Functional constipation (FCon) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID); neuroimaging studies have shown brain functional abnormalities in thalamo-cortical regions in patients with FGID. However, association between FCon and topological characteristics of brain networks remains largely unknown. We employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) and graph theory approach to investigate functional brain topological organization in 42 patients with FCon and 41 healthy controls (HC) from perspectives of global, regional and modular levels. Results showed patients with FCon had a significantly lower normalized clustering coefficient and small-worldness, implying decreased brain functional connectivity. Regions showed altered nodal degree and efficiency mainly located in the thalamus, rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), and supplementary motor area (SMA), which are involved in somatic/sensory, emotional processing and motor-control. For the modular analysis, thalamus, rACC and SMA had an aberrant within-module nodal degree and nodal efficiency, and thalamus-related network exhibited abnormal interaction with the limbic network (amygdala and hippocampal gyrus). Nodal degree in the thalamus was negatively correlated with difficulty of defecation, and nodal degree in the rACC was negatively correlated with sensation of incomplete evacuation. These findings indicated that FCon was associated with abnormalities in the thalamo-cortical network.

中文翻译：

---

功能性便秘患者丘脑-皮质网络异常。

功能性便秘（FCon）是一种常见的功能性胃肠疾病（FGID）；神经影像学研究显示，FGID患者的丘脑皮质区域的大脑功能异常。但是，FCon和大脑网络的拓扑特征之间的关联仍然未知。我们采用静息态功能磁共振成像（RS-fMRI）和图论方法从全球，区域和模块水平的角度研究了42例FCon和41例健康对照（HC）患者的功能性大脑拓扑结构。结果显示，FCon患者的归一化聚类系数显着降低，且虚伪性较低，这意味着脑功能连接性下降。区域显示节点度和效率发生变化，主要位于丘脑，鼻前扣带回皮层（rACC）和辅助运动区（SMA），涉及躯体/感觉，情绪处理和运动控制。对于模块化分析，丘脑，rACC和SMA的模块内结节度和结节效率异常，并且丘脑相关网络与边缘网络（杏仁核和海马回）表现出异常的相互作用。丘脑的结节程度与排便困难程度呈负相关，而rACC的结节程度与排空不完全的感觉呈负相关。这些发现表明FCon与丘脑-皮质网络异常有关。rACC和SMA的模块内结节度和结节效率异常，并且丘脑相关网络与边缘网络（杏仁核和海马回）表现出异常相互作用。丘脑的结节程度与排便困难程度呈负相关，而rACC的结节程度与排空不完全的感觉呈负相关。这些发现表明FCon与丘脑-皮质网络异常有关。rACC和SMA的模块内结节度和结节效率异常，并且丘脑相关网络与边缘网络（杏仁核和海马回）表现出异常相互作用。丘脑的结节程度与排便困难程度呈负相关，而rACC的结节程度与排空不完全的感觉呈负相关。这些发现表明FCon与丘脑-皮质网络异常有关。