139. Study on the topological attribute changes of brain functional networks in schizophrenia patients based on resting-state fmri and graph theory algorithm

Abstract Background Schizophrenia (SZ) is a serious chronic mental disorder of unknown cause, and its core pathological mechanism is closely related to abnormal brain functional network connections. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has become a core technology for exploring brain functional networks due to its advantages of being non-invasive and having high spatiotemporal resolution. Graph theory algorithms can quantify the topological properties of brain networks, providing objective indicators for revealing abnormal organizational patterns of brain networks. Although existing research has insufficient systematic analysis of the topological properties of the whole brain network, it is difficult to comprehensively explain its pathophysiological mechanism. Therefore, the study aims to combine rs-fMRI with graph theory algorithms to systematically explore the changing characteristics of topological properties of brain functional networks in SZ patients, providing imaging evidence for the pathological mechanism analysis of schizophrenia. Methods Sixty patients with a clear diagnosis of SZ were selected, and 60 healthy controls matched by gender and age were also selected. None of the research subjects had a history of severe physical diseases, brain trauma, or other neuropsychiatric disorders. Both groups received rs-fMRI data acquisition, and the core topological attribute indicators were calculated based on the graph theory algorithm: small-world index σ, clustering coefficient C, feature path length L, global efficiency Eglob and node degree K. The data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The independent sample t-test was used to compare the differences in topological attributes between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between abnormal topological indicators in the patient group and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score. Results Compared with the healthy control group, the index σ of the SZ patient group was significantly decreased (t = 7.63, p