Pub Date : 2025-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100316
Fahad Alharshan , Abdulrahman Aloufi , Fiona J. Rowe , Georg Meyer
Short-term visuomotor training is known to induce functional and structural plasticity, yet its effects on task-based functional connectivity (FC), particularly within attentional and visuomotor networks, remain underexplored. This study investigated whether such training induces task-specific network-level reorganisation, focusing on the cuneus and frontal eye field (FEF) as seeds within the dorsal attention network.
Fourteen healthy adults completed a 6-week voluntary eye movement training programme originally developed for visual field rehabilitation. Functional MRI data were acquired pre- and post-training and analysed using both seed-to-voxel and region-to-region (ROI-to-ROI) FC approaches.
Results
revealed significantly increased connectivity between the FEF and posterior occipital cortex, and between the cuneus and cerebellar regions. Crucially, these changes were dose-dependent, showing a significant association with individual improvements in reaction time, highlighting a functional link between network reorganisation and behavioural gains.
These findings provide novel evidence that short-term training enhances consolidated, task-specific FC across sensory-motor and attentional hubs. They complement earlier reports of task-based activation and microstructural plasticity in the same cohort and brain areas, establishing task-based FC as a sensitive, functional marker of learning-induced brain adaptation across the entire dorsal attentional-motor circuit.
{"title":"Visuomotor training induces network reorganisation of frontal eye field and cuneus connectivity: A task-based fMRI study","authors":"Fahad Alharshan , Abdulrahman Aloufi , Fiona J. Rowe , Georg Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100316","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Short-term visuomotor training is known to induce functional and structural plasticity, yet its effects on task-based functional connectivity (FC), particularly within attentional and visuomotor networks, remain underexplored. This study investigated whether such training induces task-specific network-level reorganisation, focusing on the cuneus and frontal eye field (FEF) as seeds within the dorsal attention network.</div><div>Fourteen healthy adults completed a 6-week voluntary eye movement training programme originally developed for visual field rehabilitation. Functional MRI data were acquired pre- and post-training and analysed using both seed-to-voxel and region-to-region (ROI-to-ROI) FC approaches.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>revealed significantly increased connectivity between the FEF and posterior occipital cortex, and between the cuneus and cerebellar regions. Crucially, these changes were dose-dependent, showing a significant association with individual improvements in reaction time, highlighting a functional link between network reorganisation and behavioural gains.</div><div>These findings provide novel evidence that short-term training enhances consolidated, task-specific FC across sensory-motor and attentional hubs. They complement earlier reports of task-based activation and microstructural plasticity in the same cohort and brain areas, establishing task-based FC as a sensitive, functional marker of learning-induced brain adaptation across the entire dorsal attentional-motor circuit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100316"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100313
Olga Boukrina , John DeLuca , Glenn R. Wylie
This pilot study aimed to explore the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive fatigue (CF) in stroke survivors, with a focus on the role of basal ganglia damage. Sixteen participants were recruited, including six stroke survivors with basal ganglia lesions (BG+), four with lesions elsewhere in the brain (BG−), and six healthy controls (HC). Participants underwent neuropsychological assessments and an fMRI fatigue induction task, where CF was induced using a modified letter-comparison task under individually titrated response deadlines. CF was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale of Fatigue (VAS-F), and fMRI data were analyzed to identify task-evoked activation within the fatigue network. Stroke survivors reported higher levels of CF compared to healthy controls, with the BG+ group exhibiting the highest fatigue levels and the greatest increase in fatigue over time. The BG+ group also demonstrated the most pronounced disparity in reaction times between short and long response deadlines. Functional neuroimaging revealed that CF ratings correlated with task-evoked activation in the fatigue network, but only in the BG− group. Our findings suggest that while stroke presence generally may increase CF, damage specifically involving the basal ganglia accelerates its accrual. Moreover, the ability to engage the fatigue network may mitigate fatigue, as observed in the BG− group. These results underscore the importance of basal ganglia in understanding CF and highlight the need for future research in this area.
