Paracingulate asymmetry in anterior and midcingulate cortex: sex differences and the effect of measurement technique

Structural and functional connectivity associations with anterior cingulate sulcal variability

Sulcation of the anterior cingulate may be defined by presence of a paracingulate sulcus, a tertiary sulcus developing during the third gestational trimester with implications on cognitive function and disease. In this cross-sectional study we examine task-free resting state functional connectivity and diffusion-weighted tract segmentation data from a cohort of healthy adults (< 60-year-old, n = 129), exploring the impact of ipsilateral paracingulate sulcal presence on structural and functional connectivity. Presence of a left paracingulate sulcus was associated with reduced fractional anisotropy in the left cingulum bundle and the left peri-genual and dorsal bundle segments, suggesting reduced structural organisational coherence in these tracts. This association was not observed in the offsite temporal cingulum bundle segment. Left paracingulate sulcal presence was associated with increased left peri-genual radial diffusivity and tract volume possibly suggesting increased U-fibre density in this region. Greater network dispersity was identified in individuals with an absent left paracingulate sulcus by presence of a significant, predominantly intraregional, frontal component of resting state functional connectivity which was not present in individuals with a present left paracingulate sulcus. Seed-based functional connectivity in pre-defined networks was not associated with paracingulate sulcal presence. These results identify a novel association between sulcation and structural connectivity in a healthy adult population with implications for conditions where this variation is of interest. Presence of a left paracingulate sulcus appears to alter local structural and functional connectivity, possibly as a result of the presence of a local network reliant on short association fibres.

Updating the sulcal landscape of the human lateral parieto-occipital junction provides anatomical, functional, and cognitive insights

Recent work has uncovered relationships between evolutionarily new small and shallow cerebral indentations, or sulci, and human behavior. Yet, this relationship remains unexplored in the lateral parietal cortex (LPC) and the lateral parieto-occipital junction (LPOJ). After defining thousands of sulci in a young adult cohort, we revised the previous LPC/LPOJ sulcal landscape to include four previously overlooked, small, shallow, and variable sulci. One of these sulci (ventral supralateral occipital sulcus, slocs-v) is present in nearly every hemisphere and is morphologically, architecturally, and functionally dissociable from neighboring sulci. A data-driven, model-based approach, relating sulcal depth to behavior further revealed that the morphology of only a subset of LPC/LPOJ sulci, including the slocs-v, is related to performance on a spatial orientation task. Our findings build on classic neuroanatomical theories and identify new neuroanatomical targets for future "precision imaging" studies exploring the relationship among brain structure, brain function, and cognitive abilities in individual participants.

Aging, cingulate cortex, and cognition: insights from structural MRI, emotional recognition, and theory of mind

The cingulate cortex is a limbic structure involved in multiple functions, including emotional processing, pain, cognition, memory, and spatial orientation. The main goal of this structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study was to investigate whether age affects the cingulate cortex uniformly across its anteroposterior dimensions and determine if the effects of age differ based on sex, hemisphere, and regional cingulate anatomy, in a large cohort of healthy individuals across the adult lifespan. The second objective aimed to explore whether the decline in emotional recognition accuracy and Theory of Mind (ToM) is linked to the potential age-related reductions in the pregenual anterior cingulate (ACC) and anterior midcingulate (MCC) cortices. We recruited 126 healthy participants (18-85 years) for this study. MRI datasets were acquired on a 4.7 T system. The cingulate cortex was manually segmented into the pregenual ACC, anterior MCC, posterior MCC, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). We observed negative relationships between the presence and length of the superior cingulate gyrus and bilateral volumes of pregenual ACC and anterior MCC. Age showed negative effects on the volume of all cingulate cortical subregions bilaterally except for the right anterior MCC. Most of the associations between age and the cingulate subregional volumes were linear. We did not find a significant effect of sex on cingulate cortical volumes. However, stronger effects of age were observed in men compared to women. This study also demonstrated that performance on an emotional recognition task was linked to pregenual ACC volume, whist the ToM capabilities were related to the size of pregenual ACC and anterior MCC. These results suggest that the cingulate cortex contributes to emotional recognition ability and ToM across the adult lifespan.

Structural and functional connectivity associations with anterior cingulate sulcal variability

Background

Sulcation of the anterior cingulate may be defined by presence of a paracingulate sulcus, a tertiary sulcus developing during the third gestational trimester with implications on cognitive function and disease.

Methods

In this retrospective analysis we examine task-free resting state functional connectivity and diffusion-weighted tract segmentation data from a cohort of healthy adults (< 60-year-old, n = 129), exploring the impact of ipsilateral paracingulate sulcal presence on structural and functional connectivity.

Results

Presence of a left paracingulate sulcus was associated with reduced fractional anisotropy in the left cingulum (P = 0.02) bundle and the peri-genual (P = 0.002) and dorsal (P = 0.03) but not the temporal cingulum bundle segments. Left paracingulate sulcal presence was associated with increased left peri-genual radial diffusivity (P = 0.003) and tract volume (P = 0.012). A significant, predominantly intraregional frontal component of altered resting state functional connectivity was identified in individuals possessing a left PCS (P = 0.01). Seed-based functional connectivity in pre-defined networks was not associated with paracingulate sulcal presence.

