Altered Functional Connectivity of Large-Scale Brain Networks in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Associated with
Sitong Feng1,2, Linrui Dong1,2, Bin Yan3
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
|September 11, 2023
Summary
This study reveals that psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) is linked to altered brain network connectivity, impacting cognitive functions like memory and visuospatial skills. These findings offer new insights into the neural mechanisms behind cognitive dysfunction in pED.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) is associated with cognitive dysfunction.
- Previous neuroimaging studies suggest abnormal brain functional connections in pED patients.
- The precise neural mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in pED remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in pED.
- To analyze large-scale brain networks and their functional connectivity (FC).
- To explore the relationship between cognitive performance and altered brain network FC in pED.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- 30 pED patients and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited.
- The Dosenbach Atlas defined large-scale brain networks for FC analysis.
Main Results:
- pED patients showed decreased FC within the visual network.
- Reduced FC was observed between visual and default mode networks, visual and frontoparietal networks, and ventral attention and default mode networks.
- Immediate memory scores positively correlated with visual network FC; visuospatial scores negatively correlated with ventral attention-default mode network FC.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive impairments in pED are related to altered FC between large-scale brain networks.
- These findings provide novel evidence for the neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in pED.
- Altered connectivity in visual, default mode, frontoparietal, and ventral attention networks are implicated.
Keywords:
cognitive impairmentfunctional connectivitylarge-scale brain networkpsychogenic erectile dysfunctionMore Related Videos
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