Most recent paper

Neuroimage Clin. 2024 Aug 23;43:103657. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103657. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Psychosis spectrum disorders (PSDs) are marked by cognitive impairments, the neurobiological correlates of which remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the entropy of time-varying functional connectivity (TVFC) patterns from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) as potential biomarker for cognitive performance in PSDs. By combining our results with multimodal reference data, we hope to generate new insights into the mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in PSDs. We hypothesized that low-entropy TVFC patterns (LEN) would be more behaviorally informative than high-entropy TVFC patterns (HEN), especially for tasks that require extensive integration across diverse cognitive subdomains.

METHODS: rs-fMRI and behavioral data from 97 patients in the early phases of psychosis and 53 controls were analyzed. Positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were taken from a public repository (Hansen et al., 2022). Multivariate analyses were conducted to examine relationships between TVFC patterns at multiple spatial scales and cognitive performance in patients.

RESULTS: Compared to HEN, LEN explained significantly more cognitive variance on average in PSD patients, driven by superior encoding of information on psychometrically more integrated tasks. HEN better captured information in specific subdomains of executive functioning. Nodal HEN-LEN transitions were spatially aligned with neurobiological gradients reflecting monoaminergic transporter densities and MEG beta-power. Exploratory analyses revealed a close statistical relationship between LEN and positive symptom severity in patients.

CONCLUSION: Our entropy-based analysis of TVFC patterns dissociates distinct aspects of cognition in PSDs. By linking topographies of neurotransmission and oscillatory dynamics with cognitive performance, it enhances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in PSDs.

PMID:39208481 | DOI:10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103657

Neuroimage Clin. 2024 Aug 22;43:103659. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103659. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) poses a significant health challenge, leading to functional disability and reduced quality of life. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) is emerging as a therapeutic option for cLBP, but the brain mechanisms underlying its analgesic effect remain unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty cLBP patients were randomly exposed to either four weekly sessions of OMT (N=16) or Sham treatment (N=14). Resting-state Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-MRI) scans and pain perception questionnaires were collected before and after treatment. A voxel-wise, rs-fMRI data-driven analysis was conducted to identify changes in the intrinsic functional connectivity across the whole brain that were associated with the OMT. Spearman's correlations were used to test for the association between changes in intrinsic connectivity and individual reports of pain perception.

RESULTS: Compared to the Sham group, participants who received OMT showed significant alterations in the functional connectivity of several regions belonging to the pain matrix. Specifically, OMT was associated with decreased connectivity of a parietal cluster that includes the somatosensory cortex and an increase of connectivity of the right anterior insula and ventral and dorsal anterolateral prefrontal areas. Crucially, the change in connectivity strength observed in the ventral anterolateral prefrontal cortex, a putative region of the affective-reappraisive layer of the pain matrix, correlates with the reduction in pain perception caused by the OMT.

CONCLUSIONS: This study offers insights into the brain mechanisms underlying the analgesic effect of OMT. Our findings support a link between OMT-driven functional cortical architecture alterations and improved clinical outcomes.

PMID:39208480 | DOI:10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103659

PLoS One. 2024 Aug 29;19(8):e0309563. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309563. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has been widely utilized to investigate plasticity mechanisms and functional reorganization in multiple sclerosis (MS). Among many resting state (RS) networks, a significant role is played by the salience network (SN, ventral attention network). Previous reports have demonstrated the involvement of osteopontin (OPN) in the pathogenesis of MS, which acts as a proinflammatory cytokine ultimately leading to neurodegeneration. Concentration of serum OPN was related to MRI findings 10.22±2.84 years later in 44 patients with MS. Local and interhemispheric correlations (LCOR, IHC), ROI-to-ROI and seed-based connectivity analyses were performed using serum OPN levels as independent variable along with age and gender as nuisance variables. We found significant associations between OPN levels and local correlation in right and left clusters encompassing the central opercular- and insular cortices (p-FDR = 0.0018 and p-FDR = 0.0205, respectively). Moreover, a significant association was identified between OPN concentration and interhemispheric correlation between central opercular- and insular cortices (p-FDR = 0.00015). Significant positive associations were found between OPN concentration and functional connectivity (FC) within the SN (FC strength between the anterior insula ventral division and 3 other insular regions, F(2,13) = 7.84, p-FDR = 0.0117). Seed-based connectivity analysis using the seven nodes of the SN resulted in several positive and inverse associations with OPN level. Serum OPN level may predict FC alterations within the SN in 10 years.

