Zeng Lingwei, Gai Lidong, Sun Kewei, Yuan Yimeng, Gao Yuntao, Wang Hui, Wang Xiucao, Wen Zhihong
Military Medical Psychology School, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
The First Regiment of the Basic Training Base of the Air Force Aviation University, Changchun, China.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2025 Mar 4;19:1513304. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1513304. eCollection 2025.
Studies have shown that inhibitory control is supported by frontal cortex and small-world brain networks. However, it remains unclear how regulating the topology changes the inhibitory control. We investigated the effects of small-worldness upregulation training on resting-state networks via fNIRS neurofeedback training, which will contribute to a deeper insight of inhibitory control.
A five-day training session was used to regulate the small-worldness of the frontal cortex, and the color-word Stroop task was tested before and after training. Fifty healthy adults were recruited and randomly assigned to the sham feedback group (sham group), or intermittent fNIRS-based brain network feedback group (fNIRS-NF group). On the basis of the exclusion of incomplete data, 45 valid data sets were retained and analyzed (sham: 21, fNIRS-NF: 24).
Training increased resting-state small-worldness and improved Stroop task performance, with a significant correlation between these changes ( = -0.32, = 0.032). The fNIRS-NF group exhibited reduced hemodynamic activation (βvalue decreased, indicating lower cognitive load) during posttest and follow-up. Notably, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) showed greater intra-regional connectivity increases than the left dlPFC, suggesting asymmetric plasticity.
Intermittent fNIRS neurofeedback effectively modulates resting-state small-world networks and enhances inhibitory control, with effects sustained for at least one week. These findings highlight small-worldness as a novel target for cognitive interventions.
研究表明，抑制控制由额叶皮质和小世界脑网络支持。然而，尚不清楚调节拓扑结构如何改变抑制控制。我们通过功能近红外光谱神经反馈训练研究了小世界特性上调训练对静息态网络的影响，这将有助于更深入地了解抑制控制。
采用为期五天的训练课程来调节额叶皮质的小世界特性，并在训练前后进行色词Stroop任务测试。招募了50名健康成年人，随机分为假反馈组（假手术组）或基于功能近红外光谱的间歇性脑网络反馈组（fNIRS-NF组）。在排除不完整数据的基础上，保留并分析了45个有效数据集（假手术组：21个，fNIRS-NF组：24个）。
训练增加了静息态小世界特性并改善了Stroop任务表现，这些变化之间存在显著相关性（ = -0.32， = 0.032）。fNIRS-NF组在测试后和随访期间血流动力学激活降低（β值降低，表明认知负荷较低）。值得注意的是，右侧背外侧前额叶皮质（dlPFC）比左侧dlPFC表现出更大的区域内连接性增加，提示不对称可塑性。
间歇性功能近红外光谱神经反馈可有效调节静息态小世界网络并增强抑制控制，且效果可持续至少一周。这些发现突出了小世界特性作为认知干预的新靶点。
