Increased grey matter volume and associated resting-state functional connectivity in chronic spontaneous urticaria: A structural and functional MRI study

Wang, Yuming; Gao, Deqiang; Cui, Bingnan; Yu, Bin; Fang, Jiliang; Wang, Zhiyu; Tang, Rui; Cao, Zhijian; Song, Wenwen; Song, Ping; Li, Shasha

doi:10.1016/j.neurad.2021.01.011

Cited by 11 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…For example, trigeminal neuropathic pain and trigeminal neuralgia were associated with decreased grey matter volume and increased resting-state functional organization in the thalamus (Henssen et al 2019). Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria had an increased GMV in the cerebellum and left fusiform cortex and decreased functional connectivity with the right supplementary motor area and medial prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, the primary motor cortex, respectively (Wang et al 2021). To sum up, the relationship between GMV and functional activity is still an unresolved question, but there are pieces of evidence for a positive correlation between GMV and functional activity in the healthy population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Social Intelligence Measured by the Guilford Test

et al. 2021

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Social interactions are a crucial aspect of human behaviour. Numerous neurophysiological studies have focused on socio-cognitive processes associated with the so-called theory of mind—the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Theory of mind is closely related to social intelligence defined as a set of abilities that facilitate effective social interactions. Social intelligence encompasses multiple theory of mind components and can be measured by the Four Factor Test of Social Intelligence (the Guilford-Sullivan test). However, it is unclear whether the differences in social intelligence are reflected in structural brain differences. During the experiment, 48 healthy right-handed individuals completed the Guilford-Sullivan test. T1-weighted structural MRI images were obtained for all participants. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to reveal grey matter volume differences between the two groups (24 subjects in each)—with high social intelligence scores and with low social intelligence scores, respectively. Participants with high social intelligence scores had larger grey matter volumes of the bilateral caudate. The obtained results suggest the caudate nucleus involvement in the neural system of socio-cognitive processes, reflected by its structural characteristics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Social Intelligence Measured by the Guilford Test

et al. 2021

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“…17 The areas we found to be differing between BRP and their matched HC have also been reported to depict a reduced rsFC in patients with chronic acute urticaria and controls. 18,19,45 This highlights the important role of the DMN, ACC and putamen in the processing of CP in BRP patients with neuropathic pain at rest. Overall, the ACC is a key area of the brain, depicts multiple functions and multiple intrinsic connectivities at rest and seems to be involved in both cognitive and affective control processes 46 and is also part of the salience network.…”

Section: Ica Analysismentioning

confidence: 82%

Altered resting‐state functional connectivity of default mode network in brachioradial pruritus

Nayyeri

Missler

Ritterbach

et al. 2022

Acad Dermatol Venereol

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Background Patients with chronic pruritus (CP) have a low quality of life, thus it is important to gain a better understanding of the underlying processes. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies at rest (rsfMRI) have shown that mainly areas associated with the default mode network (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), frontoparietal (FPN) and salience networks (SN) are involved in the processing of itch in patients with chronic pruritus (CP), as well as the cortico‐striatal circuit, which is involved in the motoric preparation of scratching. rsfMRI studies on functional connectivity (FC) patterns of resting‐state networks (RSNs) in patients with inflammatory atopic dermatitis (AD) or with neuropathic brachioradial pruritus (BRP) compared with healthy controls (HC) are lacking. Objectives The main goals of this study were to investigate whether functional connectivity within networks and areas associated with itch detection and processing are altered in patients with AD and BRP compared with matched healthy controls by rsfMRI, respectively. Methods Patients with AD (n = 28) and with BRP (n = 28) were compared with corresponding matched healthy controls by rsfMRI. Group‐specific RSNs were identified by independent component analysis (ICA) and between‐group differences in the RSNs were analysed by dual regression technique. Seed‐based functional connectivity was analysed in several itch‐related brain regions belonging to the DMN, SN and FPN, respectively. Results ICA and seed‐based analyses revealed decreased functional connectivity in BRP compared with HC specially within the DMN including the precuneus and cingulate cortex. For AD patients in comparison with HC, as well as when BRP and AD patients were compared directly, no significant FC differences at rest were seen. Conclusions Our findings point towards decreased FC particularly in the DMN at rest in patients with BRP. These results seem to indicate that central connectivity patterns at rest differentially encode itch in BRP and AD.

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“…Chronic pruritus after urticaria is a clinical evolution pathway that has been little studied, but it has been proposed that it can occur because of a neoinnervation of the skin during a chronic inflammatory process. 27 , 28 After 5 years, 12.2% of the patients had remission of hives and angioedema, even with the suspension of treatment, but cutaneous itching persisted, for which it was necessary to restart antihistamines, with clinical success in most cases. Another possibility is that chronic pruritus is a very common symptom, affecting up to 20% of the population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second hypothesis is that if the chronic inflammatory process persists, new mechanisms independent of the initial one appears, and may contribute to the persistence of some symptoms for longer than others, as would be the case of neoinnervation in patients with chronic pruritus. 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%