Optimization of structural connectomes and scaled patterns of structural-functional decoupling in Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is manifested with disrupted topology of structural connection network (SCN) and functional connection network (FCN). However, SCN and its interactions with FCN remain to be further investigated. This multimodality study attempted to precisely characterize the SCN using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and further identify the neuropathological pattern of SCN-FCN decoupling. Our study verified the optimization of SCN by applying DKI metrics and its implications for the clinical diagnosis of PD. Moreover, SCN-FCN decoupling is consequent from mismatched disruptions of the SCN and FCN, identifying pathophysiological neuroimaging features for disturbed neural circuits in PD.