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Network analysis reveals abnormal functional brain circuitry in anxious dogs

Yangfeng Xu (UGent) , Emma Christiaen, Sara De Witte (UGent) , Qinyuan Chen (UGent) , Kathelijne Peremans (UGent) , Jimmy Saunders (UGent) , Christian Vanhove (UGent) and Chris Baeken (UGent)
(2023) PLOS ONE. 18(3).
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Abstract
Anxiety is a common disease within human psychiatric disorders and has also been described as a frequently neuropsychiatric problem in dogs. Human neuroimaging studies showed abnormal functional brain networks might be involved in anxiety. In this study, we expected similar changes in network topology are also present in dogs. We performed resting-state functional MRI on 25 healthy dogs and 13 patients. The generic Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire was used to evaluate anxiety symptoms. We constructed functional brain networks and used graph theory to compare the differences between two groups. No significant differences in global network topology were found. However, focusing on the anxiety circuit, global efficiency and local efficiency were significantly higher, and characteristic path length was significantly lower in the amygdala in patients. We detected higher connectivity between amygdala-hippocampus, amygdala-mesencephalon, amygdala-thalamus, frontal lobe-hippocampus, frontal lobe-thalamus, and hippocampus-thalamus, all part of the anxiety circuit. Moreover, correlations between network metrics and anxiety symptoms were significant. Altered network measures in the amygdala were correlated with stranger-directed fear and excitability; altered degree in the hippocampus was related to attachment/attention seeking, trainability, and touch sensitivity; abnormal frontal lobe function was related to chasing and familiar dog aggression; attachment/attention seeking was correlated with functional connectivity between amygdala-hippocampus and amygdala-thalamus; familiar dog aggression was related to global network topology change. These findings may shed light on the aberrant topological organization of functional brain networks underlying anxiety in dogs.
Keywords
Multidisciplinary

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MLA
Xu, Yangfeng, et al. “Network Analysis Reveals Abnormal Functional Brain Circuitry in Anxious Dogs.” PLOS ONE, edited by Tamas Kozicz, vol. 18, no. 3, Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2023, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0282087.
APA
Xu, Y., Christiaen, E., De Witte, S., Chen, Q., Peremans, K., Saunders, J., … Baeken, C. (2023). Network analysis reveals abnormal functional brain circuitry in anxious dogs. PLOS ONE, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282087
Chicago author-date
Xu, Yangfeng, Emma Christiaen, Sara De Witte, Qinyuan Chen, Kathelijne Peremans, Jimmy Saunders, Christian Vanhove, and Chris Baeken. 2023. “Network Analysis Reveals Abnormal Functional Brain Circuitry in Anxious Dogs.” Edited by Tamas Kozicz. PLOS ONE 18 (3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282087.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Xu, Yangfeng, Emma Christiaen, Sara De Witte, Qinyuan Chen, Kathelijne Peremans, Jimmy Saunders, Christian Vanhove, and Chris Baeken. 2023. “Network Analysis Reveals Abnormal Functional Brain Circuitry in Anxious Dogs.” Ed by. Tamas Kozicz. PLOS ONE 18 (3). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0282087.
Vancouver
1.
Xu Y, Christiaen E, De Witte S, Chen Q, Peremans K, Saunders J, et al. Network analysis reveals abnormal functional brain circuitry in anxious dogs. Kozicz T, editor. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(3).
IEEE
[1]
Y. Xu et al., “Network analysis reveals abnormal functional brain circuitry in anxious dogs,” PLOS ONE, vol. 18, no. 3, 2023.
@article{01GVMVD87QBBAFQ7H4PH7ECTXV,
  abstract     = {{Anxiety is a common disease within human psychiatric disorders and has also been described as a frequently neuropsychiatric problem in dogs. Human neuroimaging studies showed abnormal functional brain networks might be involved in anxiety. In this study, we expected similar changes in network topology are also present in dogs. We performed resting-state functional MRI on 25 healthy dogs and 13 patients. The generic Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire was used to evaluate anxiety symptoms. We constructed functional brain networks and used graph theory to compare the differences between two groups. No significant differences in global network topology were found. However, focusing on the anxiety circuit, global efficiency and local efficiency were significantly higher, and characteristic path length was significantly lower in the amygdala in patients. We detected higher connectivity between amygdala-hippocampus, amygdala-mesencephalon, amygdala-thalamus, frontal lobe-hippocampus, frontal lobe-thalamus, and hippocampus-thalamus, all part of the anxiety circuit. Moreover, correlations between network metrics and anxiety symptoms were significant. Altered network measures in the amygdala were correlated with stranger-directed fear and excitability; altered degree in the hippocampus was related to attachment/attention seeking, trainability, and touch sensitivity; abnormal frontal lobe function was related to chasing and familiar dog aggression; attachment/attention seeking was correlated with functional connectivity between amygdala-hippocampus and amygdala-thalamus; familiar dog aggression was related to global network topology change. These findings may shed light on the aberrant topological organization of functional brain networks underlying anxiety in dogs.}},
  articleno    = {{e0282087}},
  author       = {{Xu, Yangfeng and Christiaen, Emma and De Witte, Sara and Chen, Qinyuan and Peremans, Kathelijne and Saunders, Jimmy and Vanhove, Christian and Baeken, Chris}},
  editor       = {{Kozicz, Tamas}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  journal      = {{PLOS ONE}},
  keywords     = {{Multidisciplinary}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{19}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  title        = {{Network analysis reveals abnormal functional brain circuitry in anxious dogs}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282087}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}
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