title: Abnormal brain structure implicated in patients with functional dyspepsia.
abstract: Recent studies suggest dysfunctional brain-gut interactions are involved in the pathophysiology of functional dyspepsia (FD). However, limited studies have investigated brain structural abnormalities in FD patients. This study aimed to identify potential differences in both cortical thickness and subcortical volume in FD patients compared to healthy controls (HCs) and to explore relationships of structural abnormalities with clinical symptoms. Sixty-nine patients and forty-nine HCs underwent 3T structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Cortical thickness and subcortical volume were compared between the groups across the cortical and subcortical regions, respectively. Regression analysis was then performed to examine relationships between the structure alternations and clinical symptoms in FD patients. Our results showed that FD patients had decreased cortical thickness compared to HCs in the distributed brain regions including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior/posterior cingulate cortex (ACC/PCC), insula, superior parietal cortex (SPC), supramarginal gyrus and lingual gyrus. Significantly negative correlations were observed between the Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI) and cortical thickness in the mPFC, second somatosensory cortex (SII), ACC and parahippocampus (paraHIPP). And significantly negative correlations were found between disease duration and the cortical thickness in the vlPFC, first somatosensory cortex (SI) and insula in FD patients. These findings suggest that FD patients have structural abnormalities in brain regions involved in sensory perception, sensorimotor integration, pain modulation, affective and cognitive controls. The relationships between the brain structural changes and clinical symptoms indicate that the alternations may be a consequence of living with FD.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China. liupengphd@gmail.com.|Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuroimaging Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, 710071, China. liupengphd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China.|Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuroimaging Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, 710071, China.
authors.forename: Geliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China.|Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuroimaging Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, 710071, China.
authors.forename: Yanfei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China.|Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuroimaging Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, 710071, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA.
authors.forename: Vince D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Calhoun
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical thickness; Functional dyspepsia; MRI; Subcortical volume