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Brain functional network abnormality extends beyond the sensorimotor network in brachial plexus injury patients

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Abstract

Brachial plexus injury (BPI) is a type of severe peripheral nerve trauma that leads to central remodeling in the brain, as revealed by functional MRI analysis. However, previously reported remodeling is mostly restricted to sensorimotor areas of the brain. Whether this disturbance in the sensorimotor network leads to larger-scale functional remodeling remains unknown. We sought to explore the higher-level brain functional abnormality pattern of BPI patients from a large-scale network function connectivity dimension in 15 right-handed BPI patients. Resting-state functional MRI data were collected and analyzed using independent component analysis methods. Five components of interest were recognized and compared between patients and healthy subjects. Patients showed significantly altered brain local functional activities in the bilateral fronto-parietal network (FPN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and executive-control network (ECN) compared with healthy subjects. Moreover, functional connectivity between SMN and ECN were significantly less in patients compared with healthy subjects, and connectivity strength between ECN and SMN was negatively correlated with patients’ residual function of the affected limb. Functional connectivity between SMN and right FPN were also significantly less than in controls, although connectivity between ECN and default mode network (DMN) was greater than in controls. These data suggested that brain functional disturbance in BPI patients extends beyond the sensorimotor network and cascades serial remodeling in the brain, which significantly correlates with residual hand function of the paralyzed limb. Furthermore, functional remodeling in these higher-level functional networks may lead to cognitive alterations in complex tasks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hand Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Jun-Tao Feng, Xu-Yun Hua, Yu-Dong Gu, Jian-Guang Xu & Wen-Dong Xu

  2. Key Laboratory, Jing’an District Central Hospital, Shanghai, China

    Xu-Yun Hua & Wen-Dong Xu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Wen-Dong Xu

  4. Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Han-Qiu Liu

Authors
  1. Jun-Tao Feng
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  2. Han-Qiu Liu
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  3. Xu-Yun Hua
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  4. Yu-Dong Gu
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  5. Jian-Guang Xu
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  6. Wen-Dong Xu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wen-Dong Xu.

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Funding

New Cutting Edge Technology Joint Development Program of Shanghai Municipal Hospitals.

Conflict of Interest

Jun-Tao Feng, Han-Qiu Liu, Xu-Yun Hua, Yu-Dong Gu, Jian-Guang Xu, and Wen-Dong Xu declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Jun-Tao Feng and Han-Qiu Liu contributed equally to this work.

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Feng, JT., Liu, HQ., Hua, XY. et al. Brain functional network abnormality extends beyond the sensorimotor network in brachial plexus injury patients. Brain Imaging and Behavior 10, 1198–1205 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-015-9484-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-015-9484-3

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