1. Brain Structural-Functional Connectivity Relationship Underlying the Information Processing Speed.
- Author
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Silva PHRD, Secchinato KF, Rondinoni C, and Leoni RF
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, White Matter anatomy & histology, White Matter diagnostic imaging, White Matter physiology, Young Adult, Attention physiology, Cerebellar Vermis anatomy & histology, Cerebellar Vermis diagnostic imaging, Cerebellar Vermis physiology, Cerebral Cortex anatomy & histology, Cerebral Cortex diagnostic imaging, Cerebral Cortex physiology, Connectome methods, Motor Activity physiology, Nerve Net anatomy & histology, Nerve Net diagnostic imaging, Nerve Net physiology, Pattern Recognition, Visual physiology, Psychomotor Performance physiology
- Abstract
Human cognition and behavior emerge from neuronal interactions on a brain structural architecture. The convergence (or divergence) between functional dynamics and structural connectivity (SC) and their relationship with cognition are still a pivotal question about the brain. We focused on the information processing speed (IPS), assessed by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), once delayed IPS underlies attention deficits in various clinical conditions. We hypothesize that the SC constrains but does not determine functional connectivity, and such a relationship is related to the cognitive performance. Blood oxygenation level-dependent and diffusion tensor images of healthy young volunteers were acquired in a 3T magnetic resonance imaging machine. Activation maps included the left and right middle frontal gyri, left superior parietal lobule, left precuneus, left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right cuneus, left lingual gyrus, and left declive. A network involving such regions and signal propagation from visual, through cognitive, up to motor regions was proposed. Random effects Bayesian model selection showed that the top-down connections have the highest expected and exceedance probabilities. Moreover, all pairs of task-related regions were connected by at least one tract, except for the left declive with the left IFG. The interactions between the right cuneus with left declive were related to the interindividual variability in SDMT performance. Altogether, our findings suggest that the IPS functional network is related to the highest SDMT scores when its effective endogenous connections are suppressed to the detriment of modulation caused by the experimental conditions, with the underlying structure providing low diffusion environments.
- Published
- 2020
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