Functional magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cognitive function in childhood‐onset systemic lupus erythematosus: A pilot study

Objective To investigate changes in brain activation patterns detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), and the relationship between FMRI activation patterns and results of formal neuropsychological testing, in patients with childhood‐onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Ten patients with childhood‐onset SLE underwent formal neuropsychological testing and FMRI using 3 paradigms: a continuous performance task (CPT) to evaluate attention, an N‐Back task to assess working memory, and verb generation to evaluate language processing. Composite Z maps were generated to summarize the brain activation patterns for each FMRI paradigm in patients with childhood‐onset SLE and to compare these patterns with those observed in healthy controls. Between‐group comparison Z maps showing differences in activation between childhood‐onset SLE patients and controls were generated, using a significance level of P < 0.05 in a general linear model. Results Compared with the control group, the childhood‐onset SLE group showed statistically significant increased activation of brain areas involved in the CPT, N‐Back, and verb generation tasks. In contrast, in the absence of active stimulus, e.g., during times of the paradigm control tasks, childhood‐onset SLE patients consistently undersuppressed activity in the expected brain areas. Activation in selected cortical areas was found to correlate negatively with results of a subset of individual neuropsychological test scores. Conclusion FMRI abnormalities are present in childhood‐onset SLE, manifesting as an imbalance between active and inhibitory responses to an array of stimuli. Differences in brain activation patterns compared with those observed in controls suggest that childhood‐onset SLE may be associated with abnormalities in white matter connectivity resulting in neuronal network dysfunction, rather than injury of specific gray matter areas.