{"title":"The critical role of the basal ganglia in post-stroke fatigue: A pilot study","authors":"Olga Boukrina , John DeLuca , Glenn R. Wylie","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This pilot study aimed to explore the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive fatigue (CF) in stroke survivors, with a focus on the role of basal ganglia damage. Sixteen participants were recruited, including six stroke survivors with basal ganglia lesions (BG+), four with lesions elsewhere in the brain (BG−), and six healthy controls (HC). Participants underwent neuropsychological assessments and an fMRI fatigue induction task, where CF was induced using a modified letter-comparison task under individually titrated response deadlines. CF was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale of Fatigue (VAS-F), and fMRI data were analyzed to identify task-evoked activation within the fatigue network. Stroke survivors reported higher levels of CF compared to healthy controls, with the BG+ group exhibiting the highest fatigue levels and the greatest increase in fatigue over time. The BG+ group also demonstrated the most pronounced disparity in reaction times between short and long response deadlines. Functional neuroimaging revealed that CF ratings correlated with task-evoked activation in the fatigue network, but only in the BG− group. Our findings suggest that while stroke presence generally may increase CF, damage specifically involving the basal ganglia accelerates its accrual. Moreover, the ability to engage the fatigue network may mitigate fatigue, as observed in the BG− group. These results underscore the importance of basal ganglia in understanding CF and highlight the need for future research in this area.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100313"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100304
Sravani Varanasi , Tianye Zhai , Hong Gu , Betty Jo Salmeron , Yihong Yang , Fow-Sen Choa
Understanding alterations in functional connectivity among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) is critical for elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying addiction. In this study, we applied Energy Landscape Analysis (ELA), an energy-based machine learning method, to examine whole-brain functional connectivity differences between SUD patients and healthy controls (HCs). A key methodological challenge in ELA lies in the selection of appropriate Regions of Interest (ROIs) from comprehensive brain atlases. To address this, we employed seed-based connectivity analysis to identify task-relevant ROIs, thereby overcoming the limitation of focusing on a restricted subset of regions. The dataset comprised 53 cocaine users (CUs) and 52 age- and sex-matched HCs, with functional MRI data preprocessed using the CONN toolbox. ROI-to-ROI seed-based connectivity was computed through first- and second-level analyses. ELA revealed that HCs exhibited stronger positive connectivity between cerebellar and visual regions, whereas CUs showed stronger positive connectivity between the cerebellum and the inferior temporal gyrus (temporooccipital part; toITG). Seven low-energy connectivity states were identified that differentiated the two groups. In these states, the cerebellum and toITG demonstrated antagonistic activation patterns, while the cerebellum and visual cortex co-activated in HCs. Temporal dynamics analyses further indicated that HCs visited these low-energy states more frequently, driven by shorter dwell times but higher transition rates. These findings suggest that cocaine addiction may reflect a weakening of adaptive, protective (“guardian”) connectivity patterns, rather than an increased propensity to remain in maladaptive connectivity states. Collectively, these results highlight key network-level distinctions between HCs and CUs and offer new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of cocaine addiction.
{"title":"Resting-state fMRI analysis of functional connectivity and temporal dynamics differences between cocaine users and healthy controls","authors":"Sravani Varanasi , Tianye Zhai , Hong Gu , Betty Jo Salmeron , Yihong Yang , Fow-Sen Choa","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100304","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100304","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding alterations in functional connectivity among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) is critical for elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying addiction. In this study, we applied Energy Landscape Analysis (ELA), an energy-based machine learning method, to examine whole-brain functional connectivity differences between SUD patients and healthy controls (HCs). A key methodological challenge in ELA lies in the selection of appropriate Regions of Interest (ROIs) from comprehensive brain atlases. To address this, we employed seed-based connectivity analysis to identify task-relevant ROIs, thereby overcoming the limitation of focusing on a restricted subset of regions. The dataset comprised 53 cocaine users (CUs) and 52 age- and sex-matched HCs, with functional MRI data preprocessed using the CONN toolbox. ROI-to-ROI seed-based connectivity was computed through first- and second-level analyses. ELA revealed that HCs exhibited stronger positive connectivity between cerebellar and visual regions, whereas CUs showed stronger positive connectivity between the cerebellum and the inferior temporal gyrus (temporooccipital part; toITG). Seven low-energy connectivity states were identified that differentiated the two groups. In these states, the cerebellum and toITG demonstrated antagonistic activation patterns, while the cerebellum and visual cortex co-activated in HCs. Temporal dynamics analyses further indicated that HCs visited these low-energy states more frequently, driven by shorter dwell times but higher transition rates. These findings suggest that cocaine addiction may reflect a weakening of adaptive, protective (“guardian”) connectivity patterns, rather than an increased propensity to remain in maladaptive connectivity states. Collectively, these results highlight key network-level distinctions between HCs and CUs and offer new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of cocaine addiction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100304"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100308
