Aberrant regional homogeneity in Parkinson’s disease: A voxel-wise meta-analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

Studies of abnormal regional homogeneity (ReHo) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Seed-based d Mapping software package to identify the most consistent and replicable findings. A systematic literature search was performed to identify eligible whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that had measured differences in ReHo between patients with PD and healthy controls between January 2000 and June 4, 2016. A total of ten studies reporting 11 comparisons (212 patients; 182 controls) were included. Increased ReHo was consistently identified in the bilateral inferior parietal lobules, bilateral medial prefrontal cortices, and left cerebellum of patients with PD when compared to healthy controls, while decreased ReHo was observed in the right putamen, right precentral gyrus, and left lingual gyrus. The results of the current meta-analysis demonstrate a consistent and coexistent pattern of impairment and compensation of intrinsic brain activity that predominantly involves the default mode and motor networks, which may advance our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD.     

青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者静息态功能磁共振成像研究

目的:运用局部一致性(ReHo)方法研究首发青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者的局部自发性脑活动. 方法:对19例首发青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者及14名年龄、性别与其相匹配的正常对照进行静息态脑功能磁共振成像扫描,通过计算每个给定体素与其最邻近的26个体素之间的肯德尔和谐系数(KCC)来获得全脑的局部一致性(ReHo)图,利用双样本t检验分析两组受试者静息态下局部一致性的差异. 结果:与正常对照相比,青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者局部一致性降低的脑区包括双侧额中回、枕中回,左侧额上回、颞下回、前扣带回及右侧顶下回、枕下回(P ＜0.005,未校正);局部一致性增高的脑区包括:右侧楔前叶、角回及左侧枕上回(P ＜0.005,未校正). 结论:青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者静息态脑功能局部一致性存在异常.     

抑郁症患者静息状态的功能磁共振成像研究

目的 了解在静息状态下抑郁症患者脑区的局部一致性特点.方法 采用功能磁共振成像(fMRI)技术,检测静息状态下27例抑郁症患者(患者组)和性别、年龄、受教育程度均与患者相匹配的27名正常人(对照组)的脑功能活动,并对两组进行比较.利用局部一致性方法 分析fMRI数据,用SPM2软件进行配对t检验(P＜0.005).结果 与对照组相比,患者组双侧额中回、右额下回、右颞上回、左前扣带回、右后扣带回、右岛叶、双侧豆状核、双侧屏状核、左尾状核局部一致性显著增高(P＜0.005,未校正,体素值＞10);未显示脑区有明显的局部一致性减低.结论 抑郁症患者神经环路脑区局部在静息状态下具有很高的一致性,其局部一致性的增高可能参与了抑郁症的代偿机制.     

Regional Homogeneity Brain Alterations in Schizophrenia: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

ObjectiveResting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) provides a lot of evidence for local abnormal brain activity in schizophrenia, but the results are not consistent. Our aim is to find out the consistent abnormal brain regions of the patients with schizophrenia by using regional homogeneity (ReHo), and indirectly understand the degree of brain damage of the patients with drug-naive first episode schizophrenia (Dn-FES) and chronic schizophrenia. MethodsWe performed the experiment by activation likelihood estimation (ALE) software to analysis the differences between people with schizophrenia group (all schizophrenia group and chronic schizophrenia group) and healthy controls. ResultsThirteen functional imaging studies were included in quantitative meta-analysis. All schizophrenia group showed decreased ReHo in bilateral precentral gyrus (PreCG) and left middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and increased ReHo in bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and right insula. Chronic schizophrenia group showed decreased ReHo in bilateral MOG, right fusiform gyrus, left PreCG, left cerebellum, right precuneus, left medial frontal gyrus and left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). No significant increased brain areas were found in patients with chronic schizophrenia. ConclusionOur findings suggest that patients with chronic schizophrenia have more extensive brain damage than FES, which may contribute to our understanding of the progressive pathophysiology of schizophrenia.     

