Background: Although data are limited, difficulty in social cognition occurs in up to 83% of patients with brain tumors. It is unknown whether cranial radiation therapy (RT) dose to the amygdala–orbitofrontal network can impact social cognition. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 51 patients with low-grade and benign brain tumors planned for cranial RT. We assessed longitudinal changes on an emotion recognition task (ERT) that measures the ability to recognize emotional states by displaying faces expressing six basic emotions and their association with the RT dose to the amygdala–orbitofrontal network. ERT outcomes included the median time to choose a response (ERTOMDRT) or correct response (ERTOMDCRT) and total correct responses (ERTHH). Results: The RT dose to the amygdala–orbitofrontal network was significantly associated with longer median response times on the ERT. Increases in median response times occurred at lower doses than decreases in total correct responses. The medial orbitofrontal cortex was the most important variable on regression trees predicting change in the ERTOMDCRT. Discussion: This is, to our knowledge, the first study to show that off-target RT dose to the amygdala–orbitofrontal network is associated with performance on a social cognition task, a facet of cognition that has previously not been mechanistically studied after cranial RT.
背景：尽管数据有限，但高达83%的脑肿瘤患者存在社会认知障碍。目前尚不清楚颅脑放射治疗（RT）对杏仁核-眶额网络区域的照射剂量是否会影响社会认知能力。方法：我们前瞻性纳入了51例计划接受颅脑放疗的低级别及良性脑肿瘤患者。通过情绪识别任务（ERT）评估患者纵向变化，该任务通过展示表达六种基本情绪的面部图像来测量情绪识别能力，并分析其与杏仁核-眶额网络RT剂量的关联。ERT评估指标包括选择反应的中位时间（ERTOMDRT）、选择正确反应的中位时间（ERTOMDCRT）以及总正确反应数（ERTHH）。结果：杏仁核-眶额网络的RT剂量与ERT中位反应时间延长显著相关。中位反应时间的增加在较低剂量时即出现，而总正确反应数的下降需要更高剂量。在预测ERTOMDCRT变化的回归树模型中，内侧眶额皮层是最重要的变量。讨论：据我们所知，这是首个研究表明，针对杏仁核-眶额网络的非靶区RT剂量与社会认知任务表现相关，这一认知维度在既往颅脑放疗后尚未被机制性研究。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家