Structure-function coupling for brain spatial distance in Alzheimer's disease:a multi-center study based on functional magnetic resonance imaging
TIAN Peng
LYU Shumin
SUN Yibao
CUI Jinjin
CHEN Xin
ZHENG Xue
LOU Ting
ZHOU Bo
LIU Yong
XIE Hengge
YAO Hongxiang
Abstract：Objective To analyze the structural characteristics and functional network coupling of brain spatial distance measurement in Alzheimer's disease(AD)patients based on functional magnetic resonance imaging and to explore the coupling relationship between structural connectivity with different connection distances and brain functional connectivity.Methods A total of 793 subjects were prospectively and continuously subjected from four hospitals between August 2010 and July 2022.Based on diagnosis,they were divided into AD group(284 cases),mild cognitive impairment group(MCI,254 cases),and control group(255 cases).The structural connectivity matrix was classified into long-distance,short-distance,and all-distance(original structural connectivity matrix)based on Euclidean distance between brain regions,followed by decomposition of the structural connectivity matrix into networks with equal features.The structure-function coupling coefficients were statistically analyzed using a multilinear regression model.Results Significant difference was observed in the scores of mini-mental state examination(MMSE)among the control,MCI and AD groups(P＜0.01).In the all distance-coupling distribution,the occipital visual region exhibited the highest coupling value with the dorsal attention network,while the lowest coupling value was observed in the limbic network,and a negative correlation was observed in the coupling with the functional gradient(r=-0.30,P＜0.01).In long-distance coupling,the occipital visual region and dorsal attention area had the highest coupling value,whereas the ventral attention area and limbic system region displayed the lowest coupling value,with a negative correlation between long-distance coupling and functional gradient(r=-0.23,P＜0.01).In short-distance coupling,the visual regions predominantly exhibited the highest value,while other regions were relatively low,and this coupling showed a positive correlation with the functional gradient(r=0.15,P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed the coupling scores were negatively correlated with the MMSE scores.In all-distance coupling,20 brain regions exhibited negative correlations,mainly including the superior frontal gyrus,middle frontal gyrus,precentral gyrus,paracentral lobule,superior parietal lobule,inferior parietal lobule,and lateral occipital cortex.In short-distance coupling,32 brain regions were all negatively correlated,with a distribution pattern similar to that of long-distance coupling.In long-distance coupling,13 regions showed negative correlations,primarily concentrated in the precentral gyrus,paracentral lobule,and superior parietal lobule.Conclusion Our findings indicate that structural connectivity at different spatial distances can partially affect brain activity and cognition,providing new insight for studying connectivity changes in AD based on connectivity length.
Keywords：Alzheimer diseasemagnetic resonance imagingbrain connectivityspace distancestructural functional coupling
Publication Date：2025-12-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-29(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1703-1708 )