Electroacupuncture modulates abnormal brain connectivity after ischemia reperfusion injury in rats: A graph theory-based approach

BACKGROUND

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to facilitate brain plasticity-related functional recovery following ischemic stroke. The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique can be used to determine the range and mode of brain activation. After stroke, EA has been shown to alter brain connectivity, whereas EA's effect on brain network topology properties remains unclear. An evaluation of EA's effects on global and nodal topological properties in rats with ischemia reperfusion was conducted in this study.

METHODS AND RESULTS

There were three groups of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats: sham-operated group (sham group), middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) group, and MCAO/R plus EA (MCAO/R + EA) group. The differences in global and nodal topological properties, including shortest path length, global efficiency, local efficiency, small-worldness index, betweenness centrality (BC), and degree centrality (DC) were estimated. Graphical network analyses revealed that, as compared with the sham group, the MCAO/R group demonstrated a decrease in BC value in the right ventral hippocampus and increased BC in the right substantia nigra, accompanied by increased DC in the left nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh). The BC was increased in the right hippocampus ventral and decreased in the right substantia nigra after EA intervention, and MCAO/R + EA resulted in a decreased DC in left AcbSh compared to MCAO/R.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study provide a potential basis for EA to promote cognitive and motor function recovery after ischemic stroke.

Frequency-dependent alterations in functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's Disease spectrum disorders

Background

In the spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related disorders, the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) signals within the cerebral cortex may exhibit distinct characteristics across various frequency ranges. Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not yet been substantiated within the broader context of whole-brain functional connectivity. This study aims to explore potential modifications in degree centrality (DC) and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) among individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD, while assessing whether these alterations differ across distinct frequency bands.

Methods

This investigation encompassed a total of 53 AD patients, 40 aMCI patients, and 40 healthy controls (HCs). DC and VMHC values were computed within three distinct frequency bands: classical (0.01-0.08 Hz), slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz), and slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz) for the three respective groups. To discern differences among these groups, ANOVA and subsequent post hoc two-sample t-tests were employed. Cognitive function assessment utilized the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Pearson correlation analysis was applied to investigate the associations between MMSE and MoCA scores with DC and VMHC.

Results

Significant variations in degree centrality (DC) were observed among different groups across diverse frequency bands. The most notable differences were identified in the bilateral caudate nucleus (CN), bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG), bilateral Lobule VIII of the cerebellar hemisphere (Lobule VIII), left precuneus (PCu), right Lobule VI of the cerebellar hemisphere (Lobule VI), and right Lobule IV and V of the cerebellar hemisphere (Lobule IV, V). Likewise, disparities in voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) among groups were predominantly localized to the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) and Crus II of the cerebellar hemisphere (Crus II). Across the three frequency bands, the brain regions exhibiting significant differences in various parameters were most abundant in the slow-5 frequency band.

Conclusion

This study enhances our understanding of the pathological and physiological mechanisms associated with AD continuum. Moreover, it underscores the importance of researchers considering various frequency bands in their investigations of brain function.

Distinct serum GDNF coupling with brain structural and functional changes underlies cognitive status in Parkinson's disease

AIM

Aberrations in brain connections are implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). We previously demonstrated that Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) reduction is associated with cognition decline. Nonetheless, it is elusive if the pattern of brain topological connectivity differed across PD with divergent serum GDNF levels, and the accompanying profile of cognitive deficits has yet to be determined.

METHODS

We collected data on the participants' cognition, demographics, and serum GDNF levels. Participants underwent 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging, and we assessed the degree centrality, brain network topology, and cortical thickness of the healthy control (HC) (n = 25), PD-high-GDNF (n = 19), and PD-low-GDNF (n = 19) groups using graph-theoretic measures of resting-state functional MRI to reveal how much brain connectivity varies and its clinical correlates, as well as to determine factors predicting the cognitive status in PD.

RESULTS

The results show different network properties between groups. Degree centrality abnormalities were found in the right inferior frontal gyrus and right parietal lobe postcentral gyrus, linked with cognition scores. The two aberrant clusters serve as a potentially powerful signal for determining whether a patient has PD and the patient's cognition level after integrating with GDNF, duration, and dopamine dosage. Moreover, we found a significant positive relationship between the thickness of the left caudal middle frontal lobe and a plethora of cognitive domains. Further discriminant analysis revealed that the cortical thickness of this region could distinguish PD patients from healthy controls. The mental state evaluation will also be more precise when paired with GDNF and duration.

CONCLUSION

Our findings reveal that the topological features of brain networks and cortical thickness are altered in PD patients with cognitive deficits. The above change, accompanied by the serum GDNF, may have merit as a diagnosis marker for PD and, arguably, cognition status.

Alteration of functional connectivity network in population of objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline

The objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals had higher progression rates of cognitive decline and pathological deposition than healthy elderly, indicating a higher risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. However, little is known about the brain functional alterations during this stage. Thus, we aimed to investigate the functional network patterns in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline cohort. Forty-two cognitive normal, 29 objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline and 55 mild cognitive impairment subjects were included based on neuropsychological measures from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset. Thirty cognitive normal, 22 objectively-defined subtle cognitive declines and 48 mild cognitive impairment had longitudinal MRI data. The degree centrality and eigenvector centrality for each participant were calculated by using resting-state functional MRI. For cross-sectional data, analysis of covariance was performed to detect between-group differences in degree centrality and eigenvector centrality after controlling age, sex and education. For longitudinal data, repeated measurement analysis of covariance was used for comparing the alterations during follow-up period among three groups. In order to classify the clinical significance, we correlated degree centrality and eigenvector centrality values to Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and cognitive function. The results of analysis of covariance showed significant between-group differences in eigenvector centrality and degree centrality in left superior temporal gyrus and left precuneus, respectively. Across groups, the eigenvector centrality value of left superior temporal gyrus was positively related to recognition scores in auditory verbal learning test, whereas the degree centrality value of left precuneus was positively associated with mini-mental state examination total score. For longitudinal data, the results of repeated measurement analysis of covariance indicated objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline group had the highest declined rate of both eigenvector centrality and degree centrality values than other groups. Our study showed an increased brain functional connectivity in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals at both local and global level, which were associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and neuropsychological assessment. Moreover, we also observed a faster declined rate of functional network matrix in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals during the follow-ups.

Treatment effects of N-acetyl cysteine on resting-state functional MRI and cognitive performance in patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury: a longitudinal study

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a significant public health concern, specially characterized by a complex pattern of abnormal neural activity and functional connectivity. It is often associated with a broad spectrum of short-term and long-term cognitive and behavioral symptoms including memory dysfunction, headache, and balance difficulties. Furthermore, there is evidence that oxidative stress significantly contributes to these symptoms and neurophysiological changes. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on brain function and chronic symptoms in mTBI patients. Fifty patients diagnosed with chronic mTBI participated in this study. They were categorized into two groups including controls (CN, n = 25), and patients receiving treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC, n = 25). NAC group received 50 mg/kg intravenous (IV) medication once a day per week. In the rest of the week, they took one 500 mg NAC tablet twice per day. Each patient underwent rs-fMRI scanning at two timepoints including the baseline and 3 months later at follow-up, while the NAC group received a combination of oral and IV NAC over that time. Three rs-fMRI metrics were measured including fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF), degree centrality (DC), and functional connectivity strength (FCS). Neuropsychological tests were also assessed at the same day of scanning for each patient. The alteration of rs-fMRI metrics and cognitive scores were measured over 3 months treatment with NAC. Then, the correlation analysis was executed to estimate the association of rs-fMRI measurements and cognitive performance over 3 months (p < 0.05). Two significant group-by-time effects demonstrated the changes of rs-fMRI metrics particularly in the regions located in the default mode network (DMN), sensorimotor network, and emotional circuits that were significantly correlated with cognitive function recovery over 3 months treatment with NAC (p < 0.05). NAC appears to modulate neural activity and functional connectivity in specific brain networks, and these changes could account for clinical improvement. This study confirmed the short-term therapeutic efficacy of NAC in chronic mTBI patients that may contribute to understanding of neurophysiological effects of NAC in mTBI. These findings encourage further research on long-term neurobehavioral assessment of NAC assisting development of therapeutic plans in mTBI.