抑郁症首次发病患者静息态脑功能局部一致性的研究

目的 利用功能磁共振(fMRI)和局部一致性(regional homogeneity,ReHo)探讨抑郁症首次发病(以下简称首发)患者在静息态脑功能是否存在异常及异常部位.方法 对34例符合美国精神疾病诊断与统计手册第4版诊断标准的首发抑郁症患者(抑郁症组)和34名性别、年龄、文化程度匹配的健康志愿者(对照组)进行静息态fMRI扫描.结果 抑郁症组静息态脑血氧水平依赖信号的ReHo高于对照组的脑区有左侧额叶眶回、顶下小叶、颞上回,右侧额内侧回、顶下小叶、小脑后叶;低于对照组的脑区有左颞下回、右颞上同和胼胝体、双侧后扣带回(P＜0.005,K≥10).结论首发抑郁症患者在静息态存在多个腩区功能活动的异常,并可能和抑郁症的病理机制有关.     

Altered intra- and interregional synchronization in the absence of the corpus callosum: a resting-state fMRI study

Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) can result in subtle to severe cognitive deficits. Individuals with impaired cognition often show abnormalities on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). This study used rs-fMRI to investigate changes in regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC) among individuals with AgCC. AgCC individuals (n = 10) and age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy control subjects (n = 19) were included in this study. The ReHo values were calculated to represent spontaneous brain activity. The regions which showed altered ReHo were selected as seeds to compare FC with the whole brain between the AgCC group and the healthy control group. Compared with healthy control subjects, the AgCC individuals had increased ReHo in the left anterior cingulate gyrus, left rolandic operculum, and right precuneus and decreased ReHo in the right calcarine, right cingual gyrus and right cuneus gyrus. The right calcarine and the right lingual gyrus in the AgCC exhibited decreased FC with bilateral cuneus, superior occipital gyrus, Rolandic operculum, superior temporal gyrus, posterior central gyrus, and midcingulate gyrus.The right cuneus gyrus in the AgCC individuals exhibited decreased FC with the bilateral calcarine gyrus, left cuneus, and left superior occipital gyrus. Our study revealed several subareas within the visual cortex exhibited remarkable abnormalities of spontaneous brain activity and decreased FC with the higher-order cognitive cortex.The abnormalities of ReHo and FC in AgCC individuals may provide new insights into the neurological pathophysiology.     

不同亚型轻度认知障碍患者静息态脑功能局部一致性研究

目的探讨遗忘型和非遗忘型轻度认知障碍(mild cognition impairment,MCI)患者局部自发脑活动特点。方法纳入遗忘型MCI(amnesicMCI,aMCI)患者25例,非遗忘型MCI(non-amnesticMCI,naMCI)患者21例和正常对照(normal control,NC)15名进行静息态功能磁共振扫描,通过计算每个给定体素与其最邻近26个体素时间序列的相似性获得全脑局部一致性(regional homogeneity,ReHo)图,比较三组被试全脑ReHo差异。结果 aMCI组右侧额叶ReHo值低于NC组,左侧颞中回和左侧小脑ReHo值高于NC组(P0.05,Alphasim校正);naMCI组前扣带回和右侧额中回ReHo值低于NC组,右侧海马旁回、右侧颞中回和右侧楔前叶ReHo值高于NC组(P0.05,Alphasim校正);aMCI左侧前额叶和左侧颞中回ReHo值高于naMCI组,右侧小脑ReHo值低于naMCI组(P0.05,Alphasim校正)。结论 aMCI和naMCI患者左侧前额叶、左侧颞中回及右侧小脑自发脑功能活动存在差异,这为区别aMCI和naMCI两者脑功能活动特点提供了初步影像学依据。     

注意缺陷多动障碍儿童静息态的脑功能磁共振成像研究

目的 探讨注意缺陷多动障碍(ADHD)儿童静息态脑功能磁共振成像的特点.方法 对15名正常学龄期儿童(对照组)和14例ADHD儿童(ADHD组)进行静息态功能磁共振成像(fMRI)扫描,采用局部一致性(ReHo)作为测最指标.结果 ADHD组在双侧顶下小叶(Z=3.73,Z=3.34)、双侧楔叶(Z=3.42,Z=3.86)、左侧额中回(Z=3.24)、左侧颢中同(Z=3.24)、左侧楔前叶(Z=3.45)及右侧岛叶(Z=3.09)、右侧小脑(Z=3.42)等区域的ReHo值低于对照组,而双侧额下回(Z=3.19,Z=2.93)的ReHo值高于对照组.结论与对照组比较,静息态下ADHD患者与执行控制功能、注意认知功能及默认网络功能等相关区域存在异常.     

