Event.

Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting 2019

Abstract.

Type I Chiari malformations are structural dysmorphisms of the hindbrain and posterior cranial fossa that are associated with a multitude of symptoms including chronic occipital headache, muscle weakness, and vestibular disturbances. In the present study, 18 Chiari patients and 18 age- and gender- matched controls completed a neuropsychological battery (RBANS), self-report measures for pain and mental health, and underwent resting-state functional neuroimaging (rs-FMRI). Seed-based analysis revealed group differences in functional connectivity in several regions such that healthy controls displayed greater activation between cerebellar lobule IX and the anterior cingulate region as well as between lobule X and the left parahippocampal region. Chiari patients showed greater connectivity between the right PFC and superior frontal gyrus; meanwhile controls had greater connectivity between the right PFC and the frontal pole. Attention and pain associated with subsections of the default mode network (DMN) were found to explain some of these relationships.

Contributors.

Michelle L. Hughes, James R. Houston, Sarel J. Vorster, Mark G. Luciano, Francis Loth, Philip A. Allen