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Fu X, Sun P, Zhang X, Zhu D, Qin Q, Lu J, Wang J. GABA in the anterior cingulate cortex mediates the association of white matter hyperintensities with executive function: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. Aging (Albany NY) 2024; 16:4282-4298. [PMID: 38441529 PMCID: PMC10968699 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are associated with executive function. Multiple studies suggested cortical alterations mediate WMH-related cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to investigate the crucial role of cortical GABA in the WMH patients. In the 87 WMH patients (46 mild and 41 moderate to severe) examined in this study, GABA levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) assessed by the Meshcher-Garwood point resolved spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence, WMH volume and executive function were compared between the two groups. Partial correlation and mediation analyses were carried out to examine the GABA levels in mediating the association between WMH volume and executive function. Patients with moderate to severe WMH had lower GABA+/Cr in the ACC (p = 0.034) and worse executive function (p = 0.004) than mild WMH patients. In all WMH cases, the GABA+/Cr levels in the ACC mediated the negative correlation between WMH and executive function (ab: effect = -0.020, BootSE = 0.010, 95% CI: -0.042 to -0.004). This finding suggested GABA+/Cr levels in the ACC might serve as a protective factor or potential target for preventing the occurrence and progression of executive function decline in WMH people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Fu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Peng Sun
- Clinical and Technical Support, Philips Healthcare, Beijing 100600, China
| | - Xinli Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Dongyong Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Qian Qin
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Jue Lu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430030, China
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Kanagasabai K, Palaniyappan L, Théberge J. Precision of metabolite-selective MRS measurements of glutamate, GABA and glutathione: A review of human brain studies. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5071. [PMID: 38050448 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (SV 1 H-MRS) is an in vivo noninvasive imaging technique used to detect neurotransmitters and metabolites. It enables repeated measurements in living participants to build explanatory neurochemical models of psychiatric symptoms and testing of therapeutic approaches. Given the tight link among glutamate, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), glutathione and glutamine within the cellular machinery, MRS investigations of neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders must quantify a network of metabolites simultaneously to capture the pathophysiological states of interest. Metabolite-selective sequences typically provide improved metabolite isolation and spectral modelling simplification for a single metabolite at a time. Non-metabolite-selective sequences provide information on all detectable human brain metabolites, but feature many signal overlaps and require complicated spectral modelling. Although there are short-echo time (TE) MRS sequences that do not use spectral editing and are optimised to target either glutamate, GABA or glutathione, these approaches usually imply a precision tradeoff for the remaining two metabolites. Given the interest in assessing psychiatric and neurocognitive diseases that involve excitation-inhibition imbalances along with oxidative stress, there is a need to survey the literature on the quantification precision of current metabolite-selective MRS techniques. In this review, we locate and describe 17 studies that report on the quality of simultaneously acquired MRS metabolite data in the human brain. We note several factors that influence the data quality for single-shot acquisition of multiple metabolites of interest using metabolite-selective MRS: (1) internal in vivo references; (2) brain regions of interests; (3) field strength of scanner; and/or (4) optimised acquisition parameters. We also highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various SV spectroscopy techniques that were able to quantify in vivo glutamate, GABA and glutathione simultaneously. The insights from this review will assist in the development of new MRS pulse sequences for simultaneous, selective measurements of these metabolites and simplified spectral modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kesavi Kanagasabai
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Imaging Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada
- Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lena Palaniyappan
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Imaging Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada
- Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean Théberge
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Imaging Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging, St. Joseph's Health Care Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
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Xiao Y, Lanz B, Lim SI, Tkáč I, Xin L. Improved reproducibility of γ-aminobutyric acid measurement from short-echo-time proton MR spectroscopy by linewidth-matched basis sets in LCModel. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5056. [PMID: 37839823 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), as the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, is extremely important for maintaining healthy brain function, and deviations from GABA homeostasis are related to various brain diseases. Short-echo-time (short-TE) proton MR spectroscopy (1 H-MRS) has been employed to measure GABA concentration from various human brain regions at high magnetic fields. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of spectral linewidth on GABA quantification and explore the application of an optimized basis-set preparation approach using a spectral-linewidth-matched (LM) basis set in LCModel to improve the reproducibility of GABA quantification from short-TE 1 H-MRS. In contrast to the fixed-linewidth basis-set approach, the LM basis-set preparation approach, where all metabolite basis spectra were simulated with a linewidth 4 Hz narrower than that of water, showed a smaller standard deviation of estimated GABA concentration from synthetic spectra with varying linewidths and lineshapes. The test-retest reproducibility was assessed by the mean within-subject coefficient of variation, which improved from 19.2% to 12.0% in the thalamus, from 27.9% to 14.9% in the motor cortex, and from 9.7% to 2.8% in the medial prefrontal cortex using LM basis sets at 7 T. We conclude that spectral linewidth has a large effect on GABA quantification from short-TE 1 H-MRS data and that using LM basis sets in LCModel can improve the reproducibility of GABA quantification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Xiao
- Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Animal Imaging and Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bernard Lanz
- Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Animal Imaging and Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Song-I Lim
- Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Animal Imaging and Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Tkáč
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Lijing Xin
- Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Animal Imaging and Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Ye Y, Zhong Z, Wu X, Tian Y, Wei Z, Han S, Wu P, Dai H, Shen L, Wang H, Li Y. MR Spectroscopy Assessment of Daily Variations of GABA Levels within the Parietal Lobe and Anterior Cingulate Gyrus Regions of Healthy Young Adults. J Magn Reson Imaging 2024. [PMID: 38284542 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The changes that occur in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels within specific brain regions throughout the day are less clear. PURPOSE To evaluate the daily fluctuations of GABA levels within the parietal lobe (PL) and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) regions and explore their association with melatonin (MT) levels, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure. STUDY TYPE Prospective. SUBJECTS 26 healthy young adults (15 males and 11 females aged 22-27 years). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3.0T, T1-weighted imaging, Mescher-Garwood point resolved spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence. ASSESSMENT The acquired GABA signal contained the overlapping signals of macromolecules and homocarnosine, hence expressed as GABA+. The creatine (Cr) signal was applied as an endogenous reference. The GABA+, GABA+/Cr were measured at six different time points (1:00, 5:00, 9:00, 13:00, 17:00, and 21:00 hours) using MEGA-PRESS. The blood pressure, HR and sputum MT levels, were also acquired. STATISTICAL TESTS The one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the GABA, blood pressure, HR, and MT levels throughout the day. A general linear model was used to find the correlation between GABA and blood pressure, HR, and MT. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS Significant variations in GABA+/Cr and GABA+ levels were observed throughout the day within the PL region. The lowest levels were recorded at 9:00 hour (GABA+/Cr: 0.100 ± 0.003,GABA+:1.877 ± 0.051 i.u) and the highest levels were recorded at 21:00 hour (GABA+/Cr: 0.115 ± 0.003, GABA+:2.122 ± 0.052 i.u). The MT levels were positively correlated with GABA+/Cr (r = 0.301) and GABA+ (r = 0.312) within the ACC region. DATA CONCLUSION GABA+/Cr and GABA+ in ACC are positively correlated with MT. GABA levels in the PL have diurnal differences. These findings may indicate that the body's GABA level change in response to the light-dark cycle. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujie Ye
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhaomin Zhong
- Center for Circadian Clocks, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaojuan Wu
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Yangyang Tian
- Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Zifan Wei
- Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuting Han
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Wu
- Philips Healthcare, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Dai
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Lan Shen
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Han Wang
- Center for Circadian Clocks, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yonggang Li
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
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Wang M, Korbmacher M, Eikeland R, Craven AR, Specht K. The intra-individual reliability of 1 H-MRS measurement in the anterior cingulate cortex across 1 year. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26531. [PMID: 37986643 PMCID: PMC10789202 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the primary method that can measure the levels of metabolites in the brain in vivo. To achieve its potential in clinical usage, the reliability of the measurement requires further articulation. Although there are many studies that investigate the reliability of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), comparatively few studies have investigated the reliability of other brain metabolites, such as glutamate (Glu), N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), phosphocreatine (PCr), or myo-inositol (mI), which all play a significant role in brain development and functions. In addition, previous studies which predominately used only two measurements (two data points) failed to provide the details of the time effect (e.g., time-of-day) on MRS measurement within subjects. Therefore, in this study, MRS data located in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were repeatedly recorded across 1 year leading to at least 25 sessions for each subject with the aim of exploring the variability of other metabolites by using the index coefficient of variability (CV); the smaller the CV, the more reliable the measurements. We found that the metabolites of NAA, tNAA, and tCr showed the smallest CVs (between 1.43% and 4.90%), and the metabolites of Glu, Glx, mI, and tCho showed modest CVs (between 4.26% and 7.89%). Furthermore, we found that the concentration reference of the ratio to water results in smaller CVs compared to the ratio to tCr. In addition, we did not find any time-of-day effect on the MRS measurements. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that the MRS measurement is reasonably reliable in quantifying the levels of metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng‐Yun Wang
- Department of Biological and Medical PsychologyUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV)Haukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
| | - Max Korbmacher
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV)Haukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
- Department of Health and FunctioningWestern Norway University of Applied SciencesBergenNorway
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and AddictionUniversity of Oslo and Oslo University HospitalOsloNorway
| | - Rune Eikeland
- Department of Biological and Medical PsychologyUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV)Haukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
| | - Alexander R. Craven
- Department of Biological and Medical PsychologyUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Department of Clinical EngineeringHaukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
| | - Karsten Specht
- Department of Biological and Medical PsychologyUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV)Haukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
- Department of EducationUiT The Arctic University of NorwayTromsøNorway
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Sousa D, Ferreira A, Rodrigues D, Pereira HC, Amaral J, Crisostomo J, Simoes M, Ribeiro M, Teixeira M, Castelo-Branco M. A neurophysiological signature of dynamic emotion recognition associated with social communication skills and cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid levels in children. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1295608. [PMID: 38164245 PMCID: PMC10757932 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1295608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Emotion recognition is a core feature of social perception. In particular, perception of dynamic facial emotional expressions is a major feature of the third visual pathway. However, the classical N170 visual evoked signal does not provide a pure correlate of such processing. Indeed, independent component analysis has demonstrated that the N170 component is already active at the time of the P100, and is therefore distorted by early components. Here we implemented, a dynamic face emotional paradigm to isolate a more pure face expression selective N170. We searched for a neural correlate of perception of dynamic facial emotional expressions, by starting with a face baseline from which a facial expression evolved. This allowed for a specific facial expression contrast signal which we aimed to relate with social communication abilities and cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels. Methods We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and Magnetic Resonance (MRS) measures in 35 typically developing (TD) children, (10-16 years) sex-matched, during emotion recognition of an avatar morphing/unmorphing from neutral to happy/sad expressions. This task allowed for the elimination of the contribution low-level visual components, in particular the P100, by morphing baseline isoluminant neutral faces into specific expressions, isolating dynamic emotion recognition. Therefore, it was possible to isolate a dynamic face sensitive N170 devoid of interactions with earlier components. Results We found delayed N170 and P300, with a hysteresis type of dependence on stimulus trajectory (morphing/unmorphing), with hemispheric lateralization. The delayed N170 is generated by an extrastriate source, which can be related to the third visual pathway specialized in biological motion processing. GABA levels in visual cortex were related with N170 amplitude and latency and predictive of worse social communication performance (SCQ scores). N170 latencies reflected delayed processing speed of emotional expressions and related to worse social communication scores. Discussion In sum, we found a specific N170 electrophysiological signature of dynamic face processing related to social communication abilities and cortical GABA levels. These findings have potential clinical significance supporting the hypothesis of a spectrum of social communication abilities and the identification of a specific face-expression sensitive N170 which can potentially be used in the development of diagnostic and intervention tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Sousa
