Comparisons of thalamocortical functional connectivity in transgender women and cisgender individuals: associations with cognition in a Chinese cohort.

IF 5.1 2区医学 Q1 Medicine

Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-05-13 DOI:10.1080/19585969.2026.2669514

Guanmao Chen, Ruoyi Chen, Mengqi Liao, Shilin Sun, Pan Chen, Zixuan Guo, Chao Chen, Xinyue Tang, Zhangzhang Qi, Shuming Zhong, Lvfen Gao, Xiaoxing Huang, Xuehong Xiao, Ying Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Gender dysphoria (GD) causes distress from gender-sex incongruence with elevated suicide risk, yet its neuropathology remains unclear. The thalamic-cortical functional connectivity (FC) in transgender women (TW) is unexplored. We investigated thalamo-cortical FC and its mediating role in TW's symptom-cognition relationships.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed resting-state fMRI from 44 TW, 40 cisgender men (CM), and 42 cisgender women (CW), between October 2021 and January 2024. Clinical symptoms (GIDYQ-AA) and cognition (MCCB) were assessed. Seed-based thalamic subregion FC and mediation analyses were performed.

Results: Relative to CW, TW and CM exhibited increased FC in multiple thalamo-prefrontal circuits. Compared to CM, TW showed decreased left mPFtha-left DLPFC FC (p = 0.026), and right rTtha-left DLPFC FC (p = 0.025). Compared to CM, right PPtha-right MOG FC (p = 0.023; p < 0.001), and right cTtha-right SOG FC (p = 0.008; p < 0.001) were increased in TW and CW. In TW, left rTtha-bilateral MPFC FC correlated with GIDYQ-AA scores, attention/vigilance, and composite. This FC fully mediated relationships between GD symptoms and both attention/vigilance (bootstrapped 95% CI = 1.861-11.688) and composite (bootstrapped 95% CI = 1.025-12.283).

Conclusions: TW exhibit thalamo-cortical FC abnormalities and cognitive dysfunction. Critically, thalamus-MPFC dysconnectivity mediates GD symptom-related cognitive dysfunction, revealing a novel neural pathway. Validation in larger, diverse samples is needed.

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跨性别女性和顺性别个体的丘脑皮质功能连通性比较：与认知的关联。

性别不安症（GD）是由性别不一致引起的痛苦，并伴有自杀风险增高，但其神经病理学尚不清楚。跨性别女性（TW）的丘脑-皮质功能连接（FC）尚未被研究。我们研究了丘脑-皮层FC及其在TW症状-认知关系中的中介作用。方法：我们回顾性分析了2021年10月至2024年1月期间44名TW， 40名顺性男性（CM）和42名顺性女性（CW）的静息状态fMRI。评估临床症状（GIDYQ-AA）和认知能力（MCCB）。进行了基于种子的丘脑次区域FC和中介分析。结果：相对于连续脑卒中，连续脑卒中和连续脑卒中在丘脑-前额叶多回路中表现出增加的FC。与CM相比，TW显示左侧mpfta -左侧DLPFC FC （p = 0.026）和右侧rtta -左侧DLPFC FC （p = 0.025）降低。与CM相比，右侧pptha -右侧MOG FC （p = 0.023; p）。重要的是，丘脑- mpfc连接障碍介导GD症状相关的认知功能障碍，揭示了一种新的神经通路。需要在更大的、不同的样品中进行验证。

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

Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience Medicine-Psychiatry and Mental Health

CiteScore

19.30

自引率

1.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (DCNS) endeavors to bridge the gap between clinical neuropsychiatry and the neurosciences by offering state-of-the-art information and original insights into pertinent clinical, biological, and therapeutic aspects. As an open access journal, DCNS ensures accessibility to its content for all interested parties. Each issue is curated to include expert reviews, original articles, and brief reports, carefully selected to offer a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape in clinical neuroscience. Join us in advancing knowledge and fostering dialogue in this dynamic field.