What is the current state of research on functional connectivity in the field of neuroscience?5 answersCurrent research on functional connectivity in neuroscience encompasses various aspects. Studies explore pathways of communication in brain regions related to chemosensory processing, auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia, neurodegenerative disorders like behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, and neuronal ensemble interactions using latent factor models. Advanced techniques like graph neural networks, deep learning, and hidden Markov models are employed to analyze brain connectivity patterns. Research delves into understanding how structural and functional connectivity changes in conditions like upper-limb amputation, mild cognitive impairment, and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. These studies highlight the importance of functional connectivity in unraveling the complexities of brain function and its implications for various neurological conditions.
What are the functional connectivity alterations related to covid-19?4 answersFunctional connectivity alterations related to COVID-19 have been observed in several studies. Patients with persistent olfactory dysfunction after COVID-19 showed changes in brain network connectivity, with increased structural connectivity in a subnetwork comprising parietal brain regions. In individuals with Long-COVID, stronger connectivity was found between the brainstem rostral medulla and the midbrain, potentially reflecting a compensatory response. Patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome exhibited reduced functional connectivity of all three basic neural networks with various brain structures. Non-hospitalized individuals with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) had lower temporal and subcortical functional connectivity compared to controls, and the severity of clinical outcome correlated with altered functional connectivity between temporal, parietal, occipital, and subcortical regions. Additionally, COVID-19 was associated with long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms and cerebral functional and microstructural alterations.
Does Alzheimer's disease change functional connectivity?5 answersAlzheimer's disease alters functional connectivity in the brain. Functional connectivity refers to the communication and interaction between different brain regions. Several studies have shown that the functional connectivity between brain regions is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease. This disruption can be detected using techniques such as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Causal functional connectivity, which represents the causal relationships between brain regions, provides more informative insights into the disease. The altered functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease has been observed in different clinical groups, including cognitively normal individuals, those with mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease patients. These alterations in functional connectivity have been found to be consistent with existing literature and can potentially be used for the prognosis and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, changes in network robustness, as measured by functional connectivity, have been associated with the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Genetic variations have also been found to underpin the anomaly in dynamic functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease.
Is functional connectivity accurate?5 answersFunctional connectivity (FC) has been shown to be accurate in several studies. In the context of stroke patients, both functional and effective connectivity were able to predict healthy versus stroke individuals better than chance, with effective connectivity being significantly more accurate. In the study of network and service outages, functional connectivity was used as an alternative approach to monitoring events, and the method showed accuracy, efficiency, and scalability in inferring functional edges between nodes. Another study used differential covariance (dCov) to analyze FC in resting-state fMRI recordings and found that dCov-FC accurately identified strong cortical connections, which were correlated with behavior. Additionally, in a study on gender differences, rfMRI functional connectivity was able to predict gender with high accuracy, and specific FC features within certain networks contributed most to gender prediction. Finally, a study explored different generalized linear models to predict long-scan FC from short-scan FC, and the models showed robustness and improved test-retest reliability of FC.
Which is the relationship between functional connectivity and amyloid and tau alterations in aging?5 answersFunctional connectivity in aging is closely related to alterations in amyloid and tau. Studies have shown that regional components of amyloid burden are associated with increases in tau pathology in spatially independent brain regions, and functional connectivity serves as a mediator bridging the observed spatial gap between these pathologies. Additionally, changes in functional network integrity, which are linked to aging, are also associated with amyloid deposition and tau pathology. Furthermore, early amyloid deposition in predementia stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) leads to functional and structural brain alterations, highlighting the relationship between functional connectivity and amyloid. Investigating the simultaneous disruptions of functional-structural brain features within individuals in relation to amyloid deposition may provide further insights into the neuropathological processes underlying AD.
What is the relationship between brain perfusion and functional connectivity in aging?5 answersBrain perfusion and functional connectivity in aging are closely related. Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) techniques, such as pulsed and pseudo continuous ASL (PASL/pCASL), have been used to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) and functional connectivity (FC) in the aging brain. Studies have shown that pCASL provides higher CBF and better spatial signal-to-noise ratio compared to PASL. In terms of FC, pCASL has been found to more reliably recover the main networks and show higher correlations between brain areas. Additionally, age-related changes in functional connectivity have been observed in resting-state networks, with lower connectivity within certain networks and higher connectivity within the visual network. These findings suggest that changes in brain perfusion, as measured by ASL, may contribute to alterations in functional connectivity in the aging brain.