Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.

Sec. Brain Imaging Methods

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1608739

Neuroadaptive Changes in Brain Structural-Functional Coupling Among Pilots

Provisionally accepted
Xi  ChenXi Chen1Qingbin  MengQingbin Meng1Qingsong  SongQingsong Song2Peiran  XuPeiran Xu1Shicong  ZhangShicong Zhang1Donglin  HuangDonglin Huang3*Qi  ChuQi Chu1Jiamin  FanJiamin Fan4Cheng  LuoCheng Luo4Xiuyi  LiXiuyi Li5
  • 1Institute of Flight Technology, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, China
  • 2Aviation Health Department, Southwest Regional Administration of Civil Aviation Administration of China, Chengdu, China
  • 3Hospital of Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 5AAC Academy, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Investigating the neural mechanisms underlying pilots' brains is crucial for enhancing aviation safety. However, prior research has predominantly focused on identifying structural and functional differences in the brain, while the relationship between structure and function remains insufficiently elucidated.This study collected T1-weighted structural MRI, resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 47 pilots and 38 matched controls. Structuralfunctional coupling (SFC) strength was quantified using the Structural Decoupling Index (SDI) based on graph signal processing (GSP). Functional connectivity was further decomposed into structurally coupled and decoupled components, with subsequent group comparisons conducted at the regional brain level.Results: Compared to controls, pilots exhibited significantly higher SDI values in several brain regions, including the left and right middle frontal gyri, left precentral gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, left posterior superior temporal sulcus, right superior and inferior parietal lobules, left visual cortex, and right basal ganglia, indicating reduced SFC in these areas. In contrast, enhanced coupling was observed in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, left paracentral lobule, and left insula. Notably, pilots showed increased decoupled functional connectivity between the left cuneus and right insula, as well as between the right insula and the left medial occipital cortex, accompanied by a reduction in coupled functional connectivity. Importantly, the strength of decoupled functional connectivity between the right insula and the left medial occipital cortex was positively correlated with total flight hours.Conclusions: These findings suggest that prolonged flight experience may induce neuroplastic changes in regional SFC within the brains of pilots. This work provides novel insights into the neural adaptations associated with flight training and may contribute to the refinement of pilot selection and training protocols aimed at improving aviation safety.

Keywords: structural-functional coupling, Flying experience, neuroplasticity, Function connectivity, graph signal processing

Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Meng, Song, Xu, Zhang, Huang, Chu, Fan, Luo and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Donglin Huang, Hospital of Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, 618307, Sichuan Province, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.