Impaired Topological Architecture of Structural Brain Networks in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A DTI Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with white-matter integrity changes.
• Limited research exists on topological alterations in white-matter structural networks in OSA.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate alterations in brain structural networks in OSA patients.
• Utilize diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and network-based statistic (NBS) for analysis.

Main Methods:

• Collected clinical, neuropsychological, and DTI data from 77 OSA patients and 83 healthy controls (HCs).
• Constructed DTI-based structural networks using whole-brain probabilistic tractography.
• Employed NBS analysis to identify network connectivity changes and correlated topological properties with clinical variables.

Main Results:

• Graph theory revealed reduced betweenness centrality (BC) in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus (SFGdor.L) and supplementary motor area (SMA.L) in OSA patients.
• Reduced nodal efficiency (NE) of the SFGdor.L was observed in OSA patients.
• NBS analysis identified abnormalities in a 14-node sub-network with altered connectivity in OSA patients. BC of SMA.L correlated positively with anxiety and cognitive scores. OSA patients showed lower cognitive scores and higher depression/anxiety levels than HCs.

Conclusions:

• Alterations in BC and NE of SFGdor.L and BC of SMA.L suggest neurobiological disruption of white-matter networks in OSA.
• These findings may serve as potential imaging biomarkers for early cerebral involvement in OSA.
• Correlational findings necessitate longitudinal studies to establish temporal relationships and causal effects.