JNNP: The gray matter changes of the thalamus can reflect the visual hallucinations of Parkinson's patients

Visual hallucination (VH) is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), can cause significant distress to affected individuals and their families, and is associated with worse outcomes

PD-related hallucinations are accompanied by macroscopic brain network imbalances, abnormal activation of the default mode network and reduced activity of other networks (such as the dorsal attention network)

However, the thalamus is a heterogeneous structure, composed of different nuclei, with different cortical projections and functions

And compared the thickness of white matter and cortex, adjusted for age, gender, time between two scans, and intracranial volume

They found that PD hallucinations showed white matter changes in the corpus callosum at baseline, and the posterior bundle was extensively affected over time

Less extensive changes in cortical thickness only appeared after follow-up

After follow-up, almost all of the thalamic subnuclei showed loss of nerve bundles in PD hallucinated persons compared with non-hallucinated persons

The important significance of this study lies in the discovery: PD hallucinations show white matter loss, especially in the posterior connection and the thalamic nucleus, and the thickness of the cortex is relatively preserved over time