As a complex system, the topology of human's brain network has an important effect on further study of brain's structural and functional mechanism. Graph theory, a kind of sophisticated analytic strategies, is widely used for analyzing complex brain networks effectively and comparing difference of topological structure alteration in normal development and pathological condition. For the purpose of using this analysis methodology efficiently, it is necessary to develop graph-based visualization software. Thus, we developed VisConnectome, which displays analysis results of the brain network friendly and intuitively. It provides an original graphical user interface (GUI) including the tool window, tool bar and innovative double slider filter, brain region bar, runs in any Windows operating system and doesn't rely on any platform such as Matlab. When importing the user-defined script file that initializes the brain network, VisConnectome abstracts the brain network to the ball-and-stick model and render it. VisConnectome allows a series of visual operations, such as identifying nodes and connection, modifying properties of nodes and connection such as color and size with the color palette and size double slider, imaging the brain regions, filtering the brain network according to its size property in a specific domain as simplification and blending with the brain surface as a context of the brain network. Through experiment and analysis, we conclude that VisConnectome is an effective visualization software with high speed and quality, which helps researchers to visualize and compare the structural and functional brain networks flexibly.
Brain ; physiology ; Connectome ; Humans ; Software

The perception of motion is an important function of vision. Neural wiring diagrams for extracting directional information have been obtained by connectome reconstruction. Direction selectivity in Drosophila is thought to originate in T4/T5 neurons through integrating inputs with different temporal filtering properties. Through genetic screening based on synaptic distribution, we isolated a new type of TmY neuron, termed TmY-ds, that form reciprocal synaptic connections with T4/T5 neurons. Its neurites responded to grating motion along the four cardinal directions and showed a variety of direction selectivity. Intriguingly, its direction selectivity originated from temporal filtering neurons rather than T4/T5. Genetic silencing and activation experiments showed that TmY-ds neurons are functionally upstream of T4/T5. Our results suggest that direction selectivity is generated in a tripartite circuit formed among these three neurons-temporal filtering, TmY-ds, and T4/T5 neurons, in which TmY-ds plays a role in the enhancement of direction selectivity in T4/T5 neurons.
Animals ; Neurites ; Drosophila ; Neurons ; Connectome

Genetic tools, which can be used for the morphology study of specific neurons, pathway-selective connectome mapping, neuronal activity monitoring, and manipulation with a spatiotemporal resolution, have been widely applied to the understanding of complex neural circuit formation, interactions, and functions in rodents. Recently, similar genetic approaches have been tried in non-human primates (NHPs) in neuroscience studies for dissecting the neural circuits involved in sophisticated behaviors and clinical brain disorders, although they are still very preliminary. In this review, we introduce the progress made in the development and application of genetic tools for brain studies on NHPs. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of each approach and provide a perspective for using genetic tools to study the neural circuits of NHPs.
Animals ; Primates/physiology* ; Brain/physiology* ; Connectome

The zona incerta (ZI) is involved in various functions and may serve as an integrative node of the circuits for global behavioral modulation. However, the long-range connectivity of different sectors in the mouse ZI has not been comprehensively mapped. Here, we obtained whole-brain images of the input and output connections via fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography and viral tracing. The principal regions in the input-output circuits of ZI GABAergic neurons were topologically organized. The 3D distribution of cortical inputs showed rostro-caudal correspondence with different ZI sectors, while the projection fibers from ZI sectors were longitudinally organized in the superior colliculus. Clustering results show that the medial and lateral ZI are two different major functional compartments, and they can be further divided into more subdomains based on projection and input connectivity. This study provides a comprehensive anatomical foundation for understanding how the ZI is involved in integrating different information, conveying motivational states, and modulating global behaviors.
Animals ; Mice ; Zona Incerta ; GABAergic Neurons ; Connectome

Brain connectivity can now be studied with topological analysis using persistent homology. It overcame the arbitrariness of thresholding to make binary graphs for comparison between disease and normal control groups. Resting-state fMRI can yield personal interregional brain connectivity based on perfusion signal on MRI on individual subject bases and FDG PET produces the topography of glucose metabolism. Assuming metabolism perfusion coupling and disregarding the slight difference of representing time of metabolism (before image acquisition) and representing time of perfusion (during image acquisition), topography of brain metabolism on FDG PET and topologically analyzed brain connectivity on resting-state fMRI might be related to yield personal connectomics of individual subjects and even individual patients. The work of association of FDG PET/resting-state fMRI is yet to be warranted; however, the statistics behind the group comparison of connectivity on FDG PET or resting-state MRI was already developed. Before going further into the connectomics construction using directed weighted brain graphs of FDG PET or resting-state fMRI, I detailed in this review the plausibility of using hybrid PET/MRI to enable the interpretation of personal connectomics which can lead to the clinical use of brain connectivity in the near future.
Brain ; Classification ; Connectome ; Glucose ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Metabolism ; Perfusion

