Correlations results between the altered effective connectivity of the globus pallidus and blood venous ammonia and neuropsychological performances in low-grade HE patients (<i>P</i><0.05, uncorrected).

<p>Pearson correlation analyses reveals that the blood venous ammonia levels of low-grade HE patients negatively correlate with the decreased effective connectivity from the bilateral globus pallidus to the iso-lateral ACC (3A/B), and positively correlate with the influence from the right globus pallidus to the right precuneus (3C). The other regions with aberrant effective connectivity show no correlation with venous blood ammonia levels. In addition, the number connectivity test scores in patients negatively correlated with the effective connectivity from the left globus pallidus to left ACC, and from left superior frontal gyrus to left globus pallidus. HE = hepatic encephalopathy; ACC = anterior cingulate cortex.