Brain Imaging and Behavior最新文献

The aim of this study is to investigate the disparities in volumes of hippocampal subfields and alterations in whole-brain functional connectivity among individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study comprised a total of 32 diabetic patients with retinopathy (DR group, n = 32) and 38 healthy adults (HC group, n = 38), who underwent psychological cognitive testing along with structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The FreeSurfer software was utilized for the extraction and computation of hippocampal subfield volumes, as well as the overall volumes of the left and right hippocampus. The volumetric comparisons were conducted by employing independent sample t-tests in SPSS 26.0. The functional connectivity comparisons were subjected to statistical analysis using the Matlab software. Age, education level and grnder were used as control variables, and partial correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between differences in volume and functional connectivity values with psychological cognitive test results and clinical indicators. The volume of the left hippocampal tail and fissure, as well as the right hippocampal C3, C4 and fissure regions in the DR patient group, exhibited significant differences compared to the HC group (P < 0.05, FDR < 0.05). Regions of interest were identified based on the segmented volume differences, and compared to the HC group, enhanced connectivity was observed between the left hippocampal tail and the left caudate nucleus (MNI: x,y, z=-6, 12, 9) and the right caudate nucleus (MNI: x,y, z = 9, 12, 12) in DR patients. Additionally, reduced connectivity was observed between the left hippocampal fissure and the right precentral gyrus (MNI: x, y, z = 57, 0, 45) and the right supplementary motor area (MNI: x, y, z = 9, 3, 60). Partial correlation analysis, with age, education level, and gender as covariates, showed no significant associations between the imaging changes and clinical indicators or cognitive scores. The alterations in hippocampal volume and function observed in patients with DR may potentially underlie their cognitive impairment and sensorimotor deficits, thus suggesting a plausible neuropathological mechanism.

To investigate the grey matter volume (GMV) changes and uremic metabolites in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (ESKD-MCI) and further examine the classification and diagnostic efficacy of these features for ESKD-MCI patients. A total of 65 patients with ESKD, including 34 ESKD-MCI and 31 with non-cognitive impairment (ESKD-NCI), and 55 health controls (HCs) were enrolled. All participants underwent brain structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning and Montreal cognitive assessment test. Clinical characteristics and GMV differences among these three groups were analyzed. In addition, mediation analysis was performed to determine the mediating effect of GMV changes on the association between clinical risk factors and MCI. Finally, support vector machine were employed to examine the classification and diagnostic efficacy of GMV changes and clinical features for MCI. Both patient groups exhibited widespread structural brain injury compared with the HCs. Moreover, compared with ESKD-NCI, ESKD-MCI patients demonstrated reduced GMV specifically in the left middle temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. Notably, these GMV changes completely mediates the effect of serum phosphorus levels on MCI. Furthermore, imaging features rather than serum phosphorus levels had good classification and diagnostic efficacy for ESKD-MCI. Our findings underscore the significance of the left temporal gyrus as a pivotal brain region in ESKD-MCI patients, fully mediating the link between uremic metabolite and MCI. GMV alterations presents a promising avenue for effectively detecting MCI in individuals with ESKD.

Cognitive decline is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), which can occur at any stage of the disease. However, the neural mechanisms of PD cognitive changes remain unclear. It has been reported that hemispheric asymmetry is associated with cognitive impairment. Thus, we aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of PD subgroups with different degrees of cognitive progression by assessing functional interhemispheric coordination and their relations with cognition. Fifty-four PD patients including 29 stable cognitive performance (sPD) patients, 25 progressive cognitive impairment (pPD) patients, and 18 healthy controls (HC) were recruited in this study. All subjects underwent T1-weighted, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, and neuropsychological evaluations. Voxel-mirrored Homotopic Connectivity (VMHC) and voxel-based morphometry analysis were applied to detect functional interhemispheric coordination. Fisher z transformed VMHC (z-VMHC) value lower in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and superior temporal gyrus (STG) in the pPD group when compared to the sPD group. However, we did not detect the difference in gray matter volume among the three groups. Furthermore, the z-VMHC value of MTG and MOG was positively correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of the follow-up. Therefore, z-VMHC values within the MTG, MOG, and STG appeared to be potential neuroimaging features to distinguish pPD patients from sPD groups. These findings may underlie the neural mechanisms of cognitive performance in PD.

