Abstract：
Facial palsy therapies based on cortical plasticity are in development, but facial synkinesis progress is limited. Studying neural plasticity characteristics, especially network organization and its constitutive elements (nodes/edges), is the key to overcome the bottleneck. We studied 55 participants (33 facial synkinesis patients, 22 healthy controls) with clinical assessments, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We analyzed rich-club organization and metrics of structural brain networks (rich-club coefficients, strength, degree, density, and efficiency). Functional brain network metrics, including functional connectivity and its coupling with the structural network, were also computed. Patients displayed reduced strength and density of rich-club nodes and edges, as well as decreased global efficiency. All nodes exhibited decreased nodal efficiency in patients. Patients had significantly increased functional connectivity and decreased structural-functional coupling strength in rich-club nodes, rich-club edges, and feeder edges. Our study indicates that facial synkinesis patients have weakened structural connections but enhanced functional transmission from rich-club nodes. The loss of connections and efficiency in structural network may trigger compensatory increases in functional connectivity of rich-club nodes. Two potential biomarkers, rich-club edge density and structural-functional coupling strength, may serve as indicators of disease outcome. These findings provide valuable insights into synkinesis mechanisms and offer potential targets for cortical intervention.
摘要：
基于皮质可塑性的面瘫疗法正在发展中，但是面部运动的进展是有限的。研究神经可塑性特征，特别是网络组织及其构成元素(节点/边)，是克服瓶颈的关键。我们研究了55名参与者(33名面部运动综合征患者，22名健康对照)进行临床评估，功能磁共振成像（fMRI），和扩散张量成像（DTI）。我们分析了丰富的俱乐部组织和结构性大脑网络的度量(丰富的俱乐部系数，力量,学位,密度,和效率）。功能性大脑网络指标，包括功能连通性及其与结构网络的耦合，也是计算的。患者显示出丰富的俱乐部节点和边缘的强度和密度降低，以及全球效率下降。患者的所有节点均表现出降低的节点效率。患者在丰富的俱乐部节点中功能连通性显着增加，结构-功能耦合强度降低，丰富的俱乐部边缘，和馈线边缘。我们的研究表明，面部联合运动患者的结构连接减弱，但功能从丰富的俱乐部节点传递增强。结构网络中连接和效率的丧失可能会触发富俱乐部节点功能连通性的补偿性增加。两种潜在的生物标志物,丰富的球杆边缘密度和结构功能耦合强度，可以作为疾病结果的指标。这些发现为整合机制提供了有价值的见解，并为皮质干预提供了潜在的目标。