Functional hubs with disproportionately extensive connectivities play a crucial role in global information integration in human brain networks. However, most resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) studies have identified functional hubs by examining spontaneous fluctuations of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal within a typical low-frequency band (e.g., 0.01-0.08 Hz or 0.01-0.1 Hz). Little is known about how the spatial distributions of functional hubs depend on frequency bands of interest. Here, we used repeatedly measured R-fMRI data from 53 healthy young adults and a degree centrality analysis to identify voxelwise frequency-resolved functional hubs and further examined their test-retest reliability across two sessions. We showed that a wide-range frequency band (0.01-0.24 Hz) accessible with a typical sampling rate (f_sample = 0.5 Hz) could be classified into three frequency bands with distinct patterns, namely, low-frequency (LF, 0.01-0.06 Hz), middle-frequency (MF, 0.06-0.16 Hz), and high-frequency (HF, 0.16-0.24 Hz) bands. The functional hubs were mainly located in the medial and lateral frontal and parietal cortices in the LF band, and in the medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, and several cerebellar regions in the MF and HF bands. These hub regions exhibited fair to good test-retest reliability, regardless of the frequency band. The presence of the three frequency bands was well replicated using an independent R-fMRI dataset from 45 healthy young adults. Our findings demonstrate reliable frequency-resolved functional connectivity hubs in three categories, thus providing insights into the frequency-specific connectome organization in healthy and disordered brains.
Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Connectome/methods* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Rest ; Young Adult

The increasing number of long-term survivors of pediatric brain tumors requires us to incorporate the most recent knowledge derived from cognitive neuroscience into their oncological treatment. As the lesion itself, as well as each treatment, can cause specific neural damage, the long-term neurocognitive outcomes are highly complex and challenging to assess. The number of neurocognitive studies in this population grows exponentially worldwide, motivating modern neuroscience to provide guidance in follow-up before, during and after treatment. In this review, we provide an overview of structural and functional brain connectomes and their role in the neuropsychological outcomes of specific brain tumor types. Based on this information, we propose a theoretical neuroscientific framework to apply appropriate neuropsychological and imaging follow-up for future clinical care and rehabilitation trials.
Child ; Humans ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Brain Neoplasms/complications* ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; Connectome ; Neurosciences

Connectome/methods* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Head ; Brain Mapping/methods* ; Nerve Net

Chinese, as a logographic language, fundamentally differs from alphabetic languages like English. Previous neuroimaging studies have mainly focused on alphabetic languages, while the exploration of Chinese reading is still an emerging and fast-growing research field. Recently, a growing number of neuroimaging studies have explored the neural circuit of Chinese reading. Here, we summarize previous research on Chinese reading from a connectomic perspective. Converging evidence indicates that the left middle frontal gyrus is a specialized hub region that connects the ventral with dorsal pathways for Chinese reading. Notably, the orthography-to-phonology and orthography-to-semantics mapping, mainly processed in the ventral pathway, are more specific during Chinese reading. Besides, in addition to the left-lateralized language-related regions, reading pathways in the right hemisphere also play an important role in Chinese reading. Throughout, we comprehensively review prior findings and emphasize several challenging issues to be explored in future work.
Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Brain Mapping ; China ; Connectome ; Language ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Reading

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Previous studies reported that integrated information in the brain ultimately determines the subjective experience of patients with chronic pain, but how the information is integrated in the brain connectome of functional dyspepsia (FD) patients remains largely unclear. The study aimed to quantify the topological changes of the brain network in FD patients. METHODS: Small-world properties, network efficiency and nodal centrality were utilized to measure the changes in topological architecture in 25 FD patients and 25 healthy controls based on functional magnetic resonance imaging. Pearson's correlation assessed the relationship of each topological property with clinical symptoms. RESULTS: FD patients showed an increase of clustering coefficients and local efficiency relative to controls from the perspective of a whole network as well as elevated nodal centrality in the right orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus, left anterior cingulate gyrus and left hippocampus, and decreased nodal centrality in the right posterior cingulate gyrus, left cuneus, right putamen, left middle occipital gyrus and right inferior occipital gyrus. Moreover, the centrality in the anterior cingulate gyrus was significantly associated with symptom severity and duration in FD patients. Nevertheless, the inclusion of anxiety and depression scores as covariates erased the group differences in nodal centralities in the orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus and hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest topological disruption of the functional brain networks in FD patients, presumably in response to disturbances of sensory information integrated with emotion, memory, pain modulation, and selective attention in patients.
Anxiety ; Brain* ; Chronic Pain ; Connectome ; Depression ; Dyspepsia* ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory ; Orbit ; Putamen