Altered Brain Network Centrality in Patients with Adult Strabismus with Amblyopia: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore potential changes in brain function network activity in patients with adult strabismus with amblyopia (SA) using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method. MATERIAL/METHODS: We enrolled 15 patients with SA (6 males, 9 females) and 15 sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). All subjects completed resting functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Independent-sample t tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess DC value differences between groups, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate correlations between DC-changed brain regions and clinical data of patients with SA. RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, DC values that were lower in patients with SA included the left middle frontal gyrus and bilateral angular gyri. Increases were observed in the left fusiform gyrus, right lingual gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, and left paracentral lobule. However, DC values were not correlated with clinical manifestations. ROC curve analysis showed high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: We found abnormal neural activity in specific brain regions in patients with SA. Specifically, we observed significant changes in DC values compared to HCs. These changes may be useful to identify the specific mechanisms involved in brain dysfunction in SA.