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Topological properties, which serve as the core of the neural network, and their couplings can reflect different therapeutic effects in tinnitus patients. We hypothesized that tinnitus patients with different outcomes after sound therapy (narrowband noise) would have distinct brain network topological alterations. Diffusion tensor imaging and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were prospectively performed in 60 patients with idiopathic tinnitus and 57 healthy controls (HCs). Graph‐theoretical network analyses of structural connectivity (SC), functional connectivity (FC), and SC and FC coupling were performed. Associations between clinical performance and graph‐theoretical features were also analyzed. Treatment was effective (effective group; EG) in 28 patients and ineffective (ineffective group; IG) in 32 patients. For FC, the patients in the EG showed higher local efficiency than patients in the IG. For SC, patients in both the EG and IG displayed lower normalized characteristic path length, characteristic path length, and global efficiency than the HCs. More importantly, patients in the IG had higher coupling than the HCs, whereas there was no difference in coupling between patients in the EG and HCs. Additionally, there were significant associations between the SC features and clinical performance in patients in the EG. Our findings demonstrate that tinnitus patients exhibited significant brain network topological alterations, especially in the structural brain network. More importantly, patients who demonstrated different curative effects showed distinct SC‐FC topological coupling properties. SC‐FC coupling could be an indicator that could be used to predict prognoses in patients with idiopathic tinnitus before sound therapy.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are distinctive clinical manifestations of schizophrenia. While low‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has demonstrated potential in mitigating AVH, the precise mechanisms by which it operates remain obscure. This study aimed to investigate alternations in structural connectivity and functional connectivity (SC‐FC) coupling among schizophrenia patients with AVH prior to and following treatment with 1 Hz rTMS that specifically targets the left temporoparietal junction. Initially, patients exhibited significantly reduced macroscopic whole brain level SC‐FC coupling compared to healthy controls. Notably, SC‐FC coupling increased significantly across multiple networks, including the somatomotor, dorsal attention, ventral attention, frontoparietal control, and default mode networks, following rTMS treatment. Significant alternations in SC‐FC coupling were noted in critical nodes comprising the somatomotor network and the default mode network, such as the precentral gyrus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, respectively. The alternations in SC‐FC coupling exhibited a correlation with the amelioration of clinical symptom. The results of our study illuminate the intricate relationship between white matter structures and neuronal activity in patients who are receiving low‐frequency rTMS. This advances our understanding of the foundational mechanisms underlying rTMS treatment for AVH. Low‐frequency rTMS treatment led to increased structural connectivity and functional connectivity (SC‐FC) coupling across several brain networks and nodes, correlating with clinical symptom improvement in schizophrenia patients with AVH.

Aims End‐stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with working memory (WM) impairment. We assessed how structural connectivity (SC), functional connectivity (FC), and structural–functional coupling (SFC) differ between pre‐dialysis ESRD (ESRDp), maintenance hemodialysis ESRD (ESRDm), and healthy controls (HCs), and how these changes relate to serum markers and WM performance. Methods 29 ESRDp, 29 ESRDm, and 46 HCs completed 0‐, 1‐, and 2‐back tasks, diffusion MRI, and fMRI. WM nodes were defined by overlaying a meta‐analytic map with the Harvard–Oxford atlas. SC, FC, and regional SFC were computed among WM‐related regions. Group differences, correlations with serum markers, and mediation models were examined. Results ESRDp showed markedly lower n‐back accuracy, longer reaction time (RT), reduced frontoparietal SC, and widespread SFC reductions compared with ESRDm and HCs, whereas ESRDm exhibited near‐normal WM performance and partially restored SC/SFC. Elevated urea and lower sodium in ESRDp were associated with weaker SC and altered SFC, which related to poorer accuracy and slower RT; SC and SFC significantly mediated these associations. Conclusion ESRDp is characterized by disruption and decoupling of WM networks, while ESRDm is associated with partial network normalization. WM‐related SC and SFC combined with serum markers may help identify cognitive vulnerability in ESRD. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03961724 This study examined structural connectivity (SC) and structural–functional coupling (SFC) within working memory (WM) networks in end‐stage renal disease. Pre‐dialysis patients showed disrupted frontoparietal connectivity and reduced coupling, associated with higher urea, lower sodium, and impaired WM performance. Maintenance hemodialysis patients exhibited near‐normal WM and partially restored network organization, suggesting WM‐related SC and SFC as indicators of cognitive vulnerability.

Increased microvessel density in the peri-infarct region has been reported and has been correlated with longer survival times in ischemic stroke patients and has improved outcomes in ischemic animal models.This raises the possibility that enhancement of angiogenesis is one of the strategies to facilitate functional recovery after ischemic stroke. Blood vessels and neuronal cells communicate with each other using various mediators and contribute to the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia as a unit. In this mini-review, we discuss how angiogenesis might couple with axonal outgrowth/neurogenesis and work for functional recovery after cerebral ischemia. Angiogenesis occurs within 4 to 7 days after cerebral ischemia in the border of the ischemic core and periphery. Post-ischemic angiogenesis may contribute to neuronal remodeling in at least two ways and is thought to contribute to functional recovery. First, new blood vessels that are formed after ischemia are thought to have a role in the guidance of sprouting axons by vascular endothelial growth factor and laminin/β1-integrin signaling. Second, blood vessels are thought to enhance neurogenesis in three stages: 1) Blood vessels enhance proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells by expression of several extracellular signals, 2) microvessels support the migration of neural stem/progenitor cells toward the peri-infarct region by supplying oxygen, nutrients, and soluble factors as well as serving as a scaffold for migration, and 3) oxygenation induced by angiogenesis in the ischemic core is thought to facilitate the differentiation of migrated neural stem/progenitor cells into mature neurons. Thus, the regions of angiogenesis and surrounding tissue may be coupled, representing novel treatment targets.

