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• Clinical Article •
Voxel-wise degree centrality and functional connectivity alterations in Parkinson's disease: Associations with disease severity
LI Lihuan  LIU Hengheng  XU Xiaolu  CHEN Fei  MU Tianchi  ZHU Haixue  DONG Congsong 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.010.


[Abstract] Objective To investigate alterations in voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) and functional connectivity (FC) and their relationship with disease severity in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).Materials and Methods Forty-six PD patients admitted to the Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University and 24 health controls (HC) between January 2024 and April 2025 were enrolled. Twenty-four age-, sex-, and education-matched HC were recruited concurrently. Data of rs-fMRI data were acquired from both groups. Whole-brain voxel-wise DC was calculated and compared between groups. Brain regions showing significant DC differences were used as seeds for whole-brain FC analysis, which was also compared between groups. Identify varying brain DC and FC values in PD patients, investigate their association with disease duration, Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) staging, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Ⅰ/Ⅱ/Ⅲ/Ⅳ scores, and cognitive and psychiatric assessments.Results PD patients had significantly lower Montreal cognitive assessment scores and higher Hamilton anxiety rating scale and Hamilton depression rating scale scores compared to the HC group (t = -5.559, 8.218, 7.249, P < 0.001). Compared to HCs, PD patients exhibited significantly lower DC values in the right lenticular nucleus and pallidum, right superior temporal gyrus, and right precentral gyrus, and higher DC values in the left gyrus rectus, left angular gyrus, and left medial superior frontal gyrus (t = -5.677, -3.833, -4.752, 5.827, 4.218, 5.063, P < 0.001). Significant FC reductions were found in PD patients for the following connections: right lenticular nucleus and pallidum to left insula, right putamen, left inferior parietal but supramarginal and angular gyri; right superior temporal gyrus to left precuneus; right precentral gyrus to right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex; left gyrus rectus to right fusiform gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus; and left medial superior frontal gyrus to bilateral lenticular nucleus and putamen (t = -4.884, -4.341, -3.961, -4.945, -4.809, -4.518, -4.541, -5.004, -4.535, P < 0.001). In PD patients, the DC value in the right precentral gyrus, and the FC values for right lenticular nucleus and pallidum - left insula, right superior temporal gyrus - left precuneus, and left medial superior frontal gyrus - left lenticular nucleus and putamen, were negatively correlated with UPDRS Ⅱ scores (r = -0.332, -0.342, -0.319, -0.406, P < 0.05). The DC value in the left medial superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with H-Y stage and UPDRS Ⅱ/Ⅲ scores (r = 0.371, 0.300, 0.454, P < 0.05). The FC value of right lenticular nucleus and pallidum - right lenticular nucleus and putamen was negatively correlated with disease duration (r = -0.299, P = 0.044).Conclusions In PD patients, there are complex changes in brain DC and FC at rest, with some abnormalities correlating with disease severity. This provides a basis for finding neuroimaging biomarkers to objectively evaluate the condition of PD patients.
[Keywords] Parkinson's disease；resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance imaging；functional connectivity；degree centrality

LI Lihuan1   LIU Hengheng2   XU Xiaolu3   CHEN Fei2, 4   MU Tianchi2   ZHU Haixue1   DONG Congsong2, 4*  

1 Department of Radiology, Taikang Xianlin Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China

2 Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University (Yancheng Third People's Hospital), Yancheng 224005, China

3 Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University (Yancheng Third People's Hospital), Yancheng 224005, China

4 Medical Imaging Institute of Jiangsu Medical College, Yancheng 224005, China

Corresponding author: DONG C S, E-mail: shuibin1988@ntu.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-07-21
Accepted  2025-10-31
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.010
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.010.

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