Study of cognitive functional changes in children with spastic cerebral palsy using diffusion tensor imaging based graph theory analysis / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To explore brain network properties and their relationship with cognitive function in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based graph theory analysis.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. Clinical and imaging data of 21 children with SCP (SCP group) and 32 healthy children (control group) who underwent cranial MRI at the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from August 2020 to April 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. 3D-T 1WI, DTI and Wechsler Intelligence Scale were assessed for all subjects. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale included the verbal comprehension index (VCI), the processing speed index (PSI), the work memory index (WMI), and the perceptual reasoning index (PRI), etc., and ultimately the full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) scores were obtained based on the indices of each subscale. Independent samples t-test was used to analyze the differences in the small world attributes [small-world index (σ), normalized shortest path length (λ), normalized clustering coefficients (γ)], global attributes [global efficiency (Eglob), local efficiency (Eloc), characteristic path length (Lp), clustering efficiency (Cp)] and node attributes [degree centrality(DC), nodal efficiency (Ne), betweeness centrality (Bc), nodal shortest path length (NLp), nodal clustering efficiency, nodal local efficiency] between two groups of children′s brain networks. Brain network indicators with statistically significant differences between the 2 groups were correlated with Wechsler Intelligence Scale scores using Spearman. Results:The FSIQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale and the VCI, WMI, PSI, and PRI were lower in the SCP group than in the control group, and the differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). Both groups of children′s brain networks had small world properties. Compared with the control group, Eglob decreased, Lp and λ increased in the SCP group (all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, DC and Ne in multiple brain regions decreased, NLp increased in the SCP group (all P<0.05, FDR corrected). Correlation analysis showed that DC in the right parsopercularis was positively correlated with FSIQ, VCI, WMI and PRI( r=0.53, 0.47, 0.47, 0.60, P=0.019, 0.045, 0.044, 0.020, respectively); NLp in the right parsopercularis was negatively correlated with PRI( r=-0.56, P=0.030); Ne in left paracentral, the right parsopercularis, right precentral, right postcentra were positively correlated with PRI( r=0.62, 0.56, 0.53, 0.54, P=0.015, 0.031, 0.044, 0.039, respectively); Ne in the right precentral was positively correlated with WMI ( r=0.48, P=0.039) in the SCP group. Conclusions:There are changes in the topological attributes of global and multiple regional brain networks in SCP. The changes in the attributes of nodes in the right parsopercularis, right precentral, right postcentral, and left paracentral could reflect cognitive dysfunction in children with SCP.

Análisis cienciométrico sobre tendencias de investigación del riesgo suicida en la infancia y la adolescencia

El objetivo del presente estudio bibliométrico consistió en analizar la producción científica acumulada sobre los factores de riesgo biopsicosocial conducentes al suicidio en la infancia y la adolescencia mediante la implementación de la teoría de grafos. Se consultaron las bases de datos Scopus (Elsevier) y Web of Science, y el análisis se efectuó en bibliometrix, Sci2 tool y Gephi. Se encontraron 2,058 registros. El análisis mostró una red de citaciones de 2,905 registros y cuatro clústeres principales. Los resultados arrojaron una estructura de red de la producción de conocimiento en cuatro tendencias de investigación: (1) factores de predicción de tipo psiquiátrico del comportamiento suicida en niños y adolescentes; (2) asociación entre conducta autolesiva no suicida y comportamiento suicida en adolescentes; (3) relación entre maltrato infantil y suicidio; (4) uso de antidepresivos en la niñez y adolescencia y comportamiento suicida. Finalmente, se plantean consideraciones para la prevención del suicidio en la población objeto de estudio.

O objetivo deste estudo bibliométrico foi analisar a produção científica sobre os fatores de risco biopsicossociais que levam ao suicídio na infância e adolescência utilizando a teoria dos grafos. Foram consultadas as bases de dados Scopus (Elsevier) e Web of Science e a análise foi realizada no bibliometrix, Sci2 e Gephi. Foram encontrados 2058 registos. A análise revelou uma rede de citações com 2905 registos e quatro clusters principais. Os resultados geraram uma estrutura de rede de produção de conhecimento em quatro tendências de pesquisa: (1) preditores de tipo psiquiátrico de comportamento suicida em crianças e adolescentes; (2) associação entre comportamento autolesivo não suicida e comportamento suicida adolescente; (3) relação entre maltrato infantil e suicidio; (4) uso de antidepressivos na infância e adolescência e comportamento suicida. Por fim, são propostas considerações para a prevenção do suicídio na população em estudo.

The aim of this bibliometric paper was to analyze the scientific production on biopsychosocial risk factors leading to suicide in childhood and adolescence using graph theory. The Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Science databases were consulted and the analysis was performed using bibliometrix, Sci2 tool and Gephi. A total of 2,058 records were found. The analysis of the records revealed a citation network of 2,905 records and four main clusters. The results showed a network structure of knowledge production behavior in four research trends: (1) psychiatric predictors of suicidal behavior in children and adolescents; (2) association between non-suicidal self-injurious behavior and suicidal behavior in adolescents; (3) relationship between child abuse and suicidal behavior; (4) use of antidepressants in childhood and adolescence and suicidal behavior. Finally, considerations for suicide prevention in the study population are raised.

