Comparison of Resting State Functional Connectivity in Persons With and Without HIV: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: This study examined the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in a large cohort of people with HIV (PWH) and healthy controls without HIV (PWoH). Within PWH analyses focused on the effects of viral suppression and cognitive impairment on RSFC.

Methods: A total of 316 PWH on stable combination antiretroviral therapy and 209 demographically matched PWoH were scanned at a single institution. Effects of the virus were examined by grouping PWH by detectable (viral load > 20 copies/mL; VLD) and undetectable (VLU) viral loads and as being cognitively impaired (CI) (Global Deficit Score ≥ 0.5) or cognitively normal (CN). Regression analysis, object oriented data analysis, and spring embedded graph models were applied to RSFC measures from 298 established brain regions of interest comprising 13 brain networks to examine group differences.

Results: No significant RSFC differences were observed between PWH and PWoH. Within PWH, there were no significant differences in RSFC between VLD and VLU subgroups and CI and CN subgroups.

Conclusions: There were no significant effects of HIV on RSFC in our relatively large cohort of PWH and PWoH. Future studies could increase the sample size and combine with other imaging modalities.