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Inflammation affects dynamic functional network connectivity pattern changes via plasma NFL in cognitive impairment
Weina Yao1,2, Huijuan Zhou3, Xiao Zhang3
1Department of Neurology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics
|August 7, 2023
Summary
High plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) indicates reduced brain network communication and impaired cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairment. These findings suggest NFL
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomarker Research
- Cognitive Impairment Studies
Background:
- Plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) is a recognized biomarker for inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- The precise neural mechanisms linking NFL levels to cognitive function deficits remain largely unelucidated.
- Investigating the interplay between plasma NFL and large-scale brain networks is crucial for understanding cognitive integrity in impairment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the impact of inflammation, indicated by plasma NFL levels, on cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairment.
- To investigate the functional interaction between plasma NFL and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) in the brain.
- To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the association between NFL and cognitive decline.
Main Methods:
- Included 29 cognitively normal individuals, 55 patients with low plasma NFL, and 55 patients with high plasma NFL.
- Utilized group independent component analysis (ICA) on resting-state fMRI data to extract 40 whole-brain independent components (IC).
- Estimated dFNC using a sliding-window approach and k-means clustering to identify five distinct dynamic functional states, followed by mediation analysis.
Main Results:
- Explored whole-brain functional network connectivity (FNC) dynamics in control, low NFL, and high NFL groups.
- Highlighted temporal properties of dFNC states in relation to psychological scales.
- Identified a potential mechanism linking dFNC indicators and NFL levels in cognitively impaired individuals.
Conclusions:
- The high NFL group exhibited a diminished capacity for information processing and inter-brain network communication, correlating with cognitive deficits.
- Characteristic alterations in inflammation-coupled dynamic brain networks may serve as novel biomarkers for assessing disease severity in cognitive impairment.
- Findings enhance clinical understanding of abnormal cognitive functions associated with elevated NFL levels.
