Abstract
BACKGROUND
In this study, we focused on exploring long-term trends and the clinical relevance of brain remodeling in acute basal ganglia cerebral infarction (BGCI) using percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).
METHODS
rs-fMRI data were acquired from 28 acute BGCI patients and 34 healthy controls (HCs), with patient follow-ups conducted during the acute (days 1-7), early convalescent (day 30), and mid-convalescent (day 90) stages. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate temporal changes in PerAF, while two-sample t -tests compared dALFF values between patient groups (days 1-7 and 90) and HCs. Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was applied to examine relationships between significant neuroimaging metrics and clinical scores, including Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Barthel Index (BI).
RESULTS
PerAF abnormalities were mainly identified in the left precuneus, left cerebellum_4_5, and left precentral gyrus (PreCG). The cerebellar region exhibited a linear increase in PerAF over time. Patients showed altered dALFF in the right cerebellar crus II/I, right PreCG, and left precuneus compared with HCs. Acute-stage PerAF in the left PreCG negatively correlated with FMA and BI. In early and mid-convalescence, PerAF values in the left PreCG were further correlated with motor and lower-limb functional scores.
CONCLUSIONS
Combined PerAF and dALFF analyses reveal distinctive patterns of dynamic brain functional remodeling following acute BGCI. These changes are closely associated with motor and daily living recovery, indicating that functional reorganization may represent a key neural mechanism supporting rehabilitation.