Abstract
Aim This study investigated changes in small-world topology and brain functional connectivity in patients with optic neuritis (ON) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and based on graph theory. Methods A total of 21 patients with ON (8 males and 13 females) and 21 matched healthy control subjects (8 males and 13 females) were enrolled and underwent rs-fMRI. Data were preprocessed and the brain was divided into 116 regions of interest. Small-world network parameters and area under the integral curve (AUC) were calculated from pairwise brain interval correlation coefficients. Differences in brain network parameter AUCs between the 2 groups were evaluated with the independent sample t-test, and changes in brain connection strength between ON patients and control subjects were assessed by network-based statistical analysis. Results In the sparsity range from 0.08 to 0.48, both groups exhibited small-world attributes. Compared to the control group, global network efficiency, normalized clustering coefficient, and small-world value were higher whereas the clustering coefficient value was lower in ON patients. There were no differences in characteristic path length, local network efficiency, and normalized characteristic path length between groups. In addition, ON patients had lower brain functional connectivity strength among the rolandic operculum, medial superior frontal gyrus, insula, median cingulate and paracingulate gyri, amygdala, superior parietal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, lenticular nucleus, pallidum, superior temporal gyrus, and cerebellum compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Patients with ON show typical “small world” topology that differed from that detected in HC brain networks. The brain network in ON has a small-world attribute but shows reduced and abnormal connectivity compared to normal subjects and likely causes symptoms of cognitive impairment.
Highlights
Optic neuritis (ON) is a condition affecting 115 out of every 100,000 persons [1]; it is characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve as a result of infection or systemic autoimmune disease
For the other indicators of brain network topology, aCp (Figure 3(a)) was lower, whereas aEg (Figure 3(b)) was higher in ON patients compared to healthy control (HC) subjects
There were no instances where functional connectivity was higher in the ON group than in the HC group. These results demonstrate that optic nerve inflammation has a far-reaching effect on the functional brain network
Summary
Optic neuritis (ON) is a condition affecting 115 out of every 100,000 persons [1]; it is characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve as a result of infection or systemic autoimmune disease. ON is closely related to demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system such as optic neuromyelitis and multiple sclerosis, among others [2]. Thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer around the optic papilla in ON is observable by optical coherence tomography. ON can cause severe visual impairment but the pathogenesis is not fully understood, it is thought to involve inflammation or immune factors that lead to optic nerve damage and ganglion cell apoptosis. ON patients have abnormal activity in many brain regions [3]. Brain atrophy was observed in patients with chronic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