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Ferreira
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Diana Rodrigues
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Helena Catarina Pereira
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Joana Amaral
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Joana Crisostomo
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Marco Simoes
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Centre for Informatics and Systems, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Mário Ribeiro
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Marta Teixeira
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands
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Fu X, Qin M, Liu X, Cheng L, Zhang L, Zhang X, Lei Y, Zhou Q, Sun P, Lin L, Su Y, Wang J. Decreased GABA levels of the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex are associated with executive dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1220122. [PMID: 37638325 PMCID: PMC10450953 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1220122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and purpose Executive function impairment, a slight but noticeable cognitive deficit in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, is influenced by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels. Reduced cognitive function is accompanied by thinning of the cerebral cortex, which has higher GABA levels than white matter. However, the relationships among GABA levels, cortical thickness, and executive function in MCI patients have not yet been elucidated. We investigated the relationships among GABA levels, cortical thickness, and executive function in MCI patients. Methods In this study, a total of 36 MCI patients and 36 sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. But 33 MCI patients and 35 HC were included because of head motion or poor data quality for three MCI patients and one HC. The levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid plus relative to creatine (GABA+/Cr) and glutamate-glutamine relative to creatine (Glx/Cr) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were measured using the Meshcher-Garwood point resolved spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence. Metabolite ratios, cortical thickness, and executive function and their interrelationships were determined in the MCI and HC groups. Results Patients with MCI showed lower GABA+/Cr levels in the ACC and PCC. Combined levels of GABA+ and Glx in the ACC and GABA+ in the PCC showed good diagnostic efficacy for MCI (AUC: 0.82). But no differences in cortical thickness were found between the two groups. In the MCI group, lower GABA+/Cr level was correlated to worse performance on the digit span test backward, and the shape trail test-B. The cortical thickness was not associated with GABA+ levels and executive function in patients. Conclusion These results implied that decreased GABA levels in the ACC and PCC had a critical role in the early diagnosis of impaired executive function of MCI. Therefore, GABA in the ACC and PCC could be a potential diagnostic marker of the executive function decline of MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Fu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Mengting Qin
- Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoming Liu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Lan Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Lan Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Xinli Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Yu Lei
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Qidong Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Peng Sun
- Clinical & Technical Solutions, Philips Healthcare, Beijing, China
| | - Liangjie Lin
- Clinical & Technical Solutions, Philips Healthcare, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Su
- Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
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Abuhaiba SI, Duarte IC, Castelhano J, Dionísio A, Sales F, Edden R, Castelo-Branco M. The impact of cathodal tDCS on the GABAergic system in the epileptogenic zone: A multimodal imaging study. Front Neurol 2022; 13:935029. [PMID: 35989912 PMCID: PMC9388822 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.935029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives We aimed to investigate the antiepileptic effects of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (c-tDCS) and mechanisms of action based on its effects on the neurotransmitters responsible for the abnormal synchrony patterns seen in pharmacoresistant epilepsy. This is the first study to test the impact of neurostimulation on epileptiform interictal discharges (IEDs) and to measure brain metabolites in the epileptogenic zone (EZ) and control regions simultaneously in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Methods This is a hypothesis-driven pilot prospective single-blinded repeated measure design study in patients diagnosed with pharmacoresistant epilepsy of temporal lobe onset. We included seven patients who underwent two sessions of c-tDCS (sham followed by real). The real tDCS session was 20 min in duration and had a current intensity of 1.5 mA delivered via two surface electrodes that had dimensions of 3 × 4 cm. The cathode electrode was placed at FT7 in the center whereas the anode at Oz in the center. After each session, we performed electroencephalographic recording to count epileptiform IEDs over 30 min. We also performed magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure brain metabolite concentrations in the two areas of interest (EZ and occipital region), namely, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate (Glx), and glutathione. We focused on a homogenous sample where the EZ and antiepileptic medications are shared among patients. Results Real tDCS decreased the number of epileptiform IEDs per min (from 9.46 ± 2.68 after sham tDCS to 5.37 ± 3.38 after real tDCS), p = 0.018, as compared to sham tDCS. GABA was decreased in the EZ after real c-tDCS stimulation as compared to sham tDCS (from 0.129 ± 0.019 to 0.096 ± 0.018, p = 0.02). The reduction in EZ GABA correlated with the reduction in the frequency of epileptiform IED per min (rho: 0.9, p = 0.003). Conclusion These results provide a window into the antiepileptic mechanisms of action of tDCS, based on local and remote changes in GABA and neural oscillatory patterning responsible for the generation of interictal epileptiform discharges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sulaiman I. Abuhaiba
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Epilepsy Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel C. Duarte
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João Castelhano
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Dionísio
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Francisco Sales
- Epilepsy Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Richard Edden
- Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- FM Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, Clinical and Academic Center (CCAC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- *Correspondence: Miguel Castelo-Branco
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9
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Shyu C, Chavez S, Boileau I, Foll BL. Quantifying GABA in Addiction: A Review of Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Studies. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12070918. [PMID: 35884725 PMCID: PMC9316447 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12070918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling plays a crucial role in drug reward and the development of addiction. Historically, GABA neurochemistry in humans has been difficult to study due to methodological limitations. In recent years, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS, MRS) has emerged as a non-invasive imaging technique that can detect and quantify human brain metabolites in vivo. Novel sequencing and spectral editing methods have since been developed to allow for quantification of GABA. This review outlines the clinical research utilization of 1H-MRS in understanding GABA neurochemistry in addiction and summarizes current literature that reports GABA measurements by MRS in addiction. Research on alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and cannabis addiction all suggest medications that modulate GABA signaling may be effective in reducing withdrawal, craving, and other addictive behaviors. Thus, we discuss how improvements in current MRS techniques and design can optimize GABA quantification in future studies and explore how monitoring changes to brain GABA could help identify risk factors, improve treatment efficacy, further characterize the nature of addiction, and provide crucial insights for future pharmacological development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Shyu
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada;
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; (S.C.); (I.B.)
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Sofia Chavez
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; (S.C.); (I.B.)
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Brain and Therapeutics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Isabelle Boileau
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; (S.C.); (I.B.)
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Brain and Therapeutics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Bernard Le Foll
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada;
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; (S.C.); (I.B.)
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Brain and Therapeutics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Concurrent Outpatient Medical & Psychosocial Addiction Support Services, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Acute Care Program, Toronto, ON M6J 1H3, Canada
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada
- Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Waypoint Research Institute, 500 Church Street, Penetanguishene, ON L9M 1G3, Canada
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-416-535-8501
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10
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Zhang H, Huang X, Wang C, Liang K. Alteration of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of individuals with chronic insomnia: a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation-magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. Sleep Med 2022; 92:34-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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11
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Li H, Heise KF, Chalavi S, Puts NAJ, Edden RAE, Swinnen SP. The role of MRS-assessed GABA in human behavioral performance. Prog Neurobiol 2022; 212:102247. [PMID: 35149113 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms that drive human behavior has been a long-standing focus of cognitive neuroscience. One well-known neuro-metabolite involved in the creation of optimal behavioral repertoires is GABA, the main inhibitory neurochemical in the human brain. Converging evidence from both animal and human studies indicates that individual variations in GABAergic function are associated with behavioral performance. In humans, one increasingly used in vivo approach to measuring GABA levels is through Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). However, the implications of MRS measures of GABA for behavior remain poorly understood. In this respect, it is yet to be determined how GABA levels within distinct task-related brain regions of interest account for differences in behavioral performance. This review summarizes findings from cross-sectional studies that determined baseline MRS-assessed GABA levels and examined their associations with performance on various behaviors representing the perceptual, motor and cognitive domains, with a particular focus on healthy participants across the lifespan. Overall, the results indicate that MRS-assessed GABA levels play a pivotal role in various domains of behavior. Even though some converging patterns emerge, it is challenging to draw comprehensive conclusions due to differences in behavioral task paradigms, targeted brain regions of interest, implemented MRS techniques and reference compounds used. Across all studies, the effects of GABA levels on behavioral performance point to generic and partially independent functions that refer to distinctiveness, interference suppression and cognitive flexibility. On one hand, higher baseline GABA levels may support the distinctiveness of neural representations during task performance and better coping with interference and suppression of preferred response tendencies. On the other hand, lower baseline GABA levels may support a reduction of inhibition, leading to higher cognitive flexibility. These effects are task-dependent and appear to be mediated by age. Nonetheless, additional studies using emerging advanced methods are required to further clarify the role of MRS-assessed GABA in behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Li
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Kirstin-Friederike Heise
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Belgium; Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
| | - Sima Chalavi
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK; Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Belgium.
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12
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Yang Y, Rui Q, Han S, Wu X, Wang X, Wu P, Shen Y, Dai H, Xue Q, Li Y. Reduced GABA levels in the medial prefrontal cortex are associated with cognitive impairment in patients with NMOSD. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2022; 58:103496. [PMID: 35032882 DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment is a symptom present in part of patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and its pathophysiology is unknown. Dysfunction of the GABAergic/glutamatergic pathways involving inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters have been implicated in several neurological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the changes in inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and excitatory glutamate and glutamine (Glx) neurotransmitter levels and their correlations with cognitive functions in patients with NMOSD. METHODS A total of 29 patients with NMOSD and 28 sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in the study. All participants underwent clinical and cognitive assessments and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy scanning. Meshcher-Garwood point-resolved spectroscopy was used to measure GABA and Glx levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and left thalamus. Total creatine (tCr) was applied as an internal reference. The GABA and Glx levels in the patient group were compared with those in HCs and correlated with cognitive scores and clinical variables. RESULTS Patients with NMOSD showed lower GABA+/tCr levels in the mPFC compared with HCs (P = 0.028). The GABA+/tCr levels in the mPFC were significantly associated with verbal memory performance (r = 0.462, P = 0.027) and overall cognition (r = 0.440, P = 0.035) in the NMOSD group. The GABA+/tCr levels in the left thalamus or Glx/tCr levels in both regions were not significantly different between groups, nor were they related to any cognitive domain in patients with NMOSD (all P values > 0.05). CONCLUSION The GABA+ levels in the mPFC decreased and correlated with cognitive dysfunction in patients with NMOSD, suggesting that the changes in regional GABA+ levels might be a potential metabolic feature of cognitive decline in patients with NMOSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Qianyun Rui
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Shuting Han
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Xiaojuan Wu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Wang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Peng Wu
- Philips Healthcare, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Yueping Shen
- Department of Statistics, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Hui Dai
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China; Institute of Medical Imaging, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China.
| | - Qun Xue
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China; Clinical Research Center of Neurology, Jiangsu Institute of Clinical Immunology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China.
| | - Yonggang Li
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China; Institute of Medical Imaging, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China; National Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215000, China.
