Li Qingyuan, Zhang Xun, Yang Xun, Pan Nanfang, Li Xiao, Kemp Graham J, Wang Song, Gong Qiyong
Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China.
Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Neurobiol Stress. 2023 Oct 1;27:100578. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100578. eCollection 2023 Nov.
Social anxiety (SA) is a negative emotional response that can lead to mental health issues, which some have experienced during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Little attention has been given to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying inter-individual differences in SA alterations related to COVID-19. This study aims to identify neurofunctional markers of COVID-specific SA development.
110 healthy participants underwent resting-state magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tests before the pandemic (T1, October 2019 to January 2020) and completed follow-up behavioral measurements during the pandemic (T2, February to May 2020). We constructed individual functional networks and used graph theoretical analysis to estimate their global and nodal topological properties, then used Pearson correlation and partial least squares correlations examine their associations with COVID-specific SA alterations.
In terms of global network parameters, SA alterations (T2-T1) were negatively related to pre-pandemic brain small-worldness and normalized clustering coefficient. In terms of nodal network parameters, SA alterations were positively linked to a pronounced degree centrality pattern, encompassing both the high-level cognitive networks (dorsal attention network, cingulo-opercular task control network, default mode network, memory retrieval network, fronto-parietal task control network, and subcortical network) and low-level perceptual networks (sensory/somatomotor network, auditory network, and visual network). These findings were robust after controlling for pre-pandemic general anxiety, other stressful life events, and family socioeconomic status, as well as by treating SA alterations as categorical variables.
The individual functional network associated with SA alterations showed a disrupted topological organization with a more random state, which may shed light on the neurobiological basis of COVID-related SA changes at the network level.
社交焦虑（SA）是一种可能导致心理健康问题的负面情绪反应，有些人在2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间经历过这种情况。与COVID-19相关的社交焦虑个体差异背后的神经生物学机制很少受到关注。本研究旨在确定COVID-19特异性社交焦虑发展的神经功能标志物。
110名健康参与者在大流行前（T1，2019年10月至2020年1月）接受了静息态磁共振成像和行为测试，并在大流行期间（T2，2020年2月至5月）完成了后续行为测量。我们构建了个体功能网络，并使用图论分析来估计其全局和节点拓扑特性，然后使用Pearson相关性和偏最小二乘相关性来检验它们与COVID-19特异性社交焦虑变化的关联。
在全局网络参数方面，社交焦虑变化（T2-T1）与大流行前的脑小世界特性和标准化聚类系数呈负相关。在节点网络参数方面，社交焦虑变化与显著的度中心性模式呈正相关，该模式包括高级认知网络（背侧注意网络、扣带回-脑岛任务控制网络、默认模式网络、记忆检索网络、额顶叶任务控制网络和皮质下网络）和低级感知网络（感觉/躯体运动网络、听觉网络和视觉网络）。在控制了大流行前的一般焦虑、其他应激性生活事件和家庭社会经济地位后，以及将社交焦虑变化视为分类变量时，这些发现仍然稳健。
与社交焦虑变化相关的个体功能网络显示出拓扑组织紊乱，处于更随机的状态，这可能为网络水平上与COVID-19相关的社交焦虑变化的神经生物学基础提供线索。
