Altered functional brain networks in coronary heart disease: Independent component analysis and graph theoretical analysis

Motivation: Coronary heart disease (CHD) confers a high risk of cognitive and mental impairments in patients. Goal(s): To explore the association of CHD with functional connectivity and topological properties of brain networks. Approach: We collected rs-fMRI data to assess brain functional connectivity and topological properties in CHD patients. Results: Compared to HCs, CHD patients exhibited increased functional connectivity between the default mode network and visual network, as well as decreased functional connectivity between the left frontoparietal network and auditory network. Small-world network topology was identified in both CHD patients and HCs. Furthermore, the nodal local efficiency of left putamen was decreased in CHD patients. Impact: Abnormal brain functional connectivity and topological properties in CHD patients might extend current understanding of CHD-related brain dysfunction from the perspective of functional network organization, which expanded the knowledge of the brain function changes and potential neurological mechanism of CHD.