Suboptimal states and frontoparietal network-centered incomplete compensation revealed by dynamic functional network connectivity in patients with post-stroke cognitive impairment

• Published in: Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2022-08, Vol.14, p.893297-893297
• Main Authors: Rao, Bo, Wang, Sirui, Yu, Minhua, Chen, Linglong, Miao, Guofu, Zhou, Xiaoli, Zhou, Hong, Liao, Weijing, Xu, Haibo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Alzheimer's disease; Cognitive ability; Dementia; dynamic functional network connectivity; frontoparietal network; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; graph theoretic analysis; Hemorrhage; Informed consent; Ischemia; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical imaging; Neuroimaging; Neuropsychology; Neuroscience; Parkinson's disease; Patients; post-stroke cognitive impairment; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; Sensorimotor system; Sensory integration; Stroke; Temporal variations
• ISSN: 1663-4365; 1663-4365
• DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.893297

Background: Neural reorganization occurs after a stroke, and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) pattern is associated with cognition. We hypothesized that dFNC alterations resulted from neural reorganization in post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) patients, and specific dFNC patterns characterized different pathological types of PSCI. Methods: Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 16 PSCI patients with hemorrhagic stroke (hPSCI group), 21 PSCI patients with ischemic stroke (iPSCI group), and 21 healthy controls (HC). We performed the dFNC analysis for the dynamic connectivity states, together with their topological and temporal features. Results: We identified ten resting-state networks, and the dFNCs could be clustered into four reoccurring states (modular, regional, sparse, and strong). Compared with HC, the hPSCI and iPSCI patients showed lower standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) in the regional and modular states, respectively (p < 0.05). Reduced connectivities within the primary network (visual, auditory and sensorimotor networks) and between the primary and high-order cognitive control domains were observed (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The transition trend to suboptimal states may play a compensatory role in patients with PSCI through redundancy networks. The reduced exploratory capacity (SD and CV) in different suboptimal states characterized cognitive impairment and pathological types of PSCI. The functional disconnection between the primary and high-order cognitive control network and the frontoparietal network centered (FPN-centered) incomplete compensation may be the pathological mechanism of PSCI. These results emphasize the flexibility of neural reorganization during self-repair.