Atakan M. Akil , Renáta Cserjési , Tamás Nagy , Zsolt Demetrovics , H.N. Alexander Logemann
Recent studies suggest that frontal hemispheric asymmetry may underlie various mental health disorders, and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), which reflects cortical activity and inactivity between the left and right frontal lobes, could be a potential biomarker for these conditions. In this research, we investigated whether a single session of electroencephalogram (EEG) feedback (EF) can modulate and shift FAA. We designed a preregistered, triple-blind randomized-controlled trial to address this gap in the literature. Sixty-five healthy individuals (Mage = 24.55, SDage = 7.63) were recruited for the experiment. First, we assessed baseline resting-state FAA over a 10-min period, consisting of 5 min each under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. Subsequently, participants were assigned to one of two 30-min-long EF protocols, designed to modulate cortical activity by enhancing activation in either the right or left frontal hemisphere. FAA was reassessed immediately after the completion of the feedback intervention. The results indicated that a single session of EF does not modulate FAA; therefore, it should be considered with caution regarding causal inferences. However, the absence of effects may also be attributed to the form of feedback used, as well as individual differences in baseline brain activity and neurocognitive/psychological profiles.
{"title":"No evidence for modulation of frontal brain activity asymmetry by a single session of EEG feedback","authors":"Atakan M. Akil , Renáta Cserjési , Tamás Nagy , Zsolt Demetrovics , H.N. Alexander Logemann","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100308","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100308","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent studies suggest that frontal hemispheric asymmetry may underlie various mental health disorders, and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), which reflects cortical activity and inactivity between the left and right frontal lobes, could be a potential biomarker for these conditions. In this research, we investigated whether a single session of electroencephalogram (EEG) feedback (EF) can modulate and shift FAA. We designed a preregistered, triple-blind randomized-controlled trial to address this gap in the literature. Sixty-five healthy individuals (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub> = 24.55, <em>SD</em><sub>age</sub> = 7.63) were recruited for the experiment. First, we assessed baseline resting-state FAA over a 10-min period, consisting of 5 min each under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. Subsequently, participants were assigned to one of two 30-min-long EF protocols, designed to modulate cortical activity by enhancing activation in either the right or left frontal hemisphere. FAA was reassessed immediately after the completion of the feedback intervention. The results indicated that a single session of EF does not modulate FAA; therefore, it should be considered with caution regarding causal inferences. However, the absence of effects may also be attributed to the form of feedback used, as well as individual differences in baseline brain activity and neurocognitive/psychological profiles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100308"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100311
Saul Martinez-Horta , Arnau Puig-Davi , Frederic Sampedro , Jesús Pérez-Pérez , Carla Franch-Martí , Gonzalo Olmedo-Saura , Elisa Rivas-Asensio , Anna Vazquez-Oliver , Laura Pérez-Carasol , Andrea Horta-Barba , Javier Pagonabarraga , Jaime Kulisevsky
Background
Cognitive decline is a core feature of Huntington's disease (HD), often preceding motor symptoms and progressing with disease severity. While several neuropsychological tests track cognitive changes, few studies have examined the biological correlates of brief screening tools adapted for HD.
Objectives
This study investigates the neuroanatomical and fluid biomarker correlates of performance on the Parkinson's Disease–Cognitive Rating Scale (PD-CRS), aiming to validate it as a clinically and biologically grounded tool for cognitive assessment in HD.
Methods
Fifty-two symptomatic gene-expansion carriers (CAG >39) underwent cognitive (PD-CRS), motor (UHDRS), and behavioral (PBA) assessments. Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were measured via Simoa as a marker of neurodegeneration. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to identify gray matter volume (GMV) correlates of PD-CRS scores. Linear regressions evaluated relationships among PD-CRS, GMV, and NfL, including subdomain-level and stage-stratified analyses based on HD-ISS classification.
