Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze "small world" characteristics in glioma patients in order to understand the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and brain functional connectivity network in the resting state.
Methods: Resting-state magnetoencephalography was performed in 20 patients with glioma and 20 healthy subjects. The clustering coefficient of the resting functional connectivity network in the brain, average path length, and "small world" index (SWI) were calculated. Cognitive function was estimated by testing of attention, verbal fluency, memory, athletic ability, visual-spatial ability, and intelligence.
Results: Compared with healthy controls, patients with glioma showed decreased cognitive function, and diminished low and high gamma band "small world" characteristics in the resting functional connectivity network.
Conclusion: The SWI is associated with cognitive function and is diminished in patients with glioma, and is therefore correlated with cognition dysfunction.
Keywords: cognitive dysfunction; functional connectivity network; glioma; magnetoencephalography; “small world”.