Resting state functional connectivity in the human spinal cord.
Resting state functional connectivity in the human spinal cord.
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DOI：
10.7554/elife.02812
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发表时间：
2014-08-05
期刊：
影响因子：
7.7
通讯作者：
Gore JC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barry RL;Smith SA;Dula AN;Gore JC
使用血氧水平依赖（BOLD）对比度的功能磁共振成像是公认的用于映射人脑功能的最强大的方法之一。许多研究已经测量了来自大脑的低频BOLD信号波动如何在静息状态下与体素之间相关，并利用这些信号来推断特定神经回路内的功能连接。然而，迄今为止，还没有以前证实的报告，在脊髓的静息状态的相关性。在一组健康志愿者中，我们观察到左右腹侧（运动）角之间以及左右背侧（感觉）角之间存在强大的功能连接。我们的研究结果表明，低频BOLD波动是固有的脊髓以及大脑，并通过类比皮质电路，我们假设这些相关性可以提供洞察到执行和维护的感觉和运动功能，本地和大脑内。DOI：http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02812.001脑成像方法，如功能性磁共振成像（fMRI），可以为我们提供一个人在执行特定任务时大脑在做什么的图片。例如，当一个人在阅读时，功能性磁共振成像扫描记录很可能显示出大脑左半球与语言理解有关的区域的活动。功能磁共振成像也可以用来测量当一个人醒着但没有从事特定任务时的神经元活动模式。这种方法被称为静息状态功能磁共振成像，可以用来检查静息状态下大脑的哪些区域同时活跃。研究人员对这些大脑活动模式感兴趣，因为它们反映了共同工作产生不同功能和行为的神经回路。超过4000篇论文使用静息态fMRI来研究人类大脑。然而，迄今为止，还没有结论性的调查，在脊髓的静息状态活动。这在很大程度上是因为脊髓比大脑小得多，大多数功能磁共振成像扫描仪的灵敏度不够，无法详细研究它。因此，很少有人知道内在的神经回路在休息脊髓。现在，巴里等人利用功能磁共振成像技术的进步，证明了静息状态下的脊髓功能连接确实存在。相关性被发现在休息水平的活动之间的空间不同地区的脊髓，特别是腹角之间和背角之间。腹角将运动信号传递给身体，而背角接收来自身体的感觉信号。这些发现也具有临床应用。一些不完全脊髓损伤的患者可以恢复接近正常的功能，但这种恢复的机制尚不清楚，因为临床医生还不能以非侵入性的方式探测脊髓中的神经元连接。巴里等人的工作应该有助于理解支持脊髓损伤恢复的神经元变化。DOI：http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02812.002网站
Functional magnetic resonance imaging using blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast is well established as one of the most powerful methods for mapping human brain function. Numerous studies have measured how low-frequency BOLD signal fluctuations from the brain are correlated between voxels in a resting state, and have exploited these signals to infer functional connectivity within specific neural circuits. However, to date there have been no previous substantiated reports of resting state correlations in the spinal cord. In a cohort of healthy volunteers, we observed robust functional connectivity between left and right ventral (motor) horns, and between left and right dorsal (sensory) horns. Our results demonstrate that low-frequency BOLD fluctuations are inherent in the spinal cord as well as the brain, and by analogy to cortical circuits, we hypothesize that these correlations may offer insight into the execution and maintenance of sensory and motor functions both locally and within the cerebrum. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02812.001 Brain imaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide us with a picture of what the brain is doing when a person is carrying out a specific task. For example, an fMRI scan recorded whilst someone is reading is likely to show activity in regions in the left hemisphere of the brain that are known to be involved in language comprehension. fMRI can also be used to measure patterns of neuronal activity when someone is awake but not engaged in a specific task. This approach, known as resting state fMRI, can be used to examine which regions of the resting brain are active at the same time. Researchers are interested in these patterns of brain activity because they reflect neural circuits that work together to produce different functions and behaviors. Over 4000 papers have used resting state fMRI to study the human brain. However, to date there has been no conclusive investigation of resting state activity in the spinal cord. This is largely because the spinal cord is much smaller than the brain, and most fMRI scanners are not sensitive enough to study it in detail. Consequently, little is known about intrinsic neural circuits in the resting spinal cord. Now Barry et al. have used advances in fMRI technology to show that resting state functional connectivity does indeed exist in the spinal cord. Correlations were found in the resting levels of activity between spatially distinct areas of the cord, specifically between the ventral horns and between the dorsal horns. The ventral horns relay motor signals to the body, whilst the dorsal horns receive sensory signals from the body. These findings also have clinical applications. Some patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries can recover near normal function, but the mechanisms responsible for this recovery are unclear because clinicians have not been able to probe neuronal connections in the spinal cord in a non-invasive manner. The work of Barry et al. should help with efforts to understand the neuronal changes that support recovery from spinal cord injury. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02812.002