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. 2023 Feb 15;44(3):1070-1078.
doi: 10.1002/hbm.26139. Epub 2022 Nov 5.

Common and unique dysconnectivity profiles of dorsal and median raphe in Parkinson's disease

Junling Wang  1 , Junyan Sun  1 , Linlin Gao  2 , Dongling Zhang  1 , Lili Chen  1 , Tao Wu  1
Affiliations

Common and unique dysconnectivity profiles of dorsal and median raphe in Parkinson's disease

Junling Wang et al. Hum Brain Mapp. .

Abstract

The serotonergic (5-HT) system, which undergoes degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD), is involved in the pathogenesis of motor and nonmotor symptoms. The dorsal raphe (DR) and median raphe (MR) nuclei are the main source of 5-HT neurons, however, brain connectivity changes in these two nuclei have not been delineated in PD. Here we used resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) to characterize functional connectivity profiles of DR and MR and further examine the associations between dysconnectivity of raphe nuclei and clinical phenotypes of PD. We found that DR and MR commonly hypo-connected with the sensorimotor, temporal, and occipital cortex, limbic system, left thalamus, putamen, and cerebellum in PD. DR had unique decreased connectivity with the bilateral prefrontal and cingulate cortices, while MR had lower connectivity with the pons. Moreover, reduced connectivity of DR correlated with depression, drowsiness, and anxiety, whereas dysconnectivity of MR correlated with depression, cognitive deficits, sleep disturbances, and pain. Our findings highlight the complex roles of raphe nuclei in motor and nonmotor symptoms, providing novel insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of PD.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease; functional MRI; functional connectivity; raphe nuclei; resting state.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Within‐group functional connectivity (FC) of raphe nuclei. Results are thresholded at FWE‐corrected voxel‐level p < .05 (cluster size ≥10 voxels).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Differences in functional connectivity of the raphe nuclei between the PD and HC groups. (a) Significant group differences in FC for dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and median raphe nucleus (MRN). Group difference FC maps are thresholded at FDR‐corrected voxel‐level p < .01 (MNI152 space, cluster size ≥10 voxels). (b) Spatial similarities and differences of FC maps between DR and MR. The brain areas with blue are unique to DR, those with green are specific to MR, and those with purple are common to both.
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