Session Information
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Session Title: Parkinson's disease: Neuroimaging and neurophysiology
Session Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: To detect the changing pattern in functional network hubs in subtype-specific Parkinson’s disease (PD) using resting-state functional magnetic resosonce imaging (Rs-fMRI).
Background: PD is a heterogenous neurodegenerative disorder with variable clinicopathologic phenotypes, among which Postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD) and tremor-dominant (TD) are the most common subtypes. Different subtypes may have different physiopathologic mechanisms. Previous studies have demonstrated that patients with PD have aberrant functional connectivity. However the changing pattern in functional network hubs in PD, especially in different subtypes, remains incompletely understood.
Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T was collected in 31 patients with Parkinson’s disease, of whom 12 presented with TD and 19 with PIGD, and 22 matched healthy controls. Whole-brain voxel-wise functional networks were constructed by measuring the temporal correlations of each pair of brain voxels and then hubs were identified by using the graph theory method. Functional connectivity strength (FCS) was calculated to explore the cortical hubs.
Results: Compared with healthy controls, both TD and PIGD patients showed significantly decreased FCS in the bilateral in the bilateral basal ganglia, occipital cortex, cerebellum and brain stem 
(p<0.01). Comparison of PIGD and TD subjects revealed significant differences in in the bilateral cerebellar hemisphere and vermis in PIGD. A negative correlation was observed between UPDRS score and FCS value.
Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that comprehensive disrupted cortical hubs existed in TD and PIGD patients. Furthermore, PIGD subgroup displayed more disrupted hubs in the bilateral cerebellar hemisphere and vermis than TD subgroup, indicating cerebellum may play a role in the pathophysiology of tremor.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
L. Ma, H. Chen, T. Feng. Disrupted hubs in functional brain networks in subtype-specific Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/disrupted-hubs-in-functional-brain-networks-in-subtype-specific-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/disrupted-hubs-in-functional-brain-networks-in-subtype-specific-parkinsons-disease/