Advances in multimodal MRI-based study of brain networks in patients with carotid artery stenosis / 中国辐射卫生

@#Stenosis and occlusion caused by carotid atherosclerosis is an important cause of ischemic stroke. In recent years, with the continuous development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and the introduction of complex network theory, brain network analysis can be used not only to explain the clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in patients with carotid stenosis caused by changes in network topological properties of different brain regions, but also to explore the imaging markers of carotid stenosis, thus providing important reference data for the diagnosis of early asymptomatic carotid stenosis, the selection of individualized intervention programs, and the assessment of efficacy. Brain network analysis has been used as a powerful tool. In this paper, we review the studies of structural and functional brain networks in patients with carotid stenosis, and introduce the definitions of brain network nodes and edges and important topological properties of complex networks. We also analyze the current research on brain network in patients with carotid stenosis, and discuss the challenges and outlook of existing imaging techniques and network construction methodologies in this field.

Alterations of hubs related to disease progression in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: a study on topological properties of brain networks / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the alterations of brain functional network related to disease progression in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and the potential neural mechanism of executive dysfunction.Methods:Nineteen temporal lobe epilepsy patients with a disease course of less than or equal to 5 years (TLE-SD group) and 24 temporal lobe epilepsy patients with a disease course of more than 5 years (TLE-LD group) were recruited from the Epilepsy Clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from December 2019 to December 2021. At the same time, 21 healthy control individuals (healthy control group) were recruited from the society and matched with gender, age, and education level. All subjects were evaluated demographic and clinical data, and performed resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and attention network test (ANT). The topological properties of functional brain network of 3 groups of subjects were calculated using graph theory, and then the hubs were determined. Then the inter-group comparison of hubs properties was carried out, and the correlation analysis with executive control function was performed.Results:The distribution pattern of hub nodes in TLE-SD patients was changed. Compared with the TLE-LD and healthy control groups, the TLE-SD group significantly increased the nodal degree values in brain regions such as the ventrolateral area of the left middle frontal gyrus, the left anterior central gyrus (upper limb area), the cephalic and caudal areas of the left parietal lobule, as well as the inner parietal lobe area, the caudal side of the right parietal lobule, and the right lateral occipital cortex. The nodal values of the brain areas such as the lateral and parietal inner area, the caudal side of the right upper upper lobule, and the right lateral occipital cortex were significantly increased. TLE-SD patients had a significant increase in the middle of the right upper frontal gyrus and the head of the left upper upper lobule. The node efficiency was significantly lower than that of TLE-LD patients, and the node efficiency in the middle of the right upper frontal gyrus was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group. The node network attributes of the left upper lobe were positively correlated with the execution control efficiency, and negatively correlated with the orientation efficiency. No significant difference was detected between TLE-LD patients and healthy controls.Conclusions:In TLE patients, the hubs in the middle of the right superior frontal gyrus were first damaged, and new hubs appeared in the dorsal attention network, the left anterior central gyrus and the right occipital lobe and were overloaded. With the progression of the disease, hubs tended to be redistributed to normality. The left superior parietal lobule may play an important role in the impairment of executive control function in TLE patients.

Abnormal topology of cortical thickness covariance network and altered functional connectivity in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To explore the changes in topological attributes of structural covariance network based on cortical thickness and the brain functional activities in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis by graph theory and functional connectivity (FC) analyses, and to investigate whether these changes were correlated to cognitive impairment.Methods:A total of 33 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis from Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University(patient group) and 35 healthy controls(control group) with matched gender, age, and education were included from July 2018 to November 2021.All subjects received cognitive function assessments, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans.Structural covariance networks were constructed in the two groups based on cortical thickness values and topological characteristics of networks were computed.A non-parametric permutation test which repeated 1 000 times was used to compare the characteristics of the networks between the two groups.Brain regions with abnormal topology were defined as region of interest(ROI), and FC values in global brain level were calculated.SPM 12 and RESTplus were used to identify the brain regions with significant differences in FC values between the two groups.Finally, Spearman correlation analysis between FC values of significant brain regions and cognitive scores were performed by SPSS 24.0.Results:The cognitive score of patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (27.0(23.5, 28.0)) was lower than that in control group(29.0(27.0, 30.0)) ( Z=-3.029, P=0.002). Graph theory analysis found that the patients showed significantly increased clustering coefficients ( P=0.004) and decreased global efficiency ( P=0.004) compared with healthy controls.Moreover, the nodal efficiency of left ventral posterior cingulate cortex (vPCC) and right dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (dPCC), as well as the nodal degree centrality of left vPCC and left polar planum of superior temporal gyrus (ppSTG) in patient group were significantly decreased ( P<0.05, FDR corrected) compared with control group.FC analysis showed the increased FC values between left vPCC and posterior cerebellum (MNI: x=6, y=-66, z=-21), as well as between left ppSTG and anterior cerebellum (MNI: x=6, y=-54, z=-12) (GRF corrected, voxel level P<0.001, cluster level P<0.05) in patient grooup.The FC values between left vPCC and posterior cerebellum were negatively correlated with the cognitive scores ( r=-0.403, P=0.020). Conclusion:Patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis show abnormal topology of structural covariance network based on cortical thickness and altered FC values, some of which are correlated to cognition and may be the underlying neural mechanism of cognitive impairment in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis.

