Aberrant Topological Organization and Age-Related Differences of Human Connectome in Subjective Cognitive Decline by Using Regional Morphology from Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is characterized by self-experienced deficits in cognitive capacity with normal performance in objective cognitive tests. While, the previous structural co-variance researches showed particularly insights into understanding the structural alterations of brain in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the age-related variations in coordinated topological patterns of morphological networks in individuals with SCD remain poorly understood. In this study, 77 individual morphological networks were constructed including 42 normal controls (NC) and 35 SCD individuals from structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI). A stepwise linear regression model was constructed to evaluate the differences of age-related alternation patterns of the network properties in individuals with SCD compared with NC. Compared with NC, the properties of integration and segregation in individuals with SCD were lower, and the aberrant metrics were negatively correlated with age in SCD, while not in NC. The connections of rich-club were persevered but the connections of paralimbic system were disrupted in SCD compared with NC. In addition, age-related differences of nodal global efficiency mainly distributed in prefrontal cortex regions. In conclusion, the age-related disruption of topological patterns in SCD provide evidence that SCD population are at high risk to cognitive decline further.