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13
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Peek AL, Leaver AM, Foster S, Puts NA, Oeltzschner G, Henderson L, Galloway G, Ng K, Refshauge K, Rebbeck T. Increase in ACC GABA+ levels correlate with decrease in migraine frequency, intensity and disability over time. J Headache Pain 2021; 22:150. [PMID: 34903165 PMCID: PMC8903525 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-021-01352-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background An imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory neurometabolites has been implicated in chronic pain. Prior work identified elevated levels of Gamma-aminobutyric acid + macromolecules (“GABA+”) using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in people with migraine. What is not understood is whether this increase in GABA+ is a cause, or consequence of living with, chronic migraine. Therefore, to further elucidate the nature of the elevated GABA+ levels reported in migraine, this study aimed to observe how GABA+ levels change in response to changes in the clinical characteristics of migraine over time. Methods We observed people with chronic migraine (ICHD-3) over 3-months as their treatment was escalated in line with the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Participants underwent an MRS scan and completed questionnaires regarding migraine frequency, intensity (HIT-6) and disability (WHODAS) at baseline and following the routine 3 months treatment escalation to provide the potential for some participants to recover. We were therefore able to monitor changes in brain neurochemistry as clinical characteristics potentially changed over time. Results The results, from 18 participants who completed both baseline and follow-up measures, demonstrated that improvements in migraine frequency, intensity and disability were associated with an increase in GABA+ levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); migraine frequency (r = − 0.51, p = 0.03), intensity (r = − 0.51, p = 0.03) and disability (r = − 0.53, p = 0.02). However, this was not seen in the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG). An incidental observation found those who happened to have their treatment escalated with CGRP-monoclonal antibodies (CGRP-mAbs) (n = 10) had a greater increase in ACC GABA+ levels (mean difference 0.54 IU IQR [0.02 to 1.05], p = 0.05) and reduction in migraine frequency (mean difference 10.3 IQR [2.52 to 18.07], p = 0.01) compared to those who did not (n = 8). Conclusion The correlation between an increase in ACC GABA+ levels with improvement in clinical characteristics of migraine, suggest previously reported elevated GABA+ levels may not be a cause of migraine, but a protective mechanism attempting to suppress further migraine attacks. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-021-01352-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimie L Peek
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia. .,NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury Recovery, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Andrew M Leaver
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia
| | - Sheryl Foster
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia.,Department of Radiology, Westmead Hospital, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, New South Wales, 2145, Australia
| | - Nicolaas A Puts
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Georg Oeltzschner
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Luke Henderson
- School of Medical Sciences, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia
| | - Graham Galloway
- The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland, 4102, Australia
| | - Karl Ng
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, New South Wales, 2065, Australia
| | - Kathryn Refshauge
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia
| | - Trudy Rebbeck
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2141, Australia.,NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury Recovery, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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14
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Alvarez-Alvarado S, Boutzoukas EM, Kraft JN, O’Shea A, Indahlastari A, Albizu A, Nissim NR, Evangelista ND, Cohen R, Porges EC, Woods AJ. Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Cognitive Training on Frontal Lobe Neurotransmitter Concentrations. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:761348. [PMID: 34744698 PMCID: PMC8568306 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.761348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: This study examines the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with cognitive training on neurotransmitter concentrations in the prefrontal cortex. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three older adults were randomized to either active-tDCS or sham-tDCS in combination with cognitive training for 2 weeks. Active-tDCS was delivered over F3 (cathode) and F4 (anode) electrode placements for 20 min at 2 mA intensity. For each training session, 40-min of computerized cognitive training were applied with active or sham stimulation delivered during the first 20-min. Glutamine/glutamate (Glx) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations via proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy were evaluated at baseline and at the end of 2-week intervention. Results: Glx concentrations increased from pre- to post-intervention (p = 0.010) in the active versus sham group after controlling for age, number of intervention days, MoCA scores, and baseline Glx concentration. No difference in GABA concentration was detected between active and sham groups (p = 0.650) after 2-week intervention. Conclusion: Results provide preliminary evidence suggesting that combining cognitive training and tDCS over the prefrontal cortex elicits sustained increase in excitatory neurotransmitter concentrations. Findings support the combination of tDCS and cognitive training as a potential method for altering neurotransmitter concentrations in the frontal cortices, which may have implications for neuroplasticity in the aging brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey Alvarez-Alvarado
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Emanuel M. Boutzoukas
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jessica N. Kraft
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Andrew O’Shea
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Aprinda Indahlastari
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Alejandro Albizu
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Nicole R. Nissim
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Nicole D. Evangelista
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Ronald Cohen
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Eric C. Porges
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Adam J. Woods
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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15
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Lengu K, Ryan S, Peltier SJ, Tyszkowski T, Kairys A, Giordani B, Hampstead BM. Effects of High Definition-Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Local GABA and Glutamate Levels Among Older Adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Exploratory Study. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 84:1091-1102. [PMID: 34602464 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior research, primarily with young adults, suggests transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effects are driven by the primary excitatory and/or inhibitory neurotransmitters, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), respectively. OBJECTIVE We examined the neurometabolic mechanisms of tDCS in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS We used data from a double-blind, cross-over, randomized controlled trial (NCT01958437) in 32 older adults to evaluate high definition (HD)-tDCS-induced changes in glutamate and GABA via magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Participants underwent MRS following two counterbalanced HD-tDCS sessions (one active, one sham) that targeted the right superior parietal cortex (center anode at P2) and delivered 2mA for 20 minutes. RESULTS Relative to sham, and when co-varying for MRS voxel overlap and right superior parietal volume, active HD-tDCS significantly increased GABA and decreased the ratio of glutamate to GABA. No changes were observed in a left prefrontal control MRS voxel. Although we did not find a significant correlation between strength of delivered current (measured via MRI-based computational modeling) and neurometabolite change, there was a robust positive relationship between the volume of right superior parietal cortex and neurometabolite change. CONCLUSION Our preliminary findings of increased GABA and reduced glutamate/GABA ratio raise the possibility that (HD-)tDCS effects differ by age. Moreover, age- and disease-related regional brain volume loss may be especially important to consider when planning future studies. Replication would emphasize the importance of developing population-specific tDCS parameters that consider structural and physiologic changes associated with "normal" and pathological aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketrin Lengu
- Neuropsychology Section, Mental Health Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Shannon Ryan
- Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Scott J Peltier
- Functional MRI Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Troy Tyszkowski
- Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Anson Kairys
- Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Bruno Giordani
- Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Benjamin M Hampstead
- Neuropsychology Section, Mental Health Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation-Based Interventions (RP-CNBI), Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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16
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Effects of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation on brain glutamate levels and resting state connectivity: multimodal MRI data for the cathodal stimulation site. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 271:111-122. [PMID: 32743758 PMCID: PMC7867555 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01177-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions is currently proposed as therapeutic intervention for major depression and other psychiatric disorders. The in-depth mechanistic understanding of this bipolar and non-focal stimulation technique is still incomplete. In a pilot study, we investigated the effects of bifrontal stimulation on brain metabolite levels and resting state connectivity under the cathode using multiparametric MRI techniques and computational tDCS modeling. Within a double-blind cross-over design, 20 subjects (12 women, 23.7 ± 2 years) were randomized to active tDCS with standard bifrontal montage with the anode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode over the right DLPFC. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was acquired before, during, and after prefrontal tDCS to quantify glutamate (Glu), Glu + glutamine (Glx) and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration in these areas. Resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rsfcMRI) was acquired before and after the stimulation. The individual distribution of tDCS induced electric fields (efields) within the MRS voxel was computationally modelled using SimNIBS 2.0. There were no significant changes of Glu, Glx and GABA levels across conditions but marked differences in the course of Glu levels between female and male participants were observed. Further investigation yielded a significantly stronger Glu reduction after active compared to sham stimulation in female participants, but not in male participants. For rsfcMRI neither significant changes nor correlations with MRS data were observed. Exploratory analyses of the effect of efield intensity distribution on Glu changes showed distinct effects in different efield groups. Our findings are limited by the small sample size, but correspond to previously published results of cathodal tDCS. Future studies should address gender and efield intensity as moderators of tDCS induced effects.
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17
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Ferland MC, Therrien-Blanchet JM, Proulx S, Klees-Themens G, Bacon BA, Dang Vu TT, Théoret H. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and H 1-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Measures of Excitation and Inhibition Following Lorazepam Administration. Neuroscience 2020; 452:235-246. [PMID: 33246064 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed at better understanding the neurochemistry underlying transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measurements as it pertains to GABAergic activity following administration of allosteric GABAA receptor agonist lorazepam. Seventeen healthy adults (8 females, 26.0 ± 5.4 years old) participated in a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study, where participants underwent TMS and MRS two hours after drug intake (placebo or lorazepam; 2.5 mg). Neuronavigated TMS measures reflecting cortical inhibition and excitation were obtained in the left primary motor cortex. Sensorimotor cortex and occipital cortex MRS data were acquired using a 3T scanner with a MEGA-PRESS sequence, allowing water-referenced [GABA] and [Glx] (glutamate + glutamine) quantification. Lorazepam administration decreased occipital [GABA], decreased motor cortex excitability and increased GABAA-receptor mediated motor cortex inhibition (short intracortical inhibition (SICI)). Lorazepam intake did not modulate sensorimotor [GABA] and TMS measures of intra-cortical facilitation, long-interval cortical inhibition, cortical silent period, and resting motor threshold. Furthermore, higher sensorimotor [GABA] was associated with higher cortical inhibition (SICI) following lorazepam administration, suggesting that baseline sensorimotor [GABA] may be valuable in predicting pharmacological or neuromodulatory treatment response. Finally, the differential effects of lorazepam on MRS and TMS measures, with respect to GABA, support the idea that TMS measures of cortical inhibition reflect synaptic GABAergic phasic inhibitory activity while MRS reflects extrasynaptic GABA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Thien Thanh Dang Vu
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology and Perform Center, Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Research Center, Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Qc, Canada
| | - Hugo Théoret
- Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de l'Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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18
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Duda JM, Moser AD, Zuo CS, Du F, Chen X, Perlo S, Richards CE, Nascimento N, Ironside M, Crowley DJ, Holsen LM, Misra M, Hudson JI, Goldstein JM, Pizzagalli DA. Repeatability and reliability of GABA measurements with magnetic resonance spectroscopy in healthy young adults. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:2359-2369. [PMID: 33216412 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) abnormalities have been implicated in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite substantial interest in probing GABA in vivo, human imaging studies relying on magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have generally been hindered by technical challenges, including GABA's relatively low concentration and spectral overlap with other metabolites. Although past studies have shown moderate-to-strong test-retest repeatability and reliability of GABA within certain brain regions, many of these studies have been limited by small sample sizes. METHODS GABA+ (macromolecular-contaminated) test-retest reliability and repeatability were assessed via a Meshcher-Garwood point resolved spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) MRS sequence in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC; n = 21) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC; n = 20) in healthy young adults. Data were collected on a 3T scanner (Siemens Prisma, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) and GABA+ results were reported in reference to both total creatine (GABA+/tCr) and water (GABA+/water). RESULTS Results showed strong test-retest repeatability (mean GABA+/tCr coefficient of variation [CV] = 4.6%; mean GABA+/water CV = 4.0%) and reliability (GABA+/tCr intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.77; GABA+/water ICC = 0.87) in the dlPFC. The rACC showed acceptable (but comparatively lower) repeatability (mean GABA+/tCr CV = 8.0%; mean GABA+/water CV = 7.5%), yet low-moderate reliability (GABA+/tCr ICC = 0.40; GABA+/water ICC = 0.44). CONCLUSION The present study found excellent GABA+ MRS repeatability and reliability in the dlPFC. The rACC showed inferior results, possibly because of a combination of shimming impedance and measurement error. These data suggest that MEGA-PRESS can be utilized to reliably distinguish participants based on dlPFC GABA+ levels, whereas the mixed results in the rACC merit further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M Duda
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Amelia D Moser
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Chun S Zuo
- McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Fei Du
- McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Schizophrenia and Bipolar Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Xi Chen
- McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Schizophrenia and Bipolar Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sarah Perlo
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christine E Richards
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nara Nascimento
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Maria Ironside
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David J Crowley
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Laura M Holsen
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Women's Health, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Madhusmita Misra
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James I Hudson
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jill M Goldstein
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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19
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Delli Pizzi S, Franciotti R, Ferretti A, Edden RA, Zöllner HJ, Esposito R, Bubbico G, Aiello C, Calvanese F, Sensi SL, Tartaro A, Onofrj M, Bonanni L. High
γ‐Aminobutyric
Acid Content Within the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Is a Functional Signature of Somatic Symptoms Disorder in Patients With Parkinson's Disease. Mov Disord 2020; 35:2184-2192. [DOI: 10.1002/mds.28221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Delli Pizzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), “G. d'Annunzio” University Chieti‐Pescara Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Raffaella Franciotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), “G. d'Annunzio” University Chieti‐Pescara Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), “G. d'Annunzio” University Chieti‐Pescara Italy
| | - Richard A.E. Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI Kennedy Krieger Institute Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Helge J. Zöllner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI Kennedy Krieger Institute Baltimore Maryland USA
| | | | - Giovanna Bubbico
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), “G. d'Annunzio” University Chieti‐Pescara Italy
| | - Claudia Aiello
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Francesco Calvanese
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Stefano L. Sensi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Armando Tartaro
- Department of Medical Sciences, Oral and Biotechnology University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine University “G. d'Annunzio” of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
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20
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Droby A, Fleysher L, Petracca M, Podranski K, Xu J, Fabian M, Marjańska M, Inglese M. Lower cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid level contributes to increased connectivity in sensory-motor regions in progressive MS. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2020; 43:102183. [DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2020.102183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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21
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Murari G, Liang DRS, Ali A, Chan F, Mulder-Heijstra M, Verhoeff NPLG, Herrmann N, Chen JJ, Mah L. Prefrontal GABA Levels Correlate with Memory in Older Adults at High Risk for Alzheimer's Disease. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa022. [PMID: 34296099 PMCID: PMC8152914 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, plays a significant role in aging and in neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We investigated the relationship between GABA levels in the dorsomedial/dorsoanterolateral prefrontal cortex (DM/DA-PFC) and memory in high-AD risk participants. Thirty-eight participants (14 Cognitively Normal [CN], 11 with Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD), and 13 Mild Cognitive Impairment [MCI]) underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 Tesla. SCD and MCI participants were grouped together to form a single high-AD risk group (N = 24) for the purposes of statistical analyses. Partial correlations of GABA+/Cr level with verbal memory, assessed on California Verbal Learning Test-II, and nonverbal memory, assessed on Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Rey-Osterrieth test, were examined separately within the high-AD risk and CN groups. GABA+/Cr levels were positively correlated with long-delayed verbal memory (r = 0.69, P = 0.009) and immediate nonverbal memory (r = 0.97, P = 0.03) in high-AD risk, but not in CN participants. These results remained significant after controlling for depression. These preliminary findings, which require replication due to the limited sample sizes, are the first report of an association between GABA+/Cr levels within the DM/DA-PFC and memory performance in high-AD risk individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geetanjali Murari
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | | | - Aliya Ali
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | - Frankie Chan
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | | | - Nicolaas Paul L G Verhoeff
- Department of Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry Division, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Nathan Herrmann
- Department of Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry Division, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - J Jean Chen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | - Linda Mah
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
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22
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Harasym D, Turco CV, Nicolini C, Toepp SL, Jenkins EM, Gibala MJ, Noseworthy MD, Nelson AJ. Fitness Level Influences White Matter Microstructure in Postmenopausal Women. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:129. [PMID: 32547386 PMCID: PMC7273967 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Aerobic exercise has both neuroprotective and neurorehabilitative benefits. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood and need to be investigated, especially in postmenopausal women, who are at increased risk of age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. To advance our understanding of the potential neurological benefits of aerobic exercise in aging women, we examined anatomical and functional responses that may differentiate women of varying cardiorespiratory fitness using neuroimaging and neurophysiology. A total of 35 healthy postmenopausal women were recruited (59 ± 3 years) and cardiorespiratory fitness estimated (22–70 mL/kg/min). Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to assess -aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) receptor function in the primary motor cortex (M1), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to quantify GABA and Glu concentrations in M1. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess mean cortical thickness (MCT) of sensorimotor and frontal regions, while the microstructure of sensorimotor and other white matter tracts was evaluated through diffusion tensor imaging. Regression analysis revealed that higher fitness levels were associated with improved microstructure in pre-motor and sensory tracts, and the hippocampal cingulum. Fitness level was not associated with MCT, MRS, or neurophysiology measures. These data indicate that, in postmenopausal women, higher cardiorespiratory fitness is linked with preserved selective white matter microstructure, particularly in areas that influence sensorimotor control and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Harasym
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Imaging Research Center, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Claudia V Turco
- Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Chiara Nicolini
- Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Stephen L Toepp
- Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - E Madison Jenkins
- Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Martin J Gibala
- Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Michael D Noseworthy
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Imaging Research Center, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Aimee J Nelson
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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23
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Kondo HM, Lin IF. Excitation-inhibition balance and auditory multistable perception are correlated with autistic traits and schizotypy in a non-clinical population. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8171. [PMID: 32424307 PMCID: PMC7234986 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65126-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and individuals with schizophrenia have impaired social and communication skills. They also have altered auditory perception. This study investigated autistic traits and schizotypy in a non-clinical population as well as the excitation-inhibition (EI) balance in different brain regions and their auditory multistable perception. Thirty-four healthy participants were assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The EI balance was evaluated by measuring the resting-state concentrations of glutamate-glutamine (Glx) and ϒ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in vivo by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. To observe the correlation between their traits and perception, we conducted an auditory streaming task and a verbal transformation task, in which participants reported spontaneous perceptual switching while listening to a sound sequence. Their AQ and SPQ scores were positively correlated with the Glx/GABA ratio in the auditory cortex but not in the frontal areas. These scores were negatively correlated with the number of perceptual switches in the verbal transformation task but not in the auditory streaming task. Our results suggest that the EI balance in the auditory cortex and the perceptual formation of speech are involved in autistic traits and schizotypy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirohito M Kondo
- School of Psychology, Chukyo University, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8666, Japan. .,Human Information Science Laboratory, NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan.
| | - I-Fan Lin
- Department of Occupational Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, 235, Taiwan.,Department of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
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24
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Yoon JH, Maddock RJ, Cui ED, Minzenberg MJ, Niendam TA, Lesh T, Solomon M, Ragland JD, Carter C. Reduced in vivo visual cortex GABA in schizophrenia, a replication in a recent onset sample. Schizophr Res 2020; 215:217-222. [PMID: 31704157 PMCID: PMC7035988 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The GABA deficit hypothesis remains one of the most compelling explanations for the information processing impairments in schizophrenia. However, much of the supportive evidence has been derived from post-mortem studies, whereas in vivo studies have largely yielded inconsistent results. We undertook this single voxel proton magnetic resonance (MRS) GABA study to test in a sample of recent onset patients the replicability of our prior finding of reduced early visual cortex GABA in schizophrenia. We also examined the possibility that antipsychotics could represent a significant confound by studying a small subsample of antipsychotic naïve subjects. 23 adults with recent onset schizophrenia and a demographically matched sample of 31 healthy control subjects underwent MRS using a MEGA PRESS sequence on a 3T MR scanner to measure GABA concentration in early visual cortex. To control for in-scanner head movement confounding the results, we quantified the amount of head movement during GABA scans to identify and exclude from analysis scans with excessive movement. Patients demonstrated significantly reduced GABA levels compared to control subjects, p = 0.029. GABA levels did not differ significantly between patients who were antipsychotic naïve (n = 7) and patients treated with antipsychotics. This replication in a recent onset sample suggest that diminished GABA in the visual cortex is a reliable finding, present in early phase of illness and not confounded by illness chronicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong H. Yoon
- Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA,Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
| | | | - Edward DongBo Cui
- Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA,Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
| | - Michael J. Minzenberg
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
| | - Tara A. Niendam
- University of California, Davis, 4701 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Tyler Lesh
- University of California, Davis, 4701 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Marjorie Solomon
- University of California, Davis, 4701 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - J. Daniel Ragland
- University of California, Davis, 4701 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Cameron Carter
- University of California, Davis, 4701 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
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25
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Mooney RA, Ackerley SJ, Rajeswaran DK, Cirillo J, Barber PA, Stinear CM, Byblow WD. The Influence of Primary Motor Cortex Inhibition on Upper Limb Impairment and Function in Chronic Stroke: A Multimodal Study. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2019; 33:130-140. [PMID: 30744527 DOI: 10.1177/1545968319826052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stroke is a leading cause of adult disability owing largely to motor impairment and loss of function. After stroke, there may be abnormalities in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated inhibitory function within primary motor cortex (M1), which may have implications for residual motor impairment and the potential for functional improvements at the chronic stage. OBJECTIVE To quantify GABA neurotransmission and concentration within ipsilesional and contralesional M1 and determine if they relate to upper limb impairment and function at the chronic stage of stroke. METHODS Twelve chronic stroke patients and 16 age-similar controls were recruited for the study. Upper limb impairment and function were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Scale and Action Research Arm Test. Threshold tracking paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation protocols were used to examine short- and long-interval intracortical inhibition and late cortical disinhibition. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to evaluate GABA concentration. RESULTS Short-interval intracortical inhibition was similar between patients and controls ( P = .10). Long-interval intracortical inhibition was greater in ipsilesional M1 compared with controls ( P < .001). Patients who did not exhibit late cortical disinhibition in ipsilesional M1 were those with greater upper limb impairment and worse function ( P = .002 and P = .017). GABA concentration was lower within ipsilesional ( P = .009) and contralesional ( P = .021) M1 compared with controls, resulting in an elevated excitation-inhibition ratio for patients. CONCLUSION These findings indicate that ipsilesional and contralesional M1 GABAergic inhibition are altered in this small cohort of chronic stroke patients. Further study is warranted to determine how M1 inhibitory networks might be targeted to improve motor function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - John Cirillo
- 1 The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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26
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Longitudinal assessment of 1H-MRS (GABA and Glx) and TMS measures of cortical inhibition and facilitation in the sensorimotor cortex. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:3461-3474. [PMID: 31734787 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05691-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the long-term stability of water-referenced GABA and Glx neurometabolite concentrations in the sensorimotor cortex using MRS and to assess the long-term stability of GABA- and glutamate-related intracortical excitability using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Healthy individuals underwent two sessions of MRS and TMS at a 3-month interval. A MEGA-PRESS sequence was used at 3 T to acquire MRS signals in the sensorimotor cortex. Metabolites were quantified by basis spectra fitting and metabolite concentrations were derived using unsuppressed water reference scans accounting for relaxation and partial volume effects. TMS was performed using published standards. After performing stability and reliability analyses for MRS and TMS, reliable change indexes were computed for all measures with a statistically significant test-retest correlation. No significant effect of time was found for GABA, Glx and TMS measures. There was an excellent ICC and a strong correlation across time for GABA and Glx. Analysis of TMS measure stability revealed an excellent ICC for rMT CSP and %MSO and a fair ICC for 2 ms SICI. There was no significant correlation between MRS and TMS measures at any time point. This study shows that MRS-GABA and MRS-Glx of the sensorimotor cortex have good stability over a 3-month period, with variability across time comparable to that reported in other brain areas. While resting motor threshold, %MSO and CSP were found to be stable and reliable, other TMS measures had greater variability and lesser reliability.
