Disruption of brain connectivity in acute stroke patients with early impairment in consciousness

Yuan Hsiung Tsai, Rui Yuan, Yen Chu Huang, Mei Yu Yeh, Ching Po Lin*, Bharat B. Biswal

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

Impairment in consciousness is common in acute stroke patients and is correlated with the clinical outcome after stroke. The underlying mechanism is not completely understood, with little known about brain activity and connectivity changes in acute stroke patients having impaired consciousness. In this study, we investigated changes in regional brain activity and brain networks of consciousness impaired stroke patients, as well as the amplitude of spontaneous low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of each time series. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) of each voxel was measured, and resting state network analysis was consequently conducted. Results from this study demonstrate that, compared to normal subjects, the intensities of ALFF and ReHo, as well as the strength of the default mode network (DMN) connectivity, were significantly decreased in the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex regions among stroke patients with impaired consciousness. Furthermore, the strength of the DMN was highly correlated with differences in the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores between the onset time and the scanning time. Results from this study suggest that the resting state fMRI is a feasible tool for the evaluation of acute stroke patients with an early impairment of consciousness. The detailed mechanisms, implications of these brain activities and networks exhibiting changes will require further investigation.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberArticle 956
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Volume4
Issue numberJAN
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Brain connectivity
  • Resting state
  • Resting state functional connectivity
  • Stroke
  • fMRI

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Disruption of brain connectivity in acute stroke patients with early impairment in consciousness'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this