Altered brain function in classical trigeminal neuralgia patients: ALFF, ReHo, and DC static- and dynamic-frequency study

The present study aimed to clarify the brain function of classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN) by analyzing 77 CTN patients and age- and gender-matched 73 healthy controls (HCs) based on three frequency bands of the static and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, regional homogeneity, and degree centrality (sALFF, sReHo, sDC, dALFF, dReHo, and dDC). Compared to HCs, the number of altered brain regions was different in three frequency bands, and the classical frequency band was most followed by slow-4 in CTN patients. Cerrelellum_8_L (sReHo), Cerrelellum_8_R (sDC), Calcarine_R (sDC), and Caudate_R (sDC) were found only in classical frequency band, while Precuneus_L (sALFF) and Frontal_Inf_Tri_L (sReHo) were found only in slow-4 frequency band. Except for the above six brain regions, the others overlapped in the classical and slow-4 frequency bands. CTN seriously affects the mental health of patients, and some different brain regions are correlated with clinical parameters. The static and dynamic indicators of brain function were complementary in CTN patients, and the changing brain regions showed frequency specificity. Compared to slow-5 frequency band, slow-4 is more consistent with the classical frequency band, which could be valuable in exploring the pathophysiology of CTN.

Aberrant Brain Dynamics in Schizophrenia During Working Memory Task: Evidence From a Replication Functional MRI Study

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS

The integration of information that typifies working memory (WM) operation requires a flexible, dynamic functional relationship among brain regions. In schizophrenia, though WM capacity is prominently impaired at higher loads, the mechanistic underpinnings are unclear. As a result, we lack convincing cognitive remediation of load-dependent deficits. We hypothesize that reduced WM capacity arises from a disruption in dynamic functional connectivity when patients face cognitive demands.

STUDY DESIGN

We calculate the dynamic voxel-wise degree centrality (dDC) across the functional connectome in 142 patients with schizophrenia and 88 healthy controls (HCs) facing different WM loads during an n-back task. We tested associations of the altered variability in dDC and clinical symptoms and identified intermediate connectivity configurations (clustered states) across time during WM operation. These analyses were repeated in another independent dataset of 169 subjects (102 with schizophrenia).

STUDY RESULTS

Compared with HCs, patients showed an increased dDC variability of supplementary motor area (SMA) for the "2back vs. 0back" contrast. This instability at the SMA seen in patients correlated with increased positive symptoms and followed a limited "U-shape" pattern at rest-condition and 2 loads. In the clustering analysis, patients showed reduced centrality in the SMA, superior temporal gyrus, and putamen. These results were replicated in a constrained search in the second independent dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

Schizophrenia is characterized by a load-dependent reduction of stable centrality in SMA; this relates to the severity of positive symptoms, especially disorganized behaviour. Restoring SMA stability in the presence of cognitive demands may have a therapeutic effect in schizophrenia.

Brain functional connectivity patterns associated with symptoms of vestibular migraine

Background

Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) investigations of patients with vestibular migraine (VM) have revealed abnormal functionality in different networks, indicating that VM is related to alterations in brain function. We sought to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) patterns during the interictal period in VM by combining data-driven voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) calculations and seed-based FC analyses, and thereby determine the associations between cerebral function and clinical symptoms.

Methods

Thirty-eight patients with VM and 33 matched normal controls were recruited. DC was calculated and compared between the groups, and the FC of locations showing DC alterations was further tested using a seed-based technique. The participants' clinical indicators were correlated with the DC and FC values of the brain areas.

Results

In contrast to the control group, the VM group showed considerably lower DC values in the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and significantly higher DC values in the right occipital lobe. In the seed-based FC analyses, patients with VM demonstrated fewer connections of the bilateral mPFC with the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex, right parahippocampus, right cerebellar posterior lobe, bilateral cuneus, and left precuneus. In addition, clinical data from patients, such as pain intensity, episode frequency, and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory score, were negatively related to these FC and DC impairments.

Conclusion

Our findings showed changes in the default mode network and visual cortex in patients with VM, providing further insights into the complexity of the mechanisms underlying VM.

Aberrant degree centrality profiles during rumination in major depressive disorder

Rumination is closely linked to the onset and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD). Prior neuroimaging studies have identified the association between self-reported rumination trait and the functional coupling among a network of brain regions using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, little is known about the underlying neural circuitry mechanism during active rumination in MDD. Degree centrality (DC) is a simple metric to denote network integration, which is critical for higher-order psychological processes such as rumination. During an MRI scan, individuals with MDD (N = 45) and healthy controls (HC, N = 46) completed a rumination state task. We examined the interaction effect between the group (MDD vs. HC) and condition (rumination vs. distraction) on vertex-wise DC. We further characterized the identified brain region's functional involvement with Neurosynth and BrainMap. Network-wise seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis was also conducted for the identified region of interest. Finally, exploratory correlation analysis was conducted between the identified region of interest's network FCs and self-reported in-scanner affect levels. We found that a left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) region, generally overlapped with the frontal eye field, showed a significant interaction effect. Further analysis revealed its involvement with executive functions. FCs between this region, the frontoparietal, and the dorsal attention network (DAN) also showed significant interaction effects. Furthermore, its FC to DAN during distraction showed a marginally significant negative association with in-scanner affect level at the baseline. Our results implicated an essential role of the left SFG in the rumination's underlying neural circuitry mechanism in MDD and provided novel evidence for the conceptualization of rumination in terms of impaired executive control.

Distinct changes in global brain synchronization in different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease

This study investigated alterations in degree centrality (DC) in different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) and analyzed its clinical significance during disease occurrence. A total of 146 subjects were recruited in the study, including 90 patients with PD [51 and 39 with tremor dominant (TD) and akinetic-rigid dominant (ARD) disease, respectively] and 56 healthy controls (HCs). The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of all the subjects were obtained by 3.0 T magnetic resonance scans. The DC values, an indicator of whole brain synchronization, were calculated and compared among the TD, ARD, and HC groups. Disparities in DC values among the three groups were evaluated by analysis of variance and post hoc two-sample t-tests. Correlation between brain regions with DC differences and clinical variables were performed using partial correlation analysis after controlling for age, gender, and disease duration. Compared to the HCs, both TD and ARD groups demonstrated increased DC values bilaterally in the cerebellum; DC values were decreased in the left putamen and paracentral lobule in the TD group and in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and right supplementary motor area in the ARD group. Compared to the ARD group, the TD group showed decreased DC values in bilateral cerebellar hemispheres and increased DC values in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and right supplementary motor area. The DC of the whole brain showed inconsistencies and shared neural bases among patients with the two subtypes of PD. The differences between brain regions with abnormal DC values may be closely related to different clinical presentations of the two motor subtypes. Our findings provide new insights into the clinical heterogeneity of PD with respect to different motor subtypes.

Shared and Disorder-Specific Alterations of Brain Temporal Dynamics in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia have distinct but also overlapping symptoms. Few studies have examined the shared and disorder-specific disturbances in dynamic brain function in the 2 disorders.

STUDY DESIGN

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 31 patients with OCD and 49 patients with schizophrenia, all untreated, and 45 healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed using spatial group independent component (IC) analysis. Time-varying degree centrality patterns across the whole brain were clustered into 3 reoccurring states, and state transition metrics were obtained. We further explored regional temporal variability of degree centrality for each IC across all time windows.

STUDY RESULTS

Patients with OCD and patients with schizophrenia both showed decreased occurrence of a state having the highest centrality in the sensorimotor and auditory networks. Additionally, patients with OCD and patients with schizophrenia both exhibited reduced dynamics of degree centrality in the superior frontal gyrus than controls, while dynamic degree centrality of the cerebellum was lower in patients with schizophrenia than with OCD and HCs. Altered dynamics of degree centrality nominally correlated with symptom severity in both patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study provides evidence of transdiagnostic and clinically relevant functional brain abnormalities across OCD and schizophrenia in neocortex, as well as functional dynamic alterations in the cerebellum specific to schizophrenia. These findings add to the recognition of overlap in neocortical alterations in the 2 disorders, and indicate that cerebellar alterations in schizophrenia may be specifically important in schizophrenia pathophysiology via impact on cerebellar thalamocortical circuitry.

Regions with Altered Degree Centrality and Their Functional Connectivity in First-Episode Drug-Naïve Major Depressive Disorder: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Objective

The aim of this study was to identify regions with altered degrees of centrality (DC) and changes in their functional connectivity (FC) in first-episode drug-naïve major depressive disorder (FEDN-MDD) patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods

The study included 74 FEDN-MDD patients who met the study criteria and 41 healthy controls (HCs). All had undergone fMRI scanning in the resting condition. To evaluate differences between FEDN-MDD patients and HCs, we first compared the DC between the 2 groups. The DC regions with the most significant differences were then taken as seeds, and their FC was calculated.

