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Aberrancies of Brain Network Structures in Patients with Anosmia

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Abstract

Patients with anosmia exhibit structural and functional brain abnormalities. The present study explored changes in brain white matter (WM) in non-neurodegenerative anosmia using diffusion-tensor-based network analysis. Twenty patients with anosmia and sixteen healthy controls were recruited in the cross-sectional, case–control study. Participants underwent olfactory tests (orthonasal and retronasal), neuropsychological assessment (cognitive function and depressive symptoms) and diffusion tensor imaging measurement. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, graph theoretical analysis and Network-Based Statistics were used to explore the white matter. There was no significant difference in fractional anisotropy (FA) between patients and controls. In global network topological properties comparisons, patients exhibited higher γ and λ levels than controls, and both groups satisfied the criteria of small-world (σ > 1). In local network topological properties, patients had reduced betweenness, degree and efficiency (global and local), as well as increased shortest path length and cluster coefficient in olfactory-related brain areas (anterior cingulum, lenticular nucleus, putamen, hippocampus, amygdala, caudate nucleus, orbito-frontal gyrus). Olfactory threshold scores and the retronasal score were negatively correlated with γ and λ, and the retronasal score was positively correlated with FA values in certain WM tracts, i.e. middle cerebellar peduncle, right inferior cerebellar peduncle, left inferior cerebellar peduncle, right cerebral peduncle, left cerebral peduncle, left cingulum (cingulate gyrus), right cingulum (hippocampus), superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and, left tapetum. Patients with anosmia demonstrated relevant WM network dysfunction though their structural integrity remained intact. Their retronasal olfaction deficits revealed to be more strongly associated with WM alterations compared with orthonasal olfactory scores.

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Funding

This research was supported by a Grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to TH (DFG HU411/18-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Ben Chen, Joshi Akshita, Divesh Thaploo & Thomas Hummel

  2. Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China

    Ben Chen

  3. Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

    Pengfei Han

  4. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Hagen H. Kitzler

Authors
  1. Ben Chen
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  2. Joshi Akshita
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  3. Pengfei Han
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  4. Divesh Thaploo
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  5. Hagen H. Kitzler
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  6. Thomas Hummel
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Contributions

Dr. BCH: conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data; drafted the article; gave final approval of the version to be published. Dr. JA: acquisition of data, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, gave final approval of the version to be published. Dr. PH: revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, gave final approval of the version to be published important intellectual content. Dr. DT: Revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, gave final approval of the version to be published important intellectual content. Dr. HHK: conception and design, acquisition of data, interpretation of data; revised the. Pro. TH: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data; revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; gave final approval of the version to be published.

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Correspondence to Ben Chen.

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Chen, B., Akshita, J., Han, P. et al. Aberrancies of Brain Network Structures in Patients with Anosmia. Brain Topogr 33, 403–411 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-020-00769-2

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