Robustness of Brain Structural Networks Is Affected in Cognitively Impaired MS Patients
Open Access
- 19 November 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Neurology
Abstract
The robustness of brain structural networks, estimated from diffusion MRI data, may be relevant to cognition. We investigate whether measures of network robustness, such as Ollivier-Ricci curvature, can explain cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS). We assessed whether local (i.e., cortical area) and/or global (i.e., whole brain) robustness, differs between cognitively impaired (MSCI) and non-impaired (MSNI) MS patients. Fifty patients, with Expanded Disability Status Scale mean (m): 3.2, disease duration m: 12 years, and age m: 40 years, were enrolled. Cognitive impairment scores were estimated from the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis. Images were obtained in a 3T MRI using a diffusion protocol with a 2 min acquisition time. Brain structural networks were created using 333 cortical areas. Local and global robustness was estimated for each individual, and comparisons were performed between MSCI and MSNI patients. 31 MSCI and 10 MSNI patients were included in the analyses. Brain structural network robustness and centrality showed significant correlations with cognitive impairment. Measures of network robustness and centrality identified specific cortical areas relevant to MS-related cognitive impairment. These measures can be obtained on clinical scanners and are succinct yet accurate potential biomarkers of cognitive impairment.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Functional Characterization of the Cingulo-Opercular Network in the Maintenance of Tonic AlertnessCerebral Cortex, 2014
- Deterministic Diffusion Fiber Tracking Improved by Quantitative AnisotropyPLOS ONE, 2013
- Large-scale neuronal network dysfunction in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisNeurology, 2012
- Diffusion tensor imaging based network analysis detects alterations of neuroconnectivity in patients with clinically early relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosisHuman Brain Mapping, 2012
- FSLNeuroImage, 2012
- The economy of brain network organizationNature Reviews Neuroscience, 2012
- Memory impairment in multiple sclerosis: correlation with deep grey matter and mesial temporal atrophyJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2009
- Distinct brain networks for adaptive and stable task control in humansProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- The architecture of complex weighted networksProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2004
- Does hemispheric dominance influence brain lesion distribution in multiple sclerosis?Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1995