Results

Right posterior cingulum cortex (PCC.R), right precuneus (PCUN.R), and right putamen (PUT.R) all showed significantly different DC values (P < .001) between FEDN-MDD patients and HC groups, which helped in distinguishing these groups. The PUT.R in FEDN-MDD patients showed increased FC (P < .001) with the right inferior temporal gyrus and right inferior occipital gyrus compared to HC. Moreover, the PCUN.R in FEDN-MDD patients showed decreased FC (P < .001) with bilateral cerebellum crus I, left cerebellum crus II, bilateral orbital medial frontal gyrus, right superior medial frontal gyrus, left precuneus, left posterior cingulum cortex, right superior frontal gyrus, and PCC.R compared with the HC group. The P-values for cluster testing were .050, while for voxel testing they were .001.

Conclusion

These findings imply that PUT.R, PCUN.R, and PCC.R serve as the core brain net hub in FEDN-MDD patients, and their FC displays aberrant function. This may involve a specific psychiatric neuropathology associated with FEDN-MDD.

Concordance of Intrinsic Brain Connectivity Measures Is Disrupted in Alzheimer's Disease

Background: Recently, a new resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) measure to evaluate the concordance between different rs-fMRI metrics has been proposed and has not been investigated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: 3T rs-fMRI data were obtained from healthy young controls (YC, n = 26), healthy senior controls (SC, n = 29), and AD patients (n = 35). The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were analyzed, followed by the calculation of their concordance using Kendall's W for each brain voxel across time. Group differences in the concordance were compared globally, within seven intrinsic brain networks, and on a voxel-by-voxel basis with covariates of age, sex, head motion, and gray matter volume. Results: The global concordance was lowest in AD among the three groups, with similar differences for the single metrics. When comparing AD to SC, reductions of concordance were detected in each of the investigated networks apart from the limbic network. For SC in comparison to YC, lower global concordance without any network-level difference was observed. Voxel-wise analyses revealed lower concordance in the right middle temporal gyrus in AD compared to SC and lower concordance in the left middle frontal gyrus in SC compared to YC. Lower fALFF were observed in the right angular gyrus in AD in comparison to SC, but ReHo and DC showed no group differences. Conclusions: The concordance of resting-state measures differentiates AD from healthy aging and may represent a novel imaging marker in AD.

Corrigendum: Visual expertise modulates resting-state brain network dynamics in radiologists: a degree centrality analysis

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1152619.].

Exploring the correlation between genetic transcription and multi-temporal developmental autism spectrum disorder using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging

Introduction

The present investigation aimed to explore the neurodevelopmental trajectory of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by identifying the changes in brain function and gene expression associated with the disorder. Previous studies have indicated that ASD is a highly inherited neurodevelopmental disorder of the brain that displays symptom heterogeneity across different developmental periods. However, the transcriptomic changes underlying these developmental differences remain largely unknown.

Methods

To address this gap in knowledge, our study employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from a large sample of male participants across four representative age groups to stratify the abnormal changes in brain function associated with ASD. Partial least square regression (PLSr) was utilized to identify unique changes in gene expression in brain regions characterized by aberrant functioning in ASD.

Results

Our results revealed that ASD exhibits distinctive developmental trajectories in crucial brain regions such as the default mode network (DMN), temporal lobe, and prefrontal lobes during critical periods of neurodevelopment when compared to the control group. These changes were also associated with genes primarily located in synaptic tissues.

Discussion

The findings of this study suggest that the neurobiology of ASD is uniquely heterogeneous across different ages and may be accompanied by distinct molecular mechanisms related to gene expression.

The 10 top-cited authors who published papers in journal medicine since 2000 using the betweenness centrality to identify unique names: Bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have explored the most productive and influential authors in a specific field. However, 2 challenges arise when conducting such research. First, some authors may have identical names in the study data, and second, the contributions of coauthors may vary in the article by line, requiring consideration. Failure to address these issues may result in biased research findings. Our objective was to illustrate how the author-weighted scheme (AWS) and betweenness centrality (BC) can be employed to identify the 10 most frequently cited authors in a particular journal and analyze their research themes.

METHODS

We collected 24,058 abstracts from the PubMed library between 2000 and 2020 using the keyword "Medicine [Journal]." Author names, countries/regions, and medical subject headings (MeSH terms) were collected. The AWS to identify the top 10 authors with a higher x-index was applied. To address the issue of authors with identical names affiliated with different research institutes, we utilized the BC method. Social network analysis (SNA) was conducted, and 10 major clusters were identified to highlight authors with a higher x-index within the corresponding clusters. We utilized SNA to analyze the MeSH terms from articles of the 10 top-cited authors to identify their research themes.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed the following: within the top 10 cited authors, 2 authors from China shared identical names with Jing Li and Tao-Wang; JA Winkelstein from Maryland (US) had the highest x-index (15.58); Chia-Hung Kao from Taiwan was the most prolific author, having published 115 articles in Medicine since 2003; and the 3 primary research themes, namely, complications, etiology, and epidemiology, were identified using MeSH terms from the 10 most frequently cited authors.

CONCLUSIONS

Using AWS and BC, we identified the top 10 most cited authors. The research methods we utilized in this study (BC and AWS) have the potential to be applied to other bibliometric analyses in the future.

The relationship between processing speed and remodeling spatial patterns of intrinsic brain activity in the elderly with different sleep duration

Objective

Brain neuroplasticity in which sleep affects the speed of information processing in the elderly population has not been reported. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the effects of sleep on information processing speed and its central plasticity mechanism in the elderly.

Methods

A total of 50 individuals aged 60 and older were enrolled in this case control study. All subjects were divided into two groups according to the sleep time: short sleep duration (< 360 min) (6 men and 19 women; mean age: 66.96 ± 4.28 years old), and non-short sleep duration (> 360 min) (13 men and 12 women). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected, and the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were calculated for each participant. Two-sample t-tests were performed to compare the ALFF, ReHo, and DC maps between the two groups. Then, the relationships among clinical features, fMRI and cognitive function were analyzed using general linear model.

Results

Short sleep duration group showed significantly increased ALFF value in the bilateral middle frontal gyrus and right insula; significantly increased ReHo value in the left superior parietal gyrus, and decreased ReHo value in the right crebellum; significantly decreased DC value in the left inferior occipital gyrus, left superior parietal gyrus and right cerebellum (p < 0.05, AlphaSim correction). The ALFF value of right insula is significantly associated with symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) score (β = -0.363, p = 0.033).

Conclusion

Short sleep duration and processing speed are significantly associated with remodeling spatial patterns of intrinsic brain activity in the elderly.

Visual expertise modulates resting-state brain network dynamics in radiologists: a degree centrality analysis

Visual expertise reflects accumulated experience in reviewing domain-specific images and has been shown to modulate brain function in task-specific functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. However, little is known about how visual experience modulates resting-state brain network dynamics. To explore this, we recruited 22 radiology interns and 22 matched healthy controls and used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and the degree centrality (DC) method to investigate changes in brain network dynamics. Our results revealed significant differences in DC between the RI and control group in brain regions associated with visual processing, decision making, memory, attention control, and working memory. Using a recursive feature elimination-support vector machine algorithm, we achieved a classification accuracy of 88.64%. Our findings suggest that visual experience modulates resting-state brain network dynamics in radiologists and provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of visual expertise.

[Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on functional connectivity in the related brain regions of patients with depression based on the resting-state fMRI]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the brain effect mechanism and the correlation between brain functional imaging and cognitive function in treatment of depressive disorder (DD) with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) based on the resting-state functional magenetic reasonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

METHODS

Thirty-two DD patients were included in a depression group and 32 subjects of healthy condition were enrolled in a normal group. In the depression group, the taVNS was applied to bilateral Xin (CO₁₅) and Shen (CO₁₀), at disperse-dense wave, 4 Hz/20 Hz in frequency and current intensity ≤20 mA depending on patient's tolerance, 30 min each time, twice daily. The duration of treatment consisted of 8 weeks. The patients of two groups were undertaken rs-fMRI scanning. The scores of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) were observed in the normal group at baseline and the depression group before and after treatment separately. The differential brain regions were observed before and after treatment in the two groups and the value of degree centrality (DC) of fMRI was obtained. Their correlation was analyzed in terms of HAMD, HAMA and WCST scores.

