Altered Functional Connectivity in Essential Tremor A Resting-State fMRI Study: A resting-state f MRI study

Julian Benito-Leon*, Elan D. Louis, Juan Pablo Romero, Juan Antonio Hernandez-Tamames, Eva Manzanedo, Juan Alvarez-Linera, Felix Bermejo-Pareja, Ignacio Posada, Eduardo Rocon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

63 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Essential tremor (ET) has been associated with a spectrum of clinical features, with both motor and nonmotor elements, including cognitive deficits. We employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess whether brain networks that might be involved in the pathogenesis of nonmotor manifestations associated with ET are altered, and the relationship between abnormal connectivity and ET severity and neuropsychological function.Resting-state fMRI data in 23 ET patients (12 women and 11 men) and 22 healthy controls (HC) (12 women and 10 men) were analyzed using independent component analysis, in combination with a dual-regression technique, to identify the group differences of resting-state networks (RSNs) (default mode network [DMN] and executive, frontoparietal, sensorimotor, cerebellar, auditory/language, and visual networks). All participants underwent a neuropsychological and neuroimaging session, where resting-state data were collected.Relative to HC, ET patients showed increased connectivity in RSNs involved in cognitive processes (DMN and frontoparietal networks) and decreased connectivity in the cerebellum and visual networks. Changes in network integrity were associated not only with ET severity (DMN) and ET duration (DMN and left frontoparietal network), but also with cognitive ability. Moreover, in at least 3 networks (DMN and frontoparietal networks), increased connectivity was associated with worse performance on different cognitive domains (attention, executive function, visuospatial ability, verbal memory, visual memory, and language) and depressive symptoms. Further, in the visual network, decreased connectivity was associated with worse performance on visuospatial ability.ET was associated with abnormal brain connectivity in major RSNs that might be involved in both motor and nonmotor symptoms. Our findings underscore the importance of examining RSNs in this population as a biomarker of disease.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere1936
Number of pages9
JournalMedicine (United States)
Volume94
Issue number49
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This paper is supported by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA (NINDS #R01 NS39422), the Commission of the European Union (grant ICT- 2011-287739, NeuroTREMOR), the Spanish Health Research Agency (grant FIS PI12/01602), and FEDER funds.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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