Brain Structure & Function最新文献

Very preterm (VPT) children are prone to a variety of neurodevelopmental impairments, particularly regarding their attention and executive functions (i.e., inhibition, shifting, and working memory). Here, we aimed to investigate whether morphometric and connectivity characteristics from key brain regions associated with attention and executive functions may underlie their difficulties. Thirty-three VPT children (M_{gestational age} = 27.22 weeks, SD = 1.36) aged 8-10 years (M_age = 8.85, SD = 0.49, 17 girls) underwent a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) session alongside neurodevelopmental testing. We performed a factor analysis to group the different behavioural variables measuring executive and attentional capacities. The analysis yielded a tripartite structure wherein the first factor was predominantly characterized by inhibitory abilities, the second by attentiveness, and the third by flexibility. To encompass brain regions involved in attention and executive processes, based on functional MRI meta-analyses, we selected the anterior cingulate (ACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC). From T1-weighted and diffusion MRI images we estimated their cortical thickness, fractional anisotropy, volume, cortical surface area, and betweenness centrality. Significant negative associations were observed for cortical thickness after multiple comparison corrections and adjustments for age and sex. Thinner cortex was related to higher inhibitory, flexibility, and attentional functioning. While these associations were independent of the hemispheres, the association with the inhibitory abilities was stronger in the DLPFC than in the ACC. No associations were found for the other brain measures. These findings provide new insights into brain structures underpinning executive and attentional abilities in VPT children at school age.

Shift work has been associated with various adverse health outcomes, particularly those involving cognitive function and mental health. However, the neurobiological mechanisms linking shift work to these outcomes remain poorly understood. This pilot study aimed to examine the effects of shift work on cortical gray-to-white matter signal intensity contrast (GWC), an indirect marker of intracortical myelin content, through vertex-wise cortical analysis. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained from 33 shift workers and 79 day workers. Vertex-wise cortical analysis was performed to identify regions with significant group differences in GWC, controlling for age and sex. Shift workers demonstrated significantly elevated GWC in several cortical regions implicated in cognitive function and emotional regulation, including the superior frontal gyrus, caudal middle frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, lingual gyrus, and cuneus. Elevated GWC was also identified in regions strongly linked to certain psychiatric disorders. These findings offer preliminary evidence of structural brain alterations associated with shift work, suggesting potential neural pathways underlying the cognitive and mental health challenges experienced by shift workers. Further longitudinal research is warranted to validate these results and inform targeted interventions aimed at mitigating neurological and psychological risks related to shift work.

Premature birth impacts the development of superior temporal brain regions, including the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a key cortical area for language, voice recognition, and music processing. Using three distinct newborn imaging datasets, we examined the impact of premature birth on STS morphology at term-equivalent age. In the large cohort of the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), we observed a linear relationship between gestational age at birth and STS depth, with earlier birth associated with a shallower STS. We hypothesized that this effect may have resulted from reduced structured auditory stimulation during a critical period of perisylvian network development. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed two additional published cohorts in which preterm neonates were exposed to contrasting auditory environments: either enhanced with structured music or minimized in quiet private rooms. We found that music exposure was associated with deeper STS, while a quieter environment was linked to further STS shallowing. Although the cross-sectional design limits causal inference, our findings suggest that early auditory experience-both in and ex utero-may influence the structural development of temporal brain regions. These results highlight the need to deepen our understanding of environmental influences in order to optimize postnatal settings that support the harmonious development of auditory and language networks.

Perceiving others' actions is essential for survival and social interaction. Cognitive neuroscience research has identified a network of brain regions crucial to visual action perception, known as the Action Observation Network (AON), comprising the posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTS), posterior parietal cortex, and premotor cortex. Recent research highlights the importance of integrating top-down processes, such as attention, to gain a deeper understanding of action perception. This study investigates how attention modulates the AON during human action perception. We conducted a two-session fMRI experiment with 27 participants. They viewed eight videos of pushing actions, varying in actor (female vs. male), effector (hand vs. foot), and target (human vs. object). In the first session, participants focused on specific features of the videos (actor, effector, or target). In the second, they passively viewed the videos. From the passive viewing session data, we defined regions of interest (ROIs) in the pSTS, parietal, and premotor cortices for each hemisphere. We then performed model-based representational similarity analysis (RSA) and decoding analysis. RSA results showed that only the task model, among all tested models, exhibited a significant correlation with neural representational similarity matrices (RDMs) across all ROIs, indicating a specific alignment between AON nodes and the ongoing task. Decoding analysis further showed that different task types uniquely affected each AON node, indicating feature- and region-specific interactions. These findings underscore that top-down attentional processes significantly alter neural representations within the AON, highlighting the dynamic interplay between attention and action perception in the brain.

Recent rodent studies suggest that the claustrum complex, an evolutionarily conserved structure with widespread cortical connectivity, plays a role in modulation of anxiety-like behaviour via projections to the basolateral amygdala. However, this circuitry remains poorly defined in primates. Here, we investigated structural connectivity between the claustrum complex, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex in the adult common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) using diffusion-weighted tractography and neuroanatomical tracing. Tracer injections were performed under anaesthesia via stereotaxic surgery. One marmoset received a biotinylated dextran amine injection into the basolateral amygdala, while four others received fluorescent retrograde tracers targeting the frontopolar cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and somatosensory cortex. Brains were processed for histology and tracer visualization. Diffusion weighted imaging and MRI tractography was performed on publicly available data from 24 marmosets from the Marmoset Brain Mapping Project (MBMv4; Tian et al. 2022; www.marmosetbrainmapping.org). The dorsal endopiriform nucleus was the region of the claustrum complex with the highest structural connectivity with both the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, showing particularly strong connectivity with the lateral amygdala and posterior orbitofrontal cortex, and more moderate connectivity with the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings demonstrate a distinct claustro-amygdalo-prefrontal subcircuit in the marmoset, providing structural foundation for future studies examining the functional relevance of this circuitry in the primate brain.

Humans possess a distinctive capacity for technical reasoning-the ability to infer and manipulate the causal structure of the physical world. Although this faculty is central to technological innovation, its neural substrates remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that grey matter volume in the left area PF, within the supramarginal gyrus of the inferior parietal lobule, may predict individual differences in technical reasoning in healthy adults (N = 75; 54 females; mean age = 20.92 ± 3.28 years). This association remains independent of demographic factors, personality traits, and total brain volume. In contrast, grey matter volume in right prefrontal regions, examined solely as control areas, correlates with broader cognitive functions, such as fluid intelligence and abstract reasoning, but not with technical reasoning. These findings suggest that the left area PF may provide essential computational resources for technical cognition. Located in a parietal area that is disproportionately expanded in humans, the left area PF may serve as a technical hub, functioning as part of a broader fronto-temporo-parietal network that supports the human ability to generate, refine, and pass on complex technologies.