Dataset Information

Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated.

ABSTRACT: In the absence of any task, both the brain and spinal cord exhibit spontaneous intrinsic activity organised in a set of functionally relevant neural networks. However, whether such resting-state networks (RSNs) are interconnected across the brain and spinal cord is unclear. Here, we used a unique scanning protocol to acquire functional images of both brain and cervical spinal cord (CSC) simultaneously and examined their spatiotemporal correspondence in humans. We show that the brain and spinal cord activities are strongly correlated during rest periods, and specific spinal cord regions are functionally linked to consistently reported brain sensorimotor RSNs. The functional organisation of these networks follows well-established anatomical principles, including the contralateral correspondence between the spinal hemicords and brain hemispheres as well as sensory versus motor segregation of neural pathways along the brain-spinal cord axis. Thus, our findings reveal a unified functional organisation of sensorimotor networks in the entire central nervous system (CNS) at rest.

SUBMITTER: Vahdat S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7363111 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated.

Vahdat Shahabeddin S Khatibi Ali A Lungu Ovidiu O Finsterbusch Jürgen J Büchel Christian C Cohen-Adad Julien J Marchand-Pauvert Veronique V Doyon Julien J

PLoS biology 20200702 7

In the absence of any task, both the brain and spinal cord exhibit spontaneous intrinsic activity organised in a set of functionally relevant neural networks. However, whether such resting-state networks (RSNs) are interconnected across the brain and spinal cord is unclear. Here, we used a unique scanning protocol to acquire functional images of both brain and cervical spinal cord (CSC) simultaneously and examined their spatiotemporal correspondence in humans. We show that the brain and spinal c ...[more]

PMID: 32614823

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Project description:Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra leading to dysfunctional cortico-striato-thalamic-cortical loops. In addition to the characteristic motor symptoms, PD patients often show cognitive impairments, affective changes and other non-motor symptoms, suggesting system-wide effects on brain function. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and graph-theory based analysis methods to investigate altered whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity in PD patients (n = 37) compared to healthy controls (n = 20). Global network properties indicated less efficient processing in PD. Analysis of brain network modules pointed to increased connectivity within the sensorimotor network, but decreased interaction of the visual network with other brain modules. We found lower connectivity mainly between the cuneus and the ventral caudate, medial orbitofrontal cortex and the temporal lobe. To identify regions of altered connectivity, we mapped the degree of intrinsic functional connectivity both on ROI- and on voxel-level across the brain. Compared to healthy controls, PD patients showed lower connectedness in the medial and middle orbitofrontal cortex. The degree of connectivity was also decreased in the occipital lobe (cuneus and calcarine), but increased in the superior parietal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, supramarginal gyrus and supplementary motor area. Our results on global network and module properties indicated that PD manifests as a disconnection syndrome. This was most apparent in the visual network module. The higher connectedness within the sensorimotor module in PD patients may be related to compensation mechanism in order to overcome the functional deficit of the striato-cortical motor loops or to loss of mutual inhibition between brain networks. Abnormal connectivity in the visual network may be related to adaptation and compensation processes as a consequence of altered motor function. Our analysis approach proved sensitive for detecting disease-related localized effects as well as changes in network functions on intermediate and global scale.

Dataset Information

Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated.

Publications

Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated.

Similar Datasets

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