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Mendez Colmenares A, Thomas ML, Anderson C, Arciniegas DB, Calhoun V, Choi IY, Kramer AF, Li K, Lee J, Lee P, Burzynska AZ. Testing the structural disconnection hypothesis: Myelin content correlates with memory in healthy aging. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 141:21-33. [PMID: 38810596 PMCID: PMC11290458 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.05.013] [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: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The "structural disconnection" hypothesis of cognitive aging suggests that deterioration of white matter (WM), especially myelin, results in cognitive decline, yet in vivo evidence is inconclusive. METHODS We examined age differences in WM microstructure using Myelin Water Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging in 141 healthy participants (age 20-79). We used the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project and the NIH Toolbox® to generate composites for memory, processing speed, and executive function. RESULTS Voxel-wise analyses showed that lower myelin water fraction (MWF), predominantly in prefrontal WM, genu of the corpus callosum, and posterior limb of the internal capsule was associated with reduced memory performance after controlling for age, sex, and education. In structural equation modeling, MWF in the prefrontal white matter and genu of the corpus callosum significantly mediated the effect of age on memory, whereas fractional anisotropy (FA) did not. DISCUSSION Our findings support the disconnection hypothesis, showing that myelin decline contributes to age-related memory loss and opens avenues for interventions targeting myelin health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Mendez Colmenares
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Behavioral Sciences Building, 303, 410 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Behavioral Sciences Building, 303, 410 W Pitkin, St, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Charles Anderson
- Department of Computer Science, Colorado State University, 456 University Ave #444, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - David B Arciniegas
- Marcus Institute for Brain Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12348 E Montview Blvd, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Vince Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - In-Young Choi
- Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3805 Eaton St, Kansas City, KS 66103, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Address: 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kaigang Li
- Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, 951 W Plum St, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Jongho Lee
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, South Korea
| | - Phil Lee
- Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3805 Eaton St, Kansas City, KS 66103, USA
| | - Agnieszka Z Burzynska
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Behavioral Sciences Building, 303, 410 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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Shin YS, Christensen D, Wang J, Shirley DJ, Orlando AM, Romero RA, Wilkes BJ, Vaillancourt DE, Coombes S, Wang Z. Transcallosal white matter and cortical gray matter variations in autistic adults ages 30-73 years: A bi-tensor free water imaging approach. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4907999. [PMID: 39184088 PMCID: PMC11343291 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4907999/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has long been recognized as a lifelong condition, but brain aging studies in autistic adults aged >30 years are limited. Free water, a novel brain imaging marker derived from diffusion MRI (dMRI), has shown promise in differentiating typical and pathological aging and monitoring brain degeneration. We aimed to examine free water and free water corrected dMRI measures to assess white and gray matter microstructure and their associations with age in autistic adults. Methods: Forty-three autistic adults ages 30-73 years and 43 age, sex, and IQ matched neurotypical controls participated in this cross-sectional study. We quantified fractional anisotropy (FA), free water, and free water-corrected FA (fwcFA) across 32 transcallosal white matter tracts and 94 gray matter areas in autistic adults and neurotypical controls. Follow-up analyses assessed age effect on dMRI metrics of the whole brain for both groups and the relationship between dMRI metrics and clinical measures of ASD in regions that significantly differentiated autistic adults from controls. Results: We found globally elevated free water in 24 transcallosal tracts in autistic adults. We identified negligible differences in dMRI metrics in gray matter between the two groups. Age-associated FA reductions and free water increases were featured in neurotypical controls; however, this brain aging profile was largely absent in autistic adults. Additionally, greater autism quotient (AQ) total raw score was associated with increased free water in the inferior frontal gyrus pars orbitalis and lateral orbital gyrus in autistic adults. Limitations: All autistic adults were cognitively capable individuals, minimizing the generalizability of the research findings across the spectrum. This study also involved a cross-sectional design, which limited inferences about the longitudinal microstructural changes of white and gray matter in ASD. Conclusions: We identified differential microstructural configurations between white and gray matter in autistic adults and that autistic individuals present more heterogeneous brain aging profiles compared to controls. Our clinical correlation analysis offered new evidence that elevated free water in some localized white matter tracts may critically contribute to autistic traits in ASD. Our findings underscored the importance of quantifying free water in dMRI studies of ASD.
