The resting-state topological organization damage of language-related brain regions in post-stroke cognitive impairment

Abstract Background: The topology of brain networks is the foundation of cognition. We hypothesized that stroke damaged topological organization resulting in cognitive impairment. The aim was to explore the damage pattern of the resting-state topology in post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) patients.Methods: Thirty-seven patients with PSCI and thirty-seven gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. The structural and functional data were collected from all subjects. The degree centrality (DC), betweenness centrality (BC), and global properties of brain networks were analyzed between groups. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between topological properties that changed significantly and clinical cognitive function scale scores.Results: Compared with HC, the PSCI patients had significantly reduced DC in language-related brain regions and significantly higher DC in the right frontal lobe, hippocampus, and paracentral lobule. The decreased BC was located in the left caudate, thalamus, temporal and frontal lobes. The increased BC was detected in the left cuneus and right precuneus. In addition, PSCI exhibited increased characteristic path length and decreased small-worldness. DC and BC in the left superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with scale scores.Conclusions: PSCI patients had impaired functional topology of the language-related brain regions, mainly in the left hemisphere. The enhanced processing and relaying information of some right high-order cognitive brain regions may be a compensatory mechanism. However, the whole brain's function integration was reduced, and there was an imbalance between efficiency and consumption. The decreased DC and BC of the left superior temporal gyrus may be the biomarker of overall cognitive function.