Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Connectivity of the Brain Is Associated with Altered Sensorimotor Function in Patients with Cervical Spondylosis
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Abstract
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d161422e158">Objectives:</h5>
<p id="P2">To determine the relationship between functional connectivity using resting-state
fMRI and neurological impairment in patients with cervical spondylosis and healthy
controls.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d161422e163">Methods:</h5>
<p id="P3">A total of 24 patients with cervical spondylosis with or without myelopathy
and 17
neurologically intact, healthy volunteer subjects were prospectively enrolled in a
cross-sectional study involving observational MRI and evaluation of neurological function
using the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) score. Seed-to-seed connectivity
and seed-to-voxel connectivity were performed on fMRI data were performed using a
general linear model of connectivity with respect to age and mJOA.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d161422e168">Results:</h5>
<p id="P4">Increased functional connectivity was observed with increasing neurological
impairment
in patients with cervical stenosis within sensorimotor areas, including precentral
gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and supplemental motor regions (SMA), using both seed-to-seed
and seed-to-voxel analyses. The anterior cingulate showed increasing connectivity
with the SMA, thalamus and cerebellum with increasing neurological function. Similarly,
the thalamus, cerebellum, and putamen presented with increasing connectivity to both
the bilateral precuneus and posterior cingulate with increasing mJOA.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d161422e173">Conclusions:</h5>
<p id="P5">Patients with cervical spondylosis exhibiting neurological impairment experience
similar
changes in brain connectivity to patients with chronic traumatic spinal cord injury.
Results suggest an increase in functional connectivity within sensorimotor regions
with increasing neurological impairment decreased connectivity between the cerebellum,
putamen, and thalamus to the anterior and posterior cingulate as well as frontal lobe
regions.
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