Study on functional connectivity of brain networks in different emotional states based on graph theory / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To explore the changes in the functional connectivity of the brain networks of individuals in different emotional states based on electroencephalogram(EEG)signals and quantitatively analyze the differential changes in the properties of the functional brain networks with global graph theory metrics.Methods The EEG signals of the calm state(enrolled into a calm state group)and the stress state(into a stress state group)were extracted from the Database for Emotion Analysis Using Physiological Signals(DEAP),and were divided into 4 frequency bands including a Theta band([4,8)Hz),an Alpha band([8,13)Hz),a Beta band([13,31)Hz)and a Gamma band([31,45)Hz),and the phase locking value(PLV)of each band was calculated to get a PLV brain network matrix,and then the topological structure of the attributes of the PLV network matrix was investigated with three kinds of global attributes of graph theory including the small-world attribute,clustering coefficient and characteristic path length.Comparison analyses were carried out on the functional connectivity of the brain networks and the global attributes of graph theory of the 2 groups of emotional states.SPSS 25.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results Comparison of the functional connectivity between the 2 groups of emotional states showed statistically significant differences in connectivity between different brain regions in the 4 frequency bands(P＜0.05).The stress state group had the small-world attribute weakened at the Gamma band while the clustering coefficients and characteristic path lengths at the Alpha,Beta and Gamma bands increased obviously(P＜0.05)when compared with the calm state group;the stress state group and the calm state group had no statistical differences in the global attributes of graph theory at the Theta band(P＞0.05).Conclusion Different emotional states of individuals proves to be significantly characte-rized in terms of brain functional connectivity.Three global attributes of graph theory including the small-world attribute,clustering coefficient and characteristic path length can be used as the key feature parameters for the recognition of emotional states.References are provided for the diagnosis and treatment of emotional state-and affection-related brain functional dis-orders.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2023,44(11):9-14]

Topological properties of brain functional networks in adolescents with major depressive disorder / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the topological properties of whole-brain functional networks in first-episode drug-na?ve adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods:Seventy-six first-episode drug-na?ve adolescents with MDD admitted to Department of Neurology, Xiangyang No.1 Hospital Affilated to Hubei University of Medicince from January 2022 to January 2023 were selected as study subjects; 66 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited via advertisement. All subjects underwent resting-state functional MRI. The whole-brain functional networks were constructed for each subject; and then, the global topological metrics (global efficiency, local efficiency, clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, normalized clustering coefficient, normalized characteristic path length, and small-worldness properties) and local topological metrics (nodal degree centrality, nodal efficiency and nodal betweenness centrality) of the functional brain networks were analyzed between the two groups using graph-theory methods. Network-based statistics were used to examine between-group differences in functional connectivity strength of whole brain networks. Results:Small-worldness properties were demonstrated in both MDD group and HC group. MDD patients showed significantly higher global efficiency (0.129[0.124, 0.132] vs. 0.131[0.128, 0.133]), significantly lower clustering coefficient and characteristic path length (0.143[0.139, 0.146] vs. 0.139[0.135, 0.144]; 0.457[0.446, 0.734] vs. 0.451[0.440, 0.463]), and significantly increased nodal centralities in the right inferior parietal lobule, bilateral caudate nucleus and bilateral thalamus of brain functional networks compared with HCs ( P<0.05, FDR-corrected). Compared with HCs, MDD patients exhibited obviously lower functional connectivity strength in the orbitofrontal-temporal and anterior cingulate-limbic-temporal circuits. Conclusion:Abnormal alterations of topological properties of the brain functional networks are found in adolescents with MDD, which may be the underlying neuropathologic basis for MDD.

