Integrative transcriptomic- neuroimaging analysis reveals polygenic correlates of interhemispheric functional decoupling in ischemic stroke.

Overview

1. School of Medical Engineering, Henan Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
2. Department of Medical Imaging, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
3. School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
4. The Affiliated Eye Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China

Abstract

Background: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revealed abnormal brain activity patterns in stroke patients, yet the genetic correlates underlying functional homotopy – defined as synchronized spontaneous activity between bilateral homologous brain regions – remain poorly characterized. This study investigates the genetic basis of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) abnormalities in stroke patients.

Methods: We analyzed resting-state fMRI data from 50 stroke patients and 50 healthy controls (HC) to quantify VMHC. Spatial transcriptome-neuroimaging correlations were established using the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA) to identify VMHC-associated genes. Transcriptomic analyses combined pathway-centric functional annotation (DAVID) with protein-protein interaction (PPI) network modeling (STRING v12.0).

Results: Stroke patients exhibited significantly reduced VMHC in the rectus gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, cuneus, and right calcarine/left posterior cingulate gyrus (p < 0.05, GRF-corrected). VMHC alterations correlated positively and negatively with 1,198 genes each. Transcriptomic profiling revealed significant enrichment in synaptic vesicle trafficking, mitochondrial energy metabolism, and neuroinflammation-related pathways. PPI mapping uncovered multi-tiered networks with hub genes including BRCA1, CDK9, ACTB, and ATP6V1A/F involved in transcriptional regulation, cytoskeletal dynamics, and vesicular acidification.

Conclusion: This multimodal integration study elucidates polygenic correlates of post-stroke VMHC abnormalities, demonstrating that interhemispheric coordination may depend on synergistic interactions among functionally diverse gene clusters. Our findings provide a molecular framework for understanding post-stroke neural network reorganization and offer a link between functional neuroimaging phenotypes and gene expression, though all associations remain correlational and require mechanistic validation.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.

Tracing map

A tracing map links a paper to the code its authors published: this paper has none, so it has no map.

Data

Datasets cited

• figshare:29646134 — at figshare; found in “Data availability statement”

Data availability statement

The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: Data are available at Figshare (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29646134). AHBA data from https://human.brain-map.org. Abagen toolbox at https://abagen.readthedocs.io.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 4 authors, 6 keywords, 59 references.

Cite

This paper

Chen, R.-B., He, Y.-X., Huang, X., & Wang, C. (2026). Integrative transcriptomic- neuroimaging analysis reveals polygenic correlates of interhemispheric functional decoupling in ischemic stroke. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 20, 1908231. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2026.1908231

Similar papers

The papers with a page that share the most with this one: the tools found in their code, their categories, datasets, cited references and authors, the rarest counting most.

[1] doi:10.1186/s12984-026-02048-w

Functional reorganization of the contralesional precentral gyrus following acute subcortical ischemic stroke and its association with gene expression profile.

Journal: Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation

In common: stroke, fMRI, genetics / omics, 1 other category, 5 references

[2] doi:10.1002/epi4.70306 [code]

Transcriptional signatures of cortical morphometric variability in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Journal: Epilepsia open

In common: genetics / omics, 4 references

[3] doi:10.1038/s41398-026-03965-z [code]

Disentangling individual heterogeneity reveals robust network and molecular signatures of major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation.

Journal: Translational psychiatry

In common: genetics / omics, cellular / molecular, 4 references

[4] doi:10.1038/s41531-026-01417-5 [code]

Correlation of thalamic functional organization disturbances and genetic architecture in motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease.

Journal: NPJ Parkinson's disease

In common: genetics / omics, 4 references

[5] doi:10.1186/s40035-026-00566-0

Application of the Allen Human Brain Atlas in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Journal: Translational neurodegeneration

In common: genetics / omics, 4 references

[6] doi:10.1162/imag.a.1342 [code]

Hyperpolarized &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-bicarbonate production correlates with excitatory neuron distribution in the human brain.

Journal: Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)

In common: genetics / omics, cellular / molecular, 3 references

[7] doi:10.1038/s42003-026-09956-6 [code]

Linking changes in sulcal morphometry to cognitive development from childhood to adolescence.

Journal: Communications biology

In common: 4 references

[8] doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71923-w [code]

Integrating optogenetic fMRI and spatial transcriptomics to reveal circuit-specific gene signatures in fronto- and hippo-thalamic networks.

Journal: Nature communications

In common: fMRI, genetics / omics, 3 references

[9] doi:10.1038/s41398-026-04292-z [code]

Regional juxtacortical microstructural changes and gene expression provide insights into neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Journal: Translational psychiatry

In common: genetics / omics, cellular / molecular, 3 references

[10] doi:10.1002/hbm.70559 [code]

Replicability of Functional Brain Networks: A Study Through the Lens of Seven Resting-State Networks.

Journal: Human brain mapping

In common: fMRI, 3 references

Contribute

The authors of this paper can claim it, correct its record and validate its tracing map, and the maintainers of its code (its owner, or a public member of its organization) correct what it says of their repository; anyone signed in can ask for its removal. Every request goes to OSCR's own machine, which answers it; your account page follows them.

Request its removal

To ask OSCR to remove this record, the copies of its authors' scripts or its tracing map, use the removal request page: signed in, you say who you are, what to remove and why, then review and confirm the request. Published rules decide every request (how).

Discussion: questions and error reports about this paper and its code, from signed-in readers and its authors. It opens with sign-in.

Reproductions: reports from readers who ran the authors' code: what they reproduced, with which environment, commit and data. It opens with sign-in.

Activity: what happens around this paper: new versions of its record, its map's validation, discussions and reproductions. It opens with sign-in.