Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2022, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (12): 2725-2729.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.339496

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Altered intra- and inter-network brain functional connectivity in upper-limb amputees revealed through independent component analysis

Bing-Bo Bao1, #, Hong-Yi Zhu1, #, Hai-Feng Wei1, Jing Li2, Zhi-Bin Wang2, Yue-Hua Li2, Xu-Yun Hua3, Mou-Xiong Zheng3, Xian-You Zheng1, *   

  1. 1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China; 2Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China; 3Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Yueyang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • Online:2022-12-15 Published:2022-05-05
  • Contact: Xian-You Zheng, MD, PhD, zhengxianyou@126.com.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81974331 (to XYZ), Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant, No. 20161429 (to XYZ).

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Abstract: Although cerebral neuroplasticity following amputation has been observed, little is understood about how network-level functional reorganization occurs in the brain following upper-limb amputation. The objective of this study was to analyze alterations in brain network functional connectivity (FC) in upper-limb amputees (ULAs). This observational study included 40 ULAs and 40 healthy control subjects; all participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Changes in intra- and inter-network FC in ULAs were quantified using independent component analysis and brain network FC analysis. We also analyzed the correlation between FC and clinical manifestations, such as pain. We identified 11 independent components using independent component analysis from all subjects. In ULAs, intra-network FC was decreased in the left precuneus (precuneus gyrus) within the dorsal attention network and left precentral (precentral gyrus) within the auditory network; but increased in the left Parietal_Inf (inferior parietal, but supramarginal and angular gyri) within the ventral sensorimotor network, right Cerebelum_Crus2 (crus II of cerebellum) and left Temporal_Mid (middle temporal gyrus) within the ventral attention network, and left Rolandic_Oper (rolandic operculum) within the auditory network. ULAs also showed decreased inter-network FCs between the dorsal sensorimotor network and ventral sensorimotor network, the dorsal sensorimotor network and right frontoparietal network, and the dorsal sensorimotor network and dorsal attention network. Correlation analyses revealed negative correlations between inter-network FC changes and residual limb pain and phantom limb pain scores, but positive correlations between inter-network FC changes and daily activity hours of stump limb. These results show that post-amputation plasticity in ULAs is not restricted to local remapping; rather, it also occurs at a network level across several cortical regions. This observation provides additional insights into the plasticity of brain networks after upper-limb amputation, and could contribute to identification of the mechanisms underlying post-amputation pain.

Key words: amputation, functional connectivity, functional magnetic resonance imaging, independent component analysis, neuroimaging, phantom pain, phantom sensation, resting-state networks