Contralesional Sensorimotor Network Participates in Motor Functional Compensation in Glioma Patients

Abstract

BackgroundSome gliomas in sensorimotor areas induce motor deficits, while some do not. Cortical destruction and reorganization contribute to this phenomenon, but detailed reasons remain unclear. This study investigated the differences of the functional connectivity and topological properties in the contralesional sensorimotor network (cSMN) between patients with motor deficit and those with normal motor function.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 65 patients (32 men) between 2017 and 2020. The patients were divided into four groups based on tumor laterality and preoperative motor status (deficit or non-deficit). Thirty-three healthy controls (18 men) were enrolled after matching for sex, age, and educational status. Graph theoretical measurement was applied to reveal alterations of the topological properties of the cSMN by analyzing resting-state functional MRI.ResultsThe results for patients with different hemispheric gliomas were similar. The clustering coefficient, local efficiency, transitivity, and vulnerability of the cSMN significantly increased in the non-deficit group and decreased in the deficit group compared to the healthy group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the nodes of the motor-related thalamus showed a significantly increased nodal efficiency and nodal local efficiency in the non-deficit group and decreased in the deficit group compared with the healthy group (p < 0.05).ConclusionsWe posited the existence of two stages of alterations of the preoperative motor status. In the compensatory stage, the cSMN sacrificed stability to acquire high efficiency and to compensate for impaired motor function. With the glioma growing and the motor function being totally damaged, the cSMN returned to a stable state and maintained healthy hemispheric motor function, but with low efficiency.

Structural changes in eloquent cortex secondary to glioma in sensorimotor area

“…The brain is a dynamic functional organ in which motor function compensation processes can occur (Fang et al, 2022 ). However, the compensatory process is still subject to a structural basis, and not every brain region has the same probability of compensation.…”

A case report of agoraphobia following right parietal lobe surgery: changes in functional and structural connectivities of the multimodal vestibular network

“…Glioma patients may experience impairments in motor and non-motor activities prior to treatment and are inherently at increased risk for further psychomotor, visuospatial, and emotional decline after surgery. While according to the localizationist theory, the anatomical location of tumors can predict specific symptoms, increasing evidence suggests that neuropsychiatric impairments may emerge from the disruption of more complex networks involving brain areas distributed both in close proximity to and far from the lesion (34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). This is of relevance, especially for gross total or supramaximal resections, in which the extent of resection exceeds any visible abnormalities.…”