The topology of resting-state functional networks in the brain after an ischemic stroke / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To explore any changes in the topology of the brain′s resting-state functional networks after an ischemic stroke causing cognitive impairment (iPSCI) and their relationship with the impairment.Methods:Twenty-one patients with impaired cognition after a stroke were recruited into an iPSCI group, and 21 healthy counterparts matched in gender, age and the education level formed the control (HC) group. Three-dimensional T1-weighted anatomical images and resting state functional magnetic resonance images of all of the subjects were collected and any differences in brain network topology were analyzed using graph theory. The degree of centrality (DC), between centrality (BC) and the global topological properties of each brain region were compared using independent-sample t-tests. Spearman correlation coefficients were computed to analyze the significance of any correlation between topology differences and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) or Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scores.Results:Compared with the HC group, a significant DC increase was observed in the orbital part of the right of middle frontal gyrus (ORBmid.R), the right hippocampus (HIP.R), and the right thalamus (THA.R). There was a significant decrease in the left Rolandic operculum (ROL.L), the left postcentral gyrus (PoCG.L), the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG.L), the left angular gyrus (ANG.L), the left and right caudate nucleus (CAU.L and CAU.R), the putamen of the left lenticular nucleus (PUT.L), the left Heschl gyrus (HES.L), the left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L), and the temporal pole of the left superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup.L). Compared with the HC group, the brain regions of the iPSCI group in which the BC had increased significantly were the orbital part of the left middle frontal gyrus (ORBmid.L), the left cuneus (CUN.L), and the right precuneus (PCUN.R). DC was significantly decreased in the left caudate nucleus (CAU.L), the left temporal pole of the superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup.L), and the left of inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.L). Compared with the HC group, the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of the shortest path length (Lp) and the normalized Lp (λ) of the iPSCI group increased significantly, and the AUC of the normalized clustering coefficient (γ) and small-worldness (σ) decreased significantly. The DCs of the ROL.L, PoCG.L, CAU.L, HES.L, STG.L and TPOsup.L regions showed moderate positive correlation with the MoCA and MMSE scores ( r>0.4), as did the BC of the CAU.L and TPOsup.L regions ( r>0.4). Conclusions:Cognitive impairment is mainly associated with decreased nodal properties in the brain regions related to language and in the caudate nucleus. The topology of the frontal lobe, hippocampus, thalamus, striatum and default networks may self-repair after an iPSCI. The brain′s functional network after an iPSCI still has small-world properties, but with low efficiency and high cost.

A graph-theory-based method for processing of currency metabolites in metabolic networks / 生物工程学报

Graph-theory-based pathway analysis is a commonly used method for pathway searching in genome-scale metabolic networks. However, such searching often results in many pathways biologically infeasible due to the presence of currency metabolites (e.g. H+, H2O, CO2, ATP etc.). Several methods have been proposed to address the problem but up to now there is no well-recognized methods for processing the currency metabolites. In this study, we proposed a new method based on the function of currency metabolites for transferring of functional groups such as phosphate. We processed most currency metabolites as pairs rather than individual metabolites, and ranked the pairs based on their importance in transferring functional groups, in order to make sure at least one main metabolite link exists for any reaction. The whole process can be done automatically by programming. Comparison with existing approaches indicates that more biologically infeasible pathways were removed by our method and the calculated pathways were more reliable, which may facilitate the graph-theory-based pathway design and visualization.

The measurements of the similarity of dynamic brain functional network / 生物医学工程学杂志

Brain functional network changes over time along with the process of brain development, disease, and aging. However, most of the available measurements for evaluation of the difference (or similarity) between the individual brain functional networks are for charactering static networks, which do not work with the dynamic characteristics of the brain networks that typically involve a long-span and large-scale evolution over the time. The current study proposes an index for measuring the similarity of dynamic brain networks, named as dynamic network similarity (DNS). It measures the similarity by combining the "evolutional" and "structural" properties of the dynamic network. Four sets of simulated dynamic networks with different evolutional and structural properties (varying amplitude of changes, trend of changes, distribution of connectivity strength, range of connectivity strength) were generated to validate the performance of DNS. In addition, real world imaging datasets, acquired from 13 stroke patients who were treated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), were used to further validate the proposed method and compared with the traditional similarity measurements that were developed for static network similarity. The results showed that DNS was significantly correlated with the varying amplitude of changes, trend of changes, distribution of connectivity strength and range of connectivity strength of the dynamic networks. DNS was able to appropriately measure the significant similarity of the dynamics of network changes over the time for the patients before and after the tDCS treatments. However, the traditional methods failed, which showed significantly differences between the data before and after the tDCS treatments. The experiment results demonstrate that DNS may robustly measure the similarity of evolutional and structural properties of dynamic networks. The new method appears to be superior to the traditional methods in that the new one is capable of assessing the temporal similarity of dynamic functional imaging data.

Network analysis of the variables involved in career development / Análise de rede das variáveis envolvidas no desenvolvimento de carreira / Análisis de red de las variables involucradas en el desarrollo profesional

The aim of the study was to identify the relationships between career commitment and the perception of employability, career adaptability, self-reflection and insight of professionals from the southern region of Brazil. Participants were 535 individuals who answered an online questionnaire with sociodemographic questions and scales from career commitment, employability perception, career adaptability, self-reflection and insight, to evaluate the variables of interest in the study. The data were submitted to descriptive and network analysis. The results show a moderate and positive relationship between the variables studied and highlight the centrality and strength of the variables identity, planning and confidence among the analyzed variables. It is concluded that it is essential to encourage professionals to reflect on professional choices and their responsibility with their careers, based on the promotion of self-knowledge. Also, the role of organizations in the development of People Management practices that promote autonomy and relationships of trust stands out. (AU)