RESULTS

The scores of HAMD and HAMA in the depression group were all higher than those in the normal group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of HAMD and HAMA were lower than those before treatment in the depression group; the scores of total responses, response errors and perseverative errors of WCST were all lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The brain regions with significant differences included the left inferior temporal gyrus, the left cerebellar peduncles region 1, the left insula, the right putamen, the bilateral supplementary motor area and the right middle frontal gyrus. After treatment, the value of DC in left supplementary motor area was negatively correlated to HAMD and HAMA scores respectively (r=-0.324, P=0.012; r=-0.310, P=0.015); the value of DC in left cerebellar peduncles region 1 was negatively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=-0.322, P=0.013), and the left insula was positively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=0.271, P=0.036).

CONCLUSION

The taVNS can modulate the intensity of the functional activities of some brain regions so as to relieve depressive symptoms and improve cognitive function.

Aberrant voxel-based degree centrality and functional connectivity in Parkinson's disease patients with fatigue

AIMS

The study aimed to investigate alterations in the inherent connectivity pattern of global functional networks in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with fatigue.

METHODS

Eighteen PD patients with fatigue (PD-F), 20 PD patients without fatigue (PD-NF), and 23 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited and analyzed by the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) and the seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis. Meanwhile, the surface-based morphometry (SBM) analysis was also commanded to explore the structural alternations among groups.

RESULTS

PD-F patients displayed reduced DC values in the left postcentral gyrus relative to PD-NF and HCs groups, while increased DC values in the bilateral precuneus compared to HCs. Simultaneously, altered DC value in the left postcentral gyrus negatively corresponded to the mean fatigue severity scale (FSS) in PD-F patients. Additionally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves uncovered that the reduced DC value of the left postcentral gyrus could discriminate PD-F from PD-NF and HCs groups. Our FC analysis further revealed that altered FC was located predominantly in the sensorimotor network in the PD-F group. Moreover, we discovered no statistically significant differences between the three groups concerning cortical thickness.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that the altered functional connectivity in the sensorimotor network centering on the left postcentral gyrus and the bilateral precuneus might be the potential pathogenesis of PD with fatigue.

Cerebral Neural Changes in Venous-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survivors

BACKGROUND

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used as temporary cardiorespiratory support in patients with critical ailments, but very little is known about the functional cerebral changes in ECMO survivors. Degree centrality (DC), a graph-based assessment of network organization, was performed to explore the neural connectivity changes in ECMO survivors compared to controls and their correlation with cognitive and neurological measures.

METHODS

This exploratory observational study was conducted from August 2020 to May 2022. ECMO survivors and controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain. We performed DC analysis to identify voxels that showed changes in whole-brain functional connectivity with other voxels. DC was measured by the fMRI graph method and comparisons between the two groups were performed. All participants underwent neuropsychological assessment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA). Blood serum neuron-specific enolase and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) were assessed in ECMO survivors.

RESULTS

DC values in the right insula and right precuneus gyrus were lower in ECMO survivors and higher in the right medial superior frontal gyrus compared to controls (all p < 0.001). Decreased connectivity in the right insular and right precuneus gyrus correlated with total MoCA scores, delayed recollection, and calculation (all p < 0.05). Increased serum NSE levels, GCS score, and GCS-motor response correlated with decreased connectivity in the right insular and right precuneus gyrus and increased connectivity in the right medial superior frontal gyrus (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that both functional impairment and adaptation were observed in survivors of ECMO, suggesting that neural connectivity changes may provide insights into the mechanisms that may potentially link ECMO survivors to neurological and cognitive disorders.

Relapse risk revealed by degree centrality and cluster analysis in heroin addicts undergoing methadone maintenance treatment

BACKGROUND

Based on hubs of neural circuits associated with addiction and their degree centrality (DC), this study aimed to construct the addiction-related brain networks for patients diagnosed with heroin dependence undertaking stable methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and further prospectively identify the ones at high risk for relapse with cluster analysis.

METHODS

Sixty-two male MMT patients and 30 matched healthy controls (HC) underwent brain resting-state functional MRI data acquisition. The patients received 26-month follow-up for the monthly illegal-drug-use information. Ten addiction-related hubs were chosen to construct a user-defined network for the patients. Then the networks were discriminated with K-means-clustering-algorithm into different groups and followed by comparative analysis to the groups and HC. Regression analysis was used to investigate the brain regions significantly contributed to relapse.

RESULTS

Sixty MMT patients were classified into two groups according to their brain-network patterns calculated by the best clustering-number-K. The two groups had no difference in the demographic, psychological indicators and clinical information except relapse rate and total heroin consumption. The group with high-relapse had a wider range of DC changes in the cortical-striatal-thalamic circuit relative to HC and a reduced DC in the mesocorticolimbic circuit relative to the low-relapse group. DC activity in NAc, vACC, hippocampus and amygdala were closely related with relapse.

CONCLUSION

MMT patients can be identified and classified into two subgroups with significantly different relapse rates by defining distinct brain-network patterns even if we are blind to their relapse outcomes in advance. This may provide a new strategy to optimize MMT.

Spontaneous changes in brain network centrality in patients with pathological myopia: A voxel-wise degree centrality analysis

BACKGROUND

Myopia has become a worldwide problem that endangers public health and adds a serious socioeconomic burden. Current research has focused on the pathogenesis and manifestations of pathological myopia (PM). However, few studies have been conducted on the spontaneous activity of the patient's brain.

PURPOSE

To study the potential brain network activity in patients with PM by the degree centrality (DC) method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This experiment included 15 PM patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs). Every participant experienced a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to distinguish between PM patients and HCs. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships between mean DC values and clinical performance in different brain regions.

RESULTS

It showed that patients with PM had lower DC values in the right fusiform gyrus (FR) and right cingulate (CAR). The ROC curve was used to indicate the accuracy of the correlation. It showed that in PM group, left best corrected visual acuity (BCVA-L) and right best corrected visual acuity (BCVA-R) were negatively correlated with the DC value of FR.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of PM is mainly related to the abnormal activity of the fusiform and cingulum. DC value might be used as a biological marker of abnormal brain activity in PM patients.

Decreased degree centrality values as a potential neuroimaging biomarker for migraine: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study and support vector machine analysis

Objective

Misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of migraine are common in clinical practice. Currently, the pathophysiological mechanism of migraine is not completely known, and its imaging pathological mechanism has rarely been reported. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology combined with a support vector machine (SVM) was employed to study the imaging pathological mechanism of migraine to improve the diagnostic accuracy of migraine.

Methods

We randomly recruited 28 migraine patients from Taihe Hospital. In addition, 27 healthy controls were randomly recruited through advertisements. All patients had undergone the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Headache Impact Test - 6 (HIT-6), and 15 min magnetic resonance scanning. We ran DPABI (RRID: SCR_010501) on MATLAB (RRID: SCR_001622) to preprocess the data and used REST (RRID: SCR_009641) to calculate the degree centrality (DC) value of the brain region and SVM (RRID: SCR_010243) to classify the data.

Results

Compared with the healthy controls (HCs), the DC value of bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) in patients with migraine was significantly lower and that of left ITG showed a positive linear correlation with MIDAS scores. The SVM results showed that the DC value of left ITG has the potential to be a diagnostic biomarker for imaging, with the highest diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for patients with migraine of 81.82, 85.71, and 77.78%, respectively.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate abnormal DC values in the bilateral ITG among patients with migraine, and the present results provide insights into the neural mechanism of migraines. The abnormal DC values can be used as a potential neuroimaging biomarker for the diagnosis of migraine.

Preliminary Analysis of Volume-Based Resting-State Functional MRI Characteristics of Successful Aging in China

BACKGROUND

Resting-state function MRI (rs-fMRI) research on successful aging can provide insight into the mechanism of aging with a different perspective from aging-related disease.

OBJECTIVE

rs-fMRI research was used to analyze the brain function characteristics of successful aging.

METHODS

A total of 47 usual aging individuals and 26 successful aging (SA) individuals underwent rs-fMRI scans and neuropsychological tests. Volume-based rs-fMRI data analysis was performed with DPASF to obtain ALFF, ReHo, DC, and VMHC.

