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Abstract #85201 Published in IGR 21-1

Altered Large-Scale Brain Functional Connectivity in Ocular Hypertension

See also comment(s) by Ji Won Bang & Kevin Chan •

We hypothesized that assessment of brain connectivity may shed light on the underpinnings of ocular hypertension (OHT), characterized by raised intraocular pressure (IOP) and no typical glaucomatous findings. OHT carries a risk for future glaucoma development, thus representing a model of presymptomatic condition. In previous studies on glaucoma, we showed altered brain connectivity since the early stage and in case of normal IOP. In this pilot study, we used a multimodal MRI approach by modeling voxelwise measures of gray matter volume, anatomical connectivity along white matter(WM) tracts, and large-scale functional connectivity in OHT subjects ( = 18, age: 58.3 ± 9.8 years) and demographically matched normal controls ( = 29). While OHT brain had no structural alterations, it showed significantly decreased functional connectivity in key cognitive networks [default mode network, frontoparietal working memory network (WMN), ventral attention network (VAN), and salience network (SN)] and altered long-range functional connectivity, which was decreased between default mode and SNs and increased between primary and secondary visual networks (VN). Overall, such findings seem to delineate a complex neuroplasticity in the OHT brain, where decreased functional connectivity in non-visual networks may reflect a type of temporarily downregulated functional reserve while increased functional connectivity between VN may be viewed as a very early attempt of adaptive functional reorganization of the visual system.

Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Classification:

2.16 Chiasma and retrochiasmal central nervous system (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)

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