O objetivo do estudo foi identificar as relações entre comprometimento com a carreira e percepção de empregabilidade, adaptabilidade de carreira, autorreflexão e insight de profissionais da região Sul do Brasil. Participaram 535 indivíduos que responderam a um questionário on-line com questões sociodemográficas e escalas de comprometimento de carreira, percepção de empregabilidade, adaptabilidade de carreira, autorreflexão e insight, para avaliar as variáveis de interesse do estudo. Os dados foram submetidos a análises descritivas e de rede. Os resultados evidenciam relação moderada e positiva entre as variáveis pesquisadas e destacam a centralidade e força das variáveis Identidade, Planejamento e Confiança, entre as variáveis analisadas. Conclui-se que é fundamental estimular profissionais a refletir sobre escolhas profissionais e a sua responsabilidade com a carreira, a partir da promoção do autoconhecimento. Também, destaca-se o papel das organizações no desenvolvimento de práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que promovam autonomia e relações de confiança. (AU)

El objetivo del estudio fue identificar las relaciones entre el compromiso profesional y la percepción de empleabilidad, la adaptabilidad profesional, la autorreflexión y el insight de profesionales de la región sur de Brasil. Participaron 535 individuos que respondieron un cuestionario online con preguntas sociodemográficas y escalas compromiso profesional; percepción de empleabilidad; adaptabilidad profesional; autorreflexión e insight, para evaluar las variables de interés del estudio. Los datos fueron sometidos a análisis descriptivos y de red. Los resultados evidencian una relación moderada y positiva entre las variables investigadas y destacan la centralidad y fuerza de las variables identidad, planificación y confianza, entre las variables analizadas. Se concluye que es fundamental incentivar a los profesionales a reflexionar sobre elecciones profesionales y su responsabilidad con la carrera, a partir de la promoción del autoconocimiento. Asimismo, se destaca el papel de las organizaciones en el desarrollo de prácticas de Gestión de Personas que promuevan autonomía y relaciones de confianza. (AU)

Alterations of brain functional complex network in temporal lobe epilepsy patients: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate longitudinal alterations of brain functional complex network by rest-stage functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and graph theory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).Methods:A total of 13 TLE patients (TLE baseline group) and 13 healthy controls (healthy control group) were enrolled to observe alterations in complex functional network. The subjects were recruited in the Epilepsy Clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January 2015 to April 2018. For longitudinal analysis, TLE patients were followed-up for three years (TLE follow-up group). All participants underwent rs-fMRI and attention network test (ANT). Finally, a cross-sectional study was conducted by comparing the area under the curve (AUC) between the TLE baseline group and the healthy control group, and a longitudinal analysis was conducted by comparing the AUC between the TLE baseline group and the TLE follow-up group.Results:Cross-sectional analysis showed that the alerting function of the TLE baseline group was declined [The tonic alertness reaction time, phasic alertness reaction time and alertness were (727.00±126.07) ms, (692.85±132.37) ms, and (34.15±23.50) ms, respectively in the TLE baseline group, which were (639.87±81.41) ms, (589.50±80.59) ms, and (50.37±14.71) ms, respectively in the healthy control group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups ( t=-2.09, P=0.047; t=-2.41, P=0.024; t=2.11, P=0.045)]; the TLE baseline group demonstrated decreased clustering coefficient in left supplementary motor area (SMA.L)(AUC was 0.162±0.044, 0.189±0.021, respectively; t=-4.14, P=4.67E-04) and left inferior parietal supramarginal angular gyri (AUC was 0.178±0.021, 0.202±0.026, respectively; t=-2.42, P=0.024), and decreased nodal local efficiency in SMA.L (AUC was 0.239±0.045, 0.260±0.022, respectively; t=-4.13, P=4.77E-04) and left inferior temporal gyrus (AUC was 0.233±0.036, 0.253±0.027, respectively; t=-3.03, P=0.006) compared with the healthy control group, and both SMA.L clustering coefficient and nodal local efficiency were positively correlated with TLE patients′ duration ( r=0.652, P<0.05; r=0.611, P<0.05). Longitudinal analysis showed that the global network efficiency of the TLE follow-up group decreased (The AUC of the TLE baseline group was 0.182±0.008, and the AUC of the TLE follow-up group was 0.169±0.015, t=2.73, P=0.017), which was negatively correlated with alertness ( r=-0.617, P<0.05). Conclusions:TLE patients show impairment of topological properties of brain functional network. SMA.L is a significant node in network. Alterations of brain functional network associate with duration. The decline in global network efficiency may be a characteristic of progressive deficit to TLE.

