Abstract：
Substantial evidence highlights the role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of tremor in essential tremor (ET), although its potential involvement in altered movement execution in this condition remains unclear. This study aims to explore potential correlations between the cerebellum and basal ganglia functional connectivity and voluntary movement execution abnormalities in ET, objectively assessed with kinematic techniques. A total of 20 patients diagnosed with ET and 18 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Tremor and repetitive finger tapping were recorded using an optoelectronic kinematic system. All participants underwent comprehensive 3T-MRI examinations, including 3D-T1 and blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) sequences during resting state. Morphometric analysis was conducted on the 3D-T1 images, while a seed-based analysis was performed to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of dorsal and ventral portions of the dentate nucleus and the external and internal segments of the globus pallidus. Finally, potential correlations between rsFC alterations in patients and clinical as well as kinematic scores were assessed. Finger tapping movements were slower in ET than in healthy subjects. Compared to healthy subjects, patients with ET exhibited altered FC of both dentate and globus pallidus with cerebellar, basal ganglia, and cortical areas. Interestingly, both dentate and pallidal FC exhibited positive correlations with movement velocity in patients, differently from that we observed in healthy subjects, indicating the higher the FC, the faster the finger tapping. The findings of this study indicate the possible role of both cerebellum and basal ganglia in the pathophysiology of altered voluntary movement execution in patients with ET.
摘要：
大量证据强调了小脑在特发性震颤（ET）的病理生理学中的作用，尽管在这种情况下其可能参与改变运动执行的可能性尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨ET中小脑和基底节功能连接与自主运动执行异常的潜在相关性。用运动学技术客观评估。本研究共纳入20例ET患者和18例健康受试者。使用光电运动学系统记录震颤和重复的手指敲击。所有参与者都接受了全面的3T-MRI检查，包括静息状态下的3D-T1和血氧水平依赖性（BOLD）序列。对3D-T1图像进行形态测量分析，同时进行了基于种子的分析，以研究齿状核的背侧和腹侧部分以及苍白球的外部和内部节段的静息状态功能连接（rsFC）。最后,评估了患者rsFC改变与临床和运动学评分之间的潜在相关性.ET的手指轻敲动作比健康受试者慢。与健康受试者相比，ET患者表现出齿状和苍白球伴小脑的FC改变，基底神经节,和皮质区域。有趣的是,齿状和苍白球FC均与患者的运动速度呈正相关，与我们在健康受试者中观察到的不同，表示FC越高，手指敲击的速度越快。这项研究的结果表明，小脑和基底节在ET患者自愿运动执行改变的病理生理学中的可能作用。
