Altered Functional Hubs and Connectivity in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-related cognitive decline is associated with neuroimaging changes. However, only a few studies have focused on early functional alteration in T2DM prior to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study aimed to investigate the early changes of global connectivity patterns in T2DM by using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) technique. Methods: Thirty-four T2DM subjects and 38 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent rs-fMRI in a 3T MRI scanner. Degree centrality (DC) was used to identify the functional hubs of the whole brain in T2DM without MCI. Then the functional connectivity (FC) between hubs and the rest of the brain was assessed by using the hub-based approach. Results: Compared with HCs, T2DM subjects showed increased DC in the right cerebellum lobules III–V. Hub-based FC analysis found that the right cerebellum lobules III–V of T2DM subjects had increased FC with the right cerebellum crus II and lobule VI, the right temporal inferior/middle gyrus, and the right hippocampus. Conclusions: Increased DC in the right cerebellum regions III–V, as well as increased FC within cerebellar regions and ipsilateral cerebrocerebellar regions, may indicate an important pathophysiological mechanism for compensation in T2DM without MCI.