Abstract
Purpose :
The purposes of this study are to (1) investigate the neural mechanisms in CI patients using fMRI; (2) analyze the correlation between neuroimaging measurements and clinical performances.
Methods :
A total of 34 patients with CI and 35 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. The ophthalmic examinations were conducted by experienced optometrists. MRI data were collected using 3.0 Tesla scanner. The MRI data underwent standard preprocessing procedures. We extracted the thickness, volume, and surface area of the gray matter. For the rs-fMRI data, we calculated the fALFF value and selected the ROI for functional connectivity analysis.
Results :
Compared to HCs, patients with CI had reduced cortical gray matter volume in the right frontal eye field (FEF), parietal eye field (PEF), lingual gyrus, and left medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFG), while increased gray matter volume in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) (P < 0.05). Similarly, surface area in right FEF, PEF, and bilateral MOFG was decreased in CI group compared to HCs, while the surface area in the right MFG and ITG was increased in CI (P < 0.05).
For rs-fMRI analysis, fALFF value of the left cerebellum was significantly increased in patients with CI compared to HCs (P < 0.05), and FC between bilateral cerebellums was also increased in CI group than HCs (P < 0.05).
The correlation analysis illustrated that gray matter volume of right MFG (r = 0.466, P = 0.009) and fALFF in left cerebellum (r = 0.466, P = 0.008) both showed positive correlations with NPC in all participants.
Conclusions :
The present study clarifies the impact of CI, on the brain structure and function of patients. Specifically, the study shows that there are abnormalities in the oculormotor circuit in patients with CI. The observed increase in surface area and volume of the right MFG in patients with CI appeares to be associated with the dorsal-frontoparietal network, suggests that patients with CI recuit more attention for near target. Our research further elucidates the neural mechanisms of CI, and suggests that MRI plays an important role in finding out the potential neural mechanisms of vision dysfunctions.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.