Previous research has demonstrated that serum lipid profile is associated with cognitive function as well as brain structure and function in middle-aged, elderly, and clinical populations. However, the nature and extent of lipids-brain-cognition relationships in young adulthood are largely unknown. In this study, 157 healthy young adults underwent resting-state functional MRI scans. Functional connectivity between and within 14 functional networks were calculated using independent component analysis. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected to measure serum lipids. Working memory was assessed using a 3-back task. Linear regression, correlation, and mediation analyses were conducted to test for potential associations between serum lipids, inter- and intranetwork functional connectivity, and working memory performance. We found that higher serum triglyceride (TG) level was correlated with stronger connectivity between left frontoparietal and ventral attention networks, between right frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks, between right frontoparietal and dorsal sensorimotor networks, between right frontoparietal and lateral visual networks, and between salience (SN) and ventral sensorimotor (vSMN) networks, as well as lower connectivity between posterior default mode and left frontoparietal networks, between left frontoparietal and medial visual networks, and between ventral attention and dorsal sensorimotor networks. In addition, higher SN-vSMN connectivity was related to lower 3-back accuracy. More importantly, the relationship between serum TG and 3-back accuracy was mediated by SN-vSMN connectivity. Our findings not only may expand existing knowledge regarding serum lipids-brain-cognition relations from the perspective of large-scale functional network organization but also may inform a translational conceptualization of how to improve cognitive function through regulating serum lipids.

中文翻译：

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大规模网络功能连接介导血清甘油三酯与青年工作记忆之间的关系

先前的研究表明，血清脂质谱与中年、老年人和临床人群的认知功能以及大脑结构和功能有关。然而，青年时期脂质-大脑-认知关系的性质和程度在很大程度上是未知的。在这项研究中，157 名健康的年轻人接受了静息态功能性 MRI 扫描。使用独立组件分析计算了 14 个功能网络之间和内部的功能连接。收集外周静脉血样本以测量血清脂质。使用 3-back 任务评估工作记忆。进行了线性回归、相关性和中介分析，以测试血清脂质、网络间和网络内功能连接性以及工作记忆性能之间的潜在关联。我们发现较高的血清甘油三酯 (TG) 水平与左额顶和腹侧注意网络之间、右额顶和背侧注意网络之间、右额顶和背侧感觉运动网络之间、右额顶和侧视觉网络之间以及显着性之间的连接性更强相关。 (SN) 和腹侧感觉运动 (vSMN) 网络，以及后默认模式和左额顶网络之间、左额顶和内侧视觉网络之间以及腹侧注意和背侧感觉运动网络之间的连接性较低。此外，较高的 SN-vSMN 连接与较低的 3-back 精度有关。更重要的是，血清 TG 与 3-back 准确性之间的关系是由 SN-vSMN 连接介导的。