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Alteration of multilayer network perspective on gray and white matter connectivity in obstructive sleep apnea

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this research was to examine changes in the neural networks of both gray and white matter in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in comparison to those without the condition, employing a comprehensive multilayer network analysis.

Methods

Patients meeting the criteria for OSA were recruited through polysomnography, while a control group of healthy individuals matched for age and sex was also assembled. Utilizing T1-weighted imaging, a morphometric similarity network was crafted to represent gray matter, while diffusion tensor imaging provided structural connectivity for constructing a white matter network. A multilayer network analysis was then performed, employing graph theory methodologies.

Results

We included 40 individuals diagnosed with OSA and 40 healthy participants in our study. Analysis revealed significant differences in various global network metrics between the two groups. Specifically, patients with OSA exhibited higher average degree overlap and average multilayer clustering coefficient (28.081 vs. 23.407, p < 0.001; 0.459 vs. 0.412, p = 0.004), but lower multilayer modularity (0.150 vs. 0.175, p = 0.001) compared to healthy controls. However, no significant differences were observed in average multiplex participation, average overlapping strength, or average weighted multiplex participation between the patients with OSA and healthy controls. Moreover, several brain regions displayed notable differences in degree overlap at the nodal level between patients with OSA and healthy controls.

Conclusion

Remarkable alterations in the multilayer network, indicating shifts in both gray and white matter, were detected in patients with OSA in contrast to their healthy counterparts. Further examination at the nodal level unveiled notable changes in regions associated with cognition, underscoring the effectiveness of multilayer network analysis in exploring interactions across brain layers.

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Data availability

Data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study received no funding.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Dong Ah Lee and Ho-Joon Lee authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea

    Dong Ah Lee & Kang Min Park

  2. Department of Radiology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea

    Ho-Joon Lee

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  1. Dong Ah Lee
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Dong Ah Lee, Ho-Joon Lee and Kang Min Park. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Kang Min Park and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kang Min Park.

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Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (HPIRB2022-07–017, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea, with the initial approval date being August 11, 2022) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Lee, D.A., Lee, HJ. & Park, K.M. Alteration of multilayer network perspective on gray and white matter connectivity in obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-024-03059-4

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