RESULTS

The SA group showed increased ALFF in right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (Frontal_Inf_Oper_R) and right supramarginal gyrus; increased ReHo in right middle temporal pole gyrus and decreased ReHo in left superior frontal gyrus and middle occipital gyrus; increased DC in right medial orbitofrontal gyrus and pulvinar part of thalamus; decreased DC in left fusiform gyrus and right medial frontal gyrus; increased VMHC in right medial orbitofrontal gyrus; and decreased VMHC in the right superior temporal gyrus, right and left middle temporal gyrus, right and left triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus. ALFF in Frontal_Inf_Oper_R were found to be significantly correlated with MMSE scores (r = 0.301, p = 0.014) and ages (r = -0.264, p = 0.032) in all subjects, which could be used to distinguish the SA (AUC = 0.733, 95% CI: 0.604-0.863) by ROC analysis.

CONCLUSION

The brain regions with altered fMRI characteristics in SA group were concentrated in frontal (6 brain regions) and temporal (4 brain regions) lobes. ALFF in Frontal_Inf_Oper_R was significantly correlated to cognitive function and ages, which might be used to distinguish the SA.

Connectomic disturbances in Duchenne muscular dystrophy with mild cognitive impairment

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is frequently associated with mild cognitive deficits. However, the underlying disrupted brain connectome and the neural basis remain unclear. In our current study, 38 first-episode, treatment-naive patients with DMD and 22 matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled and received resting-sate functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Voxel-based degree centrality (DC), seed-based functional connectivity (FC), and clinical correlation were performed. Relative to HC, DMD patients had lower height, full Intellectual Quotients (IQ), and IQ-verbal comprehension. Significant increment of DC of DMD patients were found in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC.L) and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC.R), while decreased DC were found in right cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL.R), right precentral/postcentral gyrus (Pre/Postcentral G.R). DMD patients had stronger FC in CPL.R-bilateral lingual gyrus, Pre/Postcentral G.R-Insular, and DMPFC.R-Precuneus.R, had attenuated FC in DLPFC.L-Insular. These abnormally functional couplings were closely associated with the extent of cognitive impairment, suggested an over-activation of default mode network and executive control network, and a suppression of primary sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum-visual circuit. The findings collectively suggest the distributed brain connectome disturbances maybe a neuroimaging biomarker in DMD patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Alterations of degree centrality and functional connectivity in classic trigeminal neuralgia

Objectives

Recent neuroimaging studies have indicated a wide range of structural and regional functional alterations in patients with classic trigeminal neuralgia (CTN). However, few studies have focused on the intrinsic functional characteristics of network organization in the whole brain. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the potential intrinsic dysconnectivity pattern of the whole brain functional networks at the voxel level using the degree centrality (DC) analysis in CTN patients.

Methods

Thirty-four patients with CTN and twenty-nine well-matched healthy controls (HCs) participated in this study. All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-MRI) examination and clinical and neuropsychologic assessments. DC is a graph theory-based measurement that represents the overall functional connectivity (FC) numbers between one voxel and other brain voxels. We first investigated brain regions exhibiting abnormal DC, and further identified their perturbation on FC with other brain regions using a seed-based FC analysis in patients with CTN. In addition, correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between the abnormal DC value and clinical variables in CTN patients.

Results

Compared with the HCs, the patients with CTN exhibited significantly greater DC values in the right pallidum and right putamen, and lower DC values in the right lingual gyrus, right calcarine sulcus, left paracentral lobule, and left midcingulate cortex. A further seed-based FC analysis revealed that the right lingual gyrus showed decreased FC within the visual network and with other core brain networks, including the sensorimotor network, default mode network, and salience network, relative to HCs. Additionally, the left midcingulate cortex exhibited decreased FC within the middle cingulate cortex and the visual network in CTN patients. Moreover, the DC value in the left midcingulate cortex was negatively correlated with the illness duration.

Conclusion

The present study shows that CTN patients exhibited specific functional connectivity network alterations in the basal ganglia, visual network, and salience network, which may reflect the aberrant neural network communication in pain processing and modulation. These findings may provide novel insight for understanding the mechanisms of pain chronicity in CTN patients.

Alteration of brain network centrality in CTN patients after a single triggering pain

Objective

The central nervous system may also be involved in the pathogenesis of classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN). The present study aimed to explore the characteristics of static degree centrality (sDC) and dynamic degree centrality (dDC) at multiple time points after a single triggering pain in CTN patients.

Materials and methods

A total of 43 CTN patients underwent resting-state function magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) before triggering pain (baseline), within 5 s after triggering pain (triggering-5 s), and 30 min after triggering pain (triggering-30 min). Voxel-based degree centrality (DC) was used to assess the alteration of functional connection at different time points.

Results

The sDC values of the right caudate nucleus, fusiform gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and orbital part were decreased in triggering-5 s and increased in triggering-30 min. The sDC value of the bilateral superior frontal gyrus were increased in triggering-5 s and decreased in triggering-30 min. The dDC value of the right lingual gyrus was gradually increased in triggering-5 s and triggering-30 min.

Conclusion

Both the sDC and dDC values were changed after triggering pain, and the brain regions were different between the two parameters, which supplemented each other. The brain regions which the sDC and dDC values were changing reflect the global brain function of CTN patients, and provides a basis for further exploration of the central mechanism of CTN.

The centrality of working memory networks in differentiating bipolar type I depression from unipolar depression: A task-fMRI study

OBJECTIVES

Up to 70%-80% of patients with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed as having major depressive disorder (MDD), leading to both delayed intervention and worsening disability. Differences in the cognitive neurophysiology may serve to distinguish between the depressive phase of type 1 bipolar disorder (BDD-I) from MDD, though this remains to be demonstrated. To this end, we investigate the discriminatory signal in the topological organization of the functional connectome during a working memory (WM) task in BDD-I and MDD, as a candidate identification approach.

METHODS

We calculated and compared the degree centrality (DC) at the whole-brain voxel-wise level in 31 patients with BDD-I, 35 patients with MDD, and 80 healthy controls (HCs) during an n-back task. We further extracted the distinct DC patterns in the two patient groups under different WM loads and used machine learning approaches to determine the distinguishing ability of the DC map.

RESULTS

Patients with BDD-I had lower accuracy and longer reaction time (RT) than HCs at high WM loads. BDD-I is characterized by decreased DC in the default mode network (DMN) and the sensorimotor network (SMN) when facing high WM load. In contrast, MDD is characterized by increased DC in the DMN during high WM load. Higher WM load resulted in better classification performance, with the distinct aberrant DC maps under 2-back load discriminating the two disorders with 90.91% accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

The distributed brain connectivity during high WM load provides novel insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment of depression. This could potentially distinguish BDD-I from MDD if replicated in future large-scale evaluations of first-episode depression with longitudinal confirmation of diagnostic transition.

Aberrant degree centrality of functional brain networks in subclinical depression and major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

As one of the most common diseases, major depressive disorder (MDD) has a significant adverse impact on the li of patients. As a mild form of depression, subclinical depression (SD) serves as an indicator of progression to MDD. This study analyzed the degree centrality (DC) for MDD, SD, and healthy control (HC) groups and identified the brain regions with DC alterations.

METHODS

The experimental data were composed of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) from 40 HCs, 40 MDD subjects, and 34 SD subjects. After conducting a one-way analysis of variance, two-sample t-tests were used for further analysis to explore the brain regions with changed DC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of single index and composite index features was performed to analyze the distinguishable ability of important brain regions.

RESULTS

For the comparison of MDD vs. HC, increased DC was found in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the MDD group. For SD vs. HC, the SD group showed a higher DC in the right STG and the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and a smaller DC in the left IPL. For MDD vs. SD, increased DC in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), right IPL, and left IPL, and decreased DC in the right STG and right MTG was found in the MDD group. With an area under the ROC (AUC) of 0.779, the right STG could differentiate MDD patients from HCs and, with an AUC of 0.704, the right MTG could differentiate MDD patients from SD patients. The three composite indexes had good discriminative ability in each pairwise comparison, with AUCs of 0.803, 0.751, and 0.814 for MDD vs. HC, SD vs. HC, and MDD vs. SD, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Altered DC in the STG, MTG, IPL, and MFG were identified in depression groups. The DC values of these altered regions and their combinations presented good discriminative ability between HC, SD, and MDD. These findings could help to find effective biomarkers and reveal the potential mechanisms of depression.