PMID:39208261 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0309563

J Integr Neurosci. 2024 Aug 16;23(8):147. doi: 10.31083/j.jin2308147.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Shingles can cause long-term pain and negative emotions, along with changes in brain function. In this study, Granger Causality Analysis (GCA) was used to compare herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) differences in effective connections within the "pain matrix" between patients and healthy controls to further understand patterns of interaction between brain regions and explore the relationship between changes in effective connections and clinical features.

METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were performed on 55 HZ; 55 PHN; and 50 age-, sex- matched healthy controls (HCs). The brain regions associated with the pain matrix are used as the seeds of effective connectivity. GCA was used to analyze effective connections in brain regions that differed significantly between groups. Then the correlation between GCA values and clinical indicators was studied.

RESULTS: Compared with HC, GCA values between the thalamus and the amygdala, between the thalamus and the precentral gyrus, from the thalamus to the postcentral gyrus, and from the parahippocampal gyrus to the amygdala, anterior cingulate gyrus were significantly reduced in HZ patients. Compared with HC, GCA values between the insular and the postcentral gyrus, from the insular to the inferior parietal lobe, and from the postcentral gyrus to the amygdala were significantly reduced in PHN patients. Compared with HZ, GCA values between the inferior parietal lobe and the parahippocampal gyrus, between the inferior parietal lobe and the anterior cingulate gyrus, and from the anterior cingulate gyrus to the amygdala were significantly increased in PHN patients. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score of PHN patients was positively correlated with the GCA value from the central posterior lobe to the insula.

CONCLUSIONS: PHN and HZ patients showed a broad reduction in effective connections, mainly reflected in abnormal pain pathway regulation, pain perception, negative emotion and memory production, providing new perspectives to understand the neuroimaging mechanisms of shingles.

PMID:39207073 | DOI:10.31083/j.jin2308147

J Integr Neurosci. 2024 Aug 19;23(8):151. doi: 10.31083/j.jin2308151.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To investigate the abnormal pattern of altered functional activity in the brain and the neuroimaging mechanisms underlying the cognitive impairment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: CRC patients (n = 56) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 50) were studied. The participants underwent rs-fMRI scans and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), degree centrality (DC), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and MoCA scores, were calculated for participants.

RESULTS: The scores of executives, visuospatial, memory, language and attention were lower in CRC patients. ReHo and ALFF values in the left postcentral gyrus, ReHo values in the right postcentral gyrus, ALFF and DC values in the left middle occipital gyrus, ReHo and DC values in the right lingual gyrus, DC values in the right angular gyrus and precuneus, and ALFF values in the left middle temporal gyrus decreased conspicuously in the CRC patients.

CONCLUSION: CRC patients have abnormal resting state function, mainly in the brain areas involved in cognitive function. The overlapping brain regions with abnormal functional indicators are in the middle occipital gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and lingual gyrus. This study reveals the potential biological pathways involved in brain impairment and neurocognitive decline in patients with CRC.

PMID:39207071 | DOI:10.31083/j.jin2308151

Front Neurol. 2024 Aug 14;15:1438149. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1438149. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment is a frequent clinical symptom of non-communicating hydrocephalus (NCH) involving multiple domains, including executive function, working memory, visual-spatial function, language, and attention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to obtain information on functional activity in local brain areas and functional connectivity (FC) across multiple brain regions. However, studies on the associated cognitive impairment are limited; further, the pathophysiological mechanisms of NCH with cognitive impairment remain unclear. Here, we aimed to explore alterations in regional neural activity and FC, as well as the mechanisms of cognitive impairment, in patients with NCH.

METHODS: Overall, 16 patients with NCH and 25 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and fMRI. Changes in regional homogeneity (ReHo), degree centrality (DC), and region of interest-based FC were analyzed in both groups. The relationship between fMRI metrics (ReHo, DC, and FC) and MMSE scores in patients with NCH was also investigated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Compared with the HC group, the NCH group exhibited significantly lower ReHo values in the left precentral and postcentral gyri, and significantly higher ReHo values in the left medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The NCH group also showed significantly higher DC values in the bilateral MPFC compared with the HC group. Regarding seed-based FC, the MPFC showed reduced FC values in the right superior parietal and postcentral gyrus in the NCH group compared with those in the HC group. Moreover, within the NCH group, MMSE scores were significantly negatively correlated with the ReHo value in the left MPFC and the DC value in the bilateral MPFC, whereas MMSE scores were significantly positively correlated with FC values. To conclude, regional neural activity and FC are altered in patients with NCH and are correlated with cognitive impairment. These results advance our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the association between NCH and cognitive impairment.

