Patients with mild traumatic brain injury display abnormal anterior insula functional connectivity and variation in intestinal microflora

We investigated the relationship between changes in the composition and abundance of gut microbiota and functional connectivity (FC) in the bilateral anterior insula (AIns) in patients with acute-stage mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).Twenty-six patients with mTBI and forty-six matched healthy controls (HCs) enrolled for this study underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluations, resting-state functional MRI scanning, composition and abundance of gut microbiota in fecal samples. We analyzed the correlation between the composition and abundance of gut microbiota and FC as well as neuropsychological functions in mTBI patients.