Flight training changes the brain functional pattern in cadets

Introduction

To our knowledge, this is the first study to use MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) before and after an intensive flight training. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of flight training in civil flying cadets.

Methods

The civil flying cadets and controls completed two study visits. Visit 1 was performed in 2019, and high spatial resolution structural image and resting-state functional MRI data were collected. The second visit was completed in 2022. In addition to the MRI data mentioned above, participants completed the cognitive function assessment at the second visit.

Results

Mixed-effect regression model analysis found that flight training enhanced the degree centrality (DC) values of the left middle frontal gyrus and left lingual gyrus. The subsequent correlation calculation analysis suggested a possible relationship between these alterations and cognitive function.

Discussion

These results suggest that flight training might promote the DC value of the prefrontal and occipital cortices and, in turn, enhance their executive function.

Aberrant brain functional network strength related to cognitive impairment in age-related hearing loss

Purpose

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a major public issue that affects elderly adults. However, the neural substrates for the cognitive deficits in patients with ARHL need to be elucidated. This study aimed to explore the brain regions that show aberrant brain functional network strength related to cognitive impairment in patients with ARHL.

Methods

A total of 27 patients with ARHL and 23 well-matched healthy controls were recruited for the present study. Each subject underwent pure-tone audiometry (PTA), MRI scanning, and cognition evaluation. We analyzed the functional network strength by using degree centrality (DC) characteristics and tried to recognize key nodes that contribute significantly. Subsequent functional connectivity (FC) was analyzed using significant DC nodes as seeds.

Results

Compared with controls, patients with ARHL showed a deceased DC in the bilateral supramarginal gyrus (SMG). In addition, patients with ARHL showed enhanced DC in the left fusiform gyrus (FG) and right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG). Then, the bilateral SMGs were used as seeds for FC analysis. With the seed set at the left SMG, patients with ARHL showed decreased connectivity with the right superior temporal gyrus (STG). Moreover, the right SMG showed reduced connectivity with the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and increased connection with the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in patients with ARHL. The reduced DC in the left and right SMGs showed significant negative correlations with poorer TMT-B scores (r = -0.596, p = 0.002; r = -0.503, p = 0.012, respectively).

Conclusion

These findings enriched our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment associated with ARHL and may serve as a potential brain network biomarker for investigating and predicting cognitive difficulties.

Abnormal hubs in global network as potential neuroimaging marker in generalized anxiety disorder at rest

Background

Mounting studies have reported altered neuroimaging features in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, little is known about changes in degree centrality (DC) as an effective diagnostic method for GAD. Therefore, we aimed to explore the abnormality of DCs and whether these features can be used in the diagnosis of GAD.

Methods

Forty-one GAD patients and 45 healthy controls participated in the study. Imaging data were analyzed using DC and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methods.

Results

Compared with the control group, increased DC values in bilateral cerebellum and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and decreased DC values in the left medial frontal orbital gyrus (MFOG), fusiform gyrus (FG), and bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The ROC results showed that the DC value of the left MTG could serve as a potential neuroimaging marker with high sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing patients from healthy controls.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that abnormal DCs in the left MTG can be observed in GAD, highlighting the importance of GAD pathophysiology.

Altered functional hubs and connectivity in type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without mild cognitive impairment

Cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with functional and structural abnormalities of brain networks, especially the damage to hub nodes in networks. This study explored the abnormal hub nodes of brain functional networks in patients with T2DM under different cognitive states. Sixty-five patients with T2DM and 34 healthy controls (HCs) underwent neuropsychological assessment. Then, degree centrality (DC) analysis and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis were performed to identify the abnormal hub nodes and the FC patterns of these hubs in T2DM patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (DMCI group, N = 31) and without MCI (DMCN group, N = 34). Correlation analyzes examined the relationship between abnormal DC and FC and clinical/cognitive variables. Compared with HCs, both T2DM groups showed decreased DC values in the visual cortex, and the T2DM patients with MCI (DMCI) showed more extensive alterations in the right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) regions than T2DM patients with normal cognitive function. Seed-based FC analysis of PHG and PCC nodes showed that functional disconnection mainly occurred in visual and memory connectivity in patients with DMCI. Multiple abnormal DC values correlated with neuropsychological tests in patients with T2DM. In conclusion, this study found that the DMCI group displayed more extensive alterations in hub nodes and FC in vision and memory-related brain regions, suggesting that visual-related regions dysfunctions and disconnection may be involved in the neuropathology of visuospatial function impairment in patients with DMCI.

Altered Cerebro-Cerebellar Effective Connectivity in New-Onset Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

(1) Objective: Resting-state fMRI studies have indicated that juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) could cause widespread functional connectivity disruptions between the cerebrum and cerebellum. However, the directed influences or effective connectivities (ECs) between these brain regions are poorly understood. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the ECs between the cerebrum and cerebellum in patients with new-onset JME. (2) Methods: Thirty-four new-onset JME patients and thirty-four age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. We compared the degree centrality (DC) between the two groups to identify intergroup differences in whole-brain functional connectivity. Then, we used a Granger causality analysis (GCA) to explore JME-caused changes in EC between cerebrum regions and cerebellum regions. Furthermore, we applied a correlation analysis to identify associations between aberrant EC and disease severity in patients with JME. (3) Results: Compared to HCs, patients with JME showed significantly increased DC in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (CePL.L), the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.R) and the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG.R), and decreased DC in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG.L) and the left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L). The patients also showed unidirectionally increased ECs from cerebellum regions to the cerebrum regions, including from the CePL.L to the right precuneus (PreCU.R), from the left cerebellum anterior lobe (CeAL.L) to the ITG.R, from the right cerebellum posterior lobe (CePL.R) to the IFG.L, and from the left inferior semi-lunar lobule of the cerebellum (CeISL.L) to the SFG.R. Additionally, the EC from the CeISL.L to the SFG.R was negatively correlated with the disease severity. (4) Conclusions: JME patients showed unidirectional EC disruptions from the cerebellum to the cerebrum, and the negative correlation between EC and disease severity provides a new perspective for understanding the cerebro-cerebellar neural circuit mechanisms in JME.

Altered brain network centrality in Parkinson's disease patients after deep brain stimulation: a functional MRI study using a voxel-wise degree centrality approach

OBJECTIVE

After deep brain stimulation (DBS), patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show improved motor symptoms and decreased verbal fluency, an effect that occurs before the initiation of DBS in the subthalamic nucleus. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of DBS on whole-brain degree centrality (DC) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) in PD patients.

METHODS

The authors obtained resting-state functional MRI data of 28 PD patients before and after DBS surgery. All patients underwent MRI scans in the off-stimulation state. The DC method was used to evaluate the effects of DBS on whole-brain FC at the voxel level. Seed-based FC analysis was used to examine network function changes after DBS.

RESULTS

After DBS surgery, PD patients showed significantly weaker DC values in the left middle temporal gyrus, left supramarginal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus, but significantly stronger DC values in the midbrain, left precuneus, and right precentral gyrus. FC analysis revealed decreased FC values within the default mode network (DMN).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that the DC of DMN-related brain regions decreased in PD patients after DBS surgery, whereas the DC of the motor cortex increased. These findings provide new evidence for the neural effects of DBS on voxel-based whole-brain networks in PD patients.

Blunt dopamine transmission due to decreased GDNF in the PFC evokes cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Studies have found that the absence of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor may be the primary risk factor for Parkinson's disease. However, there have not been any studies conducted on the potential relationship between glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and cognitive performance in Parkinson's disease. We first performed a retrospective case-control study at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between September 2018 and January 2020 and found that a decreased serum level of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor was a risk factor for cognitive disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease. We then established a mouse model of Parkinson's disease induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and analyzed the potential relationships among glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in the prefrontal cortex, dopamine transmission, and cognitive function. Our results showed that decreased glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in the prefrontal cortex weakened dopamine release and transmission by upregulating the presynaptic membrane expression of the dopamine transporter, which led to the loss and primitivization of dendritic spines of pyramidal neurons and cognitive impairment. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging data showed that the long-term lack of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor reduced the connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions, and exogenous glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor significantly improved this connectivity. These findings suggested that decreased glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in the prefrontal cortex leads to neuroplastic degeneration at the level of synaptic connections and circuits, which results in cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The impact of network positions in scientific collaboration on pharmaceutical firms' technological innovation performance: Moderating roles of scientific collaboration strength and patent stock

Scientific knowledge is an underlying basis for technological innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Collaboration is the main way to participate in the creation of scientific knowledge for pharmaceutical firms. Will network positions in scientific collaboration affect their technological innovation performance? Moreover, what factors moderate the firms' scientific collaboration network positions and technological innovation link? Using a dataset based on 194 Chinese publicly traded pharmaceutical companies, this paper constructs the dynamic scientific collaboration networks among 1,826 organizations by analyzing 4,092 papers included in CNKI and Web of Science databases. Then we probe the impact and boundaries of positions in the scientific collaboration network of pharmaceutical firms on their technological innovation performance through the negative binomial modeling approach. Our study confirms that degree centrality has an inverted U-shaped impact on pharmaceutical firms' technological innovation performance, while structural holes benefit it. Moreover, this article identifies that the strength of scientific collaboration positively moderates the U-shaped relationship between degree centrality and technological innovation of pharmaceutical firms, the matching of high patent stock and high structural holes can promote their technological innovation performance. The results deepen the present understanding of scientific collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry and offer new insights into the formulation of pharmaceutical firms' scientific collaboration strategies.

