Jeonghun Ku1, Yong Won Cho2, Yeong Seon Lee3, Hye-Jin Moon3, Hyukwon Chang4, Christopher J Earley5, Richard P Allen5. 1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea. 2. Department of Neurology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea. Electronic address: neurocho@gmail.com. 3. Department of Neurology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea. 4. Department of Radiology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea. 5. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a primary sensory disorder with a secondary motor component (e.g., urge to move), and the thalamus is known to play a central role in RLS. The purpose of our study was to explore the intrinsic changes in the thalamocortical circuit in RLS patients using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm. METHODS: Resting-state fMRIs were obtained in the morning from 25 idiopathic RLS patients who were not using RLS medications and 25 controls. Resting-state connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based method using Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI) software with the bilateral thalami (ventroposterolateral nucleus [VPLN]). The connectivity characteristics of RLS patients were compared to those of the controls. RESULTS: We found that RLS patients showed reduced thalamic connectivity with the right parahippocampal gyrus, right precuneus, right precentral gyrus, and bilateral lingual gyri; however, the right superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, and right medial frontal gyrus showed enhanced connectivity with the thalamus. RLS severity was negatively correlated with connectivity between the thalamus and right parahippocampal gyrus (r = -0.414; P = .040). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the characteristics of the connectivity changes may reflect the pathways involved in producing RLS symptoms and indicate that RLS patients may have deficits in controlling and managing sensory information, which supports the act of viewing RLS as a disorder disrupting somatosensory processing.
BACKGROUND:Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a primary sensory disorder with a secondary motor component (e.g., urge to move), and the thalamus is known to play a central role in RLS. The purpose of our study was to explore the intrinsic changes in the thalamocortical circuit in RLSpatients using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm. METHODS: Resting-state fMRIs were obtained in the morning from 25 idiopathic RLSpatients who were not using RLS medications and 25 controls. Resting-state connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based method using Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI) software with the bilateral thalami (ventroposterolateral nucleus [VPLN]). The connectivity characteristics of RLSpatients were compared to those of the controls. RESULTS: We found that RLSpatients showed reduced thalamic connectivity with the right parahippocampal gyrus, right precuneus, right precentral gyrus, and bilateral lingual gyri; however, the right superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, and right medial frontal gyrus showed enhanced connectivity with the thalamus. RLS severity was negatively correlated with connectivity between the thalamus and right parahippocampal gyrus (r = -0.414; P = .040). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the characteristics of the connectivity changes may reflect the pathways involved in producing RLS symptoms and indicate that RLSpatients may have deficits in controlling and managing sensory information, which supports the act of viewing RLS as a disorder disrupting somatosensory processing.
Authors: Leonard B Weinstock; Arthur S Walters; Jill B Brook; Zahid Kaleem; Lawrence B Afrin; Gerhard J Molderings Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2020-01-14 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Xu Li; Richard P Allen; Christopher J Earley; Hongjun Liu; Tiana E Cruz; Richard A E Edden; Peter B Barker; Peter C M van Zijl Journal: Sleep Med Date: 2016-06-21 Impact factor: 3.492