Characteristics of brain functional network based on electroencephalogram in post-stroke aphasia patients based on functional connectivity
ZHANG Zihan
ZHANG Jiacheng
LIU Jinghe
CHEN Yuhang
WU Dan
WANG Huiying
HUANG Xing
CHANG Jingling
Abstract：Objective To analyze the characteristics of brain functional networks in patients with post-stroke aphasia(PSA)during a Chinese word-picture matching task.
Methods A total of 18 PSA patients in Dongzhimen Hospital from January,2018 to December,2021 were enrolled as PSA group,and nine healthy controls matched for sex,age and education were included as the control group.The Chinese Rehabilitation Research Center Aphasia Examination(CRRCAE)and task-state electroencephalogram(EEG)data based on a Chinese word-picture matching paradigm were collected.Source-space reconstruction was applied to EEG signals to construct functional connectivity matrices.Graph-theoretical analysis was used to com-pute global network properties,and network-based statistics were used to identify subnetwork differences be-tween groups.Correlations between global network properties and CRRCAE subscales were further analyzed.
Results The global properties of each frequency band were higher in the control group(unmatched)than in PSA group and the control group(matched)(P<0.01).Subnetworks connections enhanced in the alpha band in the frontal,temporal,parietal,occipital lobes and limbic system(23 nodes,31 edges,P<0.05),and weakened connections in the frontal,temporal,limbic system and basal ganglia(20 nodes,26 edges,P<0.01)in PSA group;in the beta band,subnetwork connections enhanced in the frontal,temporal lobes,basal ganglia and limbic system(15 nodes,23 edges,P<0.01);in the theta band,subnetwork connections weakened in the left frontal and temporal lobes(10 nodes,11 edges,P<0.05),and enhanced in the right frontal and temporal lobes(7 nodes,7 edges,P<0.05).Under the matched condition,the global properties of the alpha and beta bands in PSA group were positive-ly correlated with reading(r=0.511 to 0.650,all P<0.05),and the local efficiency and average clustering coeffi-cient of the theta band were negatively correlated with repetition(r=-0.500 to-0.505,all P<0.05);under the unmatched condition,the local efficiency and average clustering coefficient of the alpha and beta bands in PSA group were positively correlated with reading(r=0.522 to 0.642,all P<0.05),and the global efficiency and lo-cal efficiency of the alpha band were positively correlated with auditory comprehension(r=0.486 to 0.496,all P<0.05).The comparison between the task state and the resting state further revealed that compensatory connec-tion enhanced in the alpha band in the frontal lobe and limbic system(6 nodes,5 edges,P<0.05)and in the beta band in the frontal,temporal,parietal,occipital lobes and limbic system(38 nodes,52 edges,P<0.01)in PSA pa-tients.
Conclusion The core network damage characteristics of PSA patients are abnormally decreased global properties across multiple frequency bands and frequency-specific abnormal network reorganization,suggesting the overall brain network efficiency decline coexists with local compensation.This provides an objective basis for the neuroelec-trophysiological evaluation and targeted intervention of PSA.
Keywords：post-stroke aphasiafunctional connectivityelectroencephalogrambrain functional networkgraph theory analysis
Publication Date：2025-11-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-03(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：12( 1342-1353 )