Regional Homogeneity Of Resting-state Brain Activity In Patients With Classical Trigeminal Neuralgia

Objective:using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rsfMRI),we investigated the differences of regional brain spontaneous activity in patients with classical trigeminal neuralgia(CTN)vs healthy controls,and explored the relationship between clinical metrics(visual analogue scale and disease duration)and regional homogeneity(ReHo),to provide new imaging clues and evidences for our further understanding of the central pathogenesis mechanisms of CTN.Methods: 25 patients with CTN and 25 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited and underwent a rest-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning.The DPARSFA was used to detect the homodynamic responses across the whole brain on fMRI data,and the statistical module of the dpabi was used to examine the t-test differences of ReHo between the two groups.And correlation tests were performed between the visual analogue scale and disease duration of the disease and ReHo in the abnormal brain areas.Results: Patients with CTN had decreased ReHo in the right brainstem,right inferior frontal gyrus,left thalamus,left inferior temporal/fusiform gyrus and left limbic lobe/parahippocampal gyrus;and increased ReHo in the left postcentral gyrus,left anterior cingulate cortex,left inferior parietal lobule,and right occipital lobe/cuneus/calcarine.Furthermore,the decreased ReHo in the brainstem was positively correlated with visual analog scale.Conclusions: This study reveals abnormal functional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in regions involved in the pain processing and motor function in patients with CTN,and helps advance our knowledge of CTN pathophysiological mechanism.