Reduced regional homogeneity and neurocognitive impairment in patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea

BackgroundNeurocognitive dysfunction and abnormal regional homogeneity (ReHo) have been reported in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, little is known about whether brain functional alteration could be used to differentiate from healthy controls (HCs) and its correlation with neurocognitive impairment.MethodsThirty-three treatment-naive patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and 22 HCs with matched age, sex and education underwent the evaluation of Epworth sleepiness scale, neurocognitive function, full night polysomnography and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. ReHo, support vector machine, and correlation with neurocognitive function were administrated to analyze the data.ResultsCompared with HCs, patients with OSA showed decreased ReHo in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (FG), bilateral superior medial prefrontal cortex (PFC)/right supplementary motor area (SMA), left middle FG, and right precentral/postcentral gyrus. Negative correlations were observed between the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG and apnea hypopnea index, oxygen desaturation index in the OSA group. The scores of Stroop word test, Stroop color-word test, symbol coding test were all negatively correlated with the ReHo values in the right precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus in patients. Scores of the animal naming fluency test were positively correlated with the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG in patients. Moreover, support vector machine analysis showed the ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG or bilateral superior medial PFC/right SMA both could discriminate patients from HCs with good accuracies, sensitivities, and specificities (85.45%, 87.88%, 81.82% and 81.82%, 84.85%, 77.27%, respectively).ConclusionDysfunction in the frontal lobe is a potentially pivotal neuro-pathophysiological mechanism of neurocognitive impairment in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA. And significantly lower ReHo values in the left superior FG/middle FG and/or superior medial PFC/SMA are promising imaging biomarkers to discriminate moderate-to-severe patients with OSA from HCs.     

Dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep are associated with regional homogeneity of left inferior occipital gyrus in primary insomnia patients: A preliminary resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BackgroundThe neural mechanisms of sleep beliefs and attitudes in primary insomnia (PI) patients at resting state remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the features of regional homogeneity (ReHo) in PI using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI).MethodsThirty-two PI patients and 34 normal controls (NC) underwent rsfMRI using a 3 T scanner at Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province. Participants were assessed with the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep scale (DBAS-16) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analyses were performed to determine the regions in which ReHo differed between the two groups. Correlation analyses were performed between the ReHo index of each of these regions and DBAS-16 in PI patients.ResultsPI patients showed increased ReHo values in the right superior frontal gyrus, and decreased ReHo values in the left cerebellar gyrus, left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) and left amygdala compared with those of NC. ReHo values in the left IOG were negatively correlated with total DBAS-16 scores, and scores for “consequences of insomnia” and“worry/helplessness about sleep”in PI patients.ConclusionsThese results suggest that ReHo alterations in the left IOG may play an important role in the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep in PI.     

Alterations in regional homogeneity of resting-state brain activity in internet gaming addicts

ABSTRACT: BackgroundsInternet gaming addiction (IGA), as a subtype of internet addiction disorder, is rapidly becoming a prevalent mental health concern around the world. The neurobiological underpinnings of IGA should be studied to unravel the potential heterogeneity of IGA. This study investigated the brain functions in IGA patients with resting-state fMRI. METHODS: Fifteen IGA subjects and fourteen healthy controls participated in this study. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) measures were used to detect the abnormal functional integrations. RESULTS: Comparing to the healthy controls, IGA subjects show enhanced ReHo in brainstem, inferior parietal lobule, left posterior cerebellum, and left middle frontal gyrus. All of these regions are thought related with sensory-motor coordination. In addition, IGA subjects show decreased ReHo in temporal, occipital and parietal brain regions. These regions are thought responsible for visual and auditory functions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that long-time online game playing enhanced the brain synchronization in sensory-motor coordination related brain regions and decreased the excitability in visual and auditory related brain regions.     

