Disrupted Dynamic Network Attribution Associated with Gait Disorder in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

Abstract

Background and Aims: Previous research has focused on static functional connectivity in gait disorders caused by cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), neglecting dynamic functional connections and network attribution. This study aims to investigate alterations in dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) and topological organization variance in CSVD-related gait disorders. Methods: A total of 85 patients with CSVD, including 41 patients with CSVD and gait disorders (CSVD-GD), 44 patients with CSVD and non-gait disorders (CSVD-NGD), and 32 healthy controls (HC), were enrolled in this study. Five networks composed of 10 independent components were selected using independent component analysis. Sliding time window and k-means clustering methods were used for dFNC analysis. The relationship between alterations in the dFNC properties and gait metrics was further assessed. Results: Three reproducible dFNC states were determined (State 1: sparsely connected, State 2: intermediate pattern, and State 3: strongly connected). CSVD-GD showed significantly higher fractional windows (FW) and mean dwell time (MDT) in State 1 compared with CSVD-NGD. Higher local efficiency variance was observed in the CSVD-GD group compared with HC, but no differences were found in the global efficiency comparison. Both the FW and MDT in State 1 were negatively correlated with gait speed and step length, and the relationship between MDT of State 1 and gait speed was mediated by overall cognition, information processing speed, and executive function. Conclusions: Our study uncovered abnormal dFNC indicators and variations in topological organization in CSVD-GD, offering potential early prediction indicators and freshening insights into the underlying pathogenesis of gait disturbances in CSVD.

Keywords: cerebral small vessel disease; cognition; dynamic functional network connectivity; gait disorders; topological organization.