Interhemispheric Functional Connectivity In Blepharospam:A Resting-state Functional MRI Study

Objective:Blepharospasm(BSP)is a focal dystonia disease characterized by involuntary blinking and eyelid spasms,Seriously affect the quality of life and social function.In order to investigate the differences in interhemispheric coordination between the patients with blepharospasm and healthy controls by using the voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity(VMHC)method based on resting-state functional MRI(rs-fMRI).Method:24 Patients and 24 healthy volunteers were included in this study.All the patients were given JRS-S scale examination and SDS,SAS psychological test.Resting state fMRI was performed in both the patients with blepharospasm and the normal controls.The data was pre-processed by SPM 8 and then the VMHC values were calculated by REST software.The VMHC values between the two groups were compared by two-sample t-test.The statistical map with significant differences of VMHC value was obtained.Results:Compared to the controls,blephrospasm showed significant VMHC increased in postcentral gyrus,inferior frontal gyrus,posterior cingulated cortex and inferior temporal gyrus.But there was no correlation between the VMHC with the average durationof symptoms,blepharospasm severity and SDS and SAS score.Conclusions:Abnormal sensorimotor integration and differences in the DMN directly or indirectly involved in the pathogenesis of blepharospasm.But there was no correlation between the VMHC with the average duration of symptoms,blepharospasm severity and SDS and SAS score.