title: Functional organization of intrinsic connectivity networks in Chinese-chess experts.
abstract: The functional architecture of the human brain has been extensively described in terms of functional connectivity networks, detected from the low-frequency coherent neuronal fluctuations during a resting state condition. Accumulating evidence suggests that the overall organization of functional connectivity networks is associated with individual differences in cognitive performance and prior experience. Such an association raises the question of how cognitive expertise exerts an influence on the topological properties of large-scale functional networks. To address this question, we examined the overall organization of brain functional networks in 20 grandmaster and master level Chinese-chess players (GM/M) and twenty novice players, by means of resting-state functional connectivity and graph theoretical analyses. We found that, relative to novices, functional connectivity was increased in GM/Ms between basal ganglia, thalamus, hippocampus, and several parietal and temporal areas, suggesting the influence of cognitive expertise on intrinsic connectivity networks associated with learning and memory. Furthermore, we observed economical small-world topology in the whole-brain functional connectivity networks in both groups, but GM/Ms exhibited significantly increased values of normalized clustering coefficient which resulted in increased small-world topology. These findings suggest an association between the functional organization of brain networks and individual differences in cognitive expertise, which might provide further evidence of the mechanisms underlying expert behavior.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Xujun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China. Electronic address: chenhf@uestc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Huafu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education & Sports Exercise, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Huaxi MR Research Center, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 610041, PR China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Huaxi MR Research Center, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 610041, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education & Sports Exercise, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, PR China. Electronic address: liutcy@scnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Timon Cheng-Yi
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Huaxi MR Research Center, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 610041, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D011361:Professional Competence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chess expert; Functional connectivity network; Graph theoretical analysis; Resting-state fMRI; Small-world topology