Results
PD-CRS scores were significantly associated with GMV in frontostriatal, paralimbic, parietal, and occipital regions. NfL levels correlated with both cognitive scores and GMV in key regions, supporting their value as biomarkers of neurodegeneration. Subdomain analyses revealed region-specific associations (e.g., visuospatial tasks with posterior cortices, fluency with striatum). Perseveration, motor severity, and education predicted PD-CRS performance (adjusted R2 = 0.799). PD-CRS remained the strongest GMV predictor (adjusted R2 = 0.519), particularly in later disease stages.
Conclussions
The PD-CRS reflects biologically meaningful aspects of cognitive dysfunction in HD, with robust associations to structural and molecular disease markers. These findings support its use as a practical and sensitive tool for clinical and research applications.
{"title":"Neural and biomarker correlates of the Parkinson's Disease–Cognitive Rating Scale in Huntington's disease","authors":"Saul Martinez-Horta , Arnau Puig-Davi , Frederic Sampedro , Jesús Pérez-Pérez , Carla Franch-Martí , Gonzalo Olmedo-Saura , Elisa Rivas-Asensio , Anna Vazquez-Oliver , Laura Pérez-Carasol , Andrea Horta-Barba , Javier Pagonabarraga , Jaime Kulisevsky","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Cognitive decline is a core feature of Huntington's disease (HD), often preceding motor symptoms and progressing with disease severity. While several neuropsychological tests track cognitive changes, few studies have examined the biological correlates of brief screening tools adapted for HD.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>This study investigates the neuroanatomical and fluid biomarker correlates of performance on the Parkinson's Disease–Cognitive Rating Scale (PD-CRS), aiming to validate it as a clinically and biologically grounded tool for cognitive assessment in HD.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Fifty-two symptomatic gene-expansion carriers (CAG >39) underwent cognitive (PD-CRS), motor (UHDRS), and behavioral (PBA) assessments. Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were measured via Simoa as a marker of neurodegeneration. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to identify gray matter volume (GMV) correlates of PD-CRS scores. Linear regressions evaluated relationships among PD-CRS, GMV, and NfL, including subdomain-level and stage-stratified analyses based on HD-ISS classification.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>PD-CRS scores were significantly associated with GMV in frontostriatal, paralimbic, parietal, and occipital regions. NfL levels correlated with both cognitive scores and GMV in key regions, supporting their value as biomarkers of neurodegeneration. Subdomain analyses revealed region-specific associations (e.g., visuospatial tasks with posterior cortices, fluency with striatum). Perseveration, motor severity, and education predicted PD-CRS performance (adjusted R<sup>2</sup> = 0.799). PD-CRS remained the strongest GMV predictor (adjusted R<sup>2</sup> = 0.519), particularly in later disease stages.</div></div><div><h3>Conclussions</h3><div>The PD-CRS reflects biologically meaningful aspects of cognitive dysfunction in HD, with robust associations to structural and molecular disease markers. These findings support its use as a practical and sensitive tool for clinical and research applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100311"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100309
Linda Sundvall , Mikkelsen Irene Klærke , Brian Hansen , Simon Fristed Eskildsen , Mette Madsen Hjørringgaard , Mikkel Karl Emil Nygaard , Peter Vestergaard Rasmussen , Thor Petersen , Leif Østergaard
<div><div>Disturbances in cerebral oxygen delivery and utilization are increasingly recognized as key features, and potential contributors to, neuronal damage in multiple sclerosis (MS). We recently discovered microvascular changes, which are thought to limit oxygen extraction, in MS-related white matter (WM) lesions compared to unspecific WM lesions. It is unclear whether such microvascular changes antedate demyelinating changes in MS, or whether they are secondary to subsequent disease changes, such as inflammation, tissue edema, and blood-brain barrier break-down. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is sensitive to early MS-related disease changes, including altered myelin integrity, cellularity, and edema detecting deviations from Gaussian diffusion that serve as indirect markers of tissue integrity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether regions with altered DKI metrics overlap with regions with microvascular changes in MS patients, and to compare microvascular changes with parallel DKI changes in both MS-related lesions and unrelated WM lesions to learn more about their microstructural correlates.</div><div>In this cross-sectional study, we assessed microstructural damage in 54 MS patients and 26 non-diseased symptomatic controls (SC) using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and explored the relationship between these findings and microvascular flow patterns and oxygen delivery measured by dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI (DSC-MRI).