PMID:39206284 | PMC:PMC11349552 | DOI:10.3389/fneur.2024.1438149

J Pain Res. 2024 Aug 24;17:2753-2765. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S472349. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the abnormal changes in short- and long-range functional connectivity density (FCD) in patients with herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty HZ patients, 22 PHN patients, and 19 well-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. We used FCD mapping, a data-driven graph theory method, to investigate local and global functional connectivity patterns. Both short- and long-range FCD were calculated and compared among the PHN, HZ, and HC groups. Then, the abnormal regions were used to calculate seed-based functional connectivity. Finally, correlation analyses were performed between the altered FCD values and clinical datas.

RESULTS: Compared with HCs, HZ patients showed significantly increased long-range FCD of the bilateral cerebellum, thalamus, parahippocampal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus and lingual gyrus. HZ patients also displayed significantly decreased short-range FCD of the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, median cingulate/paracingulate gyri, and left precuneus. Compared with HCs, PHN patients displayed significantly decreased long-range FCD of the bilateral superior frontal gyrus and decreased short-range FCD in the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, median cingulate/paracingulate gyri, and precuneus. However, there was no significant difference in either long-range or short-range FCD between the PHN and HZ patients. Long-range FCD deficit areas and the right insula showed altered functional connectivity in PHN patients. Furthermore, pain duration in patients with PHN was correlated with abnormal long-range FCD.

CONCLUSION: Herpes zoster pain widely affects intra- and inter-regional functional connectivity, leading to disrupted short-range FCD and increased long-range FCD during different stages of the disease. Long-term chronic pain in PHN patients may impair the pain emotion regulation pathway. These findings could improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of HZ and PHN and offer neuroimaging markers for HZ and PHN.

PMID:39206100 | PMC:PMC11352612 | DOI:10.2147/JPR.S472349

Brain Sci. 2024 Aug 12;14(8):809. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14080809.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the specific regions of abnormal cortical communication efficiency in patients with mild subcortical stroke and to investigate the relationship between these communication efficiency abnormalities and multidimensional cognition.

METHODS: The research involved 35 patients with mild strokes affecting the basal ganglia and 29 healthy controls (HC). Comprehensive neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessments were conducted. Stroke patients were categorized into post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) (MoCA ≤ 22) and non-cognitively impaired stroke patients (NPSCI) (MoCA ≥ 23) based on their cognitive performance. Additionally, 22 patients were reassessed three months later.

RESULTS: PSCI patients, compared to HC and NPSCI groups, had significantly higher communication efficiency in specific brain regions. A notable finding was the significant correlation between increased communication efficiency in the medioventral occipital cortex and multidimensional cognitive decline. However, this increased communication efficiency in PSCI patients lessened during the three-month follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS: the heightened communication efficiency in the medio-ventral occipital cortex may represent a compensatory mechanism for cognitive impairment in PSCI patients, which undergoes adjustment three months after stroke.

PMID:39199500 | DOI:10.3390/brainsci14080809

Brain Sci. 2024 Aug 1;14(8):783. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14080783.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the changes in dynamic overlapping communities in the brains of schizophrenia (SZ) patients and further investigate the dynamic restructuring patterns of overlapping communities in SZ patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 43 SZ patients and 49 normal controls (NC) were selected for resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans. Dynamic functional connectivity analysis was conducted separately on SZ patients and NC using rs-fMRI and Jackknife Correlation techniques to construct dynamic brain network models. Based on these models, a dynamic overlapping community detection method was utilized to explore the abnormal overlapping community structure in SZ patients using evaluation metrics such as the structural stability of overlapping communities, nodes' functional diversity, and activity level of overlapping communities.

RESULTS: The stability of communities in SZ patients showed a decreasing trend. The changes in the overlapping community structure of SZ patients may be related to a decrease in the diversity of overlapping node functions. Additionally, compared to the NC group, the activity level of overlapping communities of SZ patients was significantly reduced.

CONCLUSION: The structure or organization of the brain functional network in SZ patients is abnormal or disrupted, and the activity of the brain network in information processing and transmission is weakened in SZ patients.

