A Exploration Of Brain Microstructure In Patients With Somatization Disorder By Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Objective:To explore the brain microstructure in patients with Somatization disorder by using MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), in order to expand and explore the clinical researches, etiological study of this disease.Methods:28patients with Somatization disorder and28healthy volunteers were examined with DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured in the bilateral fibers of frontal white matter (FWM), genu (anterior), body and splenium (posterior) of corpus callosum, anterior part and posterior part of the bilateral cingulate fibers, superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), bilateral cerebellar medulla and dentate nucleus. Student’s t-tests were used to evaluate the difference in those two parameter values between SD patients and the controls, the confidence level is no less than95%, Correlation analysis between ROIs’FA values and illness course was examined. Results:The FA value of the genu of corpus callosum, The ADC, FA value of the left ILF, the splenium(posterior) of corpus callosum and horizontal part of the bilateral cingulate fibers was significant lower in SD patients than in normal controls. FA values in the right dentate nucleus were larger than that in the left, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). No differences of ADC and FA value were found between SD group and normal group. The illness course isn’t significantly correlated to FA value of SD. Conclusions：The fiber bundle of the dominant hemisphere ILF, corpus callosum in patients with SD have microstructural abnomalities, The asymmetry in bilateral cerebellar dentate nuclei increased significantly, and these abnomalities may be is a principal base in the pathophysiology of SD.