偏头痛与静息态脑功能连接研究

目的本文研究采用静息态功能磁共振成像(rfMRI)技术描述偏头痛患者静息态脑功能连接改变,为探索偏头痛的发病机制提供影像学资料。方法收集16例偏头痛患者与16例健康对照,采集rfMRI成像,计算低频振幅,找出感兴趣区做功能连接进行统计分析。结果偏头痛患者左侧岛叶、左侧额下回低频振幅显著低于对照组,右侧视觉皮质低频振幅显著高于对照组;以左侧额下回、右侧枕中回为感兴趣区,发现左侧额下回与脑干之间的功能连接增强,与双侧枕叶之间的功能连接减弱;右侧枕中回与双侧楔前叶延伸至扣带回中部区域之间的功能连接增强,与双侧中央前回、双侧缘上回、双侧颞上回及双侧额下回之间的功能连接减弱。结论偏头痛患者无头痛发作时神经元活动强度改变,大脑功能连接异常,这导致大脑整合信息过程改变,并与偏头痛发病相关。     

Longitudinal Alterations of Local Spontaneous Brain Activity in Parkinson’s Disease

We used resting-state fMRI to evaluate longitudinal alterations in local spontaneous brain activity in Parkinson’s disease (PD) over a 2-year period. Data were acquired from 23 PD patients at baseline and follow-up, and 27 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) were used to identify differences in local spontaneous brain activity and grey matter volume. With disease progression, we observed a progressive decrease in ReHo in the sensorimotor cortex, default-mode network, and left cerebellum, but increased ReHo in the supplementary motor area, bilateral temporal gyrus, and hippocampus. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the rates of ReHo change in the left cerebellum and the rates of change in the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III scores. VBM revealed no significant differences in the grey matter volume among the three sets of acquisitions. We conclude that ReHo may be a suitable non-invasive marker of progression in PD.     

Local synchronization and amplitude of the fluctuation of spontaneous brain activity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a resting-state fMRI study

Regional homogeneity（ReHo）and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation（ALFF）are two approaches to depicting different regional characteristics of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI）data.Whether they can complementarily reveal brain regional functional abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）remains unknown.In this study,we applied ReHo and ALFF to 23 medication-na ve boys diagnosed with ADHD and 25 age-matched healthy male controls using whole-brain voxel-wise analysis.Correlation analyses were conducted in the ADHD group to investigate the relationship between the regional spontaneous brain activity measured by the two approaches and the clinical symptoms of ADHD.We found that the ReHo method showed widely-distributed differences between the two groups in the fronto-cingulo-occipitocerebellar circuitry,while the ALFF method showed a difference only in the right occipital area.When a larger smoothing kernel and a more lenient threshold were used for ALFF,more overlapped regions were found between ALFF and ReHo,and ALFF even found some new regions with group differences.The ADHD symptom scores were correlated with the ReHo values in the right cerebellum,dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left lingual gyrus in the ADHD group,while no correlation was detected between ALFF and ADHD symptoms.In conclusion,ReHo may be more sensitive to regional abnormalities,at least in boys with ADHD,than ALFF.And ALFF may be complementary to ReHo in measuring local spontaneous activity.Combination of the two may yield a more comprehensive pathophy-siological framework for ADHD.     

Localized connectivity in depression: A meta-analysis of resting state functional imaging studies

Resting-state fMRI studies investigating the pathophysiology of depression have identified prominent abnormalities in large-scale brain networks. However, it is unclear if localized dysfunction of specialized brain regions contribute to network-level abnormalities. We employed a meta-analytical procedure and reviewed studies conducted in China investigating changes in regional homogeneity (ReHo), a measure of localized intraregional connectivity, from resting-state fMRI in depression. Exploiting the statistical power gained from pooled analysis, we also investigated the effects of age, gender, illness duration and treatment on ReHo. The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) showed the most robust and reliable increase in ReHo in depression, with greater abnormality in medication-free patients with multiple episodes. Brain networks that relate to this region have been identified previously to show aberrant connectivity in depression, and we propose that the localized neuronal inefficiency of MPFC exists alongside wider network level disruptions involving this region.     

