Altered functional connectivity of primary visual cortex in optic neuritis patients with first episode

SUN Zheng; HUANG Jing; LIU Yaou; DUAN Yunyun; REN Zhuoqiong; MAO Bei; WU Yunqing; ZHANG Xiao-jun; LI Kuncheng

Abstract：Objective To investigate the functional connectivity changes of primary visual cortex in acute optic neuritis ( ON) patients with first episode by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI).Methods Resting-state fMRIs and neuro-ophthalmologic assessments were collected from 51 single-episode ON patients and 50 age-and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs).We chose the primary visual cortex (V1) as the region of interest, and mapped all brain regions that are functionally connected to it using SPM5.The group differences of the functional connectivity of V 1 were compared among the two groups .The relationships between the vision , disease duration and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test ( PASAT) scores and regions with al-tered functional connectivity in ON patients were further explored .Results Compared to HCs , ON patients showed a decreased functional connectivity between V 1 and the lingual gyrus , and increased functional connectivity between V 1 and the cingulate gy-rus, right supramarginal gyrus , right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule and right insula ( P <0.01).In ON patients, there was a significant correlation between PASAT and functional changes in right lingual gyrus , right medial and superior frontal gyrus . Conclusion fMRI can detect functional disconnection ( between V1 and vision related regions ) and reorganization coexists in ON patients with first episode , which provide evidence of brain damage in the early-stage of this disease .