Funktionelle Bildgebung bei der Amyotrophen Lateralsklerose: Analyse der Ruheaktivität

This study investigates the question whether the analysis of resting state BOLD (blood oxygen level dependency) fMRI using independent component analysis (ICA) allows us to assess pathological changes in distinct networks of brain areas in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Twenty patients and a similar number of matched controls were investigated. ICA revealed five different brain networks that could be reliably identified on the single subject level in both ALS patients and controls. Two of these networks showed marked changes in the patient group. The so-called default mode network (DMN) showed a significantly diminished connectivity in the patient group. This is likely related to the well-documented extramotor involvement in ALS patients. Moreover, the sensorimotor network which comprises brain areas that are involved in motor processes was similarly compromised in ALS. Because these results are independent of specific tasks and thus are not confounded by problems of differential task difficulty, they allow the direct assessment of pathological changes of different brain networks in ALS.