PMID:39199476 | DOI:10.3390/brainsci14080783

Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 28;14(1):20025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69863-w.

ABSTRACT

Due to its central role in cognitive control, the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) has been the target of multiple brain modulation studies. In the context of the present pilot study, the dlPFC was the target of eight repeated neurofeedback (NF) sessions with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess the brain responses during NF and with functional and resting state magnetic resonance imaging (task-based fMRI and rsMRI) scanning. Fifteen healthy participants were recruited. Cognitive task fMRI and rsMRI were performed during the 1st and the 8th NF sessions. During NF, our data revealed an increased activity in the dlPFC as well as in brain regions involved in cognitive control and self-regulation learning (pFWE < 0.05). Changes in functional connectivity between the 1st and the 8th session revealed increased connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and the dlPFC, and between the posterior cingulate cortex and the dorsal striatum (pFWE < 0.05). Decreased left dlPFC-left insula connectivity was also observed. Behavioural results revealed a significant effect of hunger and motivation on the participant control feeling and a lower control feeling when participants did not identify an effective mental strategy, providing new insights on the effects of behavioural factors that may affect the NF learning.

PMID:39198481 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-69863-w

J Affect Disord. 2024 Aug 26:S0165-0327(24)01345-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.113. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Anhedonia stands as a life-threatening transdiagnostic feature of many mental illnesses, most notably major depression and involves neural circuits for processing reward information. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is associated with reward-seeking behavior, however, links between the PVT circuit and anhedonia have not been investigated in humans.

METHODS: In a sample of adults with and without psychiatric symptoms (n = 75, 18-41 years, 55 female), we generated an anhedonia factor score for each participant using a latent factor analysis, utilizing data from depression and anxiety assessments. Functional connectivity between the PVT and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) was calculated from high-resolution (1.5 mm) resting state fMRI.

RESULTS: Anhedonia factor scores showed a positive relationship with functional connectivity between the PVT and the NAc, principally in males and in those with psychiatric symptoms. In males, connectivity between other midline thalamic nuclei and the NAc did not show these relationships, suggesting that this link may be specific to PVT.

LIMITATIONS: This cohort was originally recruited to study depression and not anhedonia per se. The distribution of male and female participants in our cohort was not equal. Partial acquisition in high-resolution fMRI scans restricted regions of interest outside of the thalamus and reward networks.

CONCLUSIONS: We report evidence that anhedonia is associated with enhanced functional connectivity between the PVT and the NAc, regions that are relevant to reward processing. These results offer clues as to the potential prevention and prevention and treatment of anhedonia.

PMID:39197547 | DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.113

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 Aug 21;263:112416. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112416. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cocaine use (CU) is prevalent in people with HIV (PWH). Both conditions are linked to changes in cognitive functioning and neural network topology. The current study utilizes graph theory to investigate functional connectomics associated with HIV and CU, focusing on disruption of densely connected nodes called hubs.

METHODS: Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 206 adults (ages 22-55 years) were analyzed. A HIV x CU factorial design was implemented with participants in four groups: HIV+CU (n= 41), HIV only (n= 88), CU only (n= 36), and controls (n= 41). Functional connectomes were constructed, and thresholded graph metrics were calculated. Network centrality metrics - betweenness centrality (BC), participation coefficient (PC), and within module degree (WD) - were quantified into hub disruption indices (HDI). For each index, a 2×2 ANCOVA was performed controlling for education.

RESULTS: Participants were 68 % male and 74 % African-American with a mean age of 44.4 years. HIV and CU were associated with hub disruption in all three indices. Interactions were significant for HDI-PC and HDI-WD, such that HIV disease was associated with greater hub disruption among participants without CU, but not among participants with CU. Overall, lower global cognitive functioning was associated with greater hub disruption on all three indices.

CONCLUSIONS: Widespread hub disruption was evident in HIV disease and CU, highlighting topological reorganization in both diseases with neurocognitive effects. Hub-related measures inform functional connectivity disruptions in HIV disease and CU, particularly with respect to changes in network topology throughout the connectome.

PMID:39197360 | DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112416

Elife. 2024 Aug 28;12:RP87634. doi: 10.7554/eLife.87634.

