Multiplex Nodal Modularity: A novel network metric for the regional analysis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment during a working memory binding task

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new nodal modularity metric (nQ) for analyzing brain network community structures at the node level, revealing localized changes associated with early Alzheimer's disease in fMRI and DTI data.

Contribution

The study extends traditional modularity to individual nodes, enabling detailed analysis of local brain network alterations in early AD stages, which was not possible with global measures.

Findings

nQ detected changes in visual, limbic, and paralimbic regions in early AD

nQ differentiated MCI from MCI converters, indicating sensitivity to disease progression

White-matter microstructure changes in parietal and frontal regions were observed

Abstract

Modularity is a well-established concept for assessing community structures in various single and multi-layer networks, including those in biological and social domains. Brain networks are known to exhibit community structure at local, meso, and global scale. However, modularity is limited as a metric to a global scale describing the overall strength of community structure, overlooking important variations in community structure at node level. To address this limitation, we extended modularity to individual nodes. This novel measure of nodal modularity (nQ) captures both mesoscale and local-scale changes in modularity. We hypothesized that nQ would illuminate granular changes in the brain due to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), which are known to disrupt the brain's modular structure. We explored nQ in multiplex networks of a visual short-term memory binding task in fMRI and DTI data in the early stages of AD. While limited by sample size, changes in nQ for individual regions of interest (ROIs) in our fMRI networks were predominantly observed in visual, limbic, and paralimbic systems in the brain, aligning with known AD trajectories and linked to amyloid-$\beta$ and tau deposition. Furthermore, observed changes in white-matter microstructure in our DTI networks in parietal and frontal regions may compliment studies of white-matter integrity in poor memory binders. Additionally, nQ clearly differentiated MCI from MCI converters indicating that nQ may be sensitive to this key turning point of AD. Our findings demonstrate the utility of nQ as a measure of localized group structure, providing novel insights into task and disease-related variability at the node level. Given the widespread application of modularity as a global measure, nQ represents a significant advancement, providing a granular measure of network organization applicable to a wide range of disciplines.