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Disrupted brain gray matter networks in drug-naïve participants with essential tremor

  • Functional Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Purpose

To use structural magnetic resonance imaging and graph theory approaches to investigate the topological organization of the brain morphological network based on gray matter in essential tremor, and its potential relation to disease severity.

Methods

In this prospective study conducted from November 2018 to November 2019, 36 participants with essential tremor and 37 matched healthy controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Brain networks based on the morphological similarity of gray matter across regions were analyzed using graph theory. Nonparametric permutation testing was used to assess group differences in topological metrics. Support vector machine was applied to the gray matter morphological matrices to classify participants with essential tremor vs. healthy controls.

Results

Compared with healthy controls, participants with essential tremor showed increased global efficiency (p < 0.01) and decreased path length (p < 0.01); abnormal nodal properties in frontal, parietal, and cerebellar lobes; and disconnectivity in cerebello-thalamo-cortical network. The abnormal brain nodal centralities (left superior cerebellum gyrus; right caudate nucleus) correlated with clinical measures, both motor (Fahn–Tolosa–Marìn tremor rating, p = 0.017, r = − 0.41) and nonmotor (Hamilton depression scale, p = 0.040, r = − 0.36; Hamilton anxiety scale, p = 0.008, r = − 0.436). Gray matter morphological matrices classified individuals with high accuracy of 80.0%.

Conclusion

Participants with essential tremor showed randomization in global properties and dysconnectivity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical network. Participants with essential tremor could be distinguished from healthy controls by gray matter morphological matrices.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the families who participated in this study.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81621003, 82027808) and the Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province (FMIKLSP, Grant: 2019JDS0044).

Author information

Author notes

  1. JY and DL contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China

    Jing Yang, Xueling Suo, Wenbin Li & Qiyong Gong

  2. Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China

    Jing Yang, Xueling Suo, Wenbin Li & Qiyong Gong

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Du Lei

  4. Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

    Jiaxin Peng, Junying Li & Rong Peng

  5. Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London, UK

    Walter H. L. Pinaya

  6. Liverpool Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre (LiMRIC) and Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Graham J. Kemp

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  1. Jing Yang
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  2. Du Lei
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Correspondence to Qiyong Gong.

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Yang, J., Lei, D., Peng, J. et al. Disrupted brain gray matter networks in drug-naïve participants with essential tremor. Neuroradiology 63, 1501–1510 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-021-02653-7

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