Focal brain lesions, such as stroke and tumors, can lead to remote structural alterations across the whole-brain networks. Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), usually presumed to be congenital, often result in tissue degeneration and functional displacement of the perifocal areas, but it remains unclear whether AVMs may produce long-range effects upon the whole-brain white matter organization. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging and graph theory methods to investigate the alterations of brain structural networks in 14 patients with AVMs in the presumed Broca’s area, compared to 27 normal controls. Weighted brain structural networks were constructed based on deterministic tractography. We compared the topological properties and network connectivity between patients and normal controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed contralateral reorganization of Broca’s area in five (35.7%) patients. Compared to normal controls, the patients exhibited preserved small-worldness of brain structural networks. However, AVM patients exhibited significantly decreased global efficiency () and clustering coefficient (), along with decreased corresponding nodal properties in some remote brain regions (, family-wise error corrected). Furthermore, structural connectivity was reduced in the right perisylvian regions but enhanced in the perifocal areas (). The vulnerability of the left supramarginal gyrus was significantly increased (, corrected), and the bilateral putamina were added as hubs in the AVM patients. These alterations provide evidence for the long-range effects of AVMs on brain white matter networks. Our preliminary findings contribute extra insights into the understanding of brain plasticity and pathological state in patients with AVMs.

中文翻译：

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布罗卡区脑动静脉畸形患者脑结构网络的改变

局灶性脑损伤，如中风和肿瘤，可导致整个大脑网络的远程结构改变。脑动静脉畸形 (AVM) 通常被认为是先天性的，通常会导致灶周区域的组织变性和功能移位，但尚不清楚 AVM 是否会对全脑白质组织产生长期影响。在这项研究中，我们使用扩散张量成像和图论方法来研究 14 名假定布洛卡区 AVM 患者与 27 名正常对照者的脑结构网络的改变。基于确定性纤维束成像构建加权脑结构网络。我们比较了患者和正常对照之间的拓扑特性和网络连接。功能性磁共振成像显示 5 名 (35.7%) 患者出现对侧布洛卡区重组。与正常对照相比，患者表现出保留的大脑结构网络的小世界性。然而，AVM 患者的整体效率显着降低（)和聚类系数 (），以及一些偏远大脑区域的相应节点属性降低（，家庭方面的错误已更正）。此外，右侧侧裂区域的结构连通性降低，但焦旁区域的结构连通性增强。）。左侧缘上回的脆弱性显着增加（，更正），并且双侧壳核被添加为 AVM 患者的枢纽。这些改变为 AVM 对脑白质网络的长期影响提供了证据。我们的初步发现有助于了解 AVM 患者的大脑可塑性和病理状态。