Relation of cognitive function assessment with brain structure network in patients with acute cerebellar infarction / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To explore the relations of changes in the cognitive function with brain structure network in patients with cerebellar infarction.Methods:Thirty-six patients with cerebellar infarction at the posterior lobe, admitted to our hospital from July 2016 to October 2019, were chosen as cerebellar infarction group; and 30 healthy subjects matched with age, gender, and education level at the same time period were used as control group. Neurocognitive and behavioral tests were performed on both groups to assess the cognitive functions, and MR imaging was performed to obtain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. Deterministic tractography and graph theory were used to obtain the structural brain network and network parameters of all subjects. The differences of clinical data and brain network topological characteristic parameters between the two groups were compared, and the correlation between the subjects' brain structural network characteristic parameters and cognitive function was analyzed.Results:As compared with the control group, patients in the cerebellar infarction group had significantly lower Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Scale (MoCA), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Digit Span Test (DST), Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores, and significantly longer Trail Making Test (TMT) time-consuming ( P<0.05). As compared with the control group, the cerebellar infarction group showed significantly decreased global efficiency (Eglob) and local efficiency (Eloc) in the brain network, and significantly increased clustering coefficient (Cp) and length of path (Lp, P<0.05). As compared with the control group, the cerebellar infarction group had significantly reduced nodal efficiency in 14 brain regions ( P<0.05), including bilateral median cingulate and paracingulate gyri (DCG), left inferior frontal gyrus-opercular part (IFGoperc), bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), bilateral precuneus (PCUN), left inferior frontal gyrus-orbital part (ORBinf), left temporal pole-superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup), left temporal pole-middle temporal gyrus(TPOmid), left inferior parietal-supramarginal and angular gyri (IPL), bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG), left inferior frontal gyrus-triangular part (IFGtriang). MoCA scores were significantly negatively correlated with Lp ( r=-0.388, P=0.019), and were significantly positively correlated with Eglob ( r=0.350, P=0.036), and efficiencies in the right DCG ( r=0.428, P=0.009), left DCG ( r=0.359, P=0.031) and right PCG ( r=0.350, P=0.037) in the cerebellar infarction patients. The RAVLT scores showed a significantly positive correlation with Eglob ( r=0.338, P=0.044). The TMT-A time-consuming and left DCG had significant negative correlation ( r=0.357, P=0.032). TMT-B time-consuming was significantly negatively correlated with right DCG ( r=-0.432, P=0.008), right PCUN ( r=-0.350, P=0.036) and left DCG ( r=-0.398, P=0.016), and positively correlated with Lp ( r=0.406, P=0.014). Conclusions:There is cognitive dysfunction in multiple domains after acute cerebellar infarction, including memory, executive function, visuospatial ability and attention. At the same time, there are reduced efficiency of information transmission in bilateral PCUN, PCG and DCG, and the frontal temporal lobe; among them, the abnormal changes of the right PCG, bilateral DCG, and right PCUN may play key roles in cognitive dysfunction.

Aberrant topology of functional networks in chronic methamphetamine-dependent patients / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the topological alterations of brain functional networks in patients with chronic methamphetamine (MA) dependence.Methods:Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to map the brain networks of 46 patients with MA-dependence (MA group) and 46 healthy controls (control group). Statistical methods were used to compare the differences of brain functional connection and topological parameters between the two groups, and the correlations between these topological parameters with significant inter-group differences and clinical measurements were analyzed.Results:(1) Brain functional connection: as compared with the control group, the MA group had significantly enhanced functional connectivity in the subnetworks consisting of several brain regions, including the inferior parietal lobule, posterior central gyrus, lateral occipital cortex, ventromedial occipital cortex, orbital gyrus, anterior central gyrus, fusiform gyrus, superior temporal gyrus and thalamus; as compared with the control group, the MA group had significantly attenuated functional connectivity in the subnetworks consisting of several brain regions, the orbit frontal cortex, precentral gyrus, paracenter lobule, inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, postcentral gyrus, medioventral occipital cortex, lateral occipital cortex and amygdala. (2) Network topology attributes: the brain functional networks in all subjects from the MA group and control group held worldlet; but attribute of worldlet in the MA group was significantly reduced as compared with that in the control group ( P<0.05); moreover, the MA group had significantly decreased clustering coefficient, local efficiency, and modularity as compared with the control group ( P<0.05). In terms of regional topological attributes, such as betweenness centrality, the MA group presented evident reduction in the left superior frontal gyrus, right orbit frontal cortex, right middle temporal gyrus and right/left lateral occipital cortex as compared with the control group with significant differences ( P<0.05). (3)Correlation analysis: the betweenness centrality of right middle temporal gyrus exhibited a positive correlation with the age of patients using MA for the first time ( r=0.327, P=0.028); a positive correlation was found between the modularity and activating factor scores in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) in MA group ( r=0.315, P=0.035). Conclusions:Part of the global/local topological attributes of the brain functional network of patients with MA addiction are damaged. The younger the patients are when they take MA for the first time, the lower the betweenness centrality of the right middle temporal gyrus; the more the local attributes are damaged; and furthermore, the deeper the network modularity, the severer the active symptoms in the psychotic symptoms.

