[Functional connectivity characteristics of electroencephalography theta rhythm and their clinical significance in patients with Meniere's disease].

Objective

To investigate the characteristics of theta rhythm functional connectivity and their clinical implications in patients with Meniere's disease.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients diagnosed with Meniere's disease along with matched healthy controlsat the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital between August 2020 and January 2024 were enrolled. Phase-locking value (PLV) was used to calculate theta-band functional connectivity between brain regions in source space. Intergroup differences of the functional connectivity were compared, and its correlations with clinical characteristics were analyzed.

Results

The study included 32 Meniere's disease patients (9 males and 23 female) with a mean age of (54.8±11.9) years, along with 29 healthy controls (7 males and 22 females) with a mean age of (56.7±14.5) years. Compared with the healthy controls, Meniere's disease patients exhibited enhanced theta functional connectivity within a network centered on the paracentral lobule and cingulate gyrus (all P<0.05). This enhanced connectivity between the medial/paracingulate gyri and the paracentral lobule positively correlated with the severity of subjective symptoms (r=0.355, P=0.046) and scores on the anxiety-autonomic symptom subscale (r=0.402, P=0.023). However, no statistically significant correlation was found with hearing levels or dynamic posturography scores (all P>0.05).

Conclusions

Patients with Meniere's disease demonstrate enhanced theta rhythm functional connectivity involving the paracentral lobule and cingulate gyrus. This neural signature is dissociated from hearing loss and overall balance performance but is linked to subjective anxiety and autonomic symptoms.