ArticleTherapeutic advances in neurological disorders2020
Differential functional connectivity in thalamic and dopaminergic pathways in restless legs syndrome: a meta-analysis.
Article in Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Altered iron metabolism and iron therapy in restless legs syndrome.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Altered Sensory Processing in Restless Legs Syndrome: Associations With Disease Severity.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements of sleep - the relationship with stroke and other cerebrovascular disease.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Neural Correlates of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Based on Electroencephalogram (EEG)-A Mechanistic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Genetic Insights Into the Link Between Restless Legs Syndrome and Diabetic Nephropathy Risk.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- RLS-associated MEIS transcription factors control distinct processes in human neural stem cells.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Restless legs syndrome: abbreviated guidelines by the German sleep society and the German neurological society.Neurological research and practice · 2024Article
- A Comparative Investigation of Functional Connectivity Utilizing Electroencephalography in Insomnia Patients with and without Restless Leg SyndromeClinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- From brain to spinal cord: neuromodulation by direct current stimulation and its promising effects as a treatment option for restless legs syndrome.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
- Functional connectivity alterations in the thalamus among patients with bronchial asthma.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Neuroanatomy and Functional Connectivity in Patients with Parkinson's Disease with or without Restless Legs Syndrome.Neurology and therapy · 2022Article
- Restless legs syndrome: Over 50 years of European contribution.Journal of sleep research · 2022Review
- Advanced network neuroimaging as an approach to unravel the pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome.Sleep · 2022Article
- Microstructural changes of basal ganglia in migraine with restless legs syndrome: findings from a neuroimaging study.Sleep and biological rhythms · 2022Article
- Microstructural changes in the basal ganglia in restless legs syndrome and migraine.Sleep and biological rhythms · 2022Article
- Restless Legs Syndrome: Known Knowns and Known Unknowns.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Restless legs syndrome.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2021Review
- Acetyl-DL-leucine improves restless legs syndrome: a case report.Journal of neurology · 2021Article
- Phenotypical predictors of pregnancy-related restless legs syndrome and their association with basal ganglia and the limbic circuits.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- [Small-world network of patients with primary insomnia: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveRestless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder with alterations in somatosensory processing in association with a dysfunctional cerebral network, involving the basal ganglia, limbic network, and sensorimotor pathways. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool to provide
methodsA systematic research using the online library PubMed was conducted and a total of seven studies passed the inclusion criteria of the meta-analysis. The results of these studies were merged and a statistical probability map was generated that indicated the likelihood of functional connectivity changes within the combined cohort, both for increased and decreased connectivity.
resultsThe meta-analysis demonstrated decreased functional connectivity within the dopaminergic network in participants with RLS compared with healthy controls, including the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical pathways. Increased functional connectivity was observed bilaterally in the thalamus, including its ventral lateral, ventral anterior, and ventral posterior lateral nuclei, and the pulvinar. DISCUSSION: Sensorimotor dysfunction in RLS seems to be reflected by decreased functional connectivity within the dopaminergic pathways. Network extension in the thalamus can be regarded as an adaptation to somatosensory dysfunction in RLS. This differential functional connectivity pattern extends prior findings on cerebral somatosensory processing in RLS and offers an explanation for the efficacy of dopaminergic treatment.
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