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Kohli JS, Linke AC, Martindale IA, Wilkinson M, Kinnear MK, Lincoln AJ, Hau J, Shryock I, Omaleki V, Alemu K, Pedrahita S, Fishman I, Müller R, Carper RA. Associations between atypical intracortical myelin content and neuropsychological functions in middle to older aged adults with ASD. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e3594. [PMID: 38849980 PMCID: PMC11161394 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In vivo myeloarchitectonic mapping based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides a unique view of gray matter myelin content and offers information complementary to other morphological indices commonly employed in studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study sought to determine if intracortical myelin content (MC) and its age-related trajectories differ between middle aged to older adults with ASD and age-matched typical comparison participants. METHODS Data from 30 individuals with ASD and 36 age-matched typical comparison participants aged 40-70 years were analyzed. Given substantial heterogeneity in both etiology and outcomes in ASD, we utilized both group-level and subject-level analysis approaches to test for signs of atypical intracortical MC as estimated by T1w/T2w ratio. RESULTS Group-level analyses showed no significant differences in average T1w/T2w ratio or its associations with age between groups, but revealed significant positive main effects of age bilaterally, with T1w/T2w ratio increasing with age across much of the cortex. In subject-level analyses, participants were classified into subgroups based on presence or absence of clusters of aberrant T1w/T2w ratio, and lower neuropsychological function was observed in the ASD subgroup with atypically high T1w/T2w ratio in spatially heterogeneous cortical regions. These differences were observed across several neuropsychological domains, including overall intellectual functioning, processing speed, and aspects of executive function. CONCLUSIONS The group-level and subject-level approaches employed here demonstrate the value of examining inter-individual variability and provide important preliminary insights into relationships between brain structure and cognition in the second half of the lifespan in ASD, suggesting shared factors contributing to atypical intracortical myelin content and poorer cognitive outcomes for a subset of middle aged to older autistic adults. These atypicalities likely reflect diverse histories of neurodevelopmental deficits, and possible compensatory changes, compounded by processes of aging, and may serve as useful markers of vulnerability to further cognitive decline in older adults with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiwandeep S. Kohli
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
- San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical PsychologySan Diego State University/University of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Annika C. Linke
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ian A. Martindale
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Molly Wilkinson
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
- San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical PsychologySan Diego State University/University of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Mikaela K. Kinnear
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Alan J. Lincoln
- California School of Professional PsychologyAlliant International UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Janice Hau
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ian Shryock
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Vinton Omaleki
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kalekirstos Alemu
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Stephanie Pedrahita
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Inna Fishman
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ralph‐Axel Müller
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ruth A. Carper
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
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Parker KJ, Kabir IE, Doyley MM, Faiyaz A, Uddin MN, Flores G, Schifitto G. Brain elastography in aging relates to fluid/solid trendlines. Phys Med Biol 2024; 69:115037. [PMID: 38670141 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad4446] [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: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The relatively new tools of brain elastography have established a general trendline for healthy, aging adult humans, whereby the brain's viscoelastic properties 'soften' over many decades. Earlier studies of the aging brain have demonstrated a wide spectrum of changes in morphology and composition towards the later decades of lifespan. This leads to a major question of causal mechanisms: of the many changes documented in structure and composition of the aging brain, which ones drive the long term trendline for viscoelastic properties of grey matter and white matter? The issue is important for illuminating which factors brain elastography is sensitive to, defining its unique role for study of the brain and clinical diagnoses of neurological disease and injury. We address these issues by examining trendlines in aging from our elastography data, also utilizing data from an earlier landmark study of brain composition, and from a biophysics model that captures the multiscale biphasic (fluid/solid) structure of the brain. Taken together, these imply that long term changes in extracellular water in the glymphatic system of the brain along with a decline in the extracellular matrix have a profound effect on the measured viscoelastic properties. Specifically, the trendlines indicate that water tends to replace solid fraction as a function of age, then grey matter stiffness decreases inversely as water fraction squared, whereas white matter stiffness declines inversely as water fraction to the 2/3 power, a behavior consistent with the cylindrical shape of the axons. These unique behaviors point to elastography of the brain as an important macroscopic measure of underlying microscopic structural change, with direct implications for clinical studies of aging, disease, and injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Parker
