A Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Of Brain Functional Characteristics In Blepharospasm

Background: Blepharospasm(BSP)is a common focal dystonia and characterized by excessive involuntary eyelid spasms and closure.Its pathogenesis remains unclear.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)is a powerful tool for exploring cerebral function mechanisms in BSP in the resting state.The purpose of this study is to investigate brain functional activities of BSP patients through regional homogeneity(ReHo)method based on rs-fMRI.Methods: The two subject groups(24 patients with BSP and 24 healthy controls)underwent rs-fMRI scans.The rs-fMRI images were analyzed using ReHo method to assess local features of spontaneous brain activity.Correlation analysis was carried out to explore the relationship between the ReHo values of abnormal brain areas and clinical measures including disease duration,symptom severity,and depression/anxiety severity.Results: Compared with the healthy controls,patients with BSP exhibited significantly decreased ReHo in the left superior temporal pole/left insula,left calcarine cortex,and bilateral superior medial frontal gyrus(mSFG),and increased ReHo in the bilateral supplementary motor area(SMA).Further receiver operating characteristic curves(ROC)analysis exhibited that ReHo values in these brain regions could be applied as candidate markers with relatively high sensitivity and specificity to differentiate patients with BSP from healthy controls.The ReHo values in the left mSFG were positively correlated with total Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)score in the patients.Conclusions: Abnormal spontaneous brain activity in multiple brain regions might be involved in motor and non-motor symptoms of BSP.These abnormalities might be the neural substrates of BSP and could be applied as imaging markers to identify patients from healthy controls.