ABSTRACT

The hippocampus is a central modulator of the HPA-axis, impacting the regulation of stress on brain structure, function, and behavior. The current study assessed whether three different types of 3 months mental Training Modules geared towards nurturing (a) attention-based mindfulness, (b) socio-affective, or (c) socio-cognitive skills may impact hippocampal organization by reducing stress. We evaluated mental training-induced changes in hippocampal subfield volume and intrinsic functional connectivity, by combining longitudinal structural and resting-state fMRI connectivity analysis in 332 healthy adults. We related these changes to changes in diurnal and chronic cortisol levels. We observed increases in bilateral cornu ammonis volume (CA1-3) following the 3 months compassion-based module targeting socio-affective skills (Affect module), as compared to socio-cognitive skills (Perspective module) or a waitlist cohort with no training intervention. Structural changes were paralleled by relative increases in functional connectivity of CA1-3 when fostering socio-affective as compared to socio-cognitive skills. Furthermore, training-induced changes in CA1-3 structure and function consistently correlated with reductions in cortisol output. Notably, using a multivariate approach, we found that other subfields that did not show group-level changes also contributed to changes in cortisol levels. Overall, we provide a link between a socio-emotional behavioural intervention, changes in hippocampal subfield structure and function, and reductions in cortisol in healthy adults.

PMID:39196261 | DOI:10.7554/eLife.87634

Zhonghua Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2024 Aug 7;59(8):812-819. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn115330-20230916-00094.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the differences in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) between patients with vestibular migraine (VM) and migraine without aura (MwoA) in order to infer the possible neuroimaging mechanisms of VM. Methods: Thirty VM patients admitted to the Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from December 2019 to December 2022 were selected as the experimental group (EG) (6 males and 24 females, with mean age of 38.3 years) and 26 MwoA patients as the control group (7 males and 19 females, mean age 35.5 years). General demographic and clinical data such as gender, age, year of education, course of disease and frequency of attacks were collected for all the patients, as well as data of Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), headache Visual Arialogue Scale (VAS), Headache Impact Test 6 (HIT-6) and Migraine Disability Assessment Questionnaire (MIDAS). VM patients were also assessed by Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), dizziness VAS and Vestibular Disorders Activities of Daily Living (VADL) scales. All patients underwent resting-sate functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans. Bilateral parietal opercular cortex 2 (OP2) and primary visual cortex (V1) were used as regions of interests (ROIs). Differences in FC between ROIs and other brain regions were calculated between the two groups. In view of the brain regions with significant differences, z-values of FC were extracted for each subject in the EG, and Pearson partial correlation analysis was conducted between z-values of FC and clinical characteristics of patients, P<0.05 was considered to have significant correlation. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in gender, age, years of education, course of disease, frequency of attack and scores of MoCA, HAMA and HAMD between the two groups (P>0.05). Headache VAS, HIT-6 and MIDAS scores in VM patients were significantly lower than those in MwoA patients (P<0.05). Compared with MwoA patients, the FC between left OP2 and bilateral precuneus and left thalamus was significantly increased in VM patients, and the FC between right OP2 and left thalamus and right anterior cingulate gyrus were significantly increased (P<0.05, False Discovery Rate correction). Correlation analysis showed that the FC between left OP2 and left precuneus was positively correlated with DHI score in VM patients (P=0.007, r=0.480), and the FC between right OP2 and left thalamus was positively correlated with the disease course in VM patients (P=0.015, r=0.439). Conclusions: The pathogenesis of VM may be related to the altered FC of vestibular, pain and visual-motor networks, abnormalities of these neural pathways may be important imaging biomarkers of VM pathogenesis.

PMID:39193590 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn115330-20230916-00094