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27
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Baeshen A, Wyss PO, Henning A, O'Gorman RL, Piccirelli M, Kollias S, Michels L. Test–Retest Reliability of the Brain Metabolites GABA and Glx With JPRESS, PRESS, and MEGA‐PRESS MRS Sequences in vivo at 3T. J Magn Reson Imaging 2019; 51:1181-1191. [DOI: 10.1002/jmri.26921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arwa Baeshen
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical SciencesKing Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia
| | - Patrik O. Wyss
- Institute for Biomedical EngineeringUniversity and ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tubingen Germany
- Department of RadiologySwiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil Switzerland
| | - Anke Henning
- Institute for Biomedical EngineeringUniversity and ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tubingen Germany
| | | | - Marco Piccirelli
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Spyridon Kollias
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Lars Michels
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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28
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Louis ED, Hernandez N, Dyke JP, Ma RE, Dydak U. In Vivo Dentate Nucleus Gamma-aminobutyric Acid Concentration in Essential Tremor vs. Controls. THE CEREBELLUM 2019; 17:165-172. [PMID: 29039117 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-017-0891-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Despite its high prevalence, essential tremor (ET) is among the most poorly understood neurological diseases. The presence and extent of Purkinje cell (PC) loss in ET is the subject of controversy. PCs are a major storehouse of central nervous system gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), releasing GABA at the level of the dentate nucleus. It is therefore conceivable that cerebellar dentate nucleus GABA concentration could be an in vivo marker of PC number. We used in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to quantify GABA concentrations in two cerebellar volumes of interest, left and right, which included the dentate nucleus, comparing 45 ET cases to 35 age-matched controls. 1H MRS was performed using a 3.0-T Siemens Tim Trio scanner. The MEGA-PRESS J-editing sequence was used for GABA detection in two cerebellar volumes of interest (left and right) that included the dentate nucleus. The two groups did not differ with respect to our primary outcome of GABA concentration (given in institutional units). For the right dentate nucleus, [GABA] in ET cases = 2.01 ± 0.45 and [GABA] in controls = 1.86 ± 0.53, p = 0.17. For the left dentate nucleus, [GABA] in ET cases = 1.68 ± 0.49 and [GABA] controls = 1.80 ± 0.53, p = 0.33. The controls had similar dentate nucleus [GABA] in the right vs. left dentate nucleus (p = 0.52); however, in ET cases, the value on the right was considerably higher than that on the left (p = 0.001). We did not detect a reduction in dentate nucleus GABA concentration in ET cases vs. CONTROLS One interpretation of the finding is that it does not support the existence of PC loss in ET; however, an alternative interpretation is the observed pattern could be due to the effects of terminal sprouting in ET (i.e., collateral sprouting from surviving PCs making up for the loss of GABA-ergic terminals from PC degeneration). Further research is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elan D Louis
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, LCI 710, 15 York Street, PO Box 208018, New Haven, CT, 06520-8018, USA. .,Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Nora Hernandez
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, LCI 710, 15 York Street, PO Box 208018, New Haven, CT, 06520-8018, USA
| | - Jonathan P Dyke
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ruoyun E Ma
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Ulrike Dydak
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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29
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Ajram LA, Pereira AC, Durieux AMS, Velthius HE, Petrinovic MM, McAlonan GM. The contribution of [1H] magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the study of excitation-inhibition in autism. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 89:236-244. [PMID: 30248378 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects over 1:100 of the population and costs the UK more than £32bn and the USA more than $175bn (£104bn) annually. Its core symptoms are social and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviours and sensory hyper- or hypo-sensitivities. A highly diverse phenotypic presentation likely reflects its etiological heterogeneity and makes finding treatment targets for ASD challenging. In addition, there are no means to identify biologically responsive individuals who may benefit from specific interventions. There is hope however, and in this review we consolidate how findings from magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) add to the evidence that differences in the brain's excitatory glutamate and inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) balance may be both a key biomarker and a tractable treatment target in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Ajram
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Andreia C Pereira
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Faculty of Medicine, ICNAS - Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, Polo 3, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Alice M S Durieux
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Hester E Velthius
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Marija M Petrinovic
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Grainne M McAlonan
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
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30
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Mikkelsen M, Rimbault DL, Barker PB, Bhattacharyya PK, Brix MK, Buur PF, Cecil KM, Chan KL, Chen DYT, Craven AR, Cuypers K, Dacko M, Duncan NW, Dydak U, Edmondson DA, Ende G, Ersland L, Forbes MA, Gao F, Greenhouse I, Harris AD, He N, Heba S, Hoggard N, Hsu TW, Jansen JFA, Kangarlu A, Lange T, Lebel RM, Li Y, Lin CYE, Liou JK, Lirng JF, Liu F, Long JR, Ma R, Maes C, Moreno-Ortega M, Murray SO, Noah S, Noeske R, Noseworthy MD, Oeltzschner G, Porges EC, Prisciandaro JJ, Puts NAJ, Roberts TPL, Sack M, Sailasuta N, Saleh MG, Schallmo MP, Simard N, Stoffers D, Swinnen SP, Tegenthoff M, Truong P, Wang G, Wilkinson ID, Wittsack HJ, Woods AJ, Xu H, Yan F, Zhang C, Zipunnikov V, Zöllner HJ, Edden RAE. Big GABA II: Water-referenced edited MR spectroscopy at 25 research sites. Neuroimage 2019; 191:537-548. [PMID: 30840905 PMCID: PMC6818968 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate and reliable quantification of brain metabolites measured in vivo using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a topic of continued interest. Aside from differences in the basic approach to quantification, the quantification of metabolite data acquired at different sites and on different platforms poses an additional methodological challenge. In this study, spectrally edited γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) MRS data were analyzed and GABA levels were quantified relative to an internal tissue water reference. Data from 284 volunteers scanned across 25 research sites were collected using GABA+ (GABA + co-edited macromolecules (MM)) and MM-suppressed GABA editing. The unsuppressed water signal from the volume of interest was acquired for concentration referencing. Whole-brain T1-weighted structural images were acquired and segmented to determine gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid voxel tissue fractions. Water-referenced GABA measurements were fully corrected for tissue-dependent signal relaxation and water visibility effects. The cohort-wide coefficient of variation was 17% for the GABA + data and 29% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. The mean within-site coefficient of variation was 10% for the GABA + data and 19% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. Vendor differences contributed 53% to the total variance in the GABA + data, while the remaining variance was attributed to site- (11%) and participant-level (36%) effects. For the MM-suppressed data, 54% of the variance was attributed to site differences, while the remaining 46% was attributed to participant differences. Results from an exploratory analysis suggested that the vendor differences were related to the unsuppressed water signal acquisition. Discounting the observed vendor-specific effects, water-referenced GABA measurements exhibit similar levels of variance to creatine-referenced GABA measurements. It is concluded that quantification using internal tissue water referencing is a viable and reliable method for the quantification of in vivo GABA levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Daniel L Rimbault
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Peter B Barker
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pallab K Bhattacharyya
- Imaging Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA; Radiology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Maiken K Brix
- Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Pieter F Buur
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Kim M Cecil
- Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Kimberly L Chan
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David Y-T Chen
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Alexander R Craven
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Koen Cuypers
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group of Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; REVAL Rehabilitation Research Center, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Michael Dacko
- Department of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Niall W Duncan
- Brain and Consciousness Research Centre, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ulrike Dydak
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - David A Edmondson
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Gabriele Ende
- Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lars Ersland
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Engineering, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Megan A Forbes
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Fei Gao
- Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Ian Greenhouse
- Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Ashley D Harris
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Naying He
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Stefanie Heba
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Nigel Hoggard
- Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Tun-Wei Hsu
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jacobus F A Jansen
- Department of Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Alayar Kangarlu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thomas Lange
- Department of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Yan Li
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Jy-Kang Liou
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jiing-Feng Lirng
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Feng Liu
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joanna R Long
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Ruoyun Ma
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Celine Maes
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group of Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Scott O Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sean Noah
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Michael D Noseworthy
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eric C Porges
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - James J Prisciandaro
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Timothy P L Roberts
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Markus Sack
- Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Napapon Sailasuta
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Muhammad G Saleh
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael-Paul Schallmo
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Nicholas Simard
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group of Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Peter Truong
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Guangbin Wang
- Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Iain D Wilkinson
- Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hans-Jörg Wittsack
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Adam J Woods
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Hongmin Xu
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Fuhua Yan
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Chencheng Zhang
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Vadim Zipunnikov
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Helge J Zöllner
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany; Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
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31
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Dhamala E, Abdelkefi I, Nguyen M, Hennessy TJ, Nadeau H, Near J. Validation of in vivo MRS measures of metabolite concentrations in the human brain. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2019; 32:e4058. [PMID: 30663818 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the only technique capable of non-invasively assessing metabolite concentrations in the brain. The lack of alternative methods makes validation of MRS measures challenging. The aim of this study is to assess the validity of MRS measures of human brain metabolite concentrations by comparing multiple MRS measures acquired using different MRS acquisition sequences. METHODS Single-voxel SPECIAL and MEGA-PRESS MR spectra were acquired from both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and primary motor cortices in 15 healthy subjects. The SPECIAL spectrum, as well as both the edit-off and difference spectra of MEGA-PRESS were each analyzed in LCModel to obtain estimates of the absolute concentrations of total choline (TCh; glycerophosphocholine + phosphocholine), total creatine (TCr; creatine + phosphocreatine), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), NAA + NAAG, glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), Glu + Gln, scyllo-inositol (Scyllo), myo-inositol (Ins), glutathione (GSH), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), lactate (Lac) and aspartate (Asp). Then, having obtained up to three independent measures of each metabolite per brain region per subject, correlations between the different measures were assessed. RESULTS The degree of correlation between measures varied greatly across both the metabolites and sequences tested. As expected, metabolites with the most prominent spectral peaks (TCh, TCr, NAA + NAAG, Ins and Glu) had the most well-correlated measures between methods, while metabolites with less prominent spectral peaks (Lac, Gln, GABA, Asp, and NAAG) tended to have poorly-correlated measures between methods. Some metabolites with relatively less prominent spectral peaks (GSH, Scyllo) had fairly well-correlated measures between some methods. Combining metabolites improved the agreement between methods for measures of NAA + NAAG, but not for Glu + Gln. CONCLUSIONS Given that the ground truth for in vivo MRS measures is never known, the method proposed here provides a promising means to assess the validity of in vivo MRS measures, which has not yet been explored widely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisha Dhamala
- Centre d'Imagerie Cérébrale, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Mavesa Nguyen
- Department of Physics, Dawson College, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - T Jay Hennessy
- Centre d'Imagerie Cérébrale, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Hélène Nadeau
- Department of Physics, Dawson College, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jamie Near
- Centre d'Imagerie Cérébrale, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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32
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Chan KL, Oeltzschner G, Saleh MG, Edden RAE, Barker PB. Simultaneous editing of GABA and GSH with Hadamard-encoded MR spectroscopic imaging. Magn Reson Med 2019; 82:21-32. [PMID: 30793803 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2018] [Revised: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutathione (GSH) in the human brain using Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction of MEGA-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES). METHODS Point RESolved Spectroscopy (PRESS)-localized MRSI was performed in GABA and GSH phantoms and in the human brain (n = 3) using HERMES editing and compared to conventional MEGA editing of each metabolite. Multiplet patterns, signal intensities, and metabolite crosstalk were compared between methods. GABA+ and GSH levels were compared between methods for bias and variability. Linear regression of HERMES-MRSI GABA+/H2 O and GSH/H2 O versus gray matter (GM) fraction were performed to assess differences between GM and white matter (WM). RESULTS Phantom HERMES-MRSI scans gave comparable GABA+ and GSH signals to MEGA-MRSI across the PRESS-localized volume. In vivo, HERMES-reconstructed GABA+ and GSH values had minimal measurement bias and variability relative to MEGA-MRSI. Intersubject coefficients of variation (CV) from two regions within the PRESS-localized volume for HERMES and MEGA were 6-12% for GABA+ and 6-19% for GSH. Interregion CVs were 5-15% for GABA+ and 3-17% for GSH. The GABA+/H2 O and GSH/H2 O ratios were ~1.8 times higher and ~1.9 times higher, respectively, in GM than in WM. CONCLUSION HERMES-MRSI of GABA+ and GSH was found to be practical in the human brain with minimal measurement bias and comparable variability to separate MEGA-edited acquisitions of each metabolite performed in double the scan time. The HERMES-MRSI is a promising method for simultaneously mapping the distribution of multiple low-concentration metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly L Chan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Muhammad G Saleh
