Li Fengfang, Lu Liyan, Chen Huiyou, Wang Peng, Chen Yu-Chen, Zhang Hong, Yin Xindao
Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Nov 20;11(22):10684-10696. doi: 10.18632/aging.102484.
There have been an increasing number of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reports on brain abnormalities in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) at different phases. However, the neural bases and cognitive impairment after acute mTBI are unclear. This study aimed to identify brain functional hubs and connectivity abnormalities in acute mTBI patients and their correlations with deficits in cognitive performance. Within seven days after brain injury, mTBI patients (n=55) and age-, sex-, and educational -matched healthy controls (HCs) (n=41) underwent resting-state fMRI scans and cognitive assessments. We derived functional connectivity (FC) strength of the whole-brain network using degree centrality (DC) and performed Granger causality analysis (GCA) to analyze causal connectivity patterns in acute mTBI. Compared with HCs, acute mTBI patients had significantly decreased network centrality in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Additionally, acute mTBI showed decreased inflows from the left MFG to bilateral middle temporal gyrus (MTG), left medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG), and left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Correlation analyses revealed that changes in network centrality and causal connectivity were associated with deficits in cognitive performance in mTBI. Our findings may help to provide a new perspective for understanding the neuropathophysiological mechanism of acute cognitive impairment after mTBI.
关于轻度创伤性脑损伤（mTBI）不同阶段脑异常的功能磁共振成像（fMRI）报告越来越多。然而，急性mTBI后的神经基础和认知障碍尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定急性mTBI患者的脑功能枢纽和连接异常及其与认知表现缺陷的相关性。在脑损伤后7天内，mTBI患者（n = 55）和年龄、性别、教育程度匹配的健康对照（HCs）（n = 41）接受了静息态fMRI扫描和认知评估。我们使用度中心性（DC）得出全脑网络的功能连接（FC）强度，并进行格兰杰因果分析（GCA）以分析急性mTBI中的因果连接模式。与HCs相比，急性mTBI患者左额中回（MFG）的网络中心性显著降低。此外，急性mTBI显示从左MFG到双侧颞中回（MTG）、左额内侧上回（mSFG）和左前扣带回皮质（ACC）的流入减少。相关性分析显示，网络中心性和因果连接的变化与mTBI患者的认知表现缺陷相关。我们的研究结果可能有助于为理解mTBI后急性认知障碍的神经病理生理机制提供新的视角。
