume correlated with parietal CNV slope.
  
  
  
  Timing (latency) and pattern (slope) of frontostriatal circuit-mediated premotor functional activation across scalp regions were correlated with abnormalities in structural integrity of the key frontostriatal circuit component, the striatum (size and shape). This was accompanied by normal reaction times, suggesting it may be undetected in regular tasks due to preserved motor "performance." Such differences in functional activation may reflect atrophy-based frontostriatal circuitry despecialization and/or compensatory recruitment of additional brain regions.
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology College of Medicine, Biology, & Environment Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jakabek
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine Australian National University Medical School Canberra Hospital Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Wilkes
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology & Illawarra Health & Medical Research Institute University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: Rodney J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Croft
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University Monash Victoria Australia; Calvary Health Care Bethlehem Hospital Caulfield Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Churchyard
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Unit Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walterfang
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Unit Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Velakoulis
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine Australian National University Medical School Canberra Hospital Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia; Neuropsychiatry Unit Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey C L
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Looi
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University Monash Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Nellie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Georgiou-Karistianis
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology College of Medicine, Biology, & Environment Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia; Graduate School of Medicine University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Apthorp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
keywords: Compensation; Huntington's disease; morphology; motor; motor response potentials; striatum; structural