Lateralized Resting-State Functional Brain Network Organization Changes in Heart Failure.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) is associated with brain injuries affecting autonomic, affective, and cognitive functions.
• The impact of HF on resting-state functional connectivity (FC) and brain network organization remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate region-to-region FC and whole-brain network topological properties in HF patients compared to controls.
• To determine the status of functional brain organization in individuals with heart failure.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) was used to examine FC and network topology.
• 27 HF patients were compared with 53 healthy controls.

Main Results:

• HF patients showed decreased FC between specific regions (e.g., caudate-cerebellar, olfactory-cerebellar) and increased FC in others (e.g., middle frontal-sensorimotor, temporal-cerebellar).
• Significant alterations in functional integration and specialized network characteristics were observed in HF.
• These changes were predominantly noted in the right hemisphere.

Conclusions:

• Brain dysfunction in HF extends to resting states, characterized by altered FC and network organization.
• These neural alterations may underlie autonomic, cognitive, and affective deficits, potentially contributing to HF morbidity and mortality.
• Protecting neural tissue could improve FC integrity, enhancing quality of life and reducing adverse outcomes in HF.