We applied resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) combined with graph theory to analyze 90 regions of the infantile small world neural network of the whole brain. We tried to get the following two points clear:① whether the parameters of the node property of the infantile small world neural network are correlated with the level of infantile intelligence development; ② whether the parameters of the infantile small world neural network are correlated with the children's baseline parameters, i.e., the demographic parameters such as gender, age, parents' education level, etc. Twelve cases of healthy infants were included in the investigation (9 males and 3 females with the average age of 33.42±8.42 months.) We then evaluated the level of infantile intelligence of all the cases and graded by Gesell Development Scale Test. We used a Siemens 3.0T Trio imaging system to perform resting-state (rs) EPI scans, and collected the BOLD functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data. We performed the data processing with Statistical Parametric Mapping 5(SPM5) based on Matlab environment. Furthermore, we got the attributes of the whole brain small world and node attributes of 90 encephalic regions of templates of Anatomatic Automatic Labeling (ALL). At last, we carried out correlation study between the above-mentioned attitudes, intelligence scale parameters and demographic data. The results showed that many node attributes of small world neural network were closely correlated with intelligence scale parameters. Betweeness was mainly centered in thalamus, superior frontal gyrus, and occipital lobe (negative correlation). The r value of superior occipital gyrus associated with the individual and social intelligent scale was -0.729 (P=0.007); degree was mainly centered in amygdaloid nucleus, superior frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal gyrus (positive correlation). The r value of inferior parietal gyrus associated with the gross motor intelligent scale was 0.725 (P=0.008); efficiency was mainly centered in inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, and insular lobe (positive correlation). The r value of inferior parietal gyrus associated with the language intelligent scale was 0.738 (P=0.006); Anoda cluster coefficient (anodalCp) was centered in frontal lobe, inferior parietal gyrus, and paracentral lobule (positive correlation); Node shortest path length (nlp) was centered in frontal lobe, inferior parietal gyrus, and insular lobe. The distribution of the encephalic regions in the left and right brain was different. However, no statistical significance was found between the correlation of monolithic attributes of small world and intelligence scale. The encephalic regions, in which node attributes of small world were related to other demographic indices, were mainly centered in temporal lobe, cuneus, cingulated gyrus, angular gyrus, and paracentral lobule areas. Most of them belong to the default mode network (DMN). The node attributes of small world neural network are widely related to infantile intelligence level, moreover the distribution is characteristic in different encephalic regions. The distribution of dominant encephalic is in accordance the related functions. The existing correlations reflect the ever changing small world nervous network during infantile development.
Objective To study the impact of chronic hypoxia on white matter (WM) injury and brain development delay using a neonatal rat model, and to explore its value in simulating chronic hypoxic brain damage in cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods Three-day-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly distributed to an experiment group (n=36, FiO2 10.5%±1.0%) and a control group (n=36, FiO2 21.0%±0.0%) and were raised for 12 days. (1) Body weight of SD rats was recorded every day and fresh brain weight was measured on P14. (2) H&E staining was performed on sections of brain tissue to observe pathological changes and ventricular size. (3) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was applied to reveal alterations of oligodendroglial progenitor cells (OPC), preoligodendrocytes (PreOL) and myelin basic protein (MBP) in brain WM area. (4) Protein was extracted from 50 mg of brain tissue in WM area and expression of MBP was determined using Western blotting. (5) Motor function and coordination of rats (P30) were assessed via rotation experiment. Results (1) Body weight and brain weight were significantly less in the experiment group compared with the control group on P14 (body weight 14.92±1.26 gvs. 30.26±1.81 g, t=7.51, P<0.01; brain weight 0.68± 0.05 gvs.0.97±0.04 g, t=13.26, P<0.01); (2) HE staining: Sections of brain tissue from the experiment group showed ventricular size enlargement with a statistical difference (P<0.01), disordered cell organization, local neuronal death and leukomalacia. (3) The number of OPC and PreOL in the experiment group were significantly less than those in the control group (64.8±6.3vs. 126.2±8.4, t=11.19, P<0.01; 19.1±7.6vs. 46.7±9.5, t=7.28, P<0.01, respectively). MBP distribution was sparse and disorganized in the experiment group. (4) Western blotting: Expression of MBP was less in the experiment group (P<0.01). (5) Behavioral test: Time on rotarod was less in the experiment group with a statistical difference (P<0.01). Conclusion Chronic hypoxia can result in WM injury and brain development delay in neonatal rats, with features comparable to those seen in infants with cyanotic CHD.
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a series of structural cardiac abnormalities resulting from abnormal fetal heart development. With the prolongation of survival time, their cognitive function problems begin to be concerned. From fetus period to adulthood, people with complex CHD are more likely to have abnormalities in brains. Children with complex CHD have a significantly increased risk of developmental disorders in cognitive functions, such as intelligence, attention and psychosocial disorders. These diseases persist into their adulthood. Adults with CHD have earlier neurocognitive decline, poorer performance in intelligence, executive function, attention and academic achievement, and are more likely to have mood disorders, higher incidence of mental disorders and lower quality of life. This paper reviews the studies on cognitive function of adult patients with CHD from the dimension of the whole life cycle.