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. 2021 Jul 1:13:690854.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.690854. eCollection 2021.

Abnormal Striatal-Cortical Networks Contribute to the Attention/Executive Function Deficits in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Resting State Functional MRI Study

Hong-Ju Zhang  1 , Sheng-Hui Wang  1 , Ying-Ying Bai  1 , Jie-Wen Zhang  1 , Shuai Chen  1
Affiliations

Abnormal Striatal-Cortical Networks Contribute to the Attention/Executive Function Deficits in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Resting State Functional MRI Study

Hong-Ju Zhang et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Introduction: The structural and functional damages of the striatum were evident in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). With the research on iRBD deepens, cognitive impairment in iRBD is getting increasing attention. However, the mechanism of cognitive impairment in iRBD was poorly understood.

Methods: Neuropsychological assessment was carried out in 21 polysomnographies (PSGs) confirmed iRBD patients and 22 normal controls. Both regional homogeneity (ReHo) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) rs-fMRI analyses were applied to explore the FC abnormalities and its association with cognition in iRBD patients. Positive ReHo clusters were set as seeds for further FC analysis.

Results: Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder patients presented cognitive deficits in attention/working memory, executive function, immediate memory, and visuo-spatial ability. ReHo analysis revealed abnormal spontaneous brain activities in the striatum (right caudate, left pallidum and bilateral putamen) in iRBD. FC analysis showed decreased striatum-related FCs in the frontal, temporal, occipital lobes, thalamus, anterior cingulate gyrus, as well as decreased intrinsic FCs between bilateral putamen and between caudate and pallidum. Deficits in attention/working memory, executive function, and immediate memory were associated with abnormal striatal-cortical FCs including frontal, temporal, and anterior cingulate cortices.

Conclusion: Functional changes of striatum and cognitive impairment in iRBD were reconfirmed in the present study. Abnormal striatal-cortical networks, especially the striatal-frontal network, contribute to the working memory/executive function deficits in iRBDs. These findings supported the role of striatum not only in motor but also in cognition impairment in iRBD.

Keywords: REM sleep behavior disorder; cognition; functional MRI; functional connectivity; striatum.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Decreased ReHo values in striatum including the right caudate, left pallidum and bilateral putamen in iRBD patients. The results were corrected by GRF (significant level is set at P < 0.05 at cluster and P < 0.01 at voxel level).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Decreased FCs in iRBD patients. Decreased right caudate-related FCs (A). Decreased left pallidum-related FCs (B). Decreased FCs between right putamen and left putamen (C). Significant level is set at P < 0.05 corrected by TFCE.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Correlation analysis between decreased FCs and cognitive tests. AVLT-N1-3 scores were positively correlated with FCs between right caudate and right supplementary motor area (A). TMT-B scores were negatively correlated with FCs between left pallidum and left Heschl’s gyrus (B). DOT scores were negatively correlated with FCs between left pallidum and left superior frontal gyrus (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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