</div><div>MRI at 3T included three-dimensional (3D) T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2-FLAIR), 3D magnetization-prepared 2 rapid acquisition gradient-echo (MP2RAGE), post-contrast 3D T1-weighted images, DSC-MRI, and DKI. White matter lesions (WMLs) were manually outlined as MS-characteristic T2-FLAIR lesions, MS contrast-enhancing lesions and nonspecific lesions T2-FLAIR lesions. DKI-derived structural parameters, mean kurtosis (MK) and mean diffusivity (MD), were extracted from lesion masks and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and correlated with DSC-derived vascular parameters mean transit time (MTT), and the distribution of capillary transit times (CTH). Finally, an extended flow-diffusion model of oxygen transport was employed to evaluate tissue oxygen availability based on local blood flow and microvascular flow patterns.</div><div>After adjusting for age and sex, NAWM in MS showed higher MD (+2.4 %, p = 0.01) and lower MK (−2.8 %, p = 0.01) compared with SC without concurrent changes in perfusion or oxygenation. Unspecific T2-FLAIR lesions demonstrated higher MD relative to NAWM (+13 %, p < 0.001) and reduced MK (−6.7 %, p < 0.001), but no microvascular impairment. By contrast, MS T2-FLAIR lesions showed more pronounced structural alterations, with higher MD than unspecific lesions (+13 %, p = 0.01) and markedly reduced MK (−16 %, p = 0.02), accompanied by increased CTH (+31 %, p = 0.02) and prolonged MTT (+32 %, p = 0.02), consistent with impaired oxygen extract
{"title":"Neurodegeneration and energy depletion in MS: Links between tissue integrity loss and microvascular changes in white matter disease","authors":"Linda Sundvall , Mikkelsen Irene Klærke , Brian Hansen , Simon Fristed Eskildsen , Mette Madsen Hjørringgaard , Mikkel Karl Emil Nygaard , Peter Vestergaard Rasmussen , Thor Petersen , Leif Østergaard","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Disturbances in cerebral oxygen delivery and utilization are increasingly recognized as key features, and potential contributors to, neuronal damage in multiple sclerosis (MS). We recently discovered microvascular changes, which are thought to limit oxygen extraction, in MS-related white matter (WM) lesions compared to unspecific WM lesions. It is unclear whether such microvascular changes antedate demyelinating changes in MS, or whether they are secondary to subsequent disease changes, such as inflammation, tissue edema, and blood-brain barrier break-down. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is sensitive to early MS-related disease changes, including altered myelin integrity, cellularity, and edema detecting deviations from Gaussian diffusion that serve as indirect markers of tissue integrity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether regions with altered DKI metrics overlap with regions with microvascular changes in MS patients, and to compare microvascular changes with parallel DKI changes in both MS-related lesions and unrelated WM lesions to learn more about their microstructural correlates.</div><div>In this cross-sectional study, we assessed microstructural damage in 54 MS patients and 26 non-diseased symptomatic controls (SC) using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and explored the relationship between these findings and microvascular flow patterns and oxygen delivery measured by dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI (DSC-MRI).</div><div>MRI at 3T included three-dimensional (3D) T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2-FLAIR), 3D magnetization-prepared 2 rapid acquisition gradient-echo (MP2RAGE), post-contrast 3D T1-weighted images, DSC-MRI, and DKI. White matter lesions (WMLs) were manually outlined as MS-characteristic T2-FLAIR lesions, MS contrast-enhancing lesions and nonspecific lesions T2-FLAIR lesions. DKI-derived structural parameters, mean kurtosis (MK) and mean diffusivity (MD), were extracted from lesion masks and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and correlated with DSC-derived vascular parameters mean transit time (MTT), and the distribution of capillary transit times (CTH). Finally, an extended flow-diffusion model of oxygen transport was employed to evaluate tissue oxygen availability based on local blood flow and microvascular flow patterns.</div><div>After adjusting for age and sex, NAWM in MS showed higher MD (+2.4 %, p = 0.01) and lower MK (−2.8 %, p = 0.01) compared with SC without concurrent changes in perfusion or oxygenation. Unspecific T2-FLAIR lesions demonstrated higher MD relative to NAWM (+13 %, p < 0.001) and reduced MK (−6.7 %, p < 0.001), but no microvascular impairment. By contrast, MS T2-FLAIR lesions showed more pronounced structural alterations, with higher MD than unspecific lesions (+13 %, p = 0.01) and markedly reduced MK (−16 %, p = 0.02), accompanied by increased CTH (+31 %, p = 0.02) and prolonged MTT (+32 %, p = 0.02), consistent with impaired oxygen extract","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100309"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145738772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100310
Oshin Vartanian , Anthony Nazarov , Timothy K. Lam , Erin Collins , Megan M. Thompson , Shawn G. Rhind , Stacey Silins , Maria Shiu , Elaine Maceda , Kristen King , Janani Vallikanthan , Maitri Lad
