Functional Connectivity Density with Frequency-Dependent Changes in Patients with Diffuse Axonal Injury: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Guojin Xia,1,2 Zhenzhen Hu,3 Fuqing Zhou,1,2 Wenfeng Duan,1,2 Min Wang,1,2 Honghan Gong,1,2 Yulin He,1,2 Yanxing Guan4 1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Thoracic Oncology, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yulin He; Yanxing Guan 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-791-88692585Email 33heyulin@163.com; yanxingguan2000@aliyun.comPurpose: We explored changes in spontaneous brain connectivity in patients with diffuse axonal injury (DAI), assessed via functional connectivity density (FCD) tests using different frequency bands.Patients and Methods: In all, 23 patients with DAI (17 males and 6 females) and 23 healthy controls (HCs; 17 males and 6 females) were included. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed when the participants were in a resting state and the FCD levels in three frequency bands (slow-4: 0.027– 0.073 Hz, slow-5: 0.01– 0.027 Hz, and typical: 0.01– 0.08 Hz) were measured. In addition, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to explore the relationship between clinical indices and brain regions with abnormal FCD values.Results: Compared to HCs, DAI patients had significantly greater FCD values in the right extranuclear/limbic lobe/cingulate gyrus and left limbic lobe/hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus, and significantly lower FCD values in the left precuneus/posterior cingulate gyrus, in the slow-4 band. In the slow-5 band, the DAI patients had higher FCD values in the left inferior temporal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyru