AUTHOR=Shan Yi , Wang Yin-Shan , Zhang Miao , Rong Dong-Dong , Zhao Zhi-Lian , Cao Yan-Xiang , Wang Pei-Pei , Deng Zheng-Zheng , Ma Qing-Feng , Li Kun-Cheng , Zuo Xi-Nian , Lu Jie 

TITLE=Homotopic Connectivity in Early Pontine Infarction Predicts Late Motor Recovery

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2018.00907

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2018.00907

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p>Connectivity-based methods are essential to explore brain reorganization after a stroke and to provide meaningful predictors for late motor recovery. We aim to investigate the homotopic connectivity alterations during a 180-day follow-up of patients with pontine infarction to find an early biomarker for late motor recovery prediction. In our study, resting-state functional MRI was performed in 15 patients (11 males, 4 females, age: 57.87 ± 6.50) with unilateral pontine infarction and impaired motor function during a period of 6 months (7, 14, 30, 90, and 180 days after stroke onset). Clinical neurological assessments were performed using the Fugl–Meyer scale (FM).15 matched healthy volunteers were also recruited. Whole-brain functional homotopy in each individual scan was measured by voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) values. Group-level analysis was performed between stroke patients and normal controls. A Pearson correlation was performed to evaluate correlations between early VMHC and the subsequent 4 visits for behavioral measures during day 14 to day 180. We found in early stroke (within 7 days after onset), decreased VMHC was detected in the bilateral precentral and postcentral gyrus and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), while increased VMHC was found in the hippocampus/amygdala and frontal pole (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01). During follow-up, VMHC in the precentral and postcentral gyrus increased to the normal level from day 90, while VMHC in the precuneus/PCC presented decreased intensity during all time points (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). The hippocampus/amygdala and frontal pole presented a higher level of VMHC during all time points (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Negative correlation was found between early VMHC in the hippocampus/amygdala with FM on day 14 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.59, <italic>p</italic> = 0.021), day 30 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.643, <italic>p</italic> = 0.01), day 90 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.693, <italic>p</italic> = 0.004), and day 180 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.668, <italic>p</italic> = 0.007). Furthermore, early VMHC in the frontal pole was negatively correlated with FM scores on day 30 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.662, <italic>p</italic> = 0.013), day 90 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.606, <italic>p</italic> = 0.017), and day 180 (<italic>r</italic> = −0.552, <italic>p</italic> = 0.033). Our study demonstrated the potential utility of early homotopic connectivity for prediction of late motor recovery in pontine infarction.</p>