Shared and Unique Effects of Long-Term Administration of Methylphenidate and Atomoxetine on Degree Centrality in Medication-Naïve Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder

BACKGROUND

Although methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATX) can improve clinical symptoms and functional impairments in attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD), the underlying psychopharmacological mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to explore the shared and unique neurologic basis of these 2 medications in alleviating the clinical symptoms and functional impairments observed in ADHD.

METHODS

Sixty-seven ADHD and 44 age-matched children with typical development were included and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline. Then patients were assigned to MPH, ATX, or untreated subgroups, based on the patients' and their parents' choice, for a 12-week follow-up and underwent a second functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. The treatment effect on degree centrality (DC) was identified and correlated with clinical symptoms and functional impairments in the ADHD group.

RESULTS

Both MPH and ATX normalized the DC value in extensive brain regions mainly involving fronto-cingulo-parieto-cerebellum circuits. However, ATX showed limited significant effects on the cerebellum compared with ADHD at baseline. The improvements in clinical symptoms were correlated with increased DC in the right inferior temporal gyrus in both MPH and ATX subgroups but showed opposite effects. The alleviation of functional impairments in the school/learning domain negatively correlated with decreased DC in the bilateral cerebellum after MPH treatment, and the family functional domain positively correlated with decreased DC in the cerebellum and negatively correlated with decreased DC in the postcentral gyrus after ATX treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Both MPH and ATX can normalize abnormal brain functions that mainly involve the fronto-cingulo-parieto-cerebellum circuit in ADHD. Furthermore, the 2 medications showed shared and unique effects on brain functions to alleviate clinical symptoms and functional impairment.

Association between high levels of body-esteem and increased degree of midcingulate cortex global connectivity: A resting-state fMRI study

Multiple neuroimaging studies have examined the neural underpinnings of body image disturbances in patients with eating disorders. However, key brain regions related to body image, such as body-esteem (BE), among healthy individuals are understudied. Given the extremely crucial role of BE in eating behaviors and physical and mental health, the current study conducted data-driven analysis and characterized the neurobiological correlates of BE with the network properties of the resting brain using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) measures of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). A total of 694 healthy young adults (females = 474, mean age = 18.38 years, range = 17-22) underwent rs-fMRI, and completed the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, the Eating Disorder Diagnosis Scale, and the Restraint Scale. After correcting for differences in age, gender, body mass index, and head motion, whole-brain correlation analyses revealed that a high level of BE was associated with increased DC within the right midcingulate cortex (MCC) and subsequent high levels of MCC-based RSFC strengths. Furthermore, MCC connectivity patterns related to BE were inversely associated with disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggest that adaptive cognitive and emotional regulation (i.e., self-evaluation and emotion based on body image) may explain the potential relationship between MCC connectivity patterns and BE to a certain extent. As such, future studies should investigate these interesting possibilities.

The Effects of CPAP Treatment on Resting-State Network Centrality in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

Background and Objectives

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep disorder and previous studies have shown that OSA patients suffer from brain network impairments associated with cognitive deficits, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment can improve clinical symptoms. However, the relationship between CPAP treatment and brain network changes remains unclear. This study explored the characteristics of brain network changes in OSA patients before (pre-CPAP) and after one month of CPAP treatment (post-CPAP).

Methods

We collected data, including sleep monitoring, clinical assessment, and magnetic resonance imaging scans, from 21 OSA patients and 21 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Voxel-level degree centrality (DC) was used to assess whole-brain network connectivity characteristics, a two-sample t-test was used to compare network differences between pre-CPAP OSA patients and HCs, and a paired sample t-test was used to compare the characteristics of brain network changes in OSA patients before and after treatment. The correlations between the DC value and each of the clinical variables were analyzed in the OSA patients.

Results

Compared with HCs, pre-CPAP OSA patients showed increased DC values in the bilateral cerebellar posterior lobes (CPLs) and decreased DC values in the right superior temporal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus. Compared with pre-CPAP OSA patients, post-CPAP OSA patients showed reduced DC values in the bilateral CPL and increased DC values in several brain regions in the frontal, temporal, and insular lobes after CPAP treatment. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment MoCA (MoCA) scores were positively correlated with the DC value of the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe, right middle temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left paracentral lobule and left paracentral lobule. Also, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores were negatively correlated with the DC value of the right middle temporal gyrus in post-CPAP OSA patients.

Conclusion

CPAP treatment can effectively reverse the compensatory response of the bilateral CPL and functional network damage brought about by OSA, which may provide potential neuroimaging biomarkers for CPAP treatment evaluation.

Abnormal Intrinsic Functional Hubs in Corneal Ulcer: Evidence from a Voxel-Wise Degree Centrality Analysis

BACKGROUND

Numerous anterior neuroimaging researches have revealed that corneal ulcers (CU) are related to changes in cerebral anatomic structure and functional area. Nonetheless, functional characteristics of the brain's network organization still show no definite research results. The study was designed to confirm CU-associated spatial centrality distribution functional network of the whole cerebrum and explore the mechanism through which the larvaceous changed the intrinsic functional hubs.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this study, 40 patients with CU and 40 normal controls (matched in sex, age, and education level) were enrolled in this study to undergo resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. The differences between the groups were determined by measuring the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) throughout the whole cerebrum. For the purpose of assessing the correlation between abnormal DC value and clinical variables, the Linear correlation analysis was used.

RESULTS

Compared with normal controls (NCs), CU patients revealed high DC values in the frontal lobe, precuneus, inferior parietal lobule, posterior cingulate, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe in the brain functional connectivity maps throughout the brain. The intergroup differences also had high similarity on account of different thresholds. In addition, DC values were positively related to the duration of CU in the left middle frontal gyrus.

CONCLUSIONS

The experimental results revealed that patients with CU showed spatially unnatural intrinsic functional hubs whether DC values increased or decreased. This brings us to a new level of comprehending the functional features of CU and may offer useful information to make us obtain a clear understanding of the dysfunction of CU.

Basal ganglia stroke is associated with altered functional connectivity of the left inferior temporal gyrus

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Acute cerebral infarction in the basal ganglia is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment, suggesting that cognitive networks might be involved in neural plasticity after ischemic stroke. This study was conducted to explore the abnormalities in functional and causal connectivity of the brain network in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the basal ganglia.

METHODS

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 27 patients with AIS in the basal ganglia and 27 healthy controls (HCs). Brain regions with statistically different degree centrality (DC) values between groups were selected as seed points for granger causality analysis (GCA) analysis. The effective connectivity values of GCA were extracted, and the correlation between them and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score was analyzed.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs group, AIS patients displayed increased DC value in the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and hippocampus head, reduced effective connectivity from the left ITG to the left precentral and postcentral gyri, increased effective connectivity from the left precentral and postcentral gyri to the left ITG, and reduced effective connectivity from the left anterior cingulate gyrus to the left ITG. The MoCA score of the AIS group was lower than that of the HCs group (t = -7.33, p < .05).

CONCLUSION

Alterations of functional and causal connectivity among multiple brain regions suggest that patients with AIS in the basal ganglia have impairment of multifunctional networks in the whole brain.

