Hemisphere and Gender Differences in the Rich-Club Organization of Structural Networks. (27th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Bin; Zhan, Qionghui; Yan, Ting; Imtiaz, Sumaira; Xiang, Jie; Niu, Yan; Liu, Miaomiao; Wang, Gongshu; Cao, Rui; Li, Dandan
• Is Part Of: Cerebral cortex. Volume 29:Number 11(2019)
• Page Start: 4889
• Page End: 4901
• Publication Date: 2019-02-27
• Subjects: diffusion tensor imaging -- gender difference -- graph theoretical analysis -- hemispheric asymmetry -- rich-club organization; Cerebral cortex -- Periodicals; Brain -- Periodicals; 612.825
• DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1047-3211

Abstract

Abstract: Structural and functional differences in brain hemispheric asymmetry have been well documented between female and male adults. However, potential differences in the connectivity patterns of the rich-club organization of hemispheric structural networks in females and males remain to be determined. In this study, diffusion tensor imaging was used to construct hemispheric structural networks in healthy subjects, and graph theoretical analysis approaches were applied to quantify hemisphere and gender differences in rich-club organization. The results showed that rich-club organization was consistently observed in both hemispheres of female and male adults. Moreover, a reduced level of connectivity was found in the left hemisphere. Notably, rightward asymmetries were mainly observed in feeder and local connections among one hub region and peripheral regions, many of which are implicated in visual processing and spatial attention functions. Additionally, significant gender differences were revealed in the rich-club, feeder, and local connections in rich-club organization. These gender-related hub and peripheral regions are involved in emotional, sensory, and cognitive control functions. The topological changes in rich-club organization provide novel insight into the hemisphere and gender effects on white matter connections and underlie a potential network mechanism of hemisphere- and gender-based differences in visual processing, spatial attention and cognitive control.