Grey matter changes in motor conversion disorder

TY - JOUR

T1 - Grey matter changes in motor conversion disorder

AU - Aybek, Selma

AU - Nicholson, Timothy

AU - Draganski, Bogdan

AU - Daly, Eileen

AU - Murphy, Declan G

AU - David, Anthony S

AU - Kanaan, Richard A

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - Objective: To detect anatomical differences in areas related to motor processing between patients with motor conversion disorder (CD) and controls.Methods: T1-weighted 3T brain MRI data of 15 patients suffering from motor CD (nine with hemiparesis and six with paraparesis) and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were compared using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and voxel-based cortical thickness (VBCT) analysis.Results: We report significant cortical thickness (VBCT) increases in the bilateral premotor cortex of hemiparetic patients relative to controls and a trend towards increased grey matter volume (VBM) in the same region. Regression analyses showed a non-significant positive correlation between cortical thickness changes and symptom severity as well as illness duration in CD patients.Conclusions: Cortical thickness increases in premotor cortical areas of patients with hemiparetic CD provide evidence for altered brain structure in a condition with presumed normal brain anatomy. These may either represent premorbid vulnerability or a plasticity phenomenon related to the disease with the trends towards correlations with clinical variables supporting the latter.

AB - Objective: To detect anatomical differences in areas related to motor processing between patients with motor conversion disorder (CD) and controls.Methods: T1-weighted 3T brain MRI data of 15 patients suffering from motor CD (nine with hemiparesis and six with paraparesis) and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were compared using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and voxel-based cortical thickness (VBCT) analysis.Results: We report significant cortical thickness (VBCT) increases in the bilateral premotor cortex of hemiparetic patients relative to controls and a trend towards increased grey matter volume (VBM) in the same region. Regression analyses showed a non-significant positive correlation between cortical thickness changes and symptom severity as well as illness duration in CD patients.Conclusions: Cortical thickness increases in premotor cortical areas of patients with hemiparetic CD provide evidence for altered brain structure in a condition with presumed normal brain anatomy. These may either represent premorbid vulnerability or a plasticity phenomenon related to the disease with the trends towards correlations with clinical variables supporting the latter.

U2 - 10.1136/jnnp-2012-304158

DO - 10.1136/jnnp-2012-304158

M3 - Article

C2 - 23236016

SN - 0022-3050

JO - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

ER -