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. 2016 Mar 10;10:90. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00090

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Brainstem regions in which fMRI signal intensity changes correlated to muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were significantly altered by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment over 12 months in subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Hot color scale indicates brainstem regions in which signal intensity (SI) changes were significantly altered by CPAP treatment. Significant clusters are overlaid onto a T1-weighted anatomical template image. Slice location in Montreal Neurological Institute space are indicated at the upper right of each image. The lower panel shows plots of mean (±SEM) percentage changes in signal intensity during each MSNA burst compared to periods of no MSNA bursts for each significant cluster in controls and OSA subjects prior to and following 6 and 12 months of CPAP treatment. Significant difference were determined using two-sample and paired t-tests (*p < 0.05). dlPons, dorsolateral pons; RVLM, rostral ventrolateral medulla. Note that for most brainstem regions, CPAP treatment restores brainstem function to control levels.