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Russian Military Medical
ORIGINAL ARTICLES Vol. 41 (4) 2022 Academy Reports
394
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/rmmar111862
Research Article
Alterations in internetwork functional connectivity

in patients with post COVID-19 syndrome within

the boundaries of the Triple Network Model

1
2
Artem G. Trufanov , Aleksander Yu. Efimtsev , Igor V. Litvinenko 1
1 Military Medical Academy, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2 V.A. Almazov Federal North-West Medical Research Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russia
AIM: Was to assess the changes in the connections between the three main neural networks using resting-state fMRI in
patients with post COVID-19 syndrome with cerebral neurological symptoms, within the boundaries of the triple net-work
model.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined a total of 15 patients (mean age 36.4 ± 8.3 years; M : W = 10 : 5) with
post COVID-19 syndrome who presented with neurological complaints, primarily decreased memory and attention, gene-
ral weakness, low performance and sleep disturbance. The control group consisted of healthy 15 subjects (mean age,
32.2 ± 6.9 years; M : W = 11 : 4) who had not previously been exposed to COVID-19. All members of the control group were
vaccinated with the Sputnik-V vaccine. Magnetic resonance examination was performed on a Siemens Espree magnetic
resonance imaging machine with a magnetic field strength of 1.5T. To exclude structural brain lesions, a standard magnetic
resonance examination was performed with pulsed T1-WI, T2-WI, and Flair sequences. For postprocessing, T1 gradient
echo and resting state echo-planar imaging protocols were performed. Postprocessing was performed using the software
package CONN toolbox 20a to obtain clusters of functional connectivity of the studied neural networks using the seed-to-
voxel processing protocol.
RESULTS: Disruption of connectivity of the standard resting neural network with lingvalis ingual, fusiform, and middle
frontal gyrus was detected. The salient resting neural network had a worse ability to form connections in patients with post
COVID-19 syndrome with lateral occipital cortex, angular gyrus, superior parietal lobule and supramarginal gyrus in one
cluster and frontal cortex, and paracingular gyrus in the second cluster. The resting frontoparietal neural network inter-
acted significantly better in the control group with the cerebellar structures, the middle frontal gyrus, and the cuneus and
precuneus.
CONCLUSION: Patients with COVID-19 and the presence of post COVID-19 syndrome have reduced functional connecti-
vity of all three basic neural networks with the big number of anatomo-physiological brain structures.
Keywords: COVID-19; post COVID-19 syndrome; functional connectivity; resting state fMRI; standard resting neural network;
salient neural network; frontoparietal network; seed-to-voxel.
To cite this article:
Trufanov AG, Efimtsev AYu, Litvinenko IV. Alterations in internetwork functional connectivity in patients with post COVID-19 syndrome within the
boundaries of the Triple Network Model. Russian Military Medical Academy Reports. 2022;41(4):393–398. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/rmmar111862

Received: 12.10.2022 Accepted: 19.10.2022 Published: 17.11.2022

The article can be used under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
© Authors, 2022