Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41501666›Full record

ArticleBMC medical imaging2026

Cerebral small vessel disease moderates the association between executive dysfunction and spontaneous neural activity in adults who lost their only child.

Ting Li, Zhihong Cao, Liyan Dai, Zhuoman Xia, Xiang Liu, Chao Liang, Lianli Qiu, Wesley Surento, Li Zhang, Feng Chen and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical imaging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Ting Li *Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Zhihong Cao *Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, 214200, China.
Liyan DaiDepartment of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Zhuoman XiaDepartment of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Xiang LiuDepartment of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Chao LiangDepartment of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Lianli QiuDepartment of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
Wesley SurentoDepartment of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Li ZhangMental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Feng ChenDepartment of Radiology, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, No. 19, Xiuhua Street, Xiuying District, Haikou, Hainan, 570311, China.
Yifeng LuoDepartment of Radiology, The Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, 214200, China. luoyifeng1207@163.com.
Guangming LuDepartment of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China. cjr.luguangming@vip.163.com.
Rongfeng QiDepartment of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China. qirongfeng@163.com.

Funding

Foundation for the Social Development Project of Jiangsu BE2022705Natural Science Foundation of China NSFC82271977Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province No. BK20221554Open Fund of Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for New Technology and Application of Helium-Free Magnetic Resonance Imaging no. 2024GCLX09Open Research Fund of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science no. 23MHCSKF01Talent Research Start up Fund of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital no. RC2024-055
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe loss of an only child represents a profound psychological trauma that is a significant risk factor for adverse mental health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and executive dysfunction. Research indicates that cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) shares partial pathophysiological mechanisms with PTSD and may directly contribute to cognitive impairment through multiple pathways. Therefore, CSVD could serve as a pivotal entry point for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying executive dysfunction in parents who have lost their only child.

methodsWe utilized resting-state fMRI in a cross-sectional design, comparing 39 individuals with executive dysfunction with 115 matched trauma-exposed controls without executive dysfunction. We quantified spontaneous neural activity via fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and ALFF, while CSVD burden was assessed. Moderation analysis was used to identify the moderating role of CSVD on executive dysfunction-related neural alterations in adults who lost their only child.

resultsIndividuals with executive dysfunction exhibited decreased fALFF in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and reduced ReHo in the right medial SFG, alongside elevated ALFF and fALFF in the superior temporal gyrus (STG). fALFF in the left SFG demonstrated higher diagnostic accuracy for detecting executive dysfunction. Crucially, moderation analysis revealed that higher CSVD burden was associated with a greater reduction in fALFF in the left SFG, among individuals in the executive dysfunction group.

conclusionExecutive dysfunction subjects demonstrated abnormal spontaneous activity in SFG and STG. The moderation analysis suggested that CSVD burden may be associated with a greater reduction in executive dysfunction-related frontal hypoactivity, supporting the construction of a "vascular-neuro-cognitive" triad model.

Indexed as

Cerebral Small Vessel DiseasesExecutive FunctionMagnetic Resonance ImagingStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedAmplitude of low-frequency fluctuationCerebral small vessel diseaseExecutive dysfunctionResting-state functional magnetic resonance imagingTrauma exposure

Identifiers

PMID41501666
PMCPMC12870123

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.