Beyond the Resection: Surgical White Matter Disruption Structurally Alters Non-Resected Brain Anatomy
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Resective neurosurgery is a cornerstone treatment for many neurological conditions. Although traditionally viewed as localised procedure, increasing evidence from advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows that also non-resected anatomy can degenerate following surgery. The relationship between local tissue removal and these postoperative changes remains thus far speculative. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that degenerative changes to surgically preserved grey and white matter are mediated by transneuronal degeneration , a deterioration of intact neuronal populations due to lost axonal input. Using a robust structural and diffusion MRI framework, we first identify widespread postoperative atrophy: pronounced cortical thickness decreases near the resection, and extensive white matter impairments across the ipsilateral hemisphere. Importantly, we then link these alterations to surgical white matter disruption, revealing a sequential network atrophy following neurosurgery. Beyond degenerative effects, we also demonstrate often reported structural network reorganisations as an artefact of image processing, indicating limited capacity for macroscale plasticity post-resection.
Key Points
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Resective neurosurgery can lead to postoperative atrophy of non-resected grey and white matter. Utilising a robust longitudinal neuroimaging framework, we evaluate these changes as consequences of transneuronal degeneration , demonstrating a sequential atrophy of brain anatomy following the loss of surgically disrupted white matter.
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The majority of severed connections projected to atrophic cortices near the resection, indicating them to be short association fibers. Consecutive white matter atrophy however affected extensive ipsilateral pathways, highlighting a cascading network effect of resective brain surgery.
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We did not find evidence to support often reported structural reorganisations of large-scale brain networks post-resection. Yet, we demonstrate that evidence typically interpreted as such can be replicated when using non-robust reconstruction methods.
