Purpose: Previous studies have found that there are significant changes in functional network properties for patients with moderate to severe carotid artery stenosis. Our study aimed to explore the topology properties of brain functional network in asymptomatic patients with carotid plaque without significant stenosis Methods: A total of 61 asymptomatic patients with carotid plaque (mean age 61.79±7.35 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (HC; 58.12±6.79 years) were recruited. General data collection, carotid ultrasound examination and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed on all subjects. Graph-theory was applied to examine the differences in the brain functional network topological properties between two groups. Results: In the plaque group, Eloc(P = 0.03) ,  (P = 0.01), and  (P = 0.01) were significantly higher than in the HC group. The degree centrality of left middle frontal gyrus and the nodal efficiency of left middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal angular gyrus were significantly higher in the plaque group than in HC. The degree centrality and betweenness centrality of right middle temporal gyrus, as well as the nodal efficiency of right middle temporal gyrus, were significantly lower in the plaque group than in HC. Conclusions: The brain functional networks of patients with carotid plaques differ from those of healthy controls. Asymptomatic patients with carotid plaques exhibit increased local and global connectivity, which may reflect subtle reorganizations in response to early brain damage.

中文翻译：

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无明显颈动脉狭窄的无症状颈动脉斑块中功能网络拓扑结构的破坏：静息态 fMRI 研究

目的：既往研究发现，中重度颈动脉狭窄患者的功能网络特性发生显着变化。我们的研究旨在探索无明显狭窄的无症状颈动脉斑块患者脑功能网络的拓扑特性方法：共61名无症状颈动脉斑块患者（平均年龄61.79±7.35岁）和25名健康对照者（HC；58.12± 6.79 岁）被招募。对所有受试者进行一般数据收集、颈动脉超声检查和静息状态功能磁共振成像。应用图论来检查两组之间大脑功能网络拓扑特性的差异。结果：在斑块组中，Eloc(P = 0.03) 、 (P = 0.01) 和  (P = 0. 01) 显着高于 HC 组。斑块组左侧额中回的中心度、左侧额中回和右侧顶下角回的淋巴结效率显着高于HC。斑块组右侧颞中回的度中心性和介数中心性以及右侧颞中回的节点效率显着低于HC。结论：颈动脉斑块患者的脑功能网络与健康对照者不同。有颈动脉斑块的无症状患者表现出局部和全局连通性增加，这可能反映了对早期脑损伤的微妙重组。斑块组左侧额中回的中心度、左侧额中回和右侧顶下角回的淋巴结效率显着高于HC。斑块组右侧颞中回的度中心性和介数中心性以及右侧颞中回的节点效率显着低于HC。结论：颈动脉斑块患者的脑功能网络与健康对照者不同。有颈动脉斑块的无症状患者表现出局部和全局连通性增加，这可能反映了对早期脑损伤的微妙重组。斑块组左侧额中回的中心度、左侧额中回和右侧顶下角回的淋巴结效率显着高于HC。斑块组右侧颞中回的度中心性和介数中心性以及右侧颞中回的节点效率显着低于HC。结论：颈动脉斑块患者的脑功能网络与健康对照者不同。有颈动脉斑块的无症状患者表现出局部和全局连通性增加，这可能反映了对早期脑损伤的微妙重组。斑块组右侧颞中回的度中心性和介数中心性以及右侧颞中回的节点效率显着低于HC。结论：颈动脉斑块患者的脑功能网络与健康对照者不同。有颈动脉斑块的无症状患者表现出局部和全局连通性增加，这可能反映了对早期脑损伤的微妙重组。斑块组右侧颞中回的度中心性和介数中心性以及右侧颞中回的节点效率显着低于HC。结论：颈动脉斑块患者的脑功能网络与健康对照者不同。有颈动脉斑块的无症状患者表现出局部和全局连通性增加，这可能反映了对早期脑损伤的微妙重组。