Abnormal degree centrality in first-episode medication-free adolescent depression at rest: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study and support vector machine analysis

BACKGROUND

Depression in adolescents is more heterogeneous and less often diagnosed than depression in adults. At present, reliable approaches to differentiating between adolescents who are and are not affected by depression are lacking. This study was designed to assess voxel-level whole-brain functional connectivity changes associated with adolescent depression in an effort to define an imaging-based biomarker associated with this condition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In total, 71 adolescents affected by major depressive disorder (MDD) and 71 age-, sex-, and education level-matched healthy controls were subjected to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) based analyses of brain voxel-wise degree centrality (DC), with a support vector machine (SVM) being used for pattern classification analyses.

RESULTS

DC patterns derived from 16-min rs-fMRI analyses were able to effectively differentiate between adolescent MDD patients and healthy controls with 95.1% accuracy (136/143), and with respective sensitivity and specificity values of 92.1% (70/76) and 98.5% (66/67) based upon DC abnormalities detected in the right cerebellum. Specifically, increased DC was evident in the bilateral insula and left lingual area of MDD patients, together with reductions in the DC values in the right cerebellum and bilateral superior parietal lobe. DC values were not significantly correlated with disease severity or duration in these patients following correction for multiple comparisons.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that whole-brain network centrality abnormalities may be present in many brain regions in adolescent depression patients. Accordingly, these DC maps may hold value as candidate neuroimaging biomarkers capable of differentiating between adolescents who are and are not affected by MDD, although further validation of these results will be critical.

Abnormal hubs in global network as neuroimaging biomarker in right temporal lobe epilepsy at rest

While abnormal neuroimaging features have been reported in patients suffering from right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE), the value of altered degree centrality (DC) as a diagnostic biomarker for rTLE has yet to be established. As such, the present study was designed to examine DC abnormalities in rTLE patients in order to gauge the diagnostic utility of these neuroimaging features. In total, 68 patients with rTLE and 73 healthy controls (HCs) participated in this study. Imaging data were analyzed using DC and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methods. Ultimately, rTLE patients were found to exhibit reduced right caudate DC and increased left middle temporal gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, frontal gyrus Inferior gyrus, middle-superior frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal gyrus DC relative to HC. ROC analyses indicated that DC values in the right caudate nucleus could be used to differentiate between rTLE patients and HCs with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Together, these results thus suggest that rTLE is associated with abnormal DC values in the right caudate nucleus, underscoring the relevance of further studies of the underlying pathophysiology of this debilitating condition.

Abnormal degree centrality values as a potential imaging biomarker for major depressive disorder: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study and support vector machine analysis

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have revealed abnormal degree centrality (DC) in the structural and functional networks in the brains of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). There are no existing reports on the DC analysis method combined with the support vector machine (SVM) to distinguish patients with MDD from healthy controls (HCs). Here, the researchers elucidated the variations in DC values in brain regions of MDD patients and provided imaging bases for clinical diagnosis.

METHODS

Patients with MDD (N = 198) and HCs (n = 234) were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). DC and SVM were applied to analyze imaging data.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, MDD patients displayed elevated DC values in the vermis, left anterior cerebellar lobe, hippocampus, and caudate, and depreciated DC values in the left posterior cerebellar lobe, left insula, and right caudate. As per the results of the SVM analysis, DC values in the left anterior cerebellar lobe and right caudate could distinguish MDD from HCs with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 87.71% (353/432), 84.85% (168/198), and 79.06% (185/234), respectively. Our analysis did not reveal any significant correlation among the DC value and the disease duration or symptom severity in patients with MDD.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated abnormal DC patterns in patients with MDD. Aberrant DC values in the left anterior cerebellar lobe and right caudate could be presented as potential imaging biomarkers for the diagnosis of MDD.

Alteration of whole-brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and degree centrality in patients with mild to moderate depression: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BACKGROUND

Mild to moderate depressive disorder has a high risk of progressing to major depressive disorder.

METHODS

Low-frequency amplitude and degree centrality were calculated to compare 49 patients with mild to moderate depression and 21 matched healthy controls. Correlation analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and the degree centrality (DC) of altered brain region and the scores of clinical scale. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were further analyzed to evaluate the predictive value of above altered ALFF and DC areas as image markers for mild to moderate depression.

RESULTS

Compared with healthy controls, patients with mild to moderate depression had lower ALFF values in the left precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus [voxel p < 0.005, cluster p < 0.05, Gaussian random field correction (GRF) corrected] and lower DC values in the left insula (voxel p < 0.005, cluster p < 0.05, GRF corrected). There was a significant negative correlation between DC in the left insula and scale scores of Zung's Depression Scale (ZungSDS), Beck Self-Rating Depression Scale (BDI), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS26), and Ruminative Thinking Response Scale (RRS_SUM, RRS_REFLECTION, RRS_DEPR). Finally, ROC analysis showed that the ALFF of the left precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus had a sensitivity of 61.9% and a specificity of 79.6%, and the DC of the left insula had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 85.7% in differentiating mild to moderate depression from healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

Intrinsic abnormality of the brain was mainly located in the precuneus and insular in patients with mild to moderate depression, which provides insight into potential neurological mechanisms.

The alterations of degree centrality in the frontal lobe of patients with panic disorder

Objective: The brain network in panic disorder (PD) is still an intriguing issue for research. In this study, we hoped to investigate the role of DC (degree centrality) for the pathophysiology of PD, especially for the fear network. Methods: We enrolled 60 patients with PD and 60 controls in the current study. The gender and age were matched for two groups. All participants received the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to survey the baseline brain activity. Then the DC values of all participants were using REST toolbox. We also compared the DC values between PD and controls. The statistical threshold was set as FDR (false discovery rate) < 0.05. Results: The DC values were significantly lower in the right superior frontal gyrus of PD patients compared to controls (FDR < 0.05). In addition, a negative correlation between the DC values and panic severity was observed in the right superior frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus. However, there was no significant association between the DC values and illness duration. Conclusion: The DC seemed significantly altered in the frontal lobe of PD patients. The role of the frontal lobe might be more emphasized in the pathophysiology research for PD.

Exploration of the Mechanism Underlying the Association of Incident Microinfarct and Motor Deficit: A Preliminary Functional MRI Study

BACKGROUND

Cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs) might cause measurable disruption to brain connections and are associated with cognitive decline, but the association between CMIs and motor impairment is still unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the CMIs effect on motor function in vivo and explore the potential neuropathological mechanism based on graph-based network method.

METHODS

We identified 133 non-demented middle-aged and elderly participants who underwent MRI scanning, cognitive, and motor assessment. The short physical performance battery (SPPB) assessed motor function, including balance, walking speed, and chair stand. We grouped participants into 34 incident CMIs carriers and 99 non-CMIs carriers as controls, depending on diffusion-weighted imaging. Then we assessed the independent CMIs effects on motor function and explored neural mechanisms of CMIs on motor impairment via mapping of degree centrality (DC) and eigenvector centrality (EC).

RESULTS

CMIs carriers had worse motor function than non-carriers. Linear regression analyses showed that CMIs independently contributed to motor function. CMIs carriers had decreased EC in the precuneus, while increased DC and EC in the middle temporal gyrus and increased DC in the inferior frontal gyrus compared to controls (p < 0.05, corrected). Correlation analyses showed that EC of precuneus was related to SPPB (r = 0.25) and balance (r = 0.27); however, DC (r = -0.25) and EC (r = -0.25) of middle temporal gyrus was related with SPPB in all participants (p < 0.05, corrected).

CONCLUSION

CMIs represent an independent risk factor for motor dysfunction. The relationship between CMIs and motor function may be attributed to suppression of functional hub region and compensatory activation of motor-related regions.

Alteration of Whole Brain ALFF/fALFF and Degree Centrality in Adolescents With Depression and Suicidal Ideation After Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most widespread mental disorders and can result in suicide. Suicidal ideation (SI) is strongly predictive of death by suicide, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for MDD, especially in patients with SI. In the present study, we aimed to determine differences in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in 14 adolescents aged 12–17 with MDD and SI at baseline and after ECT. All participants were administered the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and received rs-fMRI scans at baseline and after ECT. Following ECT, the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) significantly decreased in the right precentral gyrus, and the degree centrality (DC) decreased in the left triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus and increased in the left hippocampus. There were significant negative correlations between the change of HAMD (ΔHAMD) and ALFF in the right precentral gyrus at baseline, and between the change of BSSI and the change of fALFF in the right precentral gyrus. The ΔHAMD was positively correlated with the DC value of the left hippocampus at baseline. We suggest that these brain regions may be indicators of response to ECT in adolescents with MDD and SI.