Localized activity alternations in periventricular nodular heterotopia-related epilepsy

Objective

Periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) is a common type of heterotopia usually characterized by epilepsy. Previous studies have identified alterations in structural and functional connectivity related to this disorder, but its local functional neural basis has received less attention. The purpose of this study was to combine univariate analysis and a Gaussian process classifier (GPC) to assess local activity and further explore neuropathological mechanisms in PNH-related epilepsy.

Methods

We used a 3.0-T scanner to acquire resting-state data and measure local regional homogeneity (ReHo) alterations in 38 patients with PNH-related epilepsy and 38 healthy controls (HCs). We first assessed ReHo alterations by comparing the PNH group to the HC group using traditional univariate analysis. Next, we applied a GPC to explore whether ReHo could be used to differentiate PNH patients from healthy patients at an individual level.

Results

Compared to HCs, PNH-related epilepsy patients exhibited lower ReHo in the left insula extending to the putamen as well as in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) extending to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) [p < 0.05, family-wise error corrected]. Both of these regions were also correlated with epilepsy duration. Furthermore, the ReHo GPC classification yielded a 76.32% accuracy (sensitivity = 71.05% and specificity = 81.58%) with p < 0.001 after permutation testing.

Interpretation

Using the resting-state approach, we identified localized activity alterations in the left insula extending to the putamen and the sgACC extending to the OFC, providing pathophysiological evidence of PNH. These local connectivity patterns may provide a means to differentiate PNH patients from HCs.     

首次发病且未用药的成年早发和晚发抑郁症患者脑功能连接差异研究

目的比较成年早发抑郁症(EOD)和成年晚发抑郁症(LOD)患者默认网络(DMN)内部功能连接的差异,探究不同发病年龄的抑郁症患者是否有不同的发病机制。方法选取在昆明医科大学第一附属医院精神科门诊或住院的EOD患者(n=58)和LOD患者(n=62)为研究对象,同期招募年轻健康对照组(n=60)和年老健康对照组(n=52)。对受试者进行静息态功能磁共振扫描,选择左侧楔前叶为种子点,计算该种子点与全脑的功能连接,并比较各组间该种子点的功能连接差异。结果四组之间功能连接具有差异的脑区涉及双侧额叶、颞叶、基底节、枕叶、顶叶及小脑等脑区。EOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧小脑Crus1区、左侧小脑IX区、左侧颞中回、右侧楔前叶、右侧前扣带回、右侧额中回、右侧角回、右侧脑岛、右侧内侧额上回、右侧颞中回的功能连接均高于年轻健康对照组(Z=3. 752 4～5. 867 8,P均0. 05);而左侧楔前叶与左侧额中回、左侧中央旁小叶、右侧缘上回、右侧额上回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央后回、右侧中央前回、右侧枕上回的功能连接均低于年轻健康对照组(Z=-5. 007 6～-3. 797 7,P均0. 05)。LOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧小脑Crus2区、左侧尾状核、左侧颞下回、左侧小脑Crus1区、左侧角回、左侧额中回、右侧额中回、右侧角回、右侧眶额部额中回的功能连接均高于年老健康对照组(Z=4. 122 8～6. 579 4,P均0. 05);与左侧海马旁回、左侧额上回、右侧枕中回、右侧中央前回、右侧内侧额上回、右侧锯状回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央旁小叶、右侧梭状回、右侧后扣带回的功能连接均低于年老健康对照组(Z=-5. 884 0～-3. 617 2,P均0. 05)。EOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧锯状回、左侧小脑IV-VI区、左侧小脑Crus2区的功能连接比LOD组高(Z=4. 087 7、3. 937 4、3. 672 1,P均0. 05);EOD组左侧楔前叶与右侧额中回、右侧眶额部额下回、右侧额上回的功能连接比LOD组低(Z=-4. 274 8、-3. 956 8、-4. 724 3、-3. 663 2,P均0. 05)。结论 DMN内部功能连接增高及额顶网络功能连接降低可能与EOD的发病机制相关,而DMN前部功能连接增高和后部功能连接降低可能与LOD的发病机制相关,不同发病年龄的成年抑郁症患者可能有不同的发病机制。     

