Traumatic brain injury impairs small-world topology.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

We test the hypothesis that brain networks associated with cognitive function shift away from a "small-world" organization following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods

We investigated 20 TBI patients and 21 age-matched controls. Resting-state functional MRI was used to study functional connectivity. Graph theoretical analysis was then applied to partial correlation matrices derived from these data. The presence of white matter damage was quantified using diffusion tensor imaging.

Results

Patients showed characteristic cognitive impairments as well as evidence of damage to white matter tracts. Compared to controls, the graph analysis showed reduced overall connectivity, longer average path lengths, and reduced network efficiency. A particular impact of TBI

SUBMITTER: Pandit AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3908350 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature