Transcriptional signatures underpinnings of altered large-scale functional connectome hierarchy in patients with IBS

Functional connectivity is altered in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but its histological basis is unknown. We used resting-state fMRI imaging combined with transcriptomics to examine changes in functional connectivity gradients in IBS patients and their corresponding gene regulatory basis. The reduced connectivity gradients and contractions in IBS patients compared to healthy controls were mainly involved in primary sensory and cross-modal structural domains and were associated with aberrant expression of genes related to neurological development. These results reveal gradient dysfunction of large-scale functional connectomes in IBS and elucidate the role of abnormal gene-function connectivity in the disease.