Function–structure connectivity in patients with severe brain injury as measured by MRI-DWI and FDG-PET

TY - JOUR

T1 - Function–structure connectivity in patients with severe brain injury as measured by MRI-DWI and FDG-PET

AU - Annen, J.

AU - Heine, Lizette

AU - Ziegler, E.

AU - Frasso, G.

AU - Bahri, Mohammed A.

AU - Di Perri, C.

AU - Stender, J.

AU - Martial, C.

AU - Wannez, S.

AU - D'ostilio, K.

AU - Amico, E.

AU - Antonopoulos, G.

AU - Bernard, Catherine

AU - Tshibanda, J. -F. L.

AU - Hustinx, Roland

AU - Laureys, Steven

PY - 2016/11/1

Y1 - 2016/11/1

N2 - A vast body of literature exists showing functional and structural dysfunction within the brains of patients with disorders of consciousness. However, the function (fluorodeoxyglucose FDG-PET metabolism)–structure (MRI-diffusion-weighted images; DWI) relationship and how it is affected in severely brain injured patients remains ill-defined. FDG-PET and MRI-DWI in 25 severely brain injured patients (19 Disorders of Consciousness of which 7 unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 12 minimally conscious; 6 emergence from minimally conscious state) and 25 healthy control subjects were acquired here. Default mode network (DMN) function–structure connectivity was assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA) and metabolic standardized uptake value (SUV). As expected, a profound decline in regional metabolism and white matter integrity was found in patients as compared with healthy subjects. Furthermore, a function–structure relationship was present in brain-damaged patients between functional metabolism of inferior-parietal, precuneus, and frontal regions and structural integrity of the frontal-inferiorparietal, precuneus-inferiorparietal, thalamo-inferioparietal, and thalamofrontal tracts. When focusing on patients, a stronger relationship between structural integrity of thalamo-inferiorparietal tracts and thalamic metabolism in patients who have emerged from the minimally conscious state as compared with patients with disorders of consciousness was found. The latter finding was in line with the mesocircuit hypothesis for the emergence of consciousness. The findings showed a positive function–structure relationship within most regions of the DMN. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3707–3720, 2016.

AB - A vast body of literature exists showing functional and structural dysfunction within the brains of patients with disorders of consciousness. However, the function (fluorodeoxyglucose FDG-PET metabolism)–structure (MRI-diffusion-weighted images; DWI) relationship and how it is affected in severely brain injured patients remains ill-defined. FDG-PET and MRI-DWI in 25 severely brain injured patients (19 Disorders of Consciousness of which 7 unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 12 minimally conscious; 6 emergence from minimally conscious state) and 25 healthy control subjects were acquired here. Default mode network (DMN) function–structure connectivity was assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA) and metabolic standardized uptake value (SUV). As expected, a profound decline in regional metabolism and white matter integrity was found in patients as compared with healthy subjects. Furthermore, a function–structure relationship was present in brain-damaged patients between functional metabolism of inferior-parietal, precuneus, and frontal regions and structural integrity of the frontal-inferiorparietal, precuneus-inferiorparietal, thalamo-inferioparietal, and thalamofrontal tracts. When focusing on patients, a stronger relationship between structural integrity of thalamo-inferiorparietal tracts and thalamic metabolism in patients who have emerged from the minimally conscious state as compared with patients with disorders of consciousness was found. The latter finding was in line with the mesocircuit hypothesis for the emergence of consciousness. The findings showed a positive function–structure relationship within most regions of the DMN. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3707–3720, 2016.

KW - default mode network

KW - disorders of consciousness

KW - DWI

KW - FDG-PET

KW - function–structure coupling

U2 - 10.1002/hbm.23269

DO - 10.1002/hbm.23269

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27273334

SN - 1065-9471

VL - 37

SP - 3707

EP - 3720

JO - Human Brain Mapping

JF - Human Brain Mapping

IS - 11

ER -