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Peter B Barker
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
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33
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Saleh MG, Rimbault D, Mikkelsen M, Oeltzschner G, Wang AM, Jiang D, Alhamud A, Near J, Schär M, Noeske R, Murdoch JB, Ersland L, Craven AR, Dwyer GE, Grüner ER, Pan L, Ahn S, Edden RAE. Multi-vendor standardized sequence for edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Neuroimage 2019; 189:425-431. [PMID: 30682536 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Spectral editing allows direct measurement of low-concentration metabolites, such as GABA, glutathione (GSH) and lactate (Lac), relevant for understanding brain (patho)physiology. The most widely used spectral editing technique is MEGA-PRESS, which has been diversely implemented across research sites and vendors, resulting in variations in the final resolved edited signal. In this paper, we describe an effort to develop a new universal MEGA-PRESS sequence with HERMES functionality for the major MR vendor platforms with standardized RF pulse shapes, durations, amplitudes and timings. New RF pulses were generated for the universal sequence. Phantom experiments were conducted on Philips, Siemens, GE and Canon 3 T MRI scanners using 32-channel head coils. In vivo experiments were performed on the same six subjects on Philips and Siemens scanners, and on two additional subjects, one on GE and one on Canon scanners. On each platform, edited MRS experiments were conducted with the vendor-native and universal MEGA-PRESS sequences for GABA (TE = 68 ms) and Lac editing (TE = 140 ms). Additionally, HERMES for GABA and GSH was performed using the universal sequence at TE = 80 ms. The universal sequence improves inter-vendor similarity of GABA-edited and Lac-edited MEGA-PRESS spectra. The universal HERMES sequence yields both GABA- and GSH-edited spectra with negligible levels of crosstalk on all four platforms, and with strong agreement among vendors for both edited spectra. In vivo GABA+/Cr, Lac/Cr and GSH/Cr ratios showed relatively low variation between scanners using the universal sequence. In conclusion, phantom and in vivo experiments demonstrate successful implementation of the universal sequence across all four major vendors, allowing editing of several metabolites across a range of TEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad G Saleh
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Daniel Rimbault
- Medical Imaging Research Unit, Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Anna M Wang
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Dengrong Jiang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ali Alhamud
- Medical Imaging Research Unit, Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya
| | - Jamie Near
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute and Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Michael Schär
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Lars Ersland
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Engineering, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Alexander R Craven
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Gerard Eric Dwyer
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Eli Renate Grüner
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Norway
| | - Li Pan
- Siemens Healthineers, USA
| | | | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Oeltzschner G, Saleh MG, Rimbault D, Mikkelsen M, Chan KL, Puts NAJ, Edden RAE. Advanced Hadamard-encoded editing of seven low-concentration brain metabolites: Principles of HERCULES. Neuroimage 2019; 185:181-190. [PMID: 30296560 PMCID: PMC6289748 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To demonstrate the framework of a novel Hadamard-encoded spectral editing approach for simultaneously detecting multiple low-concentration brain metabolites in vivo at 3T. METHODS HERCULES (Hadamard Editing Resolves Chemicals Using Linear-combination Estimation of Spectra) is a four-step Hadamard-encoded editing scheme. 20-ms editing pulses are applied at: (A) 4.58 and 1.9 ppm; (B) 4.18 and 1.9 ppm; (C) 4.58 ppm; and (D) 4.18 ppm. Edited signals from γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutathione (GSH), ascorbate (Asc), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), aspartate (Asp), lactate (Lac), and likely 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) are separated with reduced signal overlap into distinct Hadamard combinations: (A+B+C+D); (A+B-C-D); and (A-B+C-D). HERCULES uses a novel multiplexed linear-combination modeling approach, fitting all three Hadamard combinations at the same time, maximizing the amount of information used for model parameter estimation, in order to quantify the levels of these compounds. Fitting also allows estimation of the levels of total choline (tCho), myo-inositol (Ins), glutamate (Glu), and glutamine (Gln). Quantitative HERCULES results were compared between two grey- and white-matter-rich brain regions (11 min acquisition time each) in 10 healthy volunteers. Coefficients of variation (CV) of quantified measurements from the HERCULES fitting approach were compared against those from a single-spectrum fitting approach, and against estimates from short-TE PRESS data. RESULTS HERCULES successfully segregates overlapping resonances into separate Hadamard combinations, allowing for the estimation of levels of seven coupled metabolites that would usually require a single 11-min editing experiment each. Metabolite levels and CVs agree well with published values. CVs of quantified measurements from the multiplexed HERCULES fitting approach outperform single-spectrum fitting and short-TE PRESS for most of the edited metabolites, performing only slightly to moderately worse than the fitting method that gives the lowest CVs for tCho, NAA, NAAG, and Asp. CONCLUSION HERCULES is a new experimental approach with the potential for simultaneous editing and multiplexed fitting of up to seven coupled low-concentration and six high-concentration metabolites within a single 11-min acquisition at 3T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States.
| | - Muhammad G Saleh
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Daniel Rimbault
- Medical Imaging Research Unit, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Kimberly L Chan
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Bioengineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Tapper S, Tisell A, Helms G, Lundberg P. Retrospective artifact elimination in MEGA-PRESS using a correlation approach. Magn Reson Med 2018; 81:2223-2237. [PMID: 30417930 PMCID: PMC6587795 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Purpose To develop a method for retrospective artifact elimination of MRS data. This retrospective method was based on an approach that combines jackknife analyses with the correlation of spectral windows, and therefore termed “JKC.” Methods Twelve healthy volunteers performed 3 separate measurement protocols using a 3T MR system. One protocol consisted of 2 cerebellar MEGA‐PRESS measurements: 1 reference and 1 measurement including head movements. One‐third of the artifact‐influenced datasets were treated as training data for the implementation the JKC method, and the rest were used for validation. Results The implemented JKC method correctly characterized most of the validation data. Additionally, after elimination of the detected artifacts, the resulting concentrations were much closer to those computed for the reference datasets. Moreover, when the JKC method was applied to the reference data, the estimated concentrations were not affected, compared with standard averaging. Conclusion The implemented JKC method can be applied without any extra cost to MRS data, regardless of whether the dataset has been contaminated by artifacts. Furthermore, the results indicate that the JKC method could be used as a quality control of a dataset, or as an indication of whether a shift in voxel placement has occurred during the measurement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Tapper
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Departments of Radiation Physics and Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Anders Tisell
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Departments of Radiation Physics and Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Gunther Helms
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Peter Lundberg
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Departments of Radiation Physics and Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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Frangou P, Correia M, Kourtzi Z. GABA, not BOLD, reveals dissociable learning-dependent plasticity mechanisms in the human brain. eLife 2018; 7:35854. [PMID: 30355444 PMCID: PMC6202049 DOI: 10.7554/elife.35854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Experience and training have been shown to facilitate our ability to extract and discriminate meaningful patterns from cluttered environments. Yet, the human brain mechanisms that mediate our ability to learn by suppressing noisy and irrelevant signals remain largely unknown. To test the role of suppression in perceptual learning, we combine fMRI with MR Spectroscopy measurements of GABA, as fMRI alone does not allow us to discern inhibitory vs. excitatory mechanisms. Our results demonstrate that task-dependent GABAergic inhibition relates to functional brain plasticity and behavioral improvement. Specifically, GABAergic inhibition in the occipito-temporal cortex relates to dissociable learning mechanisms: decreased GABA for noise filtering, while increased GABA for feature template retuning. Perturbing cortical excitability during training with tDCs alters performance in a task-specific manner, providing evidence for a direct link between suppression and behavioral improvement. Our findings propose dissociable GABAergic mechanisms that optimize our ability to make perceptual decisions through training. When searching for a friend in the crowd or telling identical twins apart, your visual system must solve a complex puzzle. It must ignore all irrelevant information (e.g., unfamiliar faces in the crowd) and focus on key features (e.g., your friend’s familiar face) that will allow you to make a decision. We become better at solving complex visual discriminations with practice. But exactly how the brain achieves this improved performance is unclear. To answer this question, Frangou et al. trained healthy volunteers on two such visual tasks. The first (target detection task) involved locating a target (e.g. circular shape made of dots among randomly distributed dots in the background), a task similar to identifying a friend in the crowd. The second (feature discrimination task) involved assigning highly alike shapes in two different categories, similar to telling apart identical twins. To solve this problem, volunteers had to identify distinct features that allowed them to distinguishthese shapes. During training on this task, they updated and refined the representation of these distinct features in their brain. This enabled them to make finer discriminations and assign each image correctly to one of the two categories. While the volunteers trained on the tasks, Frangou et al. measured levels of a chemical called GABA in brain areas that process visual information. GABA is the brain's main inhibitory molecule and controls the activity of neurons. As the volunteers learned the two tasks, their brains showed opposite changes in GABA levels. In the first, target detection task, individuals did better if their GABA decreased during training. In the second, feature discrimination task, they achieved more if their GABA increased during training. To confirm these findings, Frangou et al. used a second technique to activate or suppress processing in visual areas of the brain. Activating visual areas enhanced performance on the target detection task. Suppressing them enhanced performance on the fine discrimination task. These changes are thus consistent with those seen in GABA levels. As well as revealing how we learn to make decisions based on the information from our eyes, these findings suggest that adjusting brain activity could help patients regain skills lost as a result of eye-related or neurological conditions. Understanding the role of GABA in brain plasticity is also relevant to conditions like autism and psychosis, which have been shown to relate to changes in brain inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polytimi Frangou
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Marta Correia
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Zoe Kourtzi
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Talsma LJ, Broekhuizen JA, Huisman J, Slagter HA. No Evidence That Baseline Prefrontal Cortical Excitability (3T-MRS) Predicts the Effects of Prefrontal tDCS on WM Performance. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:481. [PMID: 30065625 PMCID: PMC6057111 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) is a promising tool to enhance working memory (WM) in clinical as well as healthy populations. Yet, tDCS does not affect everyone similarly: whereas tDCS improves WM in most individuals, some individuals do not, or actually show detriments in WM performance after stimulation. One hypothesis that has been put forward to account for individual differences in tDCS response is that baseline cortical excitability levels in the stimulated cortex may determine the strength and the direction of the effects of tDCS. Specifically, by locally affecting neuronal excitability, tDCS may interact with baseline cortical excitability levels, thereby pushing or pulling individuals toward or away from an optimal level of cortical functioning. In the current study, we put this hypothesis to the test with regard to prefrontal cortex stimulation and WM. In 20 healthy male participants, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 3T, we measured concentrations of Glutamate and GABA in the lDLPFC and calculated individual Glutamate/GABA ratios as a measure for cortical excitability. Subsequently, in two stimulation sessions, we once applied anodal and once cathodal tDCS over the lDLPFC (20 min, 1 mA). Stimulation was always applied in the second block of three blocks of a WM updating task. Surprisingly, at the group-level, we found no effects of anodal or cathodal stimulation on WM performance. Yet, in line with previous studies, large individual variability was observed in the strength and direction of tDCS effects; whereas about half of the participants improved, the other half showed lower accuracy after stimulation. This was true for both anodal and cathodal tDCS. Nevertheless, contrary to our expectations, individual baseline prefrontal cortical excitability did not predict these individual differences in the effect of anodal or cathodal stimulation on WM accuracy. Future studies with larger sample sizes, which use higher magnetic field strengths (e.g., 7T) to measure cortical excitability and/or apply individualized stimulation protocols, are necessary to shed more light on the influence of baseline cortical excitability on effects of anodal and cathodal tDCS over lDLPFC on WM performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotte J Talsma
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Julia A Broekhuizen
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Job Huisman
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Heleen A Slagter
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Oeltzschner G, Zöllner HJ, Jonuscheit M, Lanzman RS, Schnitzler A, Wittsack HJ. J-difference-edited MRS measures of γ-aminobutyric acid before and after acute caffeine administration. Magn Reson Med 2018; 80:2356-2365. [PMID: 29752742 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate potential effects of acute caffeine intake on J-difference-edited MRS measures of the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). METHODS J-difference-edited Mescher-Garwood PRESS (MEGA-PRESS) and conventional PRESS data were acquired at 3T from voxels in the anterior cingulate and occipital area of the brain in 15 healthy subjects, before and after oral intake of a 200-mg caffeine dose. MEGA-PRESS data were analyzed with the MATLAB-based Gannet tool to estimate GABA+ macromolecule (GABA+) levels, while PRESS data were analyzed with LCModel to estimate levels of glutamate, glutamate+glutamine, N-acetylaspartate, and myo-inositol. All metabolites were quantified with respect to the internal reference compounds creatine and tissue water, and compared between the pre- and post-caffeine intake condition. RESULTS For both MRS voxels, mean GABA+ estimates did not differ before and after caffeine intake. Slightly lower estimates of myo-inositol were observed after caffeine intake in both voxels. N-acetylaspartate, glutamate, and glutamate+glutamine did not show significant differences between conditions. CONCLUSION Mean GABA+ estimates from J-difference-edited MRS in two different brain regions are not altered by acute oral administration of caffeine. These findings may increase subject recruitment efficiency for MRS studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Helge J Zöllner
- Institute for Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.,Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Marc Jonuscheit
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Rotem S Lanzman
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute for Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hans-Jörg Wittsack
