Abstract
Background
Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) commonly present with affective disorders such as depression and anxiety, especially during the active phase of the disease. However, the possible neurological mechanisms of these symptoms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the alteration of functional connectivity (FC) within each resting-state network (RSN) and between RSNs in ulcerative colitis patients.
Methods
Twelve meaningful RSNs were identified from 22 ulcerative colitis patients and 23 healthy controls using independent component analysis (ICA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Correlation analyses were performed between clinical indices, neuropsychological assessments and neuroimaging data.Results: Compared to healthy controls, UC patients showed increased intranetwork FC, mainly located in the right temporal pole, orbitofrontal cortex, and left superior temporal and Rolandic opercular cortices within the auditory network. In addition, UC patients showed increased connectivity between the dorsal attention and the left frontoparietal network, as well as between the anterior default mode network and the posterior default mode network. No significant correlations were found between altered brain regions and psychological scales in patients with UC.
Conclusions
These findings indicate that patients with UC may experience alterations at the level of the functional network. These alterations may impact not only the intranetwork FC within RSNs, but also the internetwork FC between these RSNs.