Brain Imaging and Behavior最新文献

Brain analysis software uses different atlases producing different results. These variations arise mainly from differences in algorithms and region-of-interest definitions used for segmentation and parcellation. We compared the results of FreeSurfer (FS) and BrainSuite (BS), in brain segmentation and parcellation for group comparisons. Magnetic resonance images from 45 adults (23 females, 22 males) were analyzed using FS and BS. Our analysis included the volume, surface area and thickness of the total brain, right motor cortex, and right thalamus. Statistical analyses were done between software outputs and sex-based variations in brain structure. The mean volumes (cm³) of the thalamus, motor cortex, and total brain were 7.20, 28.54, and 951.9 for FS, and 6.25, 25.47, and 772.6 for BS (P = 0.001 for all). Volumes were higher with FS than BS. The mean surface areas (cm²) of the motor cortex and total brain were 59.30 and 1966.71 for FS, and 57.80 (P = 0.001 for both) and 1797.97 for BS (P = 0.001 for both). Motor cortex surface area was significantly higher in FS compared to BS, while total brain surface area was also larger in FS. The mean thickness (mm) of the motor cortex and total brain was 2.32 and 2.37 for FS, and 4.05 and 3.95 for BS (P = 0.001 for all). Thickness values were lower in FS than in BS. Sex comparison results differed for total brain surface area, but other comparisons revealed similar statistical results across sexes for both software. FS provides higher volume and surface area measurements than BS, while BS yields greater thickness measurements. Despite differences in thickness, surface area, and volume, group comparisons from FS and BS data yielded similar results.

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a significant public health problem with few treatment options. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has shown promise as a therapeutic tool for neural alterations in CUD. However, its effects on white matter (WM) microstructure and their role in treatment efficacy remain uncertain. This study aimed to assess the global impact of rTMS on WM microstructure in CUD patients. In this study, we made a longitudinal correlational tractography analysis that was conducted using Quantitative Anisotropy (QA) on diffusion MRI data from CUD patients who received either active rTMS (n = 22) or sham rTMS (n = 18) treatment. Imaging data were collected before (T0) and after two weeks of treatment (T1). Correlations were derived using nonparametric Spearman partial correlation, accounting for gender, age, and age at substance initiation through multiple regression. Tracks were selected using a p-FDR threshold of 0.05. A significant QA increase was found in 9718 tracts across the whole brain in the active rTMS group compared to the sham group, with no observed reduction in QA. The affected WM tracts included cerebellar, commissural, associative, and projective fibers, mainly in the left hemisphere. The study suggests that rTMS induces widespread changes in WM microstructure, potentially improving communication between brain regions and cognitive control in CUD patients. However, the small sample size limits the findings' generalizability, highlighting the need for larger, longitudinal studies.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are commonly experienced in people with chronic pain. Reduced white matter microstructural integrity in the uncinate fasciculus and the cingulum has separately been reported in chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studies. However, the relationship between chronic pain, PTSS and white matter integrity remains unclear. This study aims to disentangle the relationship between PTSS severity and white matter microstructural integrity common across different chronic pain conditions. Thirty-six subjects with chronic pain and 20 without chronic pain (controls) underwent diffusion weighted imaging and completed the civilian version of the PTSD CheckList (PCL-C). Average fractional anisotropy (FA) values were extracted from the uncinate fasciculus, and the cingulate and hippocampal portions of the cingulum. A series of multiple linear regressions determined the main effects of group, PTSS severity (PCL-C total score) and their interactions on each region separately. The group-by-PTSS interaction was significantly associated with uncinate fasciculus FA variations. Moderation analysis indicated that increasing PTSS severity was significantly associated with reduced uncinate fasciculus FA in the control group, but not in the chronic pain group. No other significant association was found for any other ROI FA values. Consistent with previous studies, increasing PTSS levels were associated with reduced FA of the uncinate fasciculus in controls, but not in people with chronic pain. Other mechanisms may be at play in chronic pain, including the interplay with other psychopathological problems or specific pain type effects.

The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of abnormal resting-state brain-network connectivity and the reorganization effects of antidepressant drug escitalopram oxalate treatment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), and to explore spatial correlations between brain network alterations and gene expression profiles. We employed a longitudinal study design to recruit 113 patients with MDD and 114 healthy controls (HCs) between November 2020 and October 2022. Clinical symptoms were assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired using a Siemens 3.0 T MRI scanner. At baseline, patients with MDD exhibited significantly reduced functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode network (DMN) compared to HCs, along with significantly increased FC between the sensorimotor network (SMN) and both the frontoparietal network (FPN) and the salience network (SN) (False Discovery Rate, FDR-corrected, p < 0.05). Following treatment with escitalopram oxalate, MDD patients showed a significant enhancement in intra-DMN connectivity, as well as a significant reduction in SMN-FPN and SMN-SN connectivity (FDR-corrected, p < 0.05). Notably, the degree of increase in intra-DMN connectivity was significantly and negatively correlated with improvement in core depressive symptoms (r = - 0.305, p = 0.026), while the reduction in SMN-DMN connectivity was positively correlated with the alleviation of somatic symptoms (r = 0.362, p = 0.008). Further neuroimaging-guided transcriptomics analysis indicated that these alterations in brain network connectivity were linked to biological pathways, such as the Wnt signaling. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate a multidimensional imbalance in brain network connectivity in MDD and show that antidepressant treatment can partially ameliorate aberrant connectivity patterns. These neural changes are closely associated with symptomatic improvements, offering valuable imaging-based evidence for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of MDD and informing the development of personalized treatment strategies.