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Hendriks AD, Fracasso A, Arteaga de Castro CS, Gosselink MW, Luijten PR, Petridou N, Klomp DW. Maximizing sensitivity for fast GABA edited spectroscopy in the visual cortex at 7 T. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2018; 31:e3890. [PMID: 29442388 PMCID: PMC5887933 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.3890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/03/2017] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The combination of functional MRI (fMRI) and MRS is a promising approach to relate BOLD imaging to neuronal metabolism, especially at high field strength. However, typical scan times for GABA edited spectroscopy are of the order of 6-30 min, which is long compared with functional changes observed with fMRI. The aim of this study is to reduce scan time and increase GABA sensitivity for edited spectroscopy in the human visual cortex, by enlarging the volume of activated tissue in the primary visual cortex. A dedicated setup at 7 T for combined fMRI and GABA MRS is developed. This setup consists of a half volume multi-transmit coil with a large screen for visual cortex activation, two high density receive arrays and an optimized single-voxel MEGA-sLASER sequence with macromolecular suppression for signal acquisition. The coil setup performance as well as the GABA measurement speed, SNR, and stability were evaluated. A 2.2-fold gain of the average SNR for GABA detection was obtained, as compared with a conventional 7 T setup. This was achieved by increasing the viewing angle of the participant with respect to the visual stimulus, thereby activating almost the entire primary visual cortex, allowing larger spectroscopy measurement volumes and resulting in an improved GABA SNR. Fewer than 16 signal averages, lasting 1 min 23 s in total, were needed for the GABA fit method to become stable, as demonstrated in three participants. The stability of the measurement setup was sufficient to detect GABA with an accuracy of 5%, as determined with a GABA phantom. In vivo, larger variations in GABA concentration are found: 14-25%. Overall, the results bring functional GABA detections at a temporal resolution closer to the physiological time scale of BOLD cortex activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjan D. Hendriks
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Alessio Fracasso
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz InstituteUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | | | - Mark W.J.M. Gosselink
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Peter R. Luijten
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Natalia Petridou
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Dennis W.J. Klomp
- Department of Radiology, Imaging DivisionUniversity Medical Center UtrechtUtrechtThe Netherlands
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Ristow I, Li M, Colic L, Marr V, Födisch C, von Düring F, Schiltz K, Drumkova K, Witzel J, Walter H, Beier K, Kruger THC, Ponseti J, Schiffer B, Walter M. Pedophilic sex offenders are characterised by reduced GABA concentration in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 18:335-341. [PMID: 29876253 PMCID: PMC5987735 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A pedophilic disorder is characterised by abnormal sexual urges towards prepubescent children. Child abusive behavior is frequently a result of lack of behavioral inhibition and current treatment options entail, next to suppressing unchangeable sexual orientation, measures to increase cognitive and attentional control. We tested, if in brain regions subserving attentional control of behavior and perception of salient stimuli, such inhibition deficit can be observed also on the level of inhibitory neurotransmitters. We measured GABA concentration in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and in a control region, the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) in pedophilic sex offenders (N = 13) and matched controls (N = 13) using a 7 Tesla STEAM magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In dACC but not in the control region pedophilic sex offenders showed reduced GABA/Cr concentrations compared to healthy controls. The reduction was robust after controlling for potential influence of age and gray matter proportion within the MRS voxel (p < 0.04). Importantly, reduced GABA/Cr in patients was correlated with lower self-control measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (p = 0.028, r = -0.689). In a region related to cognitive control and salience mapping, pedophilic sex offenders showed reduction of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA which may be seen as a neuronal correlate of inhibition and behavioral control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inka Ristow
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Meng Li
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Lejla Colic
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Marr
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Carina Födisch
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Felicia von Düring
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Kolja Schiltz
- Section of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Krasimira Drumkova
- Forensic Psychiatric State Hospital of Saxony-Anhalt, Stendal-Uchtspringe, Germany
| | - Joachim Witzel
- Forensic Psychiatric State Hospital of Saxony-Anhalt, Stendal-Uchtspringe, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus Beier
- Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tillmann H C Kruger
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jorge Ponseti
- Institute of Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kiel University, Medical School, Kiel, Germany
| | - Boris Schiffer
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, Essen, Germany; LWL-University Hospital, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Insitute for Neurobiology, Department for Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany.
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Individual variability in verbal fluency correlates with γ-aminobutyric acid concentration in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Neuroreport 2017; 27:987-91. [PMID: 27454241 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000000645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A particular feature of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which is considered a central region for language processing, is leftward functional/anatomical asymmetry. However, previous studies have not clearly shown lateralization of neurotransmitters in the cortical regions. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we measured γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations in the bilateral IFG. To evaluate individual variability in linguistic performance, we further used a verbal fluency test. Although GABA+/creatine (Cr) values were not different between the left and the right IFG, we found a significant correlation between category fluency scores and GABA+/Cr values in the left IFG. No correlation was found between letter fluency scores and GABA+/Cr values. We also confirmed that the result was independent of the references used (Cr and H2O). Our results show a new physiological basis of linguistic performance as well as leftward asymmetry of the IFG.
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Pitchaimuthu K, Wu QZ, Carter O, Nguyen BN, Ahn S, Egan GF, McKendrick AM. Occipital GABA levels in older adults and their relationship to visual perceptual suppression. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14231. [PMID: 29079815 PMCID: PMC5660206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14577-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have attributed certain visual perceptual alterations in older adults to a likely decrease in GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid) concentration in visual cortex, an assumption based on findings in aged non-human primates. However, to our knowledge, there is no direct evidence for an age-related decrease in GABA concentration in human visual cortex. Here, we estimated visual cortical GABA levels and Glx (combined estimate of glutamate and glutamine) levels using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We also measured performance for two visual tasks that are hypothesised to be mediated, at least in part, by GABAergic inhibition: spatial suppression of motion and binocular rivalry. Our results show increased visual cortical GABA levels, and reduced Glx levels, in older adults. Perceptual performance differed between younger and older groups for both tasks. When subjects of all ages were combined, visual cortical GABA levels but not Glx levels correlated with perceptual performance. No relationship was found between perception and GABA levels in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Perceptual measures and GABA were not correlated when either age group was considered separately. Our results challenge current assumptions regarding neurobiological changes that occur within the aging human visual cortex and their association with certain age-related changes in visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kabilan Pitchaimuthu
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Qi-Zhu Wu
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Olivia Carter
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Bao N Nguyen
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Sinyeob Ahn
- Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc, San Francisco, CA, 94116, USA
| | - Gary F Egan
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Allison M McKendrick
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
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Mikkelsen M, Barker PB, Bhattacharyya PK, Brix MK, Buur PF, Cecil KM, Chan KL, Chen DYT, Craven AR, Cuypers K, Dacko M, Duncan NW, Dydak U, Edmondson DA, Ende G, Ersland L, Gao F, Greenhouse I, Harris AD, He N, Heba S, Hoggard N, Hsu TW, Jansen JFA, Kangarlu A, Lange T, Lebel RM, Li Y, Lin CYE, Liou JK, Lirng JF, Liu F, Ma R, Maes C, Moreno-Ortega M, Murray SO, Noah S, Noeske R, Noseworthy MD, Oeltzschner G, Prisciandaro JJ, Puts NAJ, Roberts TPL, Sack M, Sailasuta N, Saleh MG, Schallmo MP, Simard N, Swinnen SP, Tegenthoff M, Truong P, Wang G, Wilkinson ID, Wittsack HJ, Xu H, Yan F, Zhang C, Zipunnikov V, Zöllner HJ, Edden RAE. Big GABA: Edited MR spectroscopy at 24 research sites. Neuroimage 2017; 159:32-45. [PMID: 28716717 PMCID: PMC5700835 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the only biomedical imaging method that can noninvasively detect endogenous signals from the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the human brain. Its increasing popularity has been aided by improvements in scanner hardware and acquisition methodology, as well as by broader access to pulse sequences that can selectively detect GABA, in particular J-difference spectral editing sequences. Nevertheless, implementations of GABA-edited MRS remain diverse across research sites, making comparisons between studies challenging. This large-scale multi-vendor, multi-site study seeks to better understand the factors that impact measurement outcomes of GABA-edited MRS. An international consortium of 24 research sites was formed. Data from 272 healthy adults were acquired on scanners from the three major MRI vendors and analyzed using the Gannet processing pipeline. MRS data were acquired in the medial parietal lobe with standard GABA+ and macromolecule- (MM-) suppressed GABA editing. The coefficient of variation across the entire cohort was 12% for GABA+ measurements and 28% for MM-suppressed GABA measurements. A multilevel analysis revealed that most of the variance (72%) in the GABA+ data was accounted for by differences between participants within-site, while site-level differences accounted for comparatively more variance (20%) than vendor-level differences (8%). For MM-suppressed GABA data, the variance was distributed equally between site- (50%) and participant-level (50%) differences. The findings show that GABA+ measurements exhibit strong agreement when implemented with a standard protocol. There is, however, increased variability for MM-suppressed GABA measurements that is attributed in part to differences in site-to-site data acquisition. This study's protocol establishes a framework for future methodological standardization of GABA-edited MRS, while the results provide valuable benchmarks for the MRS community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter B Barker
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pallab K Bhattacharyya
- Imaging Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA; Radiology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Maiken K Brix
- Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Pieter F Buur
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kim M Cecil
- Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Kimberly L Chan
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David Y-T Chen
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Alexander R Craven
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Koen Cuypers
- Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; REVAL Rehabilitation Research Center, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Michael Dacko
- Department of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Niall W Duncan
- Brain and Consciousness Research Centre, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ulrike Dydak
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - David A Edmondson
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Gabriele Ende
- Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lars Ersland
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; NORMENT - Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Engineering, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Fei Gao
- Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Ian Greenhouse
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ashley D Harris
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Naying He
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Stefanie Heba
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Nigel Hoggard
- Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Tun-Wei Hsu
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jacobus F A Jansen
- Department of Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Alayar Kangarlu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thomas Lange
- Department of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Yan Li
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Jy-Kang Liou
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jiing-Feng Lirng
- Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Feng Liu
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ruoyun Ma
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Celine Maes
- Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Scott O Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sean Noah
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Michael D Noseworthy
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Oeltzschner
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - James J Prisciandaro
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Timothy P L Roberts
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Markus Sack
- Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Napapon Sailasuta
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Muhammad G Saleh
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Nicholas Simard
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Research Institute for Neuroscience & Disease (LIND), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Peter Truong
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Guangbin Wang
- Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Iain D Wilkinson
- Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hans-Jörg Wittsack
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Hongmin Xu
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Fuhua Yan
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Chencheng Zhang
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Vadim Zipunnikov
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Helge J Zöllner
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany; Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Delli Pizzi S, Chiacchiaretta P, Mantini D, Bubbico G, Edden RA, Onofrj M, Ferretti A, Bonanni L. GABA content within medial prefrontal cortex predicts the variability of fronto-limbic effective connectivity. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 222:3217-3229. [PMID: 28386778 PMCID: PMC5630505 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1399-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in social behavior. The amygdala and mPFC are bidirectionally connected, functionally and anatomically, via the uncinate fasciculus. Recent evidence suggests that GABA-ergic neurotransmission within the mPFC could be central to the regulation of amygdala activity related to emotions and anxiety processing. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within amygdala-mPFC circuits are unclear. In the current study, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging techniques were combined to investigate effective connectivity within the amygdala-mPFC network and its relationship with mPFC neurotransmission in 22 healthy subjects aged between 41 and 88 years. Effective connectivity in the amygdala-mPFC circuit was assessed on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data using spectral dynamic causal modelling. State and trait anxiety were also assessed. The mPFC was shown to be the target of incoming outputs from the amygdalae and the source of exciting inputs to the limbic system. The amygdalae were reciprocally connected by excitatory projections. About half of the variance relating to the strength of top-down endogenous connection between right amygdala and mPFC was explained by mPFC GABA levels. State anxiety was correlated with the strength of the endogenous connections between right amygdala and mPFC. We suggest that mPFC GABA content predicts variability in the effective connectivity within the mPFC-amygdala circuit, providing new insights on emotional physiology and the underlying functional and neurochemical interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Delli Pizzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Piero Chiacchiaretta
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Giovanna Bubbico
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Richard A Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy.