Conclusion

These results identify a novel association between neurodevelopmentally derived sulcation and altered structural connectivity in a healthy adult population with implications for conditions where this variation is of interest. Furthermore, they provide evidence of a link between the structural and functional connectivity of the brain in the presence of a paracingulate sulcus which may be mediated by a highly connected local functional network reliant on short association fibres.

Cingulate Cortex: Anatomy, Structural and Functional Connectivity

SUMMARY

The cingulate cortex is a paired brain region located on the medial wall of each hemisphere. This review explores the anatomy as well as the structural and functional connectivity of the cingulate cortex underlying essential roles this region plays in emotion, autonomic, cognitive, motor control, visual-spatial processing, and memory.

Cingulate sulcus morphology and paracingulate sulcus variations: Anatomical and radiological studies

The sulci and gyri found across the cerebrum differ in morphology between individuals. The cingulate sulcus is an important landmark for deciding the surgical approach for neighboring pathological lesions. Identifying the anatomical variations of anterior cingulate cortex morphology would help to determine the safe-entry route through neighboring lesions. In this study, magnetic resonance imaging data acquired from 149 healthy volunteers were investigated retrospectively for anatomical variations of the paracingulate sulcus. Also, human cadaveric brain hemispheres were investigated for cingulate and paracingulate sulcus anatomy. All participants had cingulate sulci in both hemispheres (n = 149, 100%). Three types of paracingulate sulcus patterns were identified: "prominent," "present," and "absent." Hemispheric comparisons indicated that the paracingulate sulcus is commonly "prominent" in the left hemisphere (n = 48, 32.21%) and more commonly "absent" in the right hemisphere (n = 73, 48.99%). Ten (6.71%) people had a prominent paracingulate sulcus in both the right and left hemispheres. Seven (4.70%) of them were male, and 3 (2.01%) of them were female. Paracingulate sulci were present in both hemispheres in 19 people (12.75%), of which 9 (6.04%) were male and 10 (6.71%) were female. There were 35 (23.49%) participants without paracingulate sulci in both hemispheres. Eleven (7.38%) were male and 24 (16.11%) were female. There were 73 (48.99%) participants without right paracingulate sulcus and 57 (38.26%) participants without left paracingulate sulcus (p = 0.019). In the examinations of the cadaver hemispheres, the paracingulate sulcus was present and prominent in 25%, and the intralimbic sulcus was present in 15%. It has been observed that the paracingulate sulcus is more prominent in the normal male brain compared to females. In females, there were more participants without paracingulate sulcus. This study shows that there are both hemispheric and sex differences in the anatomy of the paracingulate sulcus. Understanding the cingulate sulcus anatomy and considering the variations in the anterior cingulate cortex morphology during surgery will help surgeons to orient this elegant and complex area.

Cingulate cortex morphology impacts on neurofunctional activity and behavioral performance in interference tasks

Inhibitory control is the capacity to withhold or suppress a thought or action intentionally. The anterior Midcingulate Cortex (aMCC) participates in response inhibition, a proxy measure of inhibitory control. Recent research suggests that response inhibition is modulated by individual variability in the aMCC sulcal morphology. However, no study has investigated if this phenomenon is associated with neurofunctional differences during a task. In this study, 42 participants performed an Attention Network Task and a Numerical Stroop task in an MRI scanner. We investigated differences in brain activity and response inhibition efficiency between individuals with symmetric and asymmetric aMCC sulcal patterns. The results showed that aMCC morphological variability is partly associated with inhibitory control, and revealed greater activation in individuals with symmetric patterns during the Stroop task. Our findings provide novel insights into the functional correlates of the relationship between aMCC morphology and executive abilities.

Towards Deciphering the Fetal Foundation of Normal Cognition and Cognitive Symptoms From Sulcation of the Cortex

Growing evidence supports that prenatal processes play an important role for cognitive ability in normal and clinical conditions. In this context, several neuroimaging studies searched for features in postnatal life that could serve as a proxy for earlier developmental events. A very interesting candidate is the sulcal, or sulco-gyral, patterns, macroscopic features of the cortex anatomy related to the fold topology-e.g., continuous vs. interrupted/broken fold, present vs. absent fold-or their spatial organization. Indeed, as opposed to quantitative features of the cortical sheet (e.g., thickness, surface area or curvature) taking decades to reach the levels measured in adult, the qualitative sulcal patterns are mainly determined before birth and stable across the lifespan. The sulcal patterns therefore offer a window on the fetal constraints on specific brain areas on cognitive abilities and clinical symptoms that manifest later in life. After a global review of the cerebral cortex sulcation, its mechanisms, its ontogenesis along with methodological issues on how to measure the sulcal patterns, we present a selection of studies illustrating that analysis of the sulcal patterns can provide information on prenatal dispositions to cognition (with a focus on cognitive control and academic abilities) and cognitive symptoms (with a focus on schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). Finally, perspectives of sulcal studies are discussed.

