Functional Connectivity Study In Resting-State In Patients With Anisometropic Amblyopia

Objective:To investigate the differences of functional connectivity for patients with anisometropic amblyopia compared with normal subjects in resting-state with functional magnetic resonance imaging.Subjects and Methods:Thirteen left anisometropic amblyopia patients and seventeen normal subjects were recruited in this study. GE 1.5T Twin speed MR Scanner was used to obtain fMRI resting-state data. The fMRI data were processed with the software of AFNI and Matlab. Based on seed voxels method, we analyzed the time course correlation between left BA19(-30,-75,42) with the other areas of the whole brain and the cross-correlogram were output. Group and inter-group analysis was performed with single sample t-test and two sample t-test. Statistical parameter mapping was overlapped onto MNI standard triaxiality template.Observed the coordinate of the brain regions and its size of cluster. The voxels and correlation intensity were recorded.Results:Twelve subjects were recruited in each group according to the affected factors (head motion, behavioral performance and machine noise) were ruled out.Many different brain regions showed positive functional connectivity with the seed voxels left BA19(-30,-75,42) in normal subjects in resting-state. They are right cerebellum,bilateral fusiform gyrus,bilateral middle temporal gyrus,bilateral inferior temporal gyrus,bilateral superior frontal gyrus,bilateral precuneus,bilateral superior parietal lobule,bilateral inferior parietal lobule, middle frontal gyrus and posterior part of bilateral cingulate gyrus respectively. In left anisometropic amblyopia patients right cerebellum,left fusiform gyrus,left inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, bilateral superior parietal lobule,and bilateral inferior parietal lobule respectively are positive correlated with left BA19. Left cerebellum, right caudate nucleus, left middle frontal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, left inferior parietal lobule and left superior frontal gyrus showed stronger positive correlation with left BA19 in normal subjects than that in left anisometropic amblyopia patients.Conclusion:1,Neural network correlated with left BA19 exists in normal subjects in resting-state.2,Left cerebellum, right caudate nucleus, left middle frontal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, left inferior parietal lobule and left superior frontal gyrus showed stronger positive correlation with left BA19 in normal subjects than that in left anisometropic amblyopia patients. This might be an important mechanism of left anisometropic amblyopia...