Open AccessThe structural correlates of functional deficits in early huntington's disease
Author(s) -
Delmaire Christine,
Dumas Eve M.,
Sharman Michael A.,
den Bogaard Simon J.A.,
Valabregue Romain,
Jauffret Céline,
Justo Damian,
Reilmann Ralf,
Stout Julie C.,
Craufurd David,
Tabrizi Sarah J.,
Roos Raymund A.C.,
Durr Alexandra,
Lehéricy Stéphane
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.22055
Subject(s) - fractional anisotropy , psychology , basal ganglia , white matter , putamen , neuroscience , frontal lobe , external capsule , internal capsule , parietal lobe , insula , diffusion mri , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , central nervous system , radiology
Neuropathological studies in Huntington disease (HD) have demonstrated neuronal loss in the striatum, as well as in other brain regions including the cortex. With diffusion tensor MRI we evaluated the hypothesis that the clinical dysfunction in HD is related to regionally specific lesions of circuit‐specific cortico–basal ganglia networks rather than to the striatum only. We included 27 HD and 24 controls from the TRACK‐HD Paris cohort. The following assessments were used: self‐paced tapping tasks, trail B making test (TMT), University of Pennsylvania smell identification test (UPSIT), and apathy scores from the problem behaviors assessment. Group comparisons of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity and correlations were performed using voxel‐based analysis. In the cortex, HD patients showed significant correlations between: (i) self paced tapping and mean diffusivity in the parietal lobe at 1.8 Hz and prefrontal areas at 3 Hz, (ii) UPSIT and mean diffusivity in the parietal, and median temporal lobes, the cingulum and the insula, and fractional anisotropy in the insula and the external capsule, (iii) TMT B and mean diffusivity in the white matter of the superior frontal, orbital, temporal, superior parietal and post central areas, and (iv) apathy and fractional anisotropy in the white matter of the rectus gyrus. In the basal ganglia, we found correlations between the self paced tapping, UPSIT, TMT tests, and mean diffusivity in the anterior part of the putamen and the caudate nucleus. In conclusion, disruption of motor, associative and limbic cortico‐striatal circuits differentially contribute to the clinical signs of the disease. Hum Brain Mapp 34:2141–2153, 2013 . © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.