Dataset Information

Negative functional connectivity and its dependence on the shortest path length of positive network in the resting-state human brain.

ABSTRACT: It is suggested that structurally segregated and functionally specialized brain regions are mediated by synchrony over large-scale networks in order to provide the formation of dynamic links and integration functions. The existence of negative synchrony, or negative functional connectivity (NFC), however, has been a subject of debate in terms of its origin, interpretation, relationship with structural connectivity, and possible neurophysiological function. The present study, which incorporated 20 cognitively healthy elderly human subjects, focused on testing the hypothesis that NFC significantly correlates with the shortest path length (SPL) in the human brain network. Our theoretical calculation, simulated data, and human study results support this hypothesis. In the human study, we find that (1) the percentage of NFC connections among all connections between brain regions significantly correlates with spatial Euclidian distance; (2) the strength of the NFC between the right amygdala and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is significantly correlated with the SPL across the 20 human subjects; (3) such a significant relationship between the NFC and SPL exists in all the NFC connections in the whole brain; and (4) the correlations between the NFC and SPL also are frequency bandwidth dependent. These results suggest that an accumulated phased delay gives rise to the NFC, along the shortest path in the large-scale brain functional network. It is suggested that our study can be extended to examine a variety of neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders by measuring the changes of SPL and functional reorganization in the brain.

SUBMITTER: Chen G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3572722 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Negative functional connectivity and its dependence on the shortest path length of positive network in the resting-state human brain.

Chen Guangyu G Chen Gang G Xie Chunming C Li Shi-Jiang SJ

Brain connectivity 20110101 3

It is suggested that structurally segregated and functionally specialized brain regions are mediated by synchrony over large-scale networks in order to provide the formation of dynamic links and integration functions. The existence of negative synchrony, or negative functional connectivity (NFC), however, has been a subject of debate in terms of its origin, interpretation, relationship with structural connectivity, and possible neurophysiological function. The present study, which incorporated 2 ...[more]

PMID: 22433048

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Project description:BackgroundAbnormal connectivity of the anticorrelated intrinsic networks, the task-negative network (TNN), and the task-positive network (TPN) is implicated in schizophrenia. Comparisons between schizophrenic patients and their unaffected siblings enable further understanding of illness susceptibility and pathophysiology. We examined the resting-state connectivity differences in the intrinsic networks between schizophrenic patients, their unaffected siblings, and healthy controls.MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance images were obtained from 25 individuals in each subject group. The posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were used as seed regions to identify the TNN and TPN through functional connectivity analysis. Interregional connectivity strengths were analyzed using overlapped intrinsic networks composed of regions common to all subject groups.ResultsSchizophrenic patients and their unaffected siblings showed increased connectivity in the TNN between the bilateral inferior temporal gyri. By contrast, schizophrenic patients alone demonstrated increased connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and left inferior temporal gyrus and between the ventral medial prefrontal cortex and right lateral parietal cortex in the TNN. Schizophrenic patients exhibited increased connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right inferior frontal gyrus in the TPN relative to their unaffected siblings, though this trend only approached statistical significance in comparison to healthy controls.ConclusionResting-state hyperconnectivity of the intrinsic networks may disrupt network coordination and thereby contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Similar, though milder, hyperconnectivity of the TNN in unaffected siblings of schizophrenic patients may contribute to the identification of schizophrenia endophenotypes and ultimately to the determination of schizophrenia risk genes.

Dataset Information

Negative functional connectivity and its dependence on the shortest path length of positive network in the resting-state human brain.

Publications

Negative functional connectivity and its dependence on the shortest path length of positive network in the resting-state human brain.

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