Functional magnetic resonance-based analysis of dynamic functional connectivity in patients with olfactory impairment in Parkinson's disease

IF 3.7 3区医学 Q2 NEUROSCIENCES

Brain Research Bulletin Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-01 DOI:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2026.111750

Fangling He , Huihua Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this research is to utilize resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), combined with sliding-window and cluster analysis methods. To identify alterations in functional connectivity (FC) patterns in patients with Parkinson's disease who exhibit olfactory dysfunction prior to the onset of motor symptoms, compared to healthy individuals.This method is intended to improve capabilities for the early detection of PD.

Materials and Methods

We recruited fifteen individuals from three distinct groups: PD patients with no or mild olfactory dysfunction (PD-N/MH), those with severe olfactory dysfunction, and healthy controls (HC). We gathered and analyzed resting-state fMRI data to examine dynamic FC across these groups, subsequently conducting a thorough statistical evaluation.

Results

Our cluster analysis identified two unique states of brain network connections across the groups. Notably, the subgroup with PD exhibited a more frequent occurrence and extended duration in state 1, along with reduced state transitions. Notably, the severity of olfactory dysfunction was significantly correlated with increased durations and frequencies in state 1 (P ＜0.05).

Conclusion

These observations underscore the significant relationship between state 1 connectivity patterns and olfactory impairment in PD patients. The discovery that PD patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) “linger” in the sparsely connected state 1 provides a dynamic functional correlate of the progressive pathology that initially affects olfaction. Dynamic functional connectivity analysis successfully distinguished PD patients from healthy controls even prior to the onset of motor symptoms, suggesting its potential as a neuroimaging biomarker for Parkinson's disease. Consequently, this method may facilitate early identification, timely intervention, and improved clinical management of PD by providing an early warning signal before motor symptom——based diagnosis, thereby potentially delaying disease progression and alleviating the burden on patients, families, and society.

查看原文本刊更多论文

基于功能磁共振的帕金森病嗅觉损伤患者动态功能连通性分析。

目的：本研究的目的是利用静息状态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI），结合滑动窗口和聚类分析方法。与健康个体相比，识别在运动症状发作前表现出嗅觉功能障碍的帕金森病患者功能连接（FC）模式的改变。该方法旨在提高PD的早期检测能力。材料和方法：我们从三个不同的组中招募了15个人：无或轻度嗅觉功能障碍的PD患者（PD- n /MH），有严重嗅觉功能障碍的PD患者和健康对照组（HC）。我们收集并分析静息状态fMRI数据，以检查这些组的动态FC，随后进行彻底的统计评估。结果：我们的聚类分析确定了两种独特的大脑网络连接状态。值得注意的是，PD亚组在状态1中出现频率更高，持续时间更长，状态转换减少。值得注意的是，嗅觉功能障碍的严重程度与状态1持续时间和频率增加显著相关（P <0.05）。结论：这些观察结果强调了PD患者状态1连接模式与嗅觉损伤之间的显著关系。帕金森氏病（PD）患者“徘徊”在稀疏连接状态1的发现，为最初影响嗅觉的进展性病理提供了动态功能关联。动态功能连通性分析甚至在运动症状出现之前就成功地将PD患者与健康对照区分开来，这表明它有可能成为帕金森病的神经成像生物标志物。因此，该方法在基于运动症状的诊断前提供早期预警信号，有助于PD的早期识别、及时干预和改善临床管理，从而有可能延缓疾病进展，减轻患者、家庭和社会的负担。

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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来源期刊

Brain Research Bulletin 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

253

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： The Brain Research Bulletin (BRB) aims to publish novel work that advances our knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie neural network properties associated with behavior, cognition and other brain functions during neurodevelopment and in the adult. Although clinical research is out of the Journal''s scope, the BRB also aims to publish translation research that provides insight into biological mechanisms and processes associated with neurodegeneration mechanisms, neurological diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. The Journal is especially interested in research using novel methodologies, such as optogenetics, multielectrode array recordings and life imaging in wild-type and genetically-modified animal models, with the goal to advance our understanding of how neurons, glia and networks function in vivo.