Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Neuroimaging-Guided TMS–EEG for Real-Time Cortical Network Mapping
Published on: June 13, 2025
Connectome-based mapping of gray matter abnormalities in hepatic encephalopathy
Li Chen1, Lei Xia2, Yaling Chen3
1Department of Hepatobiliary Disease, Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
Objective:
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is linked to widespread gray matter abnormalities, but it remains unclear whether these changes follow the organizing principles of large-scale brain networks. This study examined the spatial distribution of gray matter abnormalities in HE and their relationships with brain network hubs, neighborhood connectivity, and disease epicenters.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 45 patients with HE and 45 healthy controls underwent high-resolution T1-weighted MRI. Cortical thickness was extracted from 308 cortical regions using the Desikan-Killiany atlas, and volumes were measured from 14 subcortical structures. Group differences were analyzed controlling for age, sex, and total intracranial volume. Connectome-based analyses were based on normative functional and structural connectomes from the Human Connectome Project and assessed hub-related vulnerability, network-neighborhood effects, disease epicenters, and individual-level network patterns.
Results:
Patients with HE showed widespread gray matter abnormalities in the prefrontal, motor, temporal, and limbic cortices, as well as basal ganglia and thalamus, without significant alignment with normative functional or structural hubs. Structural neighborhood abnormalities were positively correlated with cortical changes (r = 0.58, P spin = 0.004), whereas functional neighborhoods were not. Functional-connectome epicenters were concentrated in the left inferior frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, and striatum, while structural-connectome epicenters centered on the bilateral superior frontal gyri and left inferior frontal gyrus. Individual analyses revealed heterogeneous epicenter patterns, with prefrontal-related regions repeatedly implicated.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that gray matter abnormalities in HE are non-randomly organized, constrained by structural connectivity, and associated with prefrontal-centered disease epicenter networks, providing connectome-based insights into gray matter abnormalities in HE.
