In the present study, we aim at investigating whether education modulates dynamical properties of time-varying whole-brain network connectivity (the chronnectome) in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) at a given level of symptom severity. Dynamic connectivity parameters were evaluated in 128 patients with FTD using independent component analysis, sliding-time window correlation, and k-means approach to resting state-magnetic resonance imaging data. We evaluated the relationship between education, a proxy measure of cognitive reserve, and 4 indexes of metastate dynamic connectivity: (1) the number of distinct metastates a patient passes through, (2) the number of switches from one metastate to another, (3) the span of the realized metastates, and (4) the total distance traveled in the state space. We found a significant inverse correlation between years of education and the 4 indexes of metastate dynamic fluidity (all p-values ≤ 0.03, false discovery rate-corrected). This study suggests that patients with FTD with higher education but comparable clinical severity show more global functional brain impairment, suggesting that patients with higher cognitive reserve can cope with more global brain fluidity reduction.

中文翻译：

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扩大教育在额颞叶痴呆中的作用：功能动态连接（Chronnectome）研究。

在本研究中，我们旨在调查教育是否在给定的症状严重程度下调节额颞叶痴呆 (FTD) 中随时间变化的全脑网络连接 (chronnectome) 的动态特性。使用独立分量分析、滑动时间窗相关性和静息态磁共振成像数据的 k 均值方法评估了 128 名 FTD 患者的动态连接参数。我们评估了教育、认知储备的代理测量和转移动态连接的 4 个指标之间的关系：（1）患者经历的不同转移的数量，（2）从一个转移到另一个转移的数量，（3 ) 实现的转移的跨度，以及 (4) 在状态空间中行进的总距离。我们发现受教育年限与转移动态流动性的 4 个指标之间存在显着的负相关（所有 p 值 ≤ 0.03，错误发现率校正）。这项研究表明，受过高等教育但临床严重程度相当的 FTD 患者表现出更多的整体功能性脑损伤，这表明认知储备较高的患者可以应对更多的整体脑流动性降低。