Recently, there has been growing interest in understanding the causes and consequences of moral injury—defined as the functionally impairing psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioural, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or being a victim of acts that transgress deeply-held moral beliefs and expectations. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that moral injury is associated with functional alterations in regions that underlie emotions, somatosensory processing, internally-oriented thoughts, and cognitive control. However, to date, no study has examined the impact of moral injury on how people reason, or its neural correlates. We hypothesized that content referencing moral injury themes would reduce reasoning accuracy, and engage structures associated with memory and/or emotion. We tested this hypothesis by administering structurally identical arguments that included neutral content or content referencing salient moral injury outcomes (e.g., shame, anger, trust violations) to Canadian Armed Forces members in the fMRI scanner. As predicted, relative to neutral content, reasoning accuracy was reduced on arguments with moral injury themes, particularly in participants who surpassed clinical thresholds on the Moral Injury Outcome Scale (≥31) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (≥33), suggesting that reductions in reasoning accuracy might be driven by elevated moral injury symptoms and psychological distress. Furthermore, reasoning on arguments with moral injury-related content engaged the right posterior parahippocampus (BA 19). Given this region's role in representing contextual associations in episodic memory, this suggests that content with moral injury themes might trigger contextual associations that interfere with the reasoning system.
{"title":"The impact of moral injury-related content on reasoning and its neural correlates: Data from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)","authors":"Oshin Vartanian , Anthony Nazarov , Timothy K. Lam , Erin Collins , Megan M. Thompson , Shawn G. Rhind , Stacey Silins , Maria Shiu , Elaine Maceda , Kristen King , Janani Vallikanthan , Maitri Lad","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100310","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100310","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently, there has been growing interest in understanding the causes and consequences of <em>moral injury</em>—defined as the functionally impairing psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioural, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or being a victim of acts that transgress deeply-held moral beliefs and expectations. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that moral injury is associated with functional alterations in regions that underlie emotions, somatosensory processing, internally-oriented thoughts, and cognitive control. However, to date, no study has examined the impact of moral injury on how people reason, or its neural correlates. We hypothesized that content referencing moral injury themes would reduce reasoning accuracy, and engage structures associated with memory and/or emotion. We tested this hypothesis by administering structurally identical arguments that included neutral content or content referencing salient moral injury outcomes (e.g., shame, anger, trust violations) to Canadian Armed Forces members in the fMRI scanner. As predicted, relative to neutral content, reasoning accuracy was reduced on arguments with moral injury themes, particularly in participants who surpassed clinical thresholds on the <em>Moral Injury Outcome Scale</em> (≥31) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (≥33), suggesting that reductions in reasoning accuracy might be driven by elevated moral injury symptoms and psychological distress. Furthermore, reasoning on arguments with moral injury-related content engaged the right posterior parahippocampus (BA 19). Given this region's role in representing contextual associations in episodic memory, this suggests that content with moral injury themes might trigger contextual associations that interfere with the reasoning system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100310"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145738771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100307
Kristien Bullens , Charlotte Sleurs , Jeroen Blommaert , Rebeca Alejandra Gavrila Laic , Ahmed Radwan , Laurien De Roeck , Patrick Dupont , Jurgen Lemiere , Sandra Jacobs
Pediatric brain tumor (PBT) survivors frequently exhibit long-term changes in brain network organization and cognition. This study investigated structural brain networks among PBT survivors, exploring the potential influence of radiotherapy during childhood.
Cognitive assessments and MRIs were acquired in 20 irradiated and 26 non-irradiated PBT survivors, and 47 healthy controls. Multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRIs were processed to perform tractography and construct weighted graphs. Whole-brain and local graph measures, including hub scores, were calculated. Group differences in cognitive performance and network measures were analyzed using ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis. Additionally, the susceptibility of hub regions to reorganization and their relationship to cognition were explored.