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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45
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Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex GABA Concentration in Humans Predicts Working Memory Load Processing Capacity. J Neurosci 2017; 36:11788-11794. [PMID: 27852785 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1970-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 08/24/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of neural mechanisms of working memory (WM) would significantly enhance our understanding of complex human behaviors and guide treatment development for WM-related impairments found in neuropsychiatric conditions and aging. Although the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has long been considered critical for WM, we still know little about the neural elements and pathways within the DLPFC that support WM in humans. In this study, we tested whether an individual's DLPFC gamma-aminobutryic acid (GABA) content predicts individual differences in WM task performance using a novel behavioral approach. Twenty-three healthy adults completed a task that measured the unique contribution of major WM components (memory load, maintenance, and distraction resistance) to performance. This was done to address the possibility that components have differing GABA dependencies and the failure to parse WM into components would lead to missing true associations with GABA. The subjects then had their DLPFC GABA content measured by single-voxel proton magnetic spectroscopy. We found that individuals with lower DLPFC GABA showed greater performance degradation with higher load, accounting for 31% of variance, p(corrected) = 0.015. This relationship was component, neurochemical, and brain region specific. DLPFC GABA content did not predict performance sensitivity to other components tested; DLPFC glutamate + glutamine and visual cortical GABA content did not predict load sensitivity. These results confirm the involvement of DLPFC GABA in WM load processing in humans and implicate factors controlling DLPFC GABA content in the neural mechanisms of WM and its impairments. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study demonstrated for the first time that the amount of gamma-aminobutryic acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain, in an individual's prefrontal cortex predicts working memory (WM) task performance. Given that WM is required for many of the most characteristic cognitive and behavioral capabilities in humans, this finding could have a significant impact on our understanding of the neural basis of complex human behavior. Furthermore, this finding suggests that efforts to preserve or increase brain GABA levels could be fruitful in remediating WM-related deficits associated with neuropsychiatric conditions.
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46
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Bogner W, Hangel G, Esmaeili M, Andronesi OC. 1D-spectral editing and 2D multispectral in vivo 1H-MRS and 1H-MRSI - Methods and applications. Anal Biochem 2017; 529:48-64. [PMID: 28034791 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2016.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews the methodological aspects of detecting low-abundant J-coupled metabolites via 1D spectral editing techniques and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods applied in vivo, in humans, with a focus on the brain. A brief explanation of the basics of J-evolution will be followed by an introduction to 1D spectral editing techniques (e.g., J-difference editing, multiple quantum coherence filtering) and 2D-NMR methods (e.g., correlation spectroscopy, J-resolved spectroscopy). Established and recently developed methods will be discussed and the most commonly edited J-coupled metabolites (e.g., neurotransmitters, antioxidants, onco-markers, and markers for metabolic processes) will be briefly summarized along with their most important applications in neuroscience and clinical diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Bogner
- High-Field MR Center, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Gilbert Hangel
- High-Field MR Center, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Morteza Esmaeili
- Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
| | - Ovidiu C Andronesi
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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47
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Sanches M, Abuhaiba SI, d'Almeida OC, Quendera B, Gomes L, Moreno C, Guelho D, Castelo-Branco M. Diabetic brain or retina? Visual psychophysical performance in diabetic patients in relation to GABA levels in occipital cortex. Metab Brain Dis 2017; 32:913-921. [PMID: 28361261 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-017-9986-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Visual impairment is one of the most feared complications of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of occipital cortex γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a predictor of visual performance in type 2 diabetes. 18 type 2 diabetes patients were included in a longitudinal prospective one-year study, as well as 22 healthy age-matched controls. We collected demographic data, HbA1C and used a novel set of visual psychophysical tests addressing color, achromatic luminance and speed discrimination in both groups. Psychophysical tests underwent dimension reduction with principle component analysis into three synthetic variables: speed, achromatic luminance and color discrimination. A MEGA-PRESS magnetic resonance brain spectroscopy sequence was used to measure occipital GABA levels in the type 2 diabetes group. Retinopathy grading and retinal microaneurysms counting were performed in the type 2 diabetes group for single-armed correlations. Speed discrimination thresholds were significantly higher in the type 2 diabetes group in both visits; mean difference (95% confidence interval), [0.86 (0.32-1.40) in the first visit, 0.74 (0.04-1.44) in the second visit]. GABA from the occipital cortex predicted speed and achromatic luminance discrimination thresholds within the same visit (r = 0.54 and 0.52; p = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively) in type 2 diabetes group. GABA from the occipital cortex also predicted speed discrimination thresholds one year later (r = 0.52; p = 0.03) in the type 2 diabetes group. Our results suggest that speed discrimination is impaired in type 2 diabetes and that occipital cortical GABA is a novel predictor of visual psychophysical performance independently from retinopathy grade, metabolic control or disease duration in the early stages of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mafalda Sanches
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Sulaiman I Abuhaiba
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- PhD Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB), CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (IIIUC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Otília C d'Almeida
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Celas, 3000-548, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Bruno Quendera
- CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Celas, 3000-548, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Leonor Gomes
- Department of Endocrinology, Coimbra University and Hospital Centre (CHUC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Carolina Moreno
- Department of Endocrinology, Coimbra University and Hospital Centre (CHUC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniela Guelho
- Department of Endocrinology, Coimbra University and Hospital Centre (CHUC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Celas, 3000-548, Coimbra, Portugal.
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48
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Wyss C, Tse DHY, Kometer M, Dammers J, Achermann R, Shah NJ, Kawohl W, Neuner I. GABA metabolism and its role in gamma-band oscillatory activity during auditory processing: An MRS and EEG study. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:3975-3987. [PMID: 28480987 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate are believed to have inhibitory and exhibitory neuromodulatory effects that regulate the brain's response to sensory perception. Furthermore, frequency-specific synchronization of neuronal excitability within the gamma band (30-80 Hz) is attributable to a homeostatic balance between excitation and inhibition. However, our understanding of the physiological mechanism underlying gamma rhythms is based on animal models. Investigations of the relationship between GABA concentrations, glutamate concentrations, and gamma band activity in humans were mostly restricted to the visual cortex and are conflicting. Here, we performed a multimodal imaging study combining magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) with electroencephalography (EEG) in the auditory cortex. In 14 healthy subjects, we investigated the impact of individual differences in GABA and glutamate concentration on gamma band response (GBR) following auditory stimulus presentation. We explored the effects of bulk GABA on the GBR across frequency (30-200 Hz) and time (-200 to 600 ms) and found no significant relationship. Furthermore, no correlations were found between gamma peak frequency or power measures and metabolite concentrations (GABA, glutamate, and GABA/glutamate ratio). These findings suggest that, according to MRS measurements, and given the auditory stimuli used in this study, GABA and glutamate concentrations are unlikely to play a significant role in the inhibitory and excitatory drive in the generation of gamma band activity in the auditory cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3975-3987, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Wyss
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapie and Psychosomatics, Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Desmond H Y Tse
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany
| | - Michael Kometer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapie and Psychosomatics, Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Dammers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany
| | - Rita Achermann
- Psychological Methods, Evaluation and Statistics, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - N Jon Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.,JARA-Brain, Translational Medicine, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
| | - Wolfram Kawohl
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapie and Psychosomatics, Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Irene Neuner
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.,JARA-Brain, Translational Medicine, Jülich, Germany
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49
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Harris AD, Puts NAJ, Wijtenburg SA, Rowland LM, Mikkelsen M, Barker PB, Evans CJ, Edden RAE. Normalizing data from GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS implementations at 3 Tesla. Magn Reson Imaging 2017; 42:8-15. [PMID: 28479342 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2017.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Standardization of results is an important milestone in the maturation of any truly quantitative methodology. For instance, a lack of measurement agreement across imaging platforms limits multisite studies, between-study comparisons based on the literature, and inferences based on and the generalizability of results. In GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS, two key sources of differences between implementations are: differences in editing efficiency of GABA and the degree of co-editing of macromolecules (MM). In this work, GABA editing efficiency κ and MM-co-editing μ constants are determined for three widely used MEGA-PRESS implementations (on the most common MRI platforms; GE, Philips, and Siemens) by phantom experiments. Implementation-specific κ,μ-corrections were then applied to two in vivo datasets, one consisted of 8 subject scanned on the three platforms and the other one subject scanned eight times on each platform. Manufacturer-specific κ and μ values were determined as: κGE=0.436, κSiemens=0.366 and κPhilips=0.394 and μGE=0.83, μSiemens=0.625 and μPhilips=0.75. Applying the κ,μ-correction on the Cr-referenced data decreased the coefficient of variation (CV) of the data for both in vivo data sets (multisubjects: uncorrected CV=13%, κ,μ-corrected CV=5%, single subject: uncorrected CV=23%, κ,μ-corrected CV=13%) but had no significant effect on mean GABA levels. For the water-referenced results, CV increased in the multisubject data (uncorrected CV=6.7%, κ,μ-corrected CV=14%) while it decreased in the single subject data (uncorrected CV=24%, κ,μ-corrected CV=21%) and manufacturer was a significant source of variance in the κ,μ-corrected data. Applying a correction for editing efficiency and macromolecule contamination decreases the variance between different manufacturers for creatine-referenced data, but other sources of variance remain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley D Harris
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Child and Adolescent Imaging Research (CAIR) Program, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - S Andrea Wijtenburg
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laura M Rowland
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA; CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Peter B Barker
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - C John Evans
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Delli Pizzi S, Chiacchiaretta P, Mantini D, Bubbico G, Ferretti A, Edden RA, Di Giulio C, Onofrj M, Bonanni L. Functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuit and their relevance to emotional processing. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 222:1267-1279. [PMID: 27566606 PMCID: PMC5549263 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-016-1276-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 07/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear. To investigate this circuit, we obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and proton MR spectroscopy in 21 healthy subjects to assess the potential relationship between GABA levels within mPFC and the amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). Partial correlations were used to measure the relationships among the functional connectivity outcomes, mPFC GABA levels and STAI-Y2 scores. Age, educational level and amount of the gray and white matters within 1H-MRS volume of interest were included as nuisance variables. The rs-fMRI signals of the amygdala and the vmPFC were significantly anti-correlated. This negative functional coupling between the two regions was inversely correlated with the GABA+/tCr level within the mPFC and the STAI-Y2 scores. We suggest a close relationship between mPFC GABA levels and functional interactions within the amygdala-vmPFC circuit, providing new insights in the physiology of emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Delli Pizzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Piero Chiacchiaretta
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Giovanna Bubbico
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Richard A Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Camillo Di Giulio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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