Studies have indicated that the dorsal attention network (DAN) and the ventral attention network (VAN) functionally interact via several fronto-parietal connector hubs. However, the anatomical connectivity profiles of these connector hubs, and the coupling between the anatomical and functional connectivities of them, are still unknown. In the present study, we found that functional connector hubs anatomically bridged the DAN and VAN based on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) Consortium and an independent Chinese cohort. The three hubs had unique anatomical connectivity patterns with the attention sub-networks. For each connector hub, the pattern of anatomical connectivity resembled the functional one. Finally, the strength of the anatomical connectivity of these connector hubs was positively associated with the functional connectivity at the group- and individual-levels. Our findings help to better understand the anatomical mechanisms underlying the functional interactions between the DAN and the VAN.

In the published article, there was an error in the Funding statement. The funding information “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University” was erroneously excluded from the Funding statement. The correct Funding statement appears below.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1608739.].

Personality traits capture stable patterns of behavior and thought, and neurobiological correlates were identified in structural and functional brain networks. Here, we investigate whether the coupling between structural and functional brain networks (SC‐FC coupling), during resting state and seven tasks of varying trait‐relevance, is associated with individual differences in the Big Five personality traits. We used diffusion‐weighted and functional magnetic resonance imaging from 764 participants of the Human Connectome Project and modelled individual differences in SC‐FC coupling with similarity and communication measures. These measures approximate functional interactions unfolding on top of the structural connectome and were set in relation to individual variations in personality traits. Small but significant associations in the main analysis were only observed during trait‐relevant tasks: for agreeableness during social cognition, and conscientiousness could be predicted from task‐general coupling patterns. We conclude that optimizing trait‐relevance of tasks during neuroscientific measurement presents a promising means to increase effect sizes in studies on brain‐behavior associations. Key Points Significant relationships between the Big Five personality traits and SC‐FC coupling were absent during resting state but emerge during trait‐relevant tasks. Carefully designed tasks may amplify individual differences and thereby enhance the detectability of trait‐related neural characteristics. Our study exemplifies how established behavioral personality theories can be transferred to the neural level. Significant associations between the Big Five personality traits and structural‐functional brain network coupling are absent during resting state but emerge during trait‐relevant tasks. Carefully designed trait‐relevant tasks may amplify individual differences in trait‐related neural characteristics and thereby enhance their detectability. This exemplifies how established behavioral personality theories can be transferred to the neural level.

The mental fatigue state of subway drivers directly affects operational safety. At the same time, they are easily influenced by individual emotions and are closely related to the state of brain function. In this study, multimodal data of subway drivers during driving were collected synchronously in a simulated driving environment, including EEG signals, subjective fatigue perception, emotional states and operational performance data. First, the Toeplitz inverse covariance clustering method was used to integrate the subjective fatigue perception, emotional states and operational performance data of subway drivers to derive four data-driven fatigue states. Subsequently, the EEG signals were decomposed into four frequency bands of / / / , and the time domain, frequency domain and spatial domain feature indicators were extracted as input data. A discrimination model for the four data-driven fatigue states based on a convolutional recurrent neural network was constructed. After multiple sets of feature set combinations and integrated strategy tests, the optimal fatigue levels discrimination model was finally selected. Further, Dynamic Bayesian Inference was used to explore the of inferred brain-functional coupling patterns of the EEG signals corresponding to each data-driven fatigue state. The results showed that across the four data-driven fatigue states, the prefrontal cortex consistently occupied a central role in task planning and execution, while the other brain regions formed a dynamically coordinated network through bidirectional drive and feedback relations, suggesting systematic differences in inter-regional functional coupling patterns across the identified states.

Postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are crucial mediators of synaptic plasticity due to their ability to act as coincidence detectors of presynaptic and postsynaptic neuronal activity. However, NMDARs exist within the molecular context of a variety of postsynaptic signaling proteins, which can fine-tune their function. Here, we describe a form of NMDAR suppression by large-conductance Ca2+- and voltage-gated K⁺ (BK) channels in the basal dendrites of a subset of barrel cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons. We show that NMDAR activation increases intracellular Ca2+ in the vicinity of BK channels, thus activating K⁺ efflux and strong negative feedback inhibition. We further show that neurons exhibiting such NMDAR–BK coupling serve as high-pass filters for incoming synaptic inputs, precluding the induction of spike timing–dependent plasticity. Together, these data suggest that NMDAR-localized BK channels regulate synaptic integration and provide input-specific synaptic diversity to a thalamocortical circuit.