Decreased regional homogeneity in lingual gyrus,increased regional homogeneity in cuneus and correlations with panic symptom severity of first-episode,medication-naïve and late-onset panic disorder patients

This study was designed to explore regional homogeneity (ReHo), an indicator of the synchronization of brain function, in first-episode, medication-naïve and late-onset patients with panic disorder (PD). Participants comprised 30 patients and 21 healthy controls who underwent with 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning and ReHo functional MRI analysis. All participants were studied with clinical rating scales to assess the severity of PD symptoms. ReHo values were obtained using the REST toolbox (resting-state functional MRI data analysis toolbox). Differences in demographic data and ReHo values between the two groups were evaluated with the independent two-sample t-test function of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and REST. There were significant differences in clinical ratings between the two groups. No demographic differences were noted. We found decreased ReHo in the left lingual gyrus and increased ReHo in the right cuneus cortex of patients compared with controls. ReHo values of patients were negatively correlated with PD ratings in the right cuneus. ReHo differences found in the left lingual gyrus and the right cuneus might suggest sensory and inhibitory dysfunction in first-episode, medication-naïve, late-onset patients with PD.     

Regional homogeneity abnormalities in patients with tensiontype headache：a resting-state fMRI study

Tension-type headache（TTH） is the most prevalent type of primary headache. Many studies have shown that the pathogenesis of primary headache is associated with fine structural or functional changes. However, these studies were mainly based on migraine. The present study aimed to investigate whether TTH patients show functional disturbances compared with healthy subjects. We used restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging（f MRI） and regional homogeneity（Re Ho） analysis to identify changes in the local synchronization of spontaneous activity in patients with TTH. Ten patients with TTH and 10 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls participated in the study. After demographic and clinical characteristics were acquired, a 3.0-T MRI system was used to obtain restingstate f MRIs. Compared with healthy controls, the TTH group exhibited significantly lower Re Ho values in the bilateral caudate nucleus, the precuneus, the putamen, the left middle frontal gyrus, and the superior frontal gyrus. There was no correlation between mean Re Ho values in TTH patients and duration of TTH, number of attacks, duration of daily attacks, Visual Analogue Scale score, or Headache Impact Test-6 score. These results suggest that TTHpatients exhibit reduced synchronization of neuronal activity in multiple regions involved in the integration and processing of pain signals.     

Regional homogeneity changes in patients with Parkinson's disease

Resting state brain activity in Parkinson's disease (PD) can give clues to the pathophysiology of the disorder, and might be helpful in diagnosis, but it has never been explored using functional MRI (fMRI). In the current study, we used a regional homogeneity (ReHo) method to investigate PD-related modulations of neural activity in the resting state. FMRIs were acquired in 22 patients with PD at both before and after levodopa administration, as well as in 22 age- and sex-matched normal controls. In the PD group compared with the healthy controls, we found ReHo decreased in extensive brain regions, including the putamen, thalamus, and supplementary motor area; and increased in some other areas, including the cerebellum, primary sensorimotor cortex, and premotor area. The ReHo off medication was negatively correlated with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in the putamen and some other regions, and was positively correlated with the UPDRS in the cerebellum. Administration of levodopa relatively normalized ReHo. Our findings demonstrate that neural activity in the resting state is changed in patients with PD. This change is secondary to dopamine deficiency, and related to the severity of the disease. The different neuronal activity at the baseline state should be considered in explaining fMRI findings obtained during tasks.