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2024 Aug 16:S2095-9273(24)00588-7. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.05.049. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) thalamotomy is an emerging technique for medication-refractory essential tremor (ET), but with variable outcomes. This study used pattern regression analysis to identify brain signatures predictive of tremor improvements. Fifty-four ET patients (mean age = 63.06 years, standard deviation (SD) = 10.55 years, 38 males) underwent unilateral MRgFUS thalamotomy and were scanned for resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Seventy-four healthy controls (mean age = 58.09 years, SD = 10.30 years, 38 males) were recruited for comparison. Tremor responses at 12 months posttreatment were evaluated by the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) was calculated from rs-fMRI data. Two-sample t-test was used to generate a disease-specific mask, within which Multivariate Kernel Ridge Regression analyses were conducted. Predicted and actual clinical scores were compared using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and normalized mean squared error (Norm. MSE). Permutation test and leave-one-out strategy were applied for results validation. KRR identified fALFF patterns that significantly predicted the hand tremor improvement (r = 0.23, P = 0.025; Norm. MSE = 0.05, P = 0.026) and the postural tremor improvement (r = 0.28, P = 0.025; Norm. MSE = 0.06, P = 0.023), but not action tremor improvement. Lobule VI of right cerebellum (Cerebelum_6_R), right superior occipital gyrus (Occipital_Sup_R) and lobule X of vermis (Vermis_10) contributed most for hand tremor prediction (normalized weights (NW): 2.77%, 2.40%, 2.34%) while Vermis_10, left supplementary motor area (Supp_Motor_Area_L) and right hippocampus (Hippocampus_R) for postural tremor prediction (NW: 2.69%, 2.12%, 2.05%). The low contributing NW of the individual brain regions suggested that the fALFF pattern as a whole is an overall predicting feature. Preoperative fALFF pattern predicts tremor benefits induced by MRgFUS thalamotomy. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT04570046.

PMID:39191568 | DOI:10.1016/j.scib.2024.05.049

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2024 Aug 27;PP. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2024.3450443. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has been widely used in the identification of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) research, MCI patients are relatively at a higher risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, almost machine learning and deep learning methods are rarely analyzed from the perspective of spatial structure and temporal dimension. In order to make full use of rs-fMRI data, this study constructed a dynamic spatiotemporal graph neural network model, which mainly includes three modules: temporal block, spatial block, and graph pooling block. Our proposed model can extract the BOLD signal of the subject's fMRI data and the spatial structure of functional connections between different brain regions, and improve the decision-making results of the model. In the study of AD, MCI and NC, the classification accuracy reached 83.78% outperforming previously reported, which manifested that our model could effectively learn spatiotemporal, and dynamic spatio-temporal method plays an important role in identifying different groups of subjects. In summary, this paper proposed an end-to-end dynamic spatio-temporal graph neural network model, which uses the information of the temporal dimension and spatial structure in rs-fMRI data, and achieves the improvement of the three classification performance among AD, MCI and NC.

PMID:39190512 | DOI:10.1109/TNSRE.2024.3450443

Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Aug 9;18:1412572. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1412572. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. Numerous resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies in ADHD have been performed using traditional low-frequency bands (0.01-0.08 Hz). However, the neural activity patterns of frequency subbands in ADHD still require further investigation. The purpose of this study is to explore the frequency-dependent characteristics and neural activity patterns of ADHD subtypes. We selected the ADHD combined type (ADHD-C, N = 25), ADHD inattentive type (ADHD-I, N = 26) and typically developing (TD, N = 28) children from the ADHD-200 Consortium. Based on the slow-5 band (0.01-0.027 Hz) and slow-4 band (0.027-0.073 Hz), we generated static and dynamic fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) maps for each participant. A flexible-factorial analysis of variance model was performed on static and temporal dynamic rs-fMRI measurements within two subbands. Results revealed that the orbital-frontal gyrus, precuneus, superior temporal gyrus and angular gyrus were found to have obvious frequency band and group interaction effects. The intrinsic neural activity differences among three groups were more prominent in the slow-5 frequency band compared to the slow-4 band. In addition, the indices of significant interaction regions showed correlations with the progression of the disease and the features in slow-5 showed an advantageous diagnostic performance compared with those in slow-4. The results suggested the intrinsic neural activities of ADHD subtypes were frequency-dependent. The frequency-specific analysis of static and dynamic brain activity may provide a deeper understanding of neurophysiological dysfunction patterns in ADHD subtypes and provide supplementary information for assessing ADHD subtypes.

PMID:39188407 | PMC:PMC11345791 | DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2024.1412572

Neurol Sci. 2024 Aug 27. doi: 10.1007/s10072-024-07730-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The amygdala joins the model of fear neurocircuitry for its subregional roles in processing and mediating panic. This study aims to explore the underlying neuromechanisms of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with ictal panic (IP) by investigating the amygdala subregions functional connectivity (FC) alteration.

METHODS: 18 TLE patients with IP (TLE-IP group), 23 TLE patients without IP (TLE-none-IP group) and 22 age- and sex- matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled and required to take resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning. The basolateral (BLA), centromedial (CMA), and superficial (SFA) amygdala subregions were extracted from Juelich histological atlas. The amygdala subregions-based FC was computed and compared among three groups.

