A RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MRI STUDY: ALTERATIONS OF NEURAL ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH PREMATURE VENTRICULAR CONTRACTION

Shuai Guo¹, Dayang Huang¹, Dechun Yin¹, Lulu Li², Xiufen Qu^{1, *}

¹Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China - ²Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

Background: The brain centers play an important role in the pathophysiology of arrhythmogenesis. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is an elegant method for assessing the brain-heart interactions. 

Methods: This study was performed with healthy participants (CON) and premature ventricular contraction (PVC) patients. The rs-fMRI data were obtained on a Philips 3.0 Achiva scanner. We combined different methods to identify brain function. 

Results: The PVC group showed decreased the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) mainly in the right caudate nucleus and right insula, increased fractional-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) mainly in the right cuneus. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) value of the PVC group were mainly decreased in the left middle temporal gyrus compared with those recorded in the CON group. The PVC group showed significantly higher seed-based functional connectivity (FC) with the right parahippocampal gyrus, right amygdala, right lingual gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, left anterior cingulate, and left middle frontal gyrus. However, it showed lower FC with the right inferior frontal gyrus triangular part and right thalamus. 

Conclusion: The patterns of spontaneous brain activity, synchronization activity, and FC in the PVC and CON groups were different. The areas with altered brain activity in patients with PVC are considered the epicenter of emotional and behavioral expression, indicated that emotion via regulation of the central nervous system may contribute to the development of ventricular arrhythmia.