Open AccessCortico-basal white matter alterations occurring in Parkinson’s disease
Author(s) -
Bethany R. Isaacs,
Anne C. Trutti,
Esther Annegret Pelzer,
Marc Tittgemeyer,
Yasin Temel,
Birte U. Forstmann,
Max C. Keuken
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0214343
Subject(s) - subthalamic nucleus , neuroscience , white matter , tractography , parkinson's disease , fractional anisotropy , basal ganglia , diffusion mri , anterior cingulate cortex , psychology , inferior frontal gyrus , supplementary motor area , functional magnetic resonance imaging , deep brain stimulation , biology , magnetic resonance imaging , medicine , disease , pathology , central nervous system , cognition , radiology
Magnetic resonance imaging studies typically use standard anatomical atlases for identification and analyses of (patho-)physiological effects on specific brain areas; these atlases often fail to incorporate neuroanatomical alterations that may occur with both age and disease. The present study utilizes Parkinson’s disease and age-specific anatomical atlases of the subthalamic nucleus for diffusion tractography, assessing tracts that run between the subthalamic nucleus and a-priori defined cortical areas known to be affected by Parkinson’s disease. The results show that the strength of white matter fiber tracts appear to remain structurally unaffected by disease. Contrary to that, Fractional Anisotropy values were shown to decrease in Parkinson’s disease patients for connections between the subthalamic nucleus and the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the pre-supplementary motor, collectively involved in preparatory motor control, decision making and task monitoring. While the biological underpinnings of fractional anisotropy alterations remain elusive, they may nonetheless be used as an index of Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, we find that failing to account for structural changes occurring in the subthalamic nucleus with age and disease reduce the accuracy and influence the results of tractography, highlighting the importance of using appropriate atlases for tractography.