Changes of functional brain networks and their relations with cognitive function in patients with end-stage renal disease / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective To investigate the change patterns of functional brain networks and their relations with cognitive function in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).Methods Sixty-two patients with ESRD (ESRD group),admitted to our hospital from July 2018 to June 2019,and 36 age-,gender-,and education level-matched healthy controls (HC group) were enrolled.Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE),Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),Trail Making Test A (TMT-A),TMT-B and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) were used to evaluate the cognitive function for all subjects.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired;after data preprocessing,the brain functional networks were constructed and the topological parameters were calculated.Statistical methods were used to compare the differences of cognitive function scores and topological parameters between the two groups,and to analyze the correlations between these topological parameters and cognitive function scores in the ESRD group.Results The MMSE,MoCA and SDMT scores of the ESRD group were significantly lower than those of the HC group (P＜0.05),and the ESRD group took significantly longer time to complete TMT-A and TMT-B than the HC group (P＜0.05).The ESRD group had significantly lower normalized clustering coefficient (γ),small-worldness (σ) and local efficiency (Elocal) values than the HC group (P＜0.05).Patients in the ESRD group exhibited significantly decreased nodal efficiency in the paralimbic-limbic network (including the bilateral insula,median cingulate and paracingulate gyri,hippocampus,parahippocampal gyrus,amygdala,temporal pole:superior temporal gyrus,and temporal pole:middle temporal gyrus),right heschl gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus,and exhibited significantly increased nodal efficiency in the visual network (including the right distal-shaped gyrus,bilateral wedge,and left superior and middle occipital gyrus) as compared with the HC group (P＜0.05).In the ESRD group,the area under the curve (AUC) ofγ and σ was positively correlated with MoCA scores (r=0.698,P=0.000;r=0.661,P=0.000),and the AUC of Elocal showed positive correlation with MMSE scores (r=0.407,P=0.003).Conclusion Abnormal topological organization of the functional brain networks is revealed in patients with ESRD,which affects the cognitive function of these patients.

Brain structural network changes in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment:a diffusion tensor imaging study / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the changes of brain structure network in patients with Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment(PD-MCI),and to provide novel markers for the early recognition of PD-MCI. Methods Total 47 patients with primary PD were continuously enrolled at the De-partment of Neurology,Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from May 2017 to May 2018. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were selected as the healthy control (HC) group. General demographic data were col-lected from all subjects. The overall cognitive function and the five cognitive domains (attention and working memory,executive function,language,memory and visual spatial function) were comprehensively evaluated, then the patients with PD were further divided into PD-MCI group(n=22) and PD-NC group(n=25) based on their cognitive evaluation results. All subjects completed the diffusion tensor imaging( DTI) scan and the individual structural brain connection was obtained by deterministic diffusion-tensor tractography. By graph theory analysis technology,the network properties (global properties and node properties) and edge-wise dis- tributions were compared to assess structural connectivity differences among the three groups. Results Com-pared with the PD-NC and HC groups,the PD-MCI group had a larger characteristic path length(PD-NC:(8. 33±0. 95),HC:(8. 18±1. 35),PD-MCI:(9. 20±1. 52),F=4. 14,P<0. 05) and reduced global efficien-cy (PD-NC:(0. 13±0. 05),HC:(0. 13±0. 04),PD-MCI:(0. 10±0. 04),F=3. 73,P<0. 05) in addition to a lower nodal efficiency in frontoparietal areas,thalamus,cingulate gyrus,and insular(P=0 . 003-0. 040,FDR correction). Compared with the HC group,the PD-MCI group had a large frontotemporoparietal areas,basal ganglia,and insular network with decreased connection strength (P<0. 05,FDR correction). Compared with the PD-NC group,the PD-MCI group had a lower network connection strength in the frontoparietal areas (P<0. 05,FDR correction). Conclusion A disruption of structural connections that make up the brain network can lead to changes in information integration and delivery,leading to cognitive dysfunction in patients with PD. The distribution pattern of brain network structure connection changes is expected to become a new marker for identifying PD-MCI.

Changes in brain structural network connection of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective@#To explore the changes in brain structure network connection in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), and to provide novel markers for early identification of ADHD in clinical practice.@*Methods@#Deterministic diffusion-tensor tractography and graph theory approaches were used to investigate the topologic organization of the brain structural connectome in 25 children with ADHD and 23 healthy control children from May 2017 to May 2018, at Children′s Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University.Individual white matter networks were constructed for each participant, then the global properties, nodal properties and edge-wise distributions were compared between the two groups.@*Results@#(1)The global efficiency of the ADHD group (0.30±0.13) was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group (0.38±0.11), but the clustering coefficient (0.35±0.28) and the characteristic path length (2.94±0.38) were significantly higher than those of the healthy control group (0.28±0.10, 2.65±0.37), and the differences were statistically significant (t=-2.41, 2.31, 2.62, all P<0.05). (2)In the ADHD group, the nodal efficiency of the left inferior frontal gyrus, triangular part (0.13±0.06), left supramarginal gyrus (0.30±0.10), left inferior parietal, angular gyri (0.29±0.10), left precuneus (0.26±0.12)were significantly lower than the healthy control group(0.17±0.07, 0.38±0.10, 0.40±0.12, 0.35±0.12), while the nodal efficiency of the right superior frontal gyrus, orbital part and right paracentral lobule were significantly higher than the healthy control group(0.49±0.17, 0.43±0.14), and the differences were statistically significant[t=-2.52, -2.62, -3.11, -2.77, 2.34, 2.79, all P<0.05, false discovery rate(FDR) corrected]. (3)A disrupted subnetwork was observed that consisted of left frontoparietal areas, basal ganglia, thalamus and insular network (P<0.05, FDR corrected), which has the potential to discriminate individuals with ADHD from healthy control children(area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.78). (4)Diminished strength of the subnet work connections was correlated with the attention defect in patients with ADHD(r=-0.607, P=0.003).@*Conclusions@#Using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, with the help of graph theory analysis technology, ADHD children can be observed changes in brain structure network at multiple levels.The distribution pattern of brain network structure connection changes is expected to become a new marker for identifying ADHD.

