Topological alterations in white matter anatomical networks in cervical dystonia
Jiana Zhang,
Yuhan Luo,
Linchang Zhong,
Huiming Liu,
Zhengkun Yang,
Ai Weng,
Yue Zhang,
Weixi Zhang,
Zhicong Yan,
Jinping Xu,
Gang Liu,
Kangqiang Peng,
Zilin Ou
Affiliations
Jiana Zhang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Yuhan Luo
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Linchang Zhong
Department of Medical Imaging, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center
Huiming Liu
Department of Medical Imaging, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center
Zhengkun Yang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Ai Weng
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Yue Zhang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Weixi Zhang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Zhicong Yan
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Jinping Xu
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Gang Liu
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Kangqiang Peng
Department of Medical Imaging, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center
Zilin Ou
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen University
Abstract Background Accumulating neuroimaging evidence indicates that patients with cervical dystonia (CD) have changes in the cortico-subcortical white matter (WM) bundle. However, whether these patients’ WM structural networks undergo reorganization remains largely unclear. We aimed to investigate topological changes in large-scale WM structural networks in patients with CD compared to healthy controls (HCs), and explore the network changes associated with clinical manifestations. Methods Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was conducted in 30 patients with CD and 30 HCs, and WM network construction was based on the BNA-246 atlas and deterministic tractography. Based on the graph theoretical analysis, global and local topological properties were calculated and compared between patients with CD and HCs. Then, the AAL-90 atlas was used for the reproducibility analyses. In addition, the relationship between abnormal topological properties and clinical characteristics was analyzed. Results Compared with HCs, patients with CD showed changes in network segregation and resilience, characterized by increased local efficiency and assortativity, respectively. In addition, a significant decrease of network strength was also found in patients with CD relative to HCs. Validation analyses using the AAL-90 atlas similarly showed increased assortativity and network strength in patients with CD. No significant correlations were found between altered network properties and clinical characteristics in patients with CD. Conclusion Our findings show that reorganization of the large-scale WM structural network exists in patients with CD. However, this reorganization is attributed to dystonia-specific abnormalities or hyperkinetic movements that need further identification.
