Network insights: Transforming brain science and mental health through innovative analysis

Brain-X Pub Date : 2024-03-07 DOI:10.1002/brx2.53
Peng Wang, Lulu Cheng
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Network analysis, an interdisciplinary method rooted in graph theory and complex systems, is a promising approach for advancing our understanding of the brain's complex architecture and its implications for behavior, cognition, and mental health. Network analysis transcends the traditional psychiatric diagnostic model, which oversimplifies mental disorders by treating them as distinct physical illnesses, often creating an “epistemic prison” that fails to account for the nuanced interplay between neurological, biological, psychosocial, and cultural influences shaped by patients' life experiences.1 By mapping and examining the intricate network of neuronal connections and larger brain region interactions, network analysis offers deep insights into brain communication pathways, their role in cognitive function, and how their disruption may lead to neurological disorders. Despite the potential of this method, the application of network analysis in brain science is underutilized, highlighting the need for increased awareness and the development of network-based studies to fully realize its transformative potential for behavior and brain research. Therefore, we introduce an insightful behavioral exemplar to increase awareness of the potential application of network analysis in brain science.

In their landmark study, Hu et al. not only challenged the compartmentalization of psychiatric diagnoses but also provided a novel lens through which we can view mental disorders from a neurobiological perspective.2 By employing network analysis, they illustrated that psychiatric symptoms occur in isolation but as a part of a complex network at the behavioral level, significantly resonating with a variety of human brain functions and structures. This approach underscores the centrality of the motivation and pleasure factor, which is potentially linked to the brain's reward system, and its significant impact on broader cognitive and social functioning across different psychiatric conditions. The study integrated the transdiagnostic model with sophisticated statistical methods, such as the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, further elucidating ways to examine potential intricate brain–behavior relationships in the future.3 Such neuroscientific insights pave the way for a more nuanced understanding of psychopathology; additionally, they can inform targeted interventions that can modulate specific neural circuits implicated in multiple psychiatric disorders.

Although network analysis was employed behaviorally in this study, it offers methodological breakthroughs for prospective neurological studies, allowing for a unified representation of complex brain functions and statistically significant control over variables of interest. It illuminates how alterations in one node can reverberate throughout the entire network, providing a level of insight traditional models have failed to achieve.4 This holistic approach enables a comprehensive examination of behaviors and their neurological underpinnings.

Hu et al.'s work transcended mental health to probe the intricacies of human behavior.2 Their application of transdiagnostic and network theories revealed a sophisticated behavioral system in which individual actions are influenced by psychological factors and governed by an intricate network of neural regions. This method exemplifies the potential for cross-disciplinary analysis and forecasts a future in which network analysis could refine our understanding of behavior over time, surpassing the limitations of reaction time studies.

However, the self-reported cross-sectional data in Hu et al.'s study may not capture the full complexity of neural processes.2 Longitudinal neuroimaging can address this limitation by providing dynamic, objective insights into brain function with similar network methods, which are pivotal to cognitive neuroscience.5 The promise of this methodology extends to brain network analysis—potentially revolutionizing personalized cognitive interventions—and treatment strategies for cognitive dysfunctions.

Peng Wang: Conceptualization; writing—original draft. Lulu Cheng: Writing, reviewing, and editing.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The ethics approval was not needed in this study.

网络洞察力:通过创新分析改变脑科学和心理健康
网络分析是一种根植于图论和复杂系统的跨学科方法,它是一种很有前途的方法,可以促进我们对大脑复杂结构及其对行为、认知和心理健康影响的理解。网络分析超越了传统的精神病诊断模式,该模式将精神障碍视为不同的躯体疾病,从而过度简化了精神障碍,往往会造成一种 "认识论监狱",无法解释神经、生物、社会心理以及由患者生活经历所形成的文化影响之间微妙的相互作用。1 通过绘制和检查神经元连接的复杂网络和更大的脑区相互作用,网络分析深入揭示了大脑通信途径、它们在认知功能中的作用以及它们的破坏如何导致神经系统疾病。尽管这种方法潜力巨大,但网络分析在脑科学中的应用却未得到充分利用,这凸显出人们需要提高对网络分析的认识,并发展基于网络的研究,以充分发挥其在行为和脑研究中的变革潜力。在他们具有里程碑意义的研究中,Hu 等人不仅对精神病诊断的条块分割提出了挑战,而且还提供了一个新的视角,让我们可以从神经生物学的角度来看待精神障碍。2 通过运用网络分析,他们说明了精神病症状是孤立出现的,而是行为层面复杂网络的一部分,与人类大脑的各种功能和结构产生了显著共鸣。这种方法强调了动机和愉悦因素的中心地位,它可能与大脑的奖赏系统有关,并对不同精神疾病的更广泛认知和社会功能产生重大影响。该研究将跨诊断模型与复杂的统计方法(如最小绝对收缩和选择算子)相结合,进一步阐明了未来研究大脑与行为之间潜在复杂关系的方法。这些神经科学见解为我们更细致地了解精神病理学铺平了道路;此外,它们还能为有针对性的干预措施提供信息,从而调节与多种精神疾病有关联的特定神经回路。虽然本研究中采用的是行为网络分析,但它为前瞻性神经学研究提供了方法上的突破,使复杂的大脑功能得到了统一的表述,并在统计学上对相关变量进行了显著的控制。2 他们应用跨诊断和网络理论揭示了一个复杂的行为系统,在这个系统中,个体行为受到心理因素的影响,并受神经区域复杂网络的支配。这种方法体现了跨学科分析的潜力,并预示着未来网络分析将超越反应时间研究的局限性,逐步完善我们对行为的理解。然而,Hu 等人的研究中自我报告的横断面数据可能无法捕捉到神经过程的全部复杂性。纵向神经影像学可以解决这一局限性,通过类似的网络方法对大脑功能进行动态、客观的洞察,这对认知神经科学至关重要:构思;写作-原稿。程璐璐作者声明无利益冲突,本研究无需伦理批准。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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