PBT survivors showed poorer performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Task, some Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests, and figure tapping task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychologic Tasks. Structural network analyses revealed higher whole-brain clustering coefficients in both survivor groups. Locally, clustering coefficients were higher in several regions, particularly in irradiated survivors. Although hub locations were largely preserved, their relative strength showed variability. Differences in local graph measures were more frequently significant in hub regions with higher hub scores. These findings indicate that survivors’ structural brain networks undergo reorganization following a PBT and its treatment, especially if survivors had received radiotherapy. Clustering coefficient emerged as the most prominently altered network measure, which was linked to cognitive performance, particularly in hub regions. These results highlight the potential role of structural brain networks to unravel the cause of long-term cognitive outcomes in PBT survivors.
{"title":"Altered structural networks and cognitive functioning in long-term survivors of pediatric brain tumors","authors":"Kristien Bullens , Charlotte Sleurs , Jeroen Blommaert , Rebeca Alejandra Gavrila Laic , Ahmed Radwan , Laurien De Roeck , Patrick Dupont , Jurgen Lemiere , Sandra Jacobs","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pediatric brain tumor (PBT) survivors frequently exhibit long-term changes in brain network organization and cognition. This study investigated structural brain networks among PBT survivors, exploring the potential influence of radiotherapy during childhood.</div><div>Cognitive assessments and MRIs were acquired in 20 irradiated and 26 non-irradiated PBT survivors, and 47 healthy controls. Multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRIs were processed to perform tractography and construct weighted graphs. Whole-brain and local graph measures, including hub scores, were calculated. Group differences in cognitive performance and network measures were analyzed using ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis. Additionally, the susceptibility of hub regions to reorganization and their relationship to cognition were explored.</div><div>PBT survivors showed poorer performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Task, some Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests, and figure tapping task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychologic Tasks. Structural network analyses revealed higher whole-brain clustering coefficients in both survivor groups. Locally, clustering coefficients were higher in several regions, particularly in irradiated survivors. Although hub locations were largely preserved, their relative strength showed variability. Differences in local graph measures were more frequently significant in hub regions with higher hub scores. These findings indicate that survivors’ structural brain networks undergo reorganization following a PBT and its treatment, especially if survivors had received radiotherapy. Clustering coefficient emerged as the most prominently altered network measure, which was linked to cognitive performance, particularly in hub regions. These results highlight the potential role of structural brain networks to unravel the cause of long-term cognitive outcomes in PBT survivors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100307"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145738773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100305
Lília Jorge , Nádia Canário , Ricardo Martins , Antero Abrunhosa , Isabel Santana , Miguel Castelo-Branco
The regional impact of amyloid-β (Aβ) load and neuroinflammation on brain integrity and function is essential to understand the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet it is still lacking in the current literature, particularly in regions involved in visual object recognition.
Here, using a multimodal approach, we investigated AD-related neuropathological changes and their impact on task-related responses in core visual object recognition areas of the ventral stream: FFA, FBA, LOCv, PPA and VWFA. We combined 11C-PK11195 PET measures of neuroinflammation, 11C-PIB PET measures of Aβ load, MRI structural measures of grey matter and functional MRI (fMRI) BOLD response, using a visual recognition task, in 20 AD patients and 17 Aβ negative healthy controls. Mixed repeated-measure ANOVAS were computed to assess which regions differed between groups for each data modality, and partial correlation tests were used to explore associations across modalities.
We found in mild AD patients higher levels of atrophy and Aβ, as compared to relatively preserved visual activation and neuroinflammation levels. An association between Aβ levels and neuronal response was found in right LOCv, possibly suggesting an early transient subclinical impact of Aβ on brain function. We also found an interesting pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, with concurrent atrophy and Aβ load in the left hemisphere.
Overall, these findings suggest differential vulnerability to pathological processes along the visual ventral stream in AD, characterized by relatively preserved functional response and neuroinflammatory status, alongside increased leftward susceptibility to GM atrophy and Aβ deposition.
