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Brain connectivity and cognitive functioning in individuals six months after multiorgan failure.
Antonio Jimenez-Marin1, Diego Rivera2, Victoria Boado3
1Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain; Biomedical Research Doctorate Program, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain.
Neuroimage. Clinical
|January 14, 2020
Summary
Multiorgan failure survivors show altered brain connectivity, not structural changes, six months post-ICU. This hyper-connectivity is linked to cognitive deficits and illness severity, suggesting potential for early detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Critical Care Medicine
- Radiology
Background:
- Multiorgan failure (MOF) survivors often experience long-term cognitive and neurological deficits.
- The underlying brain changes responsible for these sequelae remain unclear.
- Investigating brain connectivity in MOF patients post-Intensive Care Unit (ICU) discharge is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare brain connectivity and cognitive function between MOF patients and healthy controls (HC) six months after ICU discharge.
- To identify potential neuroimaging biomarkers for long-term cognitive impairment in MOF survivors.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 22 MOF patients and 22 matched HC.
- Utilized 3T MRI (structural T1, resting-state fMRI) and comprehensive neuropsychological testing.
- Analyzed structural data with voxel-based morphometry and functional data with functional connectivity (FC) analyses.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in brain structure or overall neuropsychological performance between groups.
- MOF patients exhibited worse performance across all cognitive tests.
- Resting-state fMRI revealed hyper-connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) in MOF patients, extending to sensory-motor, cerebellum, and visual networks.
Conclusions:
- In MOF patients without structural brain injury, altered DMN connectivity six months post-ICU is associated with MOF severity and cognitive deficits.
- Resting-state fMRI may serve as a predictive tool for long-term cognitive impairment in MOF survivors.
- Observed hyper-connectivity might indicate neural network re-adaptation following critical illness.
