Data_Sheet_1_Assessing resting-state brain functional connectivity in adolescents and young adults with narcolepsy using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.DOCX

This study aimed to elucidate the alterations in the prefrontal cortex’s functional connectivity and network topology in narcolepsy patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Twelve narcolepsy-diagnosed patients from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s People’s Hospital Sleep Medicine Department and 11 matched healthy controls underwent resting fNIRS scans. Functional connectivity and graph theory analyses were employed to assess the prefrontal cortex network’s properties and their correlation with clinical features. Results indicated increased functional connectivity in these adolescent and young adult patients with narcolepsy, with significant variations in metrics like average degree centrality and node efficiency, particularly in the left middle frontal gyrus. These alterations showed correlations with clinical symptoms, including depression and sleep efficiency. However, the significance of these findings was reduced post False Discovery Rate adjustment, suggesting a larger sample size is needed for validation. In conclusion, the study offers initial observations that alterations in the prefrontal cortex’s functional connectivity may potentially act as a neurobiological indicator of narcolepsy, warranting further investigation with a larger cohort to substantiate these findings and understand the underlying mechanisms.

本研究旨在利用功能近红外光谱技术（functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS），探究发作性睡病患者前额叶皮层的功能连接与网络拓扑结构改变。本研究从广西壮族自治区人民医院睡眠医学科招募了12名确诊为发作性睡病的患者，以及11名人口学特征匹配的健康对照受试者，所有受试者均接受了静息态功能近红外光谱扫描。本研究采用功能连接与图论分析方法，对前额叶皮层网络的特性及其与临床特征的关联进行评估。结果显示，该队列中的青少年与青年发作性睡病患者的功能连接水平升高，平均度中心性、节点效率等多项指标存在显著差异，尤以左侧额中回为著。上述脑网络改变与抑郁、睡眠效率等临床症状存在关联，但经错误发现率（False Discovery Rate, FDR）校正后，该发现的统计学显著性有所降低，提示需扩大样本量以验证研究结果。综上，本研究首次观察到前额叶皮层功能连接的改变或可作为发作性睡病的神经生物学标志物，后续需扩大样本队列开展研究，以验证该结论并阐明其潜在作用机制。