{"title":"The relation between neuroinflammation, amyloid-β load, grey matter loss and brain activity in visual object recognition regions in Alzheimer's Disease","authors":"Lília Jorge , Nádia Canário , Ricardo Martins , Antero Abrunhosa , Isabel Santana , Miguel Castelo-Branco","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100305","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100305","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The regional impact of amyloid-β (Aβ) load and neuroinflammation on brain integrity and function is essential to understand the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet it is still lacking in the current literature, particularly in regions involved in visual object recognition.</div><div>Here, using a multimodal approach, we investigated AD-related neuropathological changes and their impact on task-related responses in core visual object recognition areas of the ventral stream: FFA, FBA, LOCv, PPA and VWFA. We combined 11C-PK11195 PET measures of neuroinflammation, 11C-PIB PET measures of Aβ load, MRI structural measures of grey matter and functional MRI (fMRI) BOLD response, using a visual recognition task, in 20 AD patients and 17 Aβ negative healthy controls. Mixed repeated-measure ANOVAS were computed to assess which regions differed between groups for each data modality, and partial correlation tests were used to explore associations across modalities.</div><div>We found in mild AD patients higher levels of atrophy and Aβ, as compared to relatively preserved visual activation and neuroinflammation levels. An association between Aβ levels and neuronal response was found in right LOCv, possibly suggesting an early transient subclinical impact of Aβ on brain function. We also found an interesting pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, with concurrent atrophy and Aβ load in the left hemisphere.</div><div>Overall, these findings suggest differential vulnerability to pathological processes along the visual ventral stream in AD, characterized by relatively preserved functional response and neuroinflammatory status, alongside increased leftward susceptibility to GM atrophy and Aβ deposition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100305"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145694909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online, text-based meta-analysis tools for large databases represent a new digital advance for medical, health, and neuroscience research, among other fields. NeuroQuery is an instance of such a tool for neuroimaging research; it employs supervised machine learning to draw from over 13,000 publications and perform a meta-synthesis, generating predictive fMRI scans based on keyword combinations. Although NeuroQuery is a sophisticated tool, a lack of understanding of how it practically works and its limitations may lead to flawed results and conclusions, undermining its potential value. We review potential risks and limitations, including algorithm limitations, potential biases in the database, and user misinterpretation. Simulating the perspective of an end user, we present an example of unreliable but possible metanalysis results on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We then report an analysis of the underlying query from a sophisticated user perspective. Using the same examples, we illustrate possible improvements for the use of NeuroQuery and identify how this tool may be valuable in the context of emerging machine-learning meta-analytical approaches. Although a thorough understanding of NeuroQuery is helpful, we conclude that understanding its limitations plays a more critical role in ensuring validity and reliability of its use. While NeuroQuery is currently not appropriate for rigorous scientific analysis, it could be useful for hypothesis development, preliminary fMRI data mining, exploratory and supplemental analysis as well as literature survey.
{"title":"Using, misusing, and improving online machine learning-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging published data: A perspective on NeuroQuery","authors":"Yara Mahafza , Irvine Mason , Andre Telfer , Argel Aguilar-Valles, Amedeo D'Angiulli","doi":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynirp.2025.100306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Online, text-based meta-analysis tools for large databases represent a new digital advance for medical, health, and neuroscience research, among other fields. NeuroQuery is an instance of such a tool for neuroimaging research; it employs supervised machine learning to draw from over 13,000 publications and perform a meta-synthesis, generating predictive fMRI scans based on keyword combinations. Although NeuroQuery is a sophisticated tool, a lack of understanding of how it practically works and its limitations may lead to flawed results and conclusions, undermining its potential value. We review potential risks and limitations, including algorithm limitations, potential biases in the database, and user misinterpretation. Simulating the perspective of an end user, we present an example of unreliable but possible metanalysis results on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We then report an analysis of the underlying query from a sophisticated user perspective. Using the same examples, we illustrate possible improvements for the use of NeuroQuery and identify how this tool may be valuable in the context of emerging machine-learning meta-analytical approaches. Although a thorough understanding of NeuroQuery is helpful, we conclude that understanding its limitations plays a more critical role in ensuring validity and reliability of its use. While NeuroQuery is currently not appropriate for rigorous scientific analysis, it could be useful for hypothesis development, preliminary fMRI data mining, exploratory and supplemental analysis as well as literature survey.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74277,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage. Reports","volume":"6 1","pages":"Article 100306"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145694907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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