轻度认知障碍的全脑网络研究进展:来自图论的证据

Research progress of disrupted brain connectivity in mild cognitive impairment:findings from graph theoretical studies of whole brain networks

轻度认知障碍是介于年龄相关的认知功能减退和痴呆间的一种临床状态。随着神经影像和神经生理学技术的发展,研究者可以无创地获取人脑的结构和功能信息,并利用复杂网络理论构建脑网络。基于图论的研究表明,轻度认知障碍患者在大尺度上具有小世界属性,但网络拓扑结构失调,而这种失调与认知功能显著相关,且网络属性介于阿尔茨海默病和正常被试之间。本文从多模态数据角度回顾了基于复杂网络的轻度认知障碍脑连接的最新进展,着重其全脑结构、功能网络失调及联合协变失调的图论证据,并提出目前发展的限制和未来研究方向。

Mild cognitive impairment （MCI） is a clinical transition state between age-related cognmve aecnne and dementia. Researchers can use neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques to obtain structural and functional information about the human brain. Using this information researchers can construct the brain network based on complex network theory. The literature on graph theory shows that the large-scale brain network of MCI patient exhibits small-world property, which ranges intermediately between Alzheimer＇s disease and that in the normal control group. But brain connectivity of MCI patients presents topologically structural disorder. The disorder is significantly correlated to the cognitive functions. This article reviews the recent findings on brain connectivity of MCI patients from the perspective of multimodal data. Specifically, the article focuses on the graph theory evidences of the whole brain structural and functional and the joint covariance network disorders. At last, the article shows the limitations and future research directions in this field.