402 Patterns of Cortical Thickness Alterations in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Associations With Dexterity and Gait Dysfunctions

INTRODUCTION: Degenerative cervical myelopathy can lead to significant brain structural reorganization. The association between the cortical changes and specific motor symptoms in DCM has yet to be fully elucidated. METHODS: A 3.0T MRI scanner was used to acquire high resolution T1-weighted structural scans from right-handed 30 patients with DCM and 22 age-matched HCs. Gray Matter cortical thickness was segmented and parcellated from a T1w image using Freesurfer software. RESULTS: Pronounced cortical thinning was observed in DCM patients relative to HCs, particularly in the bilateral precentral and prefrontal gyri, left pars triangularis, left postcentral gyrus, right transverse temporal, and visual cortices (p = 0.04). Notably, cortical thickness in these regions showed strong correlations with objective motor deficits (p < 0.0001). Specifically, the prefrontal cortex, premotor area and supplementary motor area (SMA) exhibited significant thickness reductions correlating with diminished dexterity (R 2 = 0.33, p < 0.0007; R 2 = 0.34, p = 0.005 respectively). Similarly, declines in gait function were associated with reduced cortical thickness in the visual motor and frontal eye field cortices (p = 0.029, p = 0.04, respectively). Interestingly, only the contralateral precuneus thickness was associated with the overall modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scores. But the upper extremity sub score of mJOA indicated an association with visual cortex. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our findings reveal patterns correlating cortical changes with motor deficits, highlighting the significance of combining objective clinical and brain imaging assessments for understanding motor network dysfunction in DCM.