文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Age of Onset of Blindness Affects Brain Anatomical Networks Constructed Using Diffusion Tensor Tractography

作者：Li, Jiajia[1];Liu, Yong[1];Qin, Wen[2];Jiang, Jiefeng[1];Qiu, Zhaoxiong[3];Xu, Jiacheng[3];Yu, Chunshui[2];Jiang, Tianzi[1,4,5]

第一作者：Li, Jiajia

通讯作者：Jiang, TZ[1]

机构：[1]Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Automat, Natl Lab Pattern Recognit, LIAMA Ctr Computat Med, Beijing 100190, Peoples R China;[2]Tianjin Med Univ Gen Hosp, Dept Radiol, Tianjin 300052, Peoples R China;[3]Beijing Union Univ, Special Educ Coll, Beijing 100075, Peoples R China;[4]Univ Elect Sci & Technol China, Sch Life Sci & Technol, Key Lab NeuroInformat, Minist Educ, Chengdu 610054, Peoples R China;[5]Univ Queensland, Queensland Brain Inst, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia

第一机构：Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Automat, Natl Lab Pattern Recognit, LIAMA Ctr Computat Med, Beijing 100190, Peoples R China

通讯机构：[1]corresponding author), Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Automat, Natl Lab Pattern Recognit, LIAMA Ctr Computat Med, Beijing 100190, Peoples R China.

年份：2013

卷号：23

期号：3

起止页码：542-551

外文期刊名：CEREBRAL CORTEX

收录：;Scopus(收录号：2-s2.0-84873678480);WOS:【SCI-EXPANDED(收录号:WOS:000316275400005)】；

基金：National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2011CB707800); Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant Nos. 30900476, 30870694, 60723005, and 60831004; and the Open Projects Program of National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition.

语种：英文

外文关键词：age of onset; anatomical network; blindness; diffusion tensor imaging; tractography

摘要：Studying blindness with various onset ages may elucidate the ways that unimodal sensory deprivation at different periods of development shape the human brain. In order to determine the effect of the onset age on brain anatomical networks, we extended a previous study of 17 early blind (EB) subjects with an additional 97 subjects with various onset ages. We constructed binary anatomical networks of these subjects and sighted controls (SC) using diffusion tensor tractography and calculated the topological properties of the network. Based on onset age, the subjects were divided into congenitally blind (CB), EB, adolescent-blind (AB), and late-blind (LB) subgroups. The LB subjects demonstrated a greater connectivity density and a higher global efficiency, similar to the SC. The CB and EB subgroups showed large group differences from the other groups in their topological networks, specifically, a reduced connectivity density and a decreased global efficiency compared with the SC, especially in the frontal and occipital cortices. Additionally, significant correlations were found between age of onset and the topological properties of the anatomical network in the blind. Our results suggest that visual experience during an early period of development is critical for establishing an intact efficient anatomical network in the human brain.