RESULTS: The TLE-IP group demonstrated stronger FC between the left BLA and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) than the TLE-none-IP group and HC. Compared with the TLE-none-IP group and HC, the TLE-IP group showed increased FC between the right BLA and right postcentral gyrus. The FC between the left BLA/SFA and the orbital part of right MFG increased in the TLE-IP group. Furthermore, the TLE-IP group exhibited decreased FC between the left CMA and pons. Further analysis indicated altered FC between the amygdala subregions and the pons, precuneus and thalamus in the left-sided TLE-IP group, but the MFG, inferior parietal gyrus, supplementary motor area and cerebellum in the right-sided TLE-IP group.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed aberrant amygdala subregions-based FC in TLE patients with IP. These findings offer unique insights into the understanding of fear neurocircuitry in TLE patients with IP.

PMID:39187672 | DOI:10.1007/s10072-024-07730-2

Mol Psychiatry. 2024 Aug 26. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02710-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have provided promising evidence that neuroimaging data can predict treatment outcomes for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). As most of these studies had small sample sizes, a meta-analysis is warranted to identify the most robust findings and imaging modalities, and to compare predictive outcomes obtained in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and studies using clinical and demographic features. We conducted a literature search from database inception to July 22, 2023, to identify studies using pretreatment clinical or brain MRI features to predict treatment outcomes in patients with MDD. Two meta-analyses were conducted on clinical and MRI studies, respectively. The meta-regression was employed to explore the effects of covariates and compare the predictive performance between clinical and MRI groups, as well as across MRI modalities and intervention subgroups. Meta-analysis of 13 clinical studies yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.73, while in 44 MRI studies, the AUC was 0.89. MRI studies showed a higher sensitivity than clinical studies (0.78 vs. 0.62, Z = 3.42, P = 0.001). In MRI studies, resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) exhibited a higher specificity than task-based fMRI (tbfMRI) (0.79 vs. 0.69, Z = -2.86, P = 0.004). No significant differences in predictive performance were found between structural and functional MRI, nor between different interventions. Of note, predictive MRI features for treatment outcomes in studies using antidepressants were predominantly located in the limbic and default mode networks, while studies of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) were restricted mainly to the limbic network. Our findings suggest a promise for pretreatment brain MRI features to predict MDD treatment outcomes, outperforming clinical features. While tasks in tbfMRI studies differed, those studies overall had less predictive utility than rsfMRI data. Overlapping but distinct network-level measures predicted antidepressants and ECT outcomes. Future studies are needed to predict outcomes using multiple MRI features, and to clarify whether imaging features predict outcomes generally or differ depending on treatments.

PMID:39187625 | DOI:10.1038/s41380-024-02710-6

Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Aug 15;45(12):e26809. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26809.

ABSTRACT

Entropy measures are increasingly being used to analyze the structure of neural activity observed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), with resting-state networks (RSNs) being of interest for their reproducible descriptions of the brain's functional architecture. Temporal correlations have shown a dichotomy among these networks: those that engage with the environment, known as extrinsic, which include the visual and sensorimotor networks; and those associated with executive control and self-referencing, known as intrinsic, which include the default mode network and the frontoparietal control network. While these inter-voxel temporal correlations enable the assessment of synchrony among the components of individual networks, entropic measures introduce an intra-voxel assessment that quantifies signal features encoded within each blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) time series. As a result, this framework offers insights into comprehending the representation and processing of information within fMRI signals. Multiscale entropy (MSE) has been proposed as a useful measure for characterizing the entropy of neural activity across different temporal scales. This measure of temporal entropy in BOLD data is dependent on the length of the time series; thus, high-quality data with fine-grained temporal resolution and a sufficient number of time frames is needed to improve entropy precision. We apply MSE to the Midnight Scan Club, a highly sampled and well-characterized publicly available dataset, to analyze the entropy distribution of RSNs and evaluate its ability to distinguish between different functional networks. Entropy profiles are compared across temporal scales and RSNs. Our results have shown that the spatial distribution of entropy at infra-slow frequencies (0.005-0.1 Hz) reproduces known parcellations of RSNs. We found a complexity hierarchy between intrinsic and extrinsic RSNs, with intrinsic networks robustly exhibiting higher entropy than extrinsic networks. Finally, we found new evidence that the topography of entropy in the posterior cerebellum exhibits high levels of entropy comparable to that of intrinsic RSNs.

PMID:39185729 | DOI:10.1002/hbm.26809