Institute of Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Haus 65, Leipziger Strasse 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany.
Data and Knowledge Engineering Group, Faculty of Computer Science, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Gebaeude 29, Universitaetsplatz 2, Magdeburg 39106, Germany.
Cereb Cortex. 2023 Apr 4;33(8):4729-4739. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhac375.
Tightly connected clusters of nodes, called communities, interact in a time-dependent manner in brain functional connectivity networks (FCN) to support complex cognitive functions. However, little is known if and how different nodes synchronize their neural interactions to form functional communities ("modules") during visual processing and if and how this modularity changes postlesion (progression or recovery) following neuromodulation. Using the damaged optic nerve as a paradigm, we now studied brain FCN modularity dynamics to better understand module interactions and dynamic reconfigurations before and after neuromodulation with noninvasive repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS). We found that in both patients and controls, local intermodule interactions correlated with visual performance. However, patients' recovery of vision after treatment with rtACS was associated with improved interaction strength of pathways linked to the attention module, and it improved global modularity and increased the stability of FCN. Our results show that temporal coordination of multiple cortical modules and intermodule interaction are functionally relevant for visual processing. This modularity can be neuromodulated with tACS, which induces a more optimal balanced and stable multilayer modular structure for visual processing by enhancing the interaction of neural pathways with the attention network module.
紧密连接的节点群，称为社区，在大脑功能连接网络 (FCN) 中以时间依赖的方式相互作用，以支持复杂的认知功能。然而，人们知之甚少的是，在视觉处理过程中，不同的节点是否以及如何同步它们的神经相互作用以形成功能社区（“模块”），以及这种模块性是否会在神经调节后的损伤后（进展或恢复）发生变化。使用受损的视神经作为范例，我们现在研究了大脑 FCN 模块性动力学，以更好地了解模块相互作用和神经调节前后的动态重新配置使用非侵入性重复经颅交流电刺激 (rtACS)。我们发现，在患者和对照组中，局部模块间相互作用与视觉表现相关。然而，患者在接受 rtACS 治疗后视力的恢复与与注意力模块相关的通路的连接的相互作用强度的改善有关，并且它改善了全局模块性并增加了 FCN 的稳定性。我们的结果表明，多个皮质模块的时间协调和模块间相互作用对于视觉处理具有功能相关性。这种模块性可以通过 tACS 进行神经调节，通过增强与注意力网络模块的神经通路的相互作用，诱导出更优化的平衡和稳定的多层模块结构，用于视觉处理。
