The spatial pattern of basal ganglia network: A resting state fMRI study

Basal ganglia, consisting of the putamen, caudate nucleus, pallidum, substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus, are associated with a variety of functions, including motor, cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes, and play an important role in numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders. Here, we utilized two kinds of resting state functional connectivity techniques: independent component analysis (ICA) and regions of interest (ROI) based correlation analysis, to find the spatial pattern of basal ganglia network through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) examination during rest. fMRI data were acquired in twenty-one healthy subjects. The results identified the existence of resting state network in basal ganglia and thalamus. Meantime, our study highlighted that caudate nucleus was also a part of this network. Compared with ROI-based analysis, the approach of ICA was more suited to detect this network.