Low-frequency Amplitude Changes Of Spontaneous Brain Activity In Patients With Corneal Ulcer Using Resting Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective:The aim of the present study was to investigate the altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with corneal ulcer(CU)through the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(ALFF)technique and the association with their visual performance.Methods:A total of 40 patients(26 males and 14 females)with CU and 40 healthy controls(HCs)matched for sex,age and educational level were enrolled.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-f MRI)was performed to examine the probands.Spontaneous cerebral activity variations were investigated using the ALFF technique.The average ALFF values of the CU patients and the HCs were classified by utilizing receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.Results:Contrary to HCs,the CU patients had significantly lower ALFF values in the left cerebellar anterior lobe,right middle frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus,but higher ALFF values in the right cerebellar inferior lobe,left cerebellar inferior lobe,left inferior temporal gyrus,right fusiform gyrus,left superior frontal gyrus,right angular gyrus and bilateral superior frontal gyrus.Conclusions:Abnormal spontaneous activity exists in many brain regions of patients with corneal ulcer,which provides useful evidence for clinical treatment and provides useful information for understanding the dysfunction of CU.The changes in the activity of these brain areas can be used to observe the effective clinical indicators of corneal ulcers.