Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with strabismic amblyopia: A resting‑state fMRI study using regional homogeneity analysis

Yang,Xubo; Lu,Lu; Li,Qian; Huang,Xiaoqi; Gong,Qiyong; Liu,Longqian

doi:10.3892/etm.2019.8038

Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with strabismic amblyopia: A resting‑state fMRI study using regional homogeneity analysis

Authors:
- Xubo Yang
- Lu Lu
- Qian Li
- Xiaoqi Huang
- Qiyong Gong
- Longqian Liu
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Affiliations: Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China, Department of Optometry and Visual Science, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China
Published online on: September 23, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8038
Pages: 3877-3884
Copyright: © Yang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of resting‑state brain function between subjects with strabismic amblyopia and normal controls. A total of 12 adult patients with strabismic amblyopia and 34 age‑ and gender‑matched normal controls were enrolled in the present study. All patients were subjected to resting‑state magnetic resonance imaging using a Siemens Trio 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner. ReHo values of the whole brain were calculated and standardized. An independent‑samples t‑test was used to analyze the differences in ReHo values between the two groups. Patients with strabismic amblyopia exhibited reduced ReHo values in certain parts of the occipital lobe, including the lingual gyrus, cuneus and superior occipital gyrus. Increased ReHo values were observed in the precuneus and certain parts of the prefrontal cortex of patients with strabismic amblyopia, including the superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus. The ReHo index of the precuneus was negatively correlated with age. However, there was no correlation between the ReHo values and the visual acuity of patients with strabismic amblyopia. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the greatest area under curve (AUC) value was in the medial prefrontal cortex (AUC=0.864). The results of the present study suggested that visual information processing may be impaired in visual areas V1 and V2. Furthermore, adult patients with strabismic amblyopia exhibited brain plasticity that compensated for visuomotor coordination and visuospatial imagery deficits.

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