Fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation and Voxel-Mirrored Homotopic Connectivity in Patients with Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness: Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Abstract

Purpose: Persistent postural-perception dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic subjective form of dizziness characterized by the exacerbation of dizziness with active or passive movement, complex visual stimuli, and upright posture. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with PPPD using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and evaluate the correlation between abnormal regions in the brain and clinical features to investigate the pathogenesis of PPPD. Methods: Thirty patients with PPPD (19 females and 11 males) and 30 healthy controls (HCs; 18 females and 12 males) were closely matched for age and sex. The fALFF and VMHC methods were used to investigate differences in fMRI (BOLD sequences) between the PPPD and HC groups and to explore the associations between areas of functional abnormality and clinical characteristics (dizziness, anxiety, depression, and duration). Result: Compared to the HC group, patients with PPPD displayed different functional change patterns, with increased fALFF in the right precuneus and decreased VMHC in the bilateral precuneus. In addition, patients with PPPD had a positive correlation between precuneus fALFF values and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores, and a negative correlation between VMHC values and the disease duration. Conclusions: Precuneus dysfunction was observed in patients with PPPD. The fALFF values correlated with the degree of dizziness in PPPD, and changes in VMHC values were associated with the duration of dizziness, suggesting that fMRI changes in the precuneus of patients could be used as a potential imaging marker for PPPD.

Keywords: fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; functional connectivity; persistent postural-perceptual dizziness; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity.