Neuroplasticity in CNS vs PNS-Originated Disorders: Study of Facial Paralysis and Meige's Syndrom
Poster No:
1688
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yimeng Wang1,2, Manxi Xu3, Chaoyue Wang1,2, Guolin Ma3
Institutions:
1Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, 2SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, 3Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
First Author:
Yimeng Wang
Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Shanghai, China|Shanghai, China
Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Shanghai, China|Shanghai, China
Co-Author(s):
Chaoyue Wang
Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Shanghai, China|Shanghai, China
Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Shanghai, China|Shanghai, China
Introduction:
Brain neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the nervous system to reorganize its structure and functions during brain development or in response to experience or injury (Mateos-Aparicio & Rodríguez-Moreno, 2019). Building on studies suggesting that peripheral nerve injuries trigger plasticity changes in the brain (Sparling et al., 2024), we aim to further investigate these changes using multimodal neuroimaging in two facial movement disorders with distinct symptoms and pathology: Peripheral Facial Paralysis (FP) and Meige's Syndrome.
FP is a motor disorder characterized by paralysis of facial muscles, typically resulting from damage to the facial nerve belonging to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) (Walker et al., 2023). Meige's Syndrome involves generalized involuntary contractions with blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia (Pandey & Sharma, 2017). Although the cause of Meige's Syndrome remains largely idiopathic, studies suggest its association with central nervous system (CNS) impairment (Liu et al., 2024)).
Our objective is to conduct a comparative study on the brain's adaptive mechanisms in response to CNS and PNS disorders, with the hypothesis that these mechanisms differ. An overview of our study design is shown in Figure 1A.
FP is a motor disorder characterized by paralysis of facial muscles, typically resulting from damage to the facial nerve belonging to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) (Walker et al., 2023). Meige's Syndrome involves generalized involuntary contractions with blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia (Pandey & Sharma, 2017). Although the cause of Meige's Syndrome remains largely idiopathic, studies suggest its association with central nervous system (CNS) impairment (Liu et al., 2024)).
Our objective is to conduct a comparative study on the brain's adaptive mechanisms in response to CNS and PNS disorders, with the hypothesis that these mechanisms differ. An overview of our study design is shown in Figure 1A.
Methods:
Participants included patients with FP (N=51), Meige's Syndrome (N=30) and healthy controls (HC, N=48). HC are categorized into two subsets (HC-fp and HC-me) to ensure no significant differences of age distributions between HC subsets and corresponding patient groups. Participants were scanned on a 3T MR 750 scanner, including T1-weighted imaging, resting-state functional MRI and diffusional MRI. T1-weighted and diffusional MRI were processed following the UK Biobank imaging processing pipeline (Alfaro-Almagro et al., 2018; Miller et al., 2016) , incorporating tools from FSL (Woolrich et al., 2009) and FreeSurfer (Reuter et al., 2012), to extract Imaging-Derived Phenotypes (IDPs). IDPs include grey matter (GM) properties calculated using FSL and FreeSurfer, white matter (WM) properties derived from FSL-TBSS, FSL-ProbtrackX, and FreeSurfer, as well as global features from FSL-SIENAX. Two-sample t-tests were performed to assess statistically significant differences in IDPs between FP and HC, as well as between ME and HC. Resting-state functional MRI were preprocessed and analyzed with CONN (Whitfield-Gabrieli & Nieto-Castanon, 2012), where ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity and graph theory parameters were compared.
Results:
Anatomical and structural IDPs with significant differences (two-sample t-test, p<0.05, FDR-corrected) between patients and HC are shown in Figure 2. Selected significant IDPs are shown in Figure 1B. FP exhibits altered WM integrity in tracts including the optic chiasm, fronto-occipital fasciculus, corpus callosum and forceps minor comparing to HC, which is not observed in Meige's Syndrome. In contrast, Meige's Syndrome shows significant volume reductions in caudate, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus and accumbens comparing to HC, which are absent in FP. FP exclusively shows significant volume increases in multiple thalamic nuclei (CM, Pf, VM, Pt, LP and LD) comparing to HC. In the cerebellum, FP exhibits significant volume reductions in bilateral I-IV and V partitions, whereas Meige's Syndrome shows significant less volumes of the right VI partition. FSL-SIENAX reveals increased total WM volume in FP but decreased GM volume in Meige's Syndrome. No significant differences are found in ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity between patients and HC.
·Figure 1A. The overview of study design. Figure 1B. Example of significant IDPs comparing between patient and HC groups.
·Figure 2. Table of all IDPs with significant differences comparing between groups.
Conclusions:
Our study reveals distinct patterns of anatomical and structural alterations in the brain of FP and Meige's Syndrome patients. FP is characterized by alterations in WM tracts and thalamic nuclei, while Meige's Syndrome shows shrinkage in multiple subcortical structures. Our findings may offer insights into the neuroplasticity mechanisms associated with CNS versus PNS pathologies.
Learning and Memory:
Neural Plasticity and Recovery of Function
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Diffusion MRI Modeling and Analysis
Motor Behavior:
Motor Behavior Other 1
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Anatomy and Functional Systems 2
Cortical Anatomy and Brain Mapping
Keywords:
DISORDERS
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Neurological
Peripheral Nerve
Plasticity
STRUCTURAL MRI
Tractography
Other - Facial Disorders
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
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