Altered spontaneous activity and functional connectivity of the cingulate gyrus is correlated with anxiety in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to apply the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the relationship between benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and anxiety.

METHODS

30 healthy subjects and 30 patients with diagnosis of unilateral idiopathic BPPV were recruited. All patients underwent generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) evaluations and fMRI. The ALFF method was used to assess the spontaneous brain activity. We further analyze the functional connectivity (FC) to explore changes in remote connectivity of the cingulate gyrus in patients with BPPV.

RESULTS

In contrast to healthy controls, BPPV patients exhibited increased scores in GAD-7 (p < 0.001). The ALFF increased in the bilateral putamen, bilateral pallidum and right middle cingulate gyrus (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that the mean ALFF values in the right middle cingulate gyrus displayed significant positive correlations with the GAD-7 scores (r = 0.38, p = 0.03). Furthermore, the patients with BPPV showed significantly increased FC between the right middle cingulate gyrus and the left cerebellum Crus I (p < 0.05). GAD-7 scores was positively correlated with the FC between the right middle cingulate gyrus and the left cerebellum Crus I (r = 0.39, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

BPPV patients showed altered spontaneous activity in the right middle cingulate gyrus, which was associated with anxiety. And FC between the right middle cingulate gyrus and the left cerebellum Crus I was increased.