The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying suicidal ideation and decreased cognitive function in bipolar depression remain elusive. This study sought to elucidate the potential neuroanatomical basis of these phenomena using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). 40 patients experiencing bipolar depressive episodes were enrolled, comprising 20 individuals with suicidal ideation (BDSI +), 20 without suicidal ideation (BDSI-), and 20 healthy controls (HCs), all of whom underwent DTI scanning. Clinical assessments primarily utilized the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and the Trail Making Test (TMT). Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) values among the groups were compared using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). The identified differential brain regions were designated as regions of interest (ROIs), and covariance analysis was employed to compare the FA values among the three groups. Partial correlation analyses were conducted between the FA values in the ROIs and clinical symptoms. Differences in brain regions identified through TBSS were observed in the genu of the corpus callosum and the left anterior corona radiata (p < 0.05). Covariance analysis revealed that the BDSI + group exhibited significantly lower FA values in these regions compared to the HCs (p < 0.05). Partial correlation analyses showed that the FA values in the genu of corpus callosum were negatively correlated with BSSI scores (r = -0.592, p = 0.026) and TMT-A scores (r = -0.642, p = 0.013). The findings from this study suggest that alterations in the connectivity of the genu of the corpus callosum may relate to suicidal ideation and visuospatial function in patients with bipolar depression.

Preclinical research highlights the paraventricular thalamic nucleus as important in various stages of substance use disorder. However, there is limited research on it in relation to methamphetamine, especially regarding its functional changes after long-term abstinence. This study aims to understand the alterations in functional connectivity of the paraventricular thalamic nucleus in methamphetamine abstainers and its correlation with drug craving at two different withdrawal periods. A total of 49 subjects were allocated to the short-term withdrawal group, 44 to the long-term withdrawal group, and 42 to the healthy control group, all of whom are male and adult. Craving scores were assessed using a visual analogue scale. Functional connectivity was evaluated through resting-state functional MRI, which reflects the correlation between connectivity in different brain regions. Significant differences in functional connectivity between the paraventricular thalamic nucleus and the left caudate nucleus were observed across the three groups. The healthy control group exhibited the strongest connectivity, followed by the long-term withdrawal group, while the short-term withdrawal group demonstrated the weakest connectivity. Within the short-term withdrawal group, functional connectivity of the paraventricular thalamic nucleus with both the left parahippocampal gyrus (r = -0.45, p = 0.001) and the left inferior temporal gyrus (r = -0.43, p = 0.002) was significantly correlated with craving scores. This study confirms abnormalities in the paraventricular thalamic nucleus among male methamphetamine abstainers, emphasizes its potential role in regulating methamphetamine use disorder and craving mechanisms, and offers insights into long-term changes in brain function after abstinence.

The abnormalities in static brain activity in patients with post-stroke depression (PSD) have been widely reported; the abnormal alterations and characterized clustering model of the dynamic neural activity in PSD remain enigmatic. We investigated dynamic neural activity abnormalities in patients with PSD with the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) method. Imaging and clinical data from 25 patients with PSD and 28 without PSD collected from April 2020 to June 2023 were evaluated. The between-group comparisons of dALFF variance and state properties were conducted using a combined approach of sliding window and clustering analysis. The correlation coefficients between abnormal dALFF variance and ALFF in the distinguished regions (DRs) and depression severity of PSD were calculated. Compared with that in patients without PSD, decreased dALFF variance in patients with PSD was mainly located in lower dALFF variance in multiple emotion-related brain regions. The dALFF was clustered into four states in all patients. In particular, state 3 was the remarkably distinct state that dwelled for more time in the PSD group. There was a negative correlation between decreased dALFF variance in the right parietal cortex and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) scores in patients with PSD. ALFF values in the DRs showed no correlation with the HAMD score. Our results suggest that patients with PSD showed characteristic alterations in dynamic regional neural activity, which might be regarded as potential neural mechanisms of PSD. This study demonstrates the dynamic features of neural activity in PSD, which may advance future neuroimaging studies.