Sulcal Morphology in Cingulate Cortex is Associated with Voluntary Oro-Facial Motor Control and Gestural Communication in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Individual differences in sulcal variation within the anterior and mid-cingulate cortex of the human brain, particularly the presence or absence of a paracingulate sulcus (PCGS), are associated with various motor and cognitive processes. Recently, it has been reported that chimpanzees possess a PCGS, previously thought to be a unique feature of the human brain. Here, we examined whether individual variation in the presence or absence of a PCGS as well as the variability in the intralimbic sulcus (ILS) are associated with oro-facial motor control, handedness for manual gestures, and sex in a sample of MRI scans obtained in 225 chimpanzees. Additionally, we quantified the depth of the cingulate sulcus (CGS) along the anterior-posterior axis and tested for association with oro-facial motor control, handedness, and sex. Chimpanzees with better oro-facial motor control were more likely to have a PCGS, particularly in the left hemisphere compared to those with poorer control. Male chimpanzees with better oro-facial motor control showed increased leftward asymmetries in the depth of the anterior CGS, whereas female chimpanzees showed the opposite pattern. Significantly, more chimpanzees had an ILS in the left compared to the right hemisphere, but variability in this fold was not associated with sex, handedness, or oro-facial motor control. Finally, significant population-level leftward asymmetries were found in the anterior portion of the CGS, whereas significant rightward biases were evident in the posterior regions. The collective results suggest that the emergence of a PCGS and enhanced gyrification within the anterior and mid-cingulate gyrus may have directly or indirectly evolved in response to selection for increasing oro-facial motor control in primates.

Physical fitness, hippocampal functional connectivity and academic performance in children with overweight/obesity: The ActiveBrains project

OBJECTIVES

Physical fitness is a modifiable factor associated with enhanced brain health during childhood. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to examine: (i) whether physical fitness components (i.e., cardiorespiratory, motor and muscular fitness) are associated with resting state functional connectivity of hippocampal seeds to different cortical regions in children with overweight/obesity, and (ii) whether resting state hippocampal functional connectivity is coupled with better academic performance.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 99 children with overweight/obesity aged 8-11 years were recruited from Granada, Spain (November 2014 to February 2016). The physical fitness components were assessed following the ALPHA health-related fitness test battery. T1-weighted and resting-state fMRI images were acquired with a 3.0 Tesla Siemens Magnetom Tim Trio system. Academic performance was assessed by the Woodcock-Muñoz standardized test. Hippocampal seed-based procedures with post-hoc regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

In the fully adjusted models, cardiorespiratory fitness was independently associated with greater hippocampal connectivity between anterior hippocampus and frontal regions (β ranging from 0.423 to 0.424, p < 0.001). Motor fitness was independently associated with diminished hippocampal connectivity between posterior hippocampus and frontal regions (β ranging from -0.583 to -0.694, p < 0.001). However, muscular fitness was not independently associated with hippocampal functional connectivity. Positive resting state hippocampal functional connectivity was related to better written expression (β ranging from 0.209 to 0.245; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Physical fitness components may associate with functional connectivity between hippocampal subregions and frontal regions, independent of hippocampal volume, in children with overweight/obesity. Particularly, cardiorespiratory fitness may enhance anterior hippocampal functional connectivity and motor fitness may diminish posterior hippocampal functional connectivity. In addition, resting state hippocampal functional connectivity may relate to better written expression.

Evidence in cortical folding patterns for prenatal predispositions to hallucinations in schizophrenia

All perception is a construction of the brain from sensory input. Our first perceptions begin during gestation, making fetal brain development fundamental to how we experience a diverse world. Hallucinations are percepts without origin in physical reality that occur in health and disease. Despite longstanding research on the brain structures supporting hallucinations and on perinatal contributions to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, what links these two distinct lines of research remains unclear. Sulcal patterns derived from structural magnetic resonance (MR) images can provide a proxy in adulthood for early brain development. We studied two independent datasets of patients with schizophrenia who underwent clinical assessment and 3T MR imaging from the United Kingdom and Shanghai, China (n = 181 combined) and 63 healthy controls from Shanghai. Participants were stratified into those with (n = 79 UK; n = 22 Shanghai) and without (n = 43 UK; n = 37 Shanghai) hallucinations from the PANSS P3 scores for hallucinatory behaviour. We quantified the length, depth, and asymmetry indices of the paracingulate and superior temporal sulci (PCS, STS), which have previously been associated with hallucinations in schizophrenia, and constructed cortical folding covariance matrices organized by large-scale functional networks. In both ethnic groups, we demonstrated a significantly shorter left PCS in patients with hallucinations compared to those without, and to healthy controls. Reduced PCS length and STS depth corresponded to focal deviations in their geometry and to significantly increased covariance within and between areas of the salience and auditory networks. The discovery of neurodevelopmental alterations contributing to hallucinations establishes testable models for these enigmatic, sometimes highly distressing, perceptions and provides mechanistic insight into the pathological consequences of prenatal origins.

Sulcal Pattern Variability and Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Functional Connectivity Across Adult Age

Background: The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is a key network hub for cognitive control and environmental adaptation. Previous studies have shown that task-based functional activity in this area is constrained by individual differences in sulcal pattern, a morphologic feature of cortex anatomy determined during fetal life and stable throughout development. Methods: By using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), we explored the influence of sulcal pattern variability on the functional architecture of the dACC in a sample of healthy adults aged 20-80 years (n = 173). Results: Overall, rsFC was associated with individual differences in sulcal pattern. Furthermore, rsFC was modulated by the age-sulcal pattern interaction. Conclusion: Our results suggest a relationship between brain structure and function that partly traces back to early stages of brain development. The modulation of rsFC by the age-sulcal pattern interaction indicates that the effects of sulcal pattern variability on the functional architecture of the dACC may change over adulthood, with potential repercussions for brain network efficiency and cognitive function in aging.

Anterior cingulate morphology in people at genetic high-risk of schizophrenia

Background

Morphological abnormalities of the anterior cingulate (AC) occur in patients with schizophrenia and in symptomatic high-risk individuals, and may be predictive of subsequent psychosis. We investigated AC sulcal morphology in the Edinburgh High Risk Study cohort to see if such abnormalities are evident and predict psychosis in patients’ relatives. We also investigated the association of the cingulate sulcus (CS) and paracingulate sulcus (PCS) variants with intelligence quotient (IQ).

Patients and methods

We compared cingulate and paracingulate sulcal anatomy, using reliable standardised measurements, blind to group membership, in those at high genetic risk (n = 146), first episode patients (n = 34) and healthy controls (n = 36); and compared high-risk subjects who did (n = 17) or did not develop schizophrenia.

Results

Interruptions of the cingulate sulcus were more common in high-risk individuals and in those with schizophrenia, in both hemispheres, compared to controls. When separated by gender, these results were only present in males in the left hemisphere and only in females in the right hemisphere. A well-formed paracingulate sulcus was less common in high-risk participants and patients with schizophrenia, compared to controls; but this association was only present in males. These morphological variants of the paracingulate sulcus and the continuous cingulate sulcus were also associated with the higher IQ in male high-risk individuals.

Conclusions

An interrupted cingulate sulcus pattern in both males and females and paracingulate morphology in males are associated with increased genetic risk of schizophrenia. Associations between cingulate and paracingulate morphology and premorbid IQ scores provide evidence that intellectual ability could be related to particular cytoarchitectural brain regions. Given that these sulci develop in early fetal life, such findings presumably reflect early neurodevelopmental abnormalities of genetic origin, although environmental effects and interactions cannot be ruled out.

Variations of cingulate sulcal organization and link with cognitive performance

The sulcal morphology of the human medial frontal cortex has received marked interest because of (1) its remarkable link with the functional organization of this region, and (2) observations that deviations from 'normal' sulcal morphological variability correlate with the prevalence of some psychiatric disorders, cognitive abilities, or personality traits. Unfortunately, background studies on environmental or genetic factors influencing the ontogenesis of the sulcal organization in this region are critically lacking. We analysed the sulcal morphological organization in this region in twins and non-twin siblings, as well as in control subjects for a total of 599 subjects from the Human Connectome Project. The data first confirm significant biases in the presence of paracingulate sulci in left vs right hemispheres in the whole population (twin: p < 2.4.10-9; non-twin: p < 2.10-6) demonstrating a clear general laterality in human subjects. Second, measures of similarity between siblings and estimations of heritability suggest significant environmental factors, in particular in-womb environment, and weak additive genetic factors influencing the presence of a paracingulate sulcus. Finally, we found that relationships between sulcal organization and performance in cognitive, motor, and affective tests depend on the twin status (Twins versus Non-twins). These results provide important new insights to the issue of the significance of sulcal organization in the human medial frontal cortex.

ACC Sulcal Patterns and Their Modulation on Cognitive Control Efficiency Across Lifespan: A Neuroanatomical Study on Bilinguals and Monolinguals

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key structure implicated in the regulation of cognitive control (CC). Previous studies suggest that variability in the ACC sulcal pattern—a neurodevelopmental marker unaffected by maturation or plasticity after birth—is associated with intersubject differences in CC performance. Here, we investigated whether bilingual experience modulates the effects of ACC sulcal variability on CC performance across the lifespan. Using structural MRI, we first established the distribution of the ACC sulcal patterns in a large sample of healthy individuals (N = 270) differing on gender and ethnicity. Second, a participants’ subsample (N = 157) was selected to test whether CC performance was differentially affected by ACC sulcation in bilinguals and monolinguals across age. A prevalent leftward asymmetry unaffected by gender or ethnicity was reported. Sulcal variability in the ACC predicted CC performance differently in bilinguals and monolinguals, with a reversed pattern of structure–function relationship: asymmetrical versus symmetrical ACC sulcal patterns were associated with a performance advantage in monolinguals and a performance detriment to bilinguals and vice versa. Altogether, these findings provide novel insights on the dynamic interplay between early neurodevelopment, environmental background and cognitive efficiency across age.

Sulcal Polymorphisms of the IFC and ACC Contribute to Inhibitory Control Variability in Children and Adults

Inhibitory control (IC) is a core executive function that enables humans to resist habits, temptations, or distractions. IC efficiency in childhood is a strong predictor of academic and professional success later in life. Based on analysis of the sulcal pattern, a qualitative feature of cortex anatomy determined during fetal life and stable during development, we searched for evidence that interindividual differences in IC partly trace back to prenatal processes. Using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we analyzed the sulcal pattern of two key regions of the IC neural network, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the inferior frontal cortex (IFC), which limits the inferior frontal gyrus. We found that the sulcal pattern asymmetry of both the ACC and IFC contributes to IC (Stroop score) in children and adults: participants with asymmetrical ACC or IFC sulcal patterns had better IC efficiency than participants with symmetrical ACC or IFC sulcal patterns. Such additive effects of IFC and ACC sulcal patterns on IC efficiency suggest that distinct early neurodevelopmental mechanisms targeting different brain regions likely contribute to IC efficiency. This view shares some analogies with the “common variant–small effect” model in genetics, which states that frequent genetic polymorphisms have small effects but collectively account for a large portion of the variance. Similarly, each sulcal polymorphism has a small but additive effect: IFC and ACC sulcal patterns, respectively, explained 3% and 14% of the variance of the Stroop interference scores.

Anterior cingulate cortex sulcation and its differential effects on conflict monitoring in bilinguals and monolinguals

The role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in modulating the effect of bilingual experience on cognitive control has been reported at both functional and structural neural levels. Individual differences in the ACC sulcal patterns have been recently correlated with cognitive control efficiency in monolinguals. We aimed to investigate whether differences of ACC sulcation mediate the effect of bilingualism on cognitive control efficiency. We contrasted the performance of bilinguals and monolinguals during a cognitive control task (i.e., the Flanker Task) using a stratification based on the participants' ACC sulcal features. We found that performance of the two groups was differentially affected by ACC sulcation. Our findings provide the first evidence that early neurodevelopmental mechanisms may modulate the effect of different environmental backgrounds - here, bilingual vs monolingual experience - on cognitive efficiency.

Multimodal connectivity-based parcellation reveals a shell-core dichotomy of the human nucleus accumbens

The subdifferentiation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been extensively studied using neuroanatomy and histochemistry, yielding a well-accepted dichotomic shell/core architecture that reflects dissociable roles, such as in reward and aversion, respectively. However, in vivo parcellation of these structures in humans has been rare, potentially impairing future research into the structural and functional characteristics and alterations of putative NAc subregions. Here, we used three complementary parcellation schemes based on tractography, task-independent functional connectivity, and task-dependent co-activation to investigate the regional differentiation within the NAc. We found that a 2-cluster solution with shell-like and core-like subdivisions provided the best description of the data and was consistent with the earlier anatomical shell/core architecture. The consensus clusters from this optimal solution, which was based on the three schemes, were used as the final parcels for the subsequent connection analyses. The resulting connectivity patterns presented inter-hemispheric symmetry, convergence and divergence across the modalities, and, most importantly, clearly distinct patterns between the two subregions. This convergent connectivity patterns also confirmed the connections in animal models, supporting views that the two subregions could have antagonistic roles in some circumstances. Finally, the identified parcels should be helpful in further neuroimaging studies of the NAc. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3878-3898, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Paracingulate Sulcus Asymmetry in the Human Brain: Effects of Sex, Handedness, and Race

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is thought to play a key role in cognitive and affective regulation, has been widely reported to have a high degree of morphological inter-individual variability and asymmetry. An obvious difference is in the morphology of the paracingulate sulcus (PCS). Three types of PCS have been identified: prominent, present, and absent. In this study, we examined the relationship between PCS asymmetry and whether the asymmetry of the PCS is affected by sex, handedness, or race. PCS measurements were obtained from four datasets. The statistical results revealed that the PCS was more often prominent and present in the left hemisphere than in the right. The percentage of right-handed males with a prominent PCS was greater than that of right-handed females, but the percentage of left-handed males with a prominent PCS was lower than that of left-handed females. In addition, both male and female and both left-handed and right-handed subjects showed a leftward asymmetry of the PCS. Furthermore there were no significant racial differences in the leftward asymmetry of the PCS. Our findings about the morphological characteristics of the PCS may facilitate future clinical and cognitive studies of this area.

Cognitive control deficit in patients with first-episode schizophrenia is associated with complex deviations of early brain development

BACKGROUND

Several clinical and radiological markers of early neurodevelopmental deviations have been independently associated with cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia. The aim of our study was to test the cumulative and/or interactive effects of these early neurodevelopmental factors on cognitive control (CC) deficit, a core feature of schizophrenia.

METHODS

We recruited patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, who underwent structural MRI. We evaluated CC efficiency using the Trail Making Test (TMT). Several markers of early brain development were measured: neurological soft signs (NSS), handedness, sulcal pattern of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ventricle enlargement.

RESULTS

We included 41 patients with schizophrenia in our analysis, which revealed a main effect of ACC morphology (p = 0.041) as well as interactions between NSS and ACC morphology (p = 0.005), between NSS and handedness (p = 0.044) and between ACC morphology and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume (p = 0.005) on CC measured using the TMT-B score - the TMT-A score.

LIMITATIONS

No 3- or 4-way interactions were detected between the 4 neurodevelopmental factors. The sample size was clearly adapted to detect main effects and 2-way interactions, but may have limited the statistical power to investigate higher-order interactions. The effects of treatment and illness duration were limited as the study design involved only patients with first-episode psychosis.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, our study provides the first evidence of cumulative and interactive effects of different neurodevelopmental markers on CC efficiency in patients with schizophrenia. Such findings, in line with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, support the notion that CC impairments in patients with schizophrenia may be the final common pathway of several early neurodevelopmental mechanisms.

Longitudinal stability of the folding pattern of the anterior cingulate cortex during development

Prenatal processes are likely critical for the differences in cognitive ability and disease risk that unfold in postnatal life. Prenatally established cortical folding patterns are increasingly studied as an adult proxy for earlier development events - under the as yet untested assumption that an individual's folding pattern is developmentally fixed. Here, we provide the first empirical test of this stability assumption using 263 longitudinally-acquired structural MRI brain scans from 75 typically developing individuals spanning ages 7 to 32 years. We focus on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) - an intensely studied cortical region that presents two qualitatively distinct and reliably classifiable sulcal patterns with links to postnatal behavior. We show - without exception-that individual ACC sulcal patterns are fixed from childhood to adulthood, at the same time that quantitative anatomical ACC metrics are undergoing profound developmental change. Our findings buttress use of folding typology as a postnatally-stable marker for linking variations in early brain development to later neurocognitive outcomes in ex utero life.

Cortical structural abnormalities in very preterm children at 7 years of age

We analyzed long-lasting alterations in brain morphometry associated with preterm birth using volumetric and surface-based analyses applied to children at age 7 years. Comparison of 24 children born very preterm (VPT) to 24 healthy term-born children revealed reductions in total cortical gray matter volume, white matter volume, cortical surface area and gyrification index. Regional cortical shape abnormalities in VPT children included the following: shallower anterior superior temporal sulci, smaller relative surface area in the inferior sensori-motor cortex and posterior superior temporal cortex, larger relative surface area and a cingulate sulcus that was shorter or more interrupted in medial frontoparietal cortex. These findings indicate a complex pattern of regional vulnerabilities in brain development that may contribute to the diverse and long-lasting neurobehavioral consequences that can occur after very premature birth.

Folding of the anterior cingulate cortex partially explains inhibitory control during childhood: a longitudinal study

•

Difficulties in cognitive control are related to several psychiatric conditions.

•

Inhibitory control (IC) of children predicts academic and professional successes.

•

ACC sulcal patterns at age 5 were related to IC efficiency at age 5 (Stroop scores).

•

ACC sulcal patterns at age 5 explained IC efficiency at age 9 (Stroop scores).

•

ACC sulcal patterns constrain IC efficiency during childhood.

Difficulties in cognitive control including inhibitory control (IC) are related to the pathophysiology of several psychiatric conditions. In healthy subjects, IC efficiency in childhood is a strong predictor of academic and professional successes later in life. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the core structures responsible for IC. Although quantitative structural characteristics of the ACC contribute to IC efficiency, the qualitative structural brain characteristics contributing to IC development are less-understood. Using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated whether the ACC sulcal pattern at age 5, a stable qualitative characteristic of the brain determined in utero, explains IC at age 9. 18 children performed Stroop tasks at age 5 and age 9. Children with asymmetrical ACC sulcal patterns (n = 7) had better IC efficiency at age 5 and age 9 than children with symmetrical ACC sulcal patterns (n = 11). The ACC sulcal patterns appear to affect specifically IC efficiency given that the ACC sulcal patterns had no effect on verbal working memory. Our study provides the first evidence that the ACC sulcal pattern – a qualitative structural characteristic of the brain not affected by maturation and learning after birth – partially explains IC efficiency during childhood.

Altered asymmetry of the anterior cingulate cortex in subjects at genetic high risk for psychosis

OBJECTIVE

Many studies have reported that patients with schizophrenia often have structural abnormalities of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and that some of these seem to be of genetic origin, therefore predating the onset of illness. The present study aimed to investigate whether these alterations in the ACC are genetic in origin by comparing the morphological patterns of three groups: normal controls, subjects at genetic high risk (GHR) for psychosis, and patients with schizophrenia. The relationships between morphological variations and executive function were also investigated.

METHODS

This study examined the magnetic resonance images of cingulate sulcus/paracingulate sulcus (CS/PCS) folding patterns in 222 subjects (103 normal subjects, 30 individuals at GHR, and 89 patients with schizophrenia) and evaluated differences in the morphological and asymmetrical patterns of the ACC among groups. Neurocognitive tests were then performed and differences in cognitive performance were analyzed according to morphological variation.

RESULTS

Differences in PCS folding were detected; the control group was significantly more likely than were other groups to show a well-developed left PCS (p=0.009) and leftward asymmetry of the PCS (p<0.001). However, neither GHR subjects (p=0.346) nor patients (p=0.784) showed this leftward asymmetry. No statistically significant differences in CS continuity were observed. A more prominent left PCS (p=0.031) and leftward PCS asymmetry (p=0.030) were both associated with higher scores on the working memory task.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that GHR subjects have distinct neurodevelopmental anomalies that resemble those of patients with schizophrenia even though they do not display any psychotic symptoms. Certain developmental alterations in the ACC, such as the loss of leftward sulcal asymmetry in patients with schizophrenia, might be related to genetic factors. Additionally, this morphological alteration might partly account for the impaired executive function in schizophrenia.

The shape of the ACC contributes to cognitive control efficiency in preschoolers

Cognitive success at school and later in life is supported by executive functions including cognitive control (CC). The pFC plays a major role in CC, particularly the dorsal part of ACC or midcingulate cortex. Genes, environment (including school curricula), and neuroplasticity affect CC. However, no study to date has investigated whether ACC sulcal pattern, a stable brain feature primarily determined in utero, influences CC efficiency in the early stages of cognitive and neural development. Using anatomical MRI and three-dimensional reconstruction of cortical folds, we investigated the effect that ACC sulcal pattern may have on the Stroop score, a classical behavioral index of CC efficiency, in 5-year-old preschoolers. We found higher CC efficiency, that is, lower Stroop interference scores for both RTs and error rates, in children with asymmetrical ACC sulcal pattern (i.e., different pattern in each hemisphere) compared with children with symmetrical pattern (i.e., same pattern in both hemispheres). Critically, ACC sulcal pattern had no effect on performance in the forward and backward digit span tasks suggesting that ACC sulcal pattern contributes to the executive ability to resolve conflicts but not to the ability to maintain and manipulate information in working memory. This finding provides the first evidence that preschoolers' CC efficiency is likely associated with ACC sulcal pattern, thereby suggesting that the brain shape could result in early constraints on human executive ability.

Variations in midcingulate morphology are related to ERP indices of cognitive control

The midcingulate cortex (MCC; often somewhat imprecisely referred to as dorsal or cognitive part of the anterior cingulate cortex or dACC) is a core region contributing to cognitive control. Neuroanatomical deviations in the midcingulate region have been observed in a variety of mental disorders. Even in healthy subjects a high degree of morphological variability is seen, for example concerning the degree of anterior midcingulate fissurization. To investigate the relationship between anterior midcingulate morphology and function, individuals with a leftward midcingulate folding asymmetry (LEFT) were compared to individuals showing a lower degree of fissurization or a rightward asymmetric folding (REST). Data from two experiments, a masked Stroop paradigm and a combined go/no-go and stop-signal task, are reported. With the masked Stroop task, LEFT subjects revealed a better processing of incongruent Stroop stimuli when compared to REST subjects. This was reflected in both augmented N400 responses as well as significantly higher accuracy scores. In addition, similar effects were found with event-related potentials from the combined go/no-go and stop-signal task. Here, the N200 but not the P300, which have been associated with conflict-related and evaluative processing stages, respectively, was found to be significantly increased with LEFT subjects. The results of this study foster an association of midcingulate fissurization with differences in behavior and neurophysiological functioning related to cognitive control.

Fronto-limbic volumetric changes in major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

Fronto-limbic dysregulation in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be influenced by early life stress and antidepressant treatment. The present structural MRI study aimed to determine the relationship between amygdala, cingulate and subgenual prefrontal cortex volumes in MDD and their associations with child abuse and antidepressants.

METHODS

Right-handed subjects (21-50 years), meeting DSM-IV criteria for MDD, either with (n=19) or without (n=20) childhood sexual or physical abuse. Healthy controls (n=34) were matched for age, sex, education and smoking. 3D-MPRAGE images with a spatial resolution of 1.5 mm×1.0 mm×1.0 mm were acquired with a Siemens Sonata 1.5 T system. Volumes of subgenual prefrontal cortex, amygdala and affective, cognitive, superior and posterior divisions of cingulate cortex were analyzed using DISPLAY software using reliable volumetric protocols. Groups were compared using ANCOVA, with intracranial volume as a covariate.

RESULTS

MDD subjects had low cingulate (cognitive division) and high amygdala volumes. Low cingulate volume was related to abuse and treatment history. Amygdala volume was predicted by subgenual prefrontal and cingulate (cognitive division) volumes and the presence of paracingulate cortex.

LIMITATIONS

This study was cross sectional and the sample size was limited for subgroup and correlational analyses.

SUMMARY

Our data suggest that MDD may be associated with alterations in anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala. Morphological variation, early stress and stress-protective factors may contribute to differences in fronto-limbic structures in MDD.

Individual differences in reading skill and language lateralisation: a cluster analysis

Individual differences in reading and cerebral lateralisation were investigated in 200 college students who completed reading assessments and divided visual field word recognition tasks, and received a structural MRI scan. Prior studies on this data set indicated that little variance in brain-behaviour correlations could be attributed to the effects of sex and handedness variables (Chiarello, Welcome, Halderman, & Leonard, 2009; Chiarello, Welcome, Halderman, Towler, et al., 2009; Welcome et al., 2009). Here a more bottom-up approach to behavioural classification (cluster analysis) was used to explore individual differences that need not depend on a priori decisions about relevant subgroups. The cluster solution identified four subgroups of college age readers with differing reading skill and visual field lateralisation profiles. These findings generalised to measures that were not included in the cluster analysis. Poorer reading skill was associated with somewhat reduced VF asymmetry, while average readers demonstrated exaggerated RVF/left hemisphere advantages. Skilled readers had either reduced asymmetries, or asymmetries that varied by task. The clusters did not differ by sex or handedness, suggesting that there are identifiable sources of variance among individuals that are not captured by these standard participant variables. All clusters had typical leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale. However, the size of areas in the posterior corpus callosum distinguished the two subgroups with high reading skill. A total of 17 participants, identified as multivariate outliers, had unusual behavioural profiles and differed from the remainder of the sample in not having significant leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale. A less buffered type of neurodevelopment that is more open to the effects of random genetic and environmental influences may characterise such individuals.

On the Use and Misuse of Genomic and Neuroimaging Science in Forensic Psychiatry: Current Roles and Future Directions

Dramatic advances in the understanding of the neurobiological bases of human behavior have prompted excitement and controversy surrounding the ethical, legal, and social applications of this knowledge. The authors critically examine the promise and challenges of integrating genomic and neuroimaging techniques into legal settings. They suggest criteria for enhancing the viability of incorporating these data within a legal context and highlight several recent developments that may eventually allow genetic and neuroimaging evidence to meet these criteria and play a more prominent role in forensic science and law.

The integration of negative affect, pain and cognitive control in the cingulate cortex

It has been argued that emotion, pain and cognitive control are functionally segregated in distinct subdivisions of the cingulate cortex. However, recent observations encourage a fundamentally different view. Imaging studies demonstrate that negative affect, pain and cognitive control activate an overlapping region of the dorsal cingulate--the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). Anatomical studies reveal that the aMCC constitutes a hub where information about reinforcers can be linked to motor centres responsible for expressing affect and executing goal-directed behaviour. Computational modelling and other kinds of evidence suggest that this intimacy reflects control processes that are common to all three domains. These observations compel a reconsideration of the dorsal cingulate's contribution to negative affect and pain.

Sex differences in cognitive control are associated with midcingulate and callosal morphology

Sex differences in the processing of cognitively demanding tasks have attracted much attention in recent years. While there seems to be some agreement on differences between males and females concerning spatial abilities and language skills, a consensus regarding executive functions or cognitive control has not been reached yet. In the present study, male and female subjects participated in a lateralized, tactile Stop-Signal task. Although the behavioral data did not show any differences between sexes, event-related potentials pointed to varieties in neurocognitive processing. As inferred from N200 amplitudes, differences between left- and right-hand stimulation suggested a strong degree of functional lateralization in males in accordance with a left-hemispheric dominance. Females, on the other hand, rather seemed to exhibit a functionally symmetric organization of relevant processes. The P300 did also show evidence of sex-related differences, reflecting disparities in the degree or quality of interhemispheric interaction. In addition, behavioral and electrophysiological parameters were correlated with individual metrics concerning the degree of midcingulate folding asymmetry and the morphology of the corpus callosum. Differential associations of these morphological characteristics with the N200 and P300, respectively, underscore the notion of relevant structure-function associations of the midcingulate cortex and the N200 on the one hand, and the corpus callosum and the P300 on the other hand. Obviously, these variations in neuroanatomy contribute to the observed behavioral and electrophysiological differences between women and men.

Hemispheric asymmetry: contributions from brain imaging

A series of studies using functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging measures also, to elucidate the aspects of hemispheric asymmetry are reviewed. It is suggested that laterality evolved as a response to the demands of language and the need for air-based communication which may have necessitated a division of labor between the hemispheres in order to avoid having duplicate copies in both the hemispheres that would increase processing redundancy. This would have put pressure on brain structures related to the evolution of language and speech, such as the left peri-Sylvian region. MRI data are provided showing structural and functional asymmetry in this region of the brain and how fibers connecting the right and left peri-Sylvian regions pass through the corpus callosum. It is further suggested that the so-called Yakelovian-torque, i.e., the twisting of the brain along the longitudinal axis, with the right frontal and left occipital poles protruding beyond the corresponding left and right sides, was necessary for the expansion of the left peri-Sylvian region and the right occipito-parietal regions subserving the processing of spatial relations. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data related to sex differences for visuo-spatial processing are presented showing enhanced right-sided activation in posterior parts of the brain in both sexes, and frontal activation including Broca's area in the female group only, suggesting that males and females use different strategies when solving a cognitive task. The paper ends with a discussion of the role of the corpus callosum in laterality and the role played by structural asymmetry in understanding corresponding functional asymmetry. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 461-478 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.122 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.