Study on resting-state fMRI based on amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in patients with recurrent optic neuritis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the distribution of abnormal neurological activity of patients with recurrent optic neuritis (ON) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and to explore the relationship between baseline neurological function and clinic.  Methods Resting-state fMRI were collected from 35 patients with recurrent ON and 50 normal controls who were matched in sex, age and education with patients. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) difference was investigated and compared between 2 groups. The correlation of brain regions with significantly different mALFF with duration, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and vision was further explored.  Results Compared to normal controls, patients with recurrent ON showed significantly decreased mALFF in left cuneus/precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, bilateral inferior temporal gyri, bilateral lingual gyri, right middle occipital gyrus (P < 0.01), and significantly increased mALFF in bilateral inferior frontal gyri and left medial frontal gyrus (P < 0.01). The positive correlation between duration and mALFF in left superior temporal gyrus (r = 0.403, P < 0.05) and right lingual gyrus (r = 0.472, P < 0.05) was observed in recurrent ON patients.  Conclusions Resting-state fMRI can detect decreased neurological function in the temporal and occipital lobes which are involved in visual processing and increased neurological function in the frontal lobe which is involved in default mode network (DMN) in recurrent ON. It will provide evidence for evaluating neurological function and predicting the prognosis of ON in the early stage.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.06.007