title: Topological Reorganization of the Default Mode Network in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the topological reorganization of the brain default mode network (DMN) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). With approval by our ethics committee, rs-fMRI was prospectively performed in 31 IBS patients (25 male, 27 ± 8 years) and 32 healthy controls (25 male, 29 ± 9 years). The DMN was determined by unbiased seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis and then parcellated into several subregions. FC across all pairs of DMN subregions was computed to construct the DMN architecture, for which topological properties were characterized by graph theoretical approaches. Pearson correlation was performed between abnormal DMN inter-regional FC and network measures and clinical indices in IBS patients. Compared to healthy controls, IBS patients showed decreased DMN inter-regional FC between the anterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, the medial orbital of the superior frontal gyrus (ORBsupmed) and precuneus, and the middle temporal gyrus and precuneus. IBS patients also showed decreased DMN global efficiency (Eglob). Inclusion of anxiety and depression as covariates abolished FC between ORBsupmed and precuneus and some Eglobdifferences. The average DMN FC was positively correlated with average Eglob(r = 0.47, P = 0.008) and negatively correlated with symptom severity score (r = -0.37, P = 0.04) in IBS patients. In conclusion, IBS patients showed topological reorganization of the DMN to a non-optimized regularity configuration, which may partly be ascribed to high levels of anxiety and depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Rongfeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China.|Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Ashley River Tower, MSC 226, 25 Courtenay Dr, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA.
authors.forename: U Joseph
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Schoepf
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Ashley River Tower, MSC 226, 25 Courtenay Dr, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA.
authors.forename: Akos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varga-Szemes
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Ashley River Tower, MSC 226, 25 Courtenay Dr, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA.
authors.forename: Cole M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Milliken
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Fangyu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China. kevinzhlj@163.com.
authors.forename: Long Jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China. cjr.luguangming@vip.163.com.
authors.forename: Guang Ming
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Default mode network; Graph theoretical approaches; Irritable bowel syndrome; Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging