Current neuroimaging studies on neurodegenerative diseases and psychological risk factors have been developed predominantly in non Hispanic White cohorts, with other populations markedly underrepresented. In this work, we construct directed hyper connectomes among large scale functional brain systems based on causal influences between brain regions, and examine their links to Alzheimer Disease progression and worry levels across racial groups. By using Health and Aging Brain Study Health Disparities (HABS HD) dataset, our experimental results suggest that neglecting racial variation in brain network architecture may reduce predictive performance in both cognitive and affective phenotypes. Important shared and population-specific hyper-connectome patterns related to both AD progression and worry levels were identified. We further observed distinct closed loop directed circuits across groups, suggesting that different populations may rely on distinct feedback based network regulation strategies when supporting cognition or managing emotional states. Together, these results indicate a common backbone of network vulnerability with population-dependent variations in regulatory coordination, underscoring the importance of population-aware neuroimaging models.

翻译：当前关于神经退行性疾病与心理风险因素的神经影像学研究主要基于非西班牙裔白人群体开展，其他人群的代表性显著不足。本研究基于脑区间的因果影响构建了大规模脑功能系统间的有向超连接组，并考察了其与阿尔茨海默病进展及不同种族群体担忧水平之间的关联。通过使用健康与衰老脑研究健康差异（HABS HD）数据集，实验结果表明，忽视脑网络架构中的种族差异可能会降低对认知与情感表型的预测性能。研究识别出了与AD进展及担忧水平相关的重要共享及人群特异性超连接组模式。我们进一步观察到不同群体间存在独特的闭环有向环路，表明不同人群在支持认知或管理情绪状态时可能依赖基于反馈的不同网络调控策略。综上，这些结果揭示了网络脆弱性的共同基础结构及其调控协调中的人群依赖性变异，强调了发展人群感知的神经影像模型的重要性。