Title
Network Structure and Function in Parkinson's Disease.
Publication Date
2018
Journal Title
Cereb Cortex
Abstract
Little is known of the structural and functional properties of abnormal brain networks associated with neurological disorders. We used a social network approach to characterize the properties of the Parkinson's disease (PD) metabolic topography in 4 independent patient samples and in an experimental non-human primate model. The PD network exhibited distinct features. Dense, mutually facilitating functional connections linked the putamen, globus pallidus, and thalamus to form a metabolically active core. The periphery was formed by weaker connections linking less active cortical regions. Notably, the network contained a separate module defined by interconnected, metabolically active nodes in the cerebellum, pons, frontal cortex, and limbic regions. Exaggeration of the small-world property was a consistent feature of disease networks in parkinsonian humans and in the non-human primate model; this abnormality was only partly corrected by dopaminergic treatment. The findings point to disease-related alterations in network structure and function as the basis for faulty information processing in this disorder.
Volume Number
28
Issue Number
12
Pages
4121 - 4135
Document Type
Article
Status
Faculty; Northwell Researcher
Facility
School of Medicine; Northwell Health
Primary Department
Molecular Medicine
Additional Departments
Neurology
PMID
DOI
10.1093/cercor/bhx267