Expectation is an important psychological factor affecting clinical treatment outcomes in chronic diseases; however, its underlying neural basis remains unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the neurofunctional mechanisms of expectation and investigate how expectations influence acupuncture treatment efficacy in the brains of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). A total of 90 patients diagnosed with KOA were enrolled in this study. The acupuncture group (AG, age 45-65) and sham acupuncture group (SG, age 48-65) received either 12 sessions of 30-min acupuncture treatment or sham acupuncture treatment, whereas the waiting-list group (WG, age 45-65) did not receive any interventions. Patients' baseline positive expectations were assessed. Neuroimaging, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and other clinical data were collected at baseline and after treatment (week 4). Correlation analyses between the brain imaging and clinical data were performed. Baseline expectations and improvements in WOMAC function were associated with fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) changes in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus and increased PCC/precuneus-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) connectivity in the AG, but not in the SG or WG. Both altered fALFF in the PCC/precuneus and enhanced PCC/precuneus-mPFC connectivity were neural correlates of the association between positive expectations and the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture.

Background: Research has indicated that anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis involves global network dysfunction, linking memory deficits to connectivity in the hippocampus, default mode network (DMN), and medial temporal lobe network (MTL). Most relevant cognitive studies have focused on functional connectivity (FC) rather than effective connectivity (EC), meaning that the directed interactions and causal relationships between the DMN and MTL remain unexplored.

Methods: Herein, we collected resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data from 23 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (mean age 30.04 ± 12.67 years) and 23 matched controls (mean age 28.87 ± 9.36 years). Spectral dynamic causal modelling (spDCM) was applied to assess the effective connectivity among the 12 predefined regions of interest in the DMN and MTL.

Results: Effective connectivity (EC) within and between the DMN and MTL networks significantly differed in the NMDAR-resistant encephalitis group compared to controls; the positive EC within the DMN and from the MTL to the DMN was enhanced, while the negative EC from the DMN to the MTL increased, and the positive EC within the MTL decreased. The mean DMN connectivity values in the anti-NMDAR group were negatively correlated with California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and Modified Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, an effect which remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index.

Conclusion: This study identified differences in the connectivity between the DMN and MTL networks in patients with post-acute anti-NMDAR encephalitis, suggesting a possible disconnection. The parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) mediates connections between the hippocampus and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Structural or functional loss of the PHG may affect the integration between the MTL memory system and DMN nodes, correlating with cognitive deficits. This study provides crucial results to improve our understanding of the directed integration between the DMN and MTL networks, providing new evidence.

High fish consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of depression. In this study, we examined the association between the frequency of blue fish intake of healthy participants and ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake using positron-emission tomography (PET). Data were extracted from a questionnaire on the frequency of blue fish intake, clinical assessments of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and ¹⁸F-FDG PET images. Sixty-two participants were grouped based on the frequency of blue fish consumption: more than 2 or 3 days per week (frequent intake group; F-Fish group) and once per week or less (infrequent intake group; IF-Fish group). A two-sample t-test and chi-square test were used for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Furthermore, a two-sample t-test was performed to assess the difference in ¹⁸F-FDG uptake between the F-Fish group and the IF-Fish group using Statistical Parametric Mapping 12. The F-Fish group exhibited significantly lower BDI scores than the IF-Fish group. Whole-brain analysis revealed a cluster with significantly lower ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the right cerebellum VI in the F-Fish group than in the IF-Fish group. In conclusion, the frequency of blue fish consumption is associated with the function of the right cerebellum VI. Further studies are warranted to clarify the mechanism underlying the preventive effect of blue fish consumption on depression.

Background: Brain plasticity is essential for experts to develop and maintain a high skill level. The aim was to investigate chemosensory sensitivity and central structural connectivity in culinary students naturally training olfactory abilities throughout the first year of education and compare the findings to matched controls.

Methodology: The population included 24 culinary students and 28 controls at the start of their education and 12 months later. The Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test of olfactory capabilities for threshold, discrimination, and identification were used. Central olfactory plasticity was investigated with magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to create a structural connectivity matrix of primary and secondary olfactory processing areas for each participant with the seed at the primary olfactory cortex.

Results: For olfactory function, the threshold worsened from 7.23 to 5.42 for controls (P = 0.01); however, Discrimination increased for culinary students from 12.16 to 13.61 (P = 0.03).Compared to controls,culinary students demonstrated stronger connectivity to the gyrus rectus (t = 2.49 p = 0.02) and had a priori stronger connectivity to the caudate nucleus at baseline (t = 2.7147, p = 0.0091), and at follow-up (t = 2.18, P = 0.03).

Conclusions: Culinary students improved their discriminative olfactory abilities during the first year of their education compared to non-culinary students. The culinary students had apriori stronger connectivity to the caudate nucleus than the controls, which remained present at follow-up. Additionally, the culinary students demonstrated stronger connectivity to the gyrus rectus after the first year of their education compared to controls.