Abstract：
Background: Balance between brain structure and function is implicated in aging and many brain disorders. This study aimed to investigate the coupling between brain structure and function using 18F-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: One hundred thirty-eight subjects who underwent brain 18F-FDG PET/MRI were recruited. The structural and functional coupling at the regional level was explored by calculating within-subject Spearman\'s correlation between glucose metabolism (GluM) and cortical thickness (CTh) across the cortex for each subject, which was then correlated with age to explore its physiological effects. Then, subjects were divided into groups of middle-aged and young adults and older adults (OAs); structural connectivity (SC) based on CTh and functional connectivity (FC) based on GluM were constructed for the two groups, respectively, followed by exploring the connective-level structural and functional coupling on SC and FC matrices. The global and local efficiency values of the brain SC and FC were also evaluated. Results: Of the subjects, 97.83% exhibited a significant negative correlation between regional CTh and GluM (r = -0.24 to -0.71, p < 0.05, FDR correction), and this CTh-GluM correlation was negatively correlated with age (R = -0.35, p < 0.001). For connectivity matrices, many regions showed positive correlation between SC and FC, especially in the OA group. Besides, FC exhibited denser connections than SC, resulting in both higher global and local efficiency, but lower global efficiency when the network size was corrected. Conclusions: This study found couplings between CTh and GluM at both regional and connective levels, which reflected the aging progress, and might provide new insight into brain disorders. Impact statement The intricate interplay between brain structures and functions plays a pivotal role in unraveling the complexities inherent in the aging process and the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. This study revealed that 97.83% subjects showed negative correlation between the brain\'s regional cortical thickness and glucose metabolism, while at the connective level, many regions showed positive correlations between structural and functional connectivity. The observed coupling at the regional and connective levels reflected physiological progress, such as aging, and provides insights into the brain mechanisms and potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.
摘要：
背景：脑结构和功能之间的平衡与衰老和许多脑部疾病有关。本研究旨在利用18F-FDGPET/MRI研究脑结构与功能的耦合。
方法：招募了138名进行脑18F-FDGPET/MRI的受试者。通过计算受试者体内Spearman的GluM（葡萄糖代谢）和皮质厚度（CTh）之间的相关性，探索区域水平的结构和功能耦合。然后与年龄相关以探索其生理效应。然后将受试者分为中年人和年轻人（MYA），和老年人（OA）组。分别构建了基于CTh的结构连通性(SC)和基于GluM的功能连通性(FC),然后探索SC和FC矩阵上的连接水平结构和功能耦合。还评估了脑SC和FC的全局和局部效率。
结果：97.83％的受试者表现出区域CTh和GluM之间的显着负相关（r=-0.24至-0.71，p<0.05，FDR校正），CTh-GluM相关性与年龄呈负相关(R=-0.35,P<0.001)。而对于连通性矩阵，许多地区SC和FC之间呈正相关，尤其是OA组。此外,FC表现出比SC更密集的连接，导致更高的全球和本地效率，但当网络规模得到纠正时，全球效率会降低。
结论：这项研究发现CTh和GluM在区域和连接水平上的耦合，这反映了老龄化的进展，并可能为脑部疾病提供新的见解。
方法：招募了138名进行脑18F-FDGPET/MRI的受试者。通过计算受试者体内Spearman的GluM（葡萄糖代谢）和皮质厚度（CTh）之间的相关性，探索区域水平的结构和功能耦合。然后与年龄相关以探索其生理效应。然后将受试者分为中年人和年轻人（MYA），和老年人（OA）组。分别构建了基于CTh的结构连通性(SC)和基于GluM的功能连通性(FC),然后探索SC和FC矩阵上的连接水平结构和功能耦合。还评估了脑SC和FC的全局和局部效率。
结果：97.83％的受试者表现出区域CTh和GluM之间的显着负相关（r=-0.24至-0.71，p<0.05，FDR校正），CTh-GluM相关性与年龄呈负相关(R=-0.35,P<0.001)。而对于连通性矩阵，许多地区SC和FC之间呈正相关，尤其是OA组。此外,FC表现出比SC更密集的连接，导致更高的全球和本地效率，但当网络规模得到纠正时，全球效率会降低。
结论：这项研究发现CTh和GluM在区域和连接水平上的耦合，这反映了老龄化的进展，并可能为脑部疾病提供新的见解。
