Disrupted neural signals in patients with concomitant exotropia

Purpose Decreased binocular and oculomotor function in strabismics has recently been considered as cortical in origin. This study aimed to investigate functional abnormalities using a frequency‐specific neuroimaging method in patients with concomitant exotropia (XT), and to demonstrate the clinical implications. Methods Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected in 26 XT patients and 26 matched controls. To evaluate the local spontaneous neural activity, the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was calculated in the typical frequency band (0.01–0.08 Hz) as well as five narrowly‐defined frequency bands (slow‐6: 0–0.01 Hz, slow‐5: 0.01–0.027 Hz, slow‐4: 0.027–0.073 Hz, slow‐3: 0.073–0.167 Hz, and slow‐2: 0.167–0.25 Hz), respectively. Results Patients with XT showed decreased ALFF in the bilateral parieto‐occipital sulcus (POS), and increased ALFF in the bilateral thalamus within the typical frequency band. Frequency‐dependent ALFF alterations were found in the higher visual areas such as the right lateral occipital complex (LOC). Furthermore, ALFF in the right LOC in the slow‐5 band was positively correlated with fusion control score (r = 0.70, p