Altered Functional Brain Networks in Patients with Traumatic Anosmia: Resting-State Functional MRI Based on Graph Theoretical Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic anosmia is a common disorder following head injury; however, little is known regarding its neural basis and influence on the functional networks. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the functional connectivity changes in patients with traumatic anosmia compared to healthy controls using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with traumatic anosmia and 12 healthy controls underwent rs-fMRI. Differences in the connectivity of the olfactory and whole brain networks were compared between the two groups. Graph theoretical parameters, such as modularity and global efficiency of the whole brain or olfactory networks, were calculated and compared. Correlation analyses were performed between the parameters and disease severity. RESULTS: Patients with traumatic anosmia showed decreased intra-network connectivity in the olfactory network (false discovery rate [FDR]-corrected p < 0.05) compared with that in healthy controls. Furthermore, the inter-network connectivity was increased in both the olfactory (FDR-corrected p < 0.05) and whole brain networks (degree-based statistic-corrected p < 0.05) in the anosmia group. The whole brain networks showed decreased modularity (p < 0.001) and increased global efficiency (p = 0.019) in patients with traumatic anosmia. The modularity and global efficiency were correlated with disease severity in patients with anosmia (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). CONCLUSION: Traumatic anosmia increased the inter-network connectivity observed with rs-fMRI in the olfactory and global brain functional networks. rs-fMRI parameters may serve as potential biomarkers for traumatic anosmia by revealing a more widespread functional damage than previously expected.

VisConnectome: an independent and graph-theory based software for visualizing the human brain connectome / 生物医学工程学杂志

As a complex system, the topology of human's brain network has an important effect on further study of brain's structural and functional mechanism. Graph theory, a kind of sophisticated analytic strategies, is widely used for analyzing complex brain networks effectively and comparing difference of topological structure alteration in normal development and pathological condition. For the purpose of using this analysis methodology efficiently, it is necessary to develop graph-based visualization software. Thus, we developed VisConnectome, which displays analysis results of the brain network friendly and intuitively. It provides an original graphical user interface (GUI) including the tool window, tool bar and innovative double slider filter, brain region bar, runs in any Windows operating system and doesn't rely on any platform such as Matlab. When importing the user-defined script file that initializes the brain network, VisConnectome abstracts the brain network to the ball-and-stick model and render it. VisConnectome allows a series of visual operations, such as identifying nodes and connection, modifying properties of nodes and connection such as color and size with the color palette and size double slider, imaging the brain regions, filtering the brain network according to its size property in a specific domain as simplification and blending with the brain surface as a context of the brain network. Through experiment and analysis, we conclude that VisConnectome is an effective visualization software with high speed and quality, which helps researchers to visualize and compare the structural and functional brain networks flexibly.

Independent Component Analysis and Graph Theoretical Analysis in Patients with Narcolepsy / 神经科学通报·英文版

The present study was aimed to evaluate resting-state functional connectivity and topological properties of brain networks in narcolepsy patients compared with healthy controls. Resting-state fMRI was performed in 26 adult narcolepsy patients and 30 matched healthy controls. MRI data were first analyzed by group independent component analysis, then a graph theoretical method was applied to evaluate the topological properties in the whole brain. Small-world network parameters and nodal topological properties were measured. Altered topological properties in brain areas between groups were selected as region-of-interest seeds, then the functional connectivity among these seeds was compared between groups. Partial correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the severity of sleepiness and functional connectivity or topological properties in the narcolepsy patients. Twenty-one independent components out of 48 were obtained. Compared with healthy controls, the narcolepsy patients exhibited significantly decreased functional connectivity within the executive and salience networks, along with increased functional connectivity in the bilateral frontal lobes within the executive network. There were no differences in small-world network properties between patients and controls. The altered brain areas in nodal topological properties between groups were mainly in the inferior frontal cortex, basal ganglia, anterior cingulate, sensory cortex, supplementary motor cortex, and visual cortex. In the partial correlation analysis, nodal topological properties in the putamen, anterior cingulate, and sensory cortex as well as functional connectivity between these regions were correlated with the severity of sleepiness (sleep latency, REM sleep latency, and Epworth sleepiness score) among narcolepsy patients. Altered connectivity within the executive and salience networks was found in narcolepsy patients. Functional connection changes between the left frontal cortex and left caudate nucleus may be one of the parameters describing the severity of narcolepsy. Changes in the nodal topological properties in the left putamen and left posterior cingulate, changes in functional connectivity between the left supplementary motor area and right occipital as well as in functional connectivity between the left anterior cingulate gyrus and bilateral postcentral gyrus can be considered as a specific indicator for evaluating the severity of narcolepsy.