Disrupted functional connectivity of striatal sub-regions in Bell's palsy patients.
The striatum plays an important role in controlling motor function in humans, and its degeneration has the ability to cause severe motor disorders. More specifically, previous studies have demonstrated a disruption in the connectivity of the cortico-striatal loop in patients suffering from motor disorders caused by dopamine dysregulation, such as Parkinson's disease. However, little is known about striatal functional connectivity in patients with motor dysfunction not caused by dopamine dysregulation. In this study, we used early-state Bell's palsy (BP) patients (within 14 days of onset) to investigate how functional connectivity between the striatum and motor cortex is affected by peripheral nerve injury in which the dopamine system remains fully functional. We found a significant increase in the connectivity between the contralateral putamen, and the ipsilateral primary sensory (S1) and motor cortex (M1) in BP patients compared to healthy controls. We also found increased connectivity between the ventral striatum and supplementary motor area (SMA), and the dorsal caudate and medial prefrontal lobe in BP patients compared to healthy controls. Our results demonstrate that the entirety of the striatum is affected following acute peripheral nerve injury, and suggests that this disrupted striatal functional connectivity may reflect a compensatory mechanism for the sensory-motor mismatch caused by BP.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Wenwen
W
Song
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Zhijian
Z
Cao
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Courtney
C
Lang
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Minhui
M
Dai
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Lihua
L
Xuan
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Kun
K
Lv
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Fangyuan
F
Cui
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Kristen
K
Jorgenson
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Maosheng
M
Xu
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jian
J
Kong
D000328:Adult; D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen
Bell's palsy; Functional connectivity; Motor disorder; Striatum