Cited by 32Hallucinations in medical conditionsParkinson's Disease Mechanisms and TreatmentsAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

Longitudinal thalamic white and grey matter changes associated with visual hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease

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Zarkali, Angeliki, McColgan, Peter, Leyland, Louise Ann, Lees, Andrew John, Weil, Rimona Sharon·2022·Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective: Visual hallucinations are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and associated with worse outcomes. Large-scale network imbalance is seen in PD-associated hallucinations, but mechanisms remain unclear. As the thalamus is critical in controlling cortical networks, structural thalamic changes could underlie network dysfunction in PD hallucinations. Methods: We used whole-brain fixel-based analysis and cortical thickness measures to examine longitudinal white and grey matter changes in 76 patients with PD (15 hallucinators, 61 non-hallucinators) and 26 controls at baseline, and after 18 months. We compared white matter and cortical thickness, adjusting for age, gender, time-between-scans and intracranial volume. To assess thalamic changes, we extracted volumes for 50 thalamic subnuclei (25 each hemisphere) and mean fibre cross-section (FC) for white matter tracts originating in each subnucleus and examined longitudinal change in PD-hallucinators versus non-hallucinators. Results: PD hallucinators showed white matter changes within the corpus callosum at baseline and extensive posterior tract involvement over time. Less extensive cortical thickness changes were only seen after follow-up. White matter connections from the right medial mediodorsal magnocellular thalamic nucleus showed reduced FC in PD hallucinators at baseline followed by volume reductions longitudinally. After follow-up, almost all thalamic subnuclei showed tract losses in PD hallucinators compared with non-hallucinators. Interpretation: PD hallucinators show white matter loss particularly in posterior connections and in thalamic nuclei, over time with relatively preserved cortical thickness. The right medial mediodorsal thalamic nucleus shows both connectivity and volume loss in PD hallucinations. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the drivers of network imbalance in PD hallucinations and potential therapeutic targets.

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  1. [34]Dhollander T, Raffelt D, Connelly A. Unsupervised 3-tissue response function estimation from single-shell or multi-shell diffusion MR data without a co-registered T1 image. ISMRM Workshop Break Barriers Diffus MRI, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016: 5.
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Authors
Zarkali, A., McColgan, P., Leyland, L. A., Lees, A. J., & Weil, R. S.
Affiliations
  • University College London (GB)
  • UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (GB)
  • Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
Corresponding author
Zarkali, Angeliki
Venue
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2021-09-28
Volume
93
Issue
2
Pages
169-179
ISSN
  • 0022-3050 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-330X
OpenAlex
W3202766544
Cited by
32
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 1
FWCI
2.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Alzheimer’s Research UK (2018B-001)
  • Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship (205167/Z/16/Z)
  • National Institute for Health Research
  • Wellcome (205167/Z/16/Z)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Keywords
Parkinson's disease, visual hallucinations, thalamus, white matter loss, gray matter changes, corpus callosum, cortical thickness, thalamic subnuclei, fixel-based analysis, fiber cross-section
MeSH terms
Aged, Corpus Callosum, Female, Hallucinations, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Parkinson Disease, Thalamus, White Matter, Gray Matter

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