Resting-state FMRI Basal Ganglia- Cerebral Functional Connectivity In Cervical Dystonia Patients

Objective: Cervical dystonia(CD)is a common focal dystonia and its pathogenesis remains unclear.We adopt resting-state fMRI seed-based functional connectivity(FC)approach to test basal ganglia-cerebral FC in CD patients,to explore the pathogenesis of CD.Methods: 19 patients with CD and 21 healthy controls(HC)matched with age,gender participated in the resting-state fMRI scans.We used seed-based FC approach to compare basal ganglia-cerebral FCs' differences between the CD patients and HC,and made correlation analyses between the abnormal FC values and age,illness duration,severity of symptom in CD patients.Results: Compared to the HC,the CD group showed significant decreased basal ganglia-cerebral FC with sensory-motor network(supplementary motor area,precentral gyrus,postcentral gyrus),prefrontal cortex(inferior frontal gyrus)and insula.No significant correlation was found between abnormal FC values and age,illness duration,severity of symptom of CD patients.Concussion: The decrease of basal ganglia-cerebral FC with sensory-motor network(supplementary motor area,precentral gyrus,postcentral gyrus),prefrontal cortex(inferior frontal gyrus)and insula in CD patients highlights the importance of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortico circuit and sensory-motor integration in the pathophysiology of CD.