Functional and structural impairment of transcallosal motor fibres in ALS: a study using transcranial magnetic stimulation, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion weighted spectroscopy

Imaging studies showed that the structure of the corpus callosum (CC) is affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Some clinical studies also suggest that interhemispheric connectivity is altered, since mirror movements seem to occur in ALS. Finally, reduced interhemispheric inhibition (IHI),...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain imaging and behavior 2021-04, Vol.15 (2), p.748-757
Main Authors: Hübers, Annemarie, Böckler, Bastian, Abaei, Alireza, Rasche, Volker, Lulé, Dorothée, Ercan, Ece, Doorenweerd, Nathalie, Müller, Hans-Peter, Dreyhaupt, Jens, Kammer, Thomas, Ludolph, Albert Christian, Ronen, Itamar, Kassubek, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - diagnostic imaging
Anisotropy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cerebral hemispheres
Corpus callosum
Corpus Callosum - diagnostic imaging
Diffusion
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Handedness
Humans
Imaging
Integrity
Magnetic fields
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Markers
Mathematical analysis
Morphology
N-Acetylaspartate
Neuropsychology
Neuroradiology
Neurosciences
Original Research
Psychiatry
Segments
Spectroscopy
Spectrum Analysis
Structure-function relationships
Tensors
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Imaging studies showed that the structure of the corpus callosum (CC) is affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Some clinical studies also suggest that interhemispheric connectivity is altered, since mirror movements seem to occur in ALS. Finally, reduced interhemispheric inhibition (IHI), studied by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has been reported. It is not known whether there is any association between these findings. Here, we studied the integrity of the CC in ALS on the morphological, the functional, the electrophysiological, and the clinical level. Twenty-seven right-handed ALS patients and 21 healthy right-handed controls were included. Mirror activity (MA) was quantified using surface EMG. Diffusion tensor imaging tractography was used to segment the CC and quantify fractional anisotropy (FA). We studied the diffusivity of the intra-axonal markers N-acetylaspartate+N-acetyl aspartyl glutamate D(tNAA) within the CC. IHI was studied as a marker of CC function using a double-pulse TMS protocol. ALS patients showed significantly decreased FA in the motor segment of the CC ( p  
ISSN:1931-7557
1931-7565
DOI:10.1007/s11682-020-00282-x