Graph Analysis of Functional Brain Topology Using Minimum Spanning Tree in Subjective Cognitive Decline

Abstract

Background: Subjects with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are proposed as a potential population to screen for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective: Investigating brain topologies would help to mine the neuromechanisms of SCD and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of AD. Methods: Objectively cognitively unimpaired subjects from communities who underwent resting-state BOLD-fMRI and clinical assessments were included. The subjects were categorized into SCD and normal control (NC) groups according to whether they exhibited self-perceived cognitive decline and were worried about it. The minimum spanning tree (MST) of the functional brain network was calculated for each subject, based on which the efficiency and centrality of the brain network organization were explored. Hippocampal/parahippocampal volumes were also detected to reveal whether the early neurodegeneration of AD could be seen in SCD. Results: A total of 49 subjects in NC and 95 subjects in SCD group were included in this study. We found the efficiency and centrality of brain network organization, as well as the hippocampal/parahippocampal volume were preserved in SCD. Besides, SCD exhibited normal cognitions, including memory, language, and execution, but increased depressive and anxious levels. Interestingly, language and execution, instead of memory, showed a significant positive correlation with the maximum betweenness centrality of the functional brain organization and hippocampal/parahippocampal volume. Neither depressive nor anxious scales exhibited correlations with the brain functional topologies or hippocampal/parahippocampal volume. Conclusion: SCD exhibited preserved efficiency and centrality of brain organization. In clinical practice, language and execution as well as depression and anxiety should be paid attention in SCD.