Background: Meige's syndrome (MS) is a neurologically disabling disorder characterized by visual impairment, mastication, and swallowing difficulties. Emerging evidence suggests that MS may stem from disturbances in brain networks. However, current literature inadequately probes the centrality and functional connectivity within these networks.

Purpose: This study aims to compare the brain networks of MS patients with those of healthy controls (HC). We focus on examining changes in intrinsic connectivity, the significance of nodes within the global brain network, and functional network connectivity (FNC). Additionally, we seek to identify potential correlations between neuroimaging findings and clinical scales.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, we employed centrality analysis and mediation analysis of brain networks using resting-state fMRI data. Voxel-level degree centrality (DC) and eigenvector centrality (EC) served as key features. Independent component analysis was utilized to assess functional connectivity at the network level.

Results: Analyses of EC and DC identified abnormal areas in MS patients predominantly in the right thalamus, left middle occipital gyrus, and Cerebellum Inferior. Mediation analysis indicated that disease severity and course of disease are fully mediated by DC values in the right cerebellum. FNC results highlighted abnormal connections in cerebellar-subcortical, memory retrieval-cingulo-opercular task control, and ventral attention-sensory/somatomotor hand networks in MS patients.

Conclusions: Our findings reveal multiple abnormalities in centrality and functional connectivity of brain networks in MS patients. Notably, disease severity correlates with alterations in these, potentially influencing disease progression.

Schizophrenia is associated with alterations in subcortical volumes, cortical thickness and pro-inflammatory cytokines, that may correlate with clinical features. However, analogous work on methamphetamine-induced psychosis is lacking. This study examines subcortical volumes, frontal cortical thickness and pro-inflammatory cytokines in schizophrenia and methamphetamine-induced psychosis.Diagnosis and symptom severity were determined using the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorders and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, respectively. Structural T1-weighted images were acquired using a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Serum peripheral cytokine concentrations were measured using a multiplex bead array.Schizophrenia (n = 36) and methamphetamine-induced psychosis (n = 27) participants showed decreased left amygdala volumes and frontal cortical thickness compared to healthy controls (n = 32). Schizophrenia participants had increased bilateral caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens volumes compared to controls, and greater right globus pallidus and nucleus accumbens volumes compared to the methamphetamine-induced psychosis group. No significant differences were found in cytokine levels between groups or associations with neuroimaging measures.The novel discovery of increased globus pallidus and nucleus accumbens volumes in schizophrenia group compared with methamphetamine-induced psychosis group may show important distinctions in the neurobiology between these conditions. Future investigations should employ larger sample sizes, incorporate longitudinal study designs, and integrate magnetic resonance spectroscopy which may show important neurometabolic signatures in these brain regions in methamphetamine-induced psychosis.

Two possible indicators of a deficient segregation of functional networks are within-underconnectivity and between-overconnectivity. Both these processes can be observed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to be associated with different core and co-occurring atypicalties of behavior. We focused on within- and between-network connectivity of Frontoparietal and Sensorimotor networks in ASD compared to typically developed (TD) peers and its links to social difficulties and impairments of executive and motor functions. To our knowledge, this study for the first time described between-network connectivity of Frontoparietal and Sensorimotor networks in ASD with relations to symptoms of ASD. In this study, we utilised resting-state functional MRI to investigate 121 participants with ASD and 84 TD children. We investigated between-group differences of the connectivity between Frontoparietal and Sensorimotor regions. We also conducted brain-behavior analysis for beta values of these connections and behavioral scores. Controlling for age and sex, we found a significant group difference within- Frontoparietal network (right and left posterior parietal cortices were underconnected in ASD) and between-networks (right posterior parietal and right lateral sensorimotor cortices were overconnected in ASD). In the ASD group, we also showed that within-Frontoparietal underconnectivity was related to lower scores of social and executive functions as well as between-networks overconnectivity was associated with social difficulties only. There were no significant relationships between scores of motor functions and beta values. We confirmed the hypothesis of deficient segregation for Frontoparietal and Sensorimotor networks in ASD. These findings highlight the importance of between-network connectivity investigation.