Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Department of Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
Lancet Neurol. 2013 Dec;12(12):1189-99. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70144-3. Epub 2013 Oct 11.
Network-based analysis of structural and functional connections has provided a new technique to study the brains of healthy people and patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Graph theory provides a powerful method to quantitatively describe the topological organisation of brain connectivity. With such a framework, the brain can be depicted as a set of nodes connected by edges. Distinct modifications of network topological organisation in the brain have been identified during development and normal ageing, whereas disrupted functional and structural connectivities have been associated with several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia. These assessments have improved understanding of the clinical manifestations noted in these patients, including disability and cognitive impairment. Future network-based research might enable indentification of different stages of disorders, subtypes for cognitive impairment, and connectivity profiles associated with different clinical outcomes.
基于网络的结构和功能连接分析为研究健康人和神经及精神疾病患者的大脑提供了一种新的技术。图论提供了一种定量描述大脑连接拓扑组织的强大方法。在这样的框架中，大脑可以被描绘成由节点和边组成的集合。在发育和正常衰老过程中，大脑的网络拓扑组织发生了明显的改变，而功能和结构连接的中断与几种神经和精神疾病有关，包括痴呆、肌萎缩侧索硬化、多发性硬化和精神分裂症。这些评估提高了对这些患者临床表现的认识，包括残疾和认知障碍。未来基于网络的研究可能会识别出疾病的不同阶段、认知障碍的亚型以及与不同临床结果相关的连接特征。