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 204 Goergen Hall, Box 270168, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 648, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - Irteza Enan Kabir
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Marvin M Doyley
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 204 Goergen Hall, Box 270168, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 648, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - Abrar Faiyaz
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Md Nasir Uddin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 204 Goergen Hall, Box 270168, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 673, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - Gilmer Flores
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 204 Goergen Hall, Box 270168, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Giovanni Schifitto
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 648, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 673, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
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Hosp JA, Reisert M, Dressing A, Götz V, Kellner E, Mast H, Arndt S, Waller CF, Wagner D, Rieg S, Urbach H, Weiller C, Schröter N, Rau A. Cerebral microstructural alterations in Post-COVID-condition are related to cognitive impairment, olfactory dysfunction and fatigue. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4256. [PMID: 38762609 PMCID: PMC11102465 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48651-0] [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: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
After contracting COVID-19, a substantial number of individuals develop a Post-COVID-Condition, marked by neurologic symptoms such as cognitive deficits, olfactory dysfunction, and fatigue. Despite this, biomarkers and pathophysiological understandings of this condition remain limited. Employing magnetic resonance imaging, we conduct a comparative analysis of cerebral microstructure among patients with Post-COVID-Condition, healthy controls, and individuals that contracted COVID-19 without long-term symptoms. We reveal widespread alterations in cerebral microstructure, attributed to a shift in volume from neuronal compartments to free fluid, associated with the severity of the initial infection. Correlating these alterations with cognition, olfaction, and fatigue unveils distinct affected networks, which are in close anatomical-functional relationship with the respective symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas A Hosp
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Marco Reisert
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Dressing
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Veronika Götz
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elias Kellner
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Hansjörg Mast
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Susan Arndt
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Cornelius F Waller
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Wagner
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Siegbert Rieg
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Horst Urbach
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Cornelius Weiller
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nils Schröter
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Rau
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Gao J, Pan P, Li J, Tang M, Yan X, Zhang X, Wang M, Ai K, Lei X, Zhang X, Zhang D. Analysis of white matter tract integrity using diffusion kurtosis imaging reveals the correlation of white matter microstructural abnormalities with cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 15:1327339. [PMID: 38487342 PMCID: PMC10937453 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1327339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Background This study aimed to identify disruptions in white matter integrity in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients by utilizing the white matter tract integrity (WMTI) model, which describes compartment-specific diffusivities in the intra- and extra-axonal spaces, and to investigate the relationship between WMTI metrics and clinical and cognitive measurements. Methods A total of 73 patients with T2DM and 57 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, sex, and education level were enrolled and underwent diffusional kurtosis imaging and cognitive assessments. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and atlas-based region of interest (ROI) analysis were performed to compare group differences in diffusional metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axonal water fraction (AWF), intra-axonal diffusivity (Daxon), axial extra-axonal space diffusivity (De,//), and radial extra-axonal space diffusivity (De,⊥) in multiple white matter (WM) regions. Relationships between diffusional metrics and clinical and cognitive functions were characterized. Results In the TBSS analysis, the T2DM group exhibited decreased FA and AWF and increased MD, De,∥, and De,⊥ in widespread WM regions in comparison with the HC group, which involved 56.28%, 32.07%, 73.77%, 50.47%, and 75.96% of the mean WM skeleton, respectively (P < 0.05, TFCE-corrected). De,⊥ detected most of the WM changes, which were mainly located in the corpus callosum, internal capsule, external capsule, corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiations, sagittal stratum, cingulum (cingulate gyrus), fornix (stria terminalis), superior longitudinal fasciculus, and uniform fasciculus. Additionally, De,⊥ in the genu of the corpus callosum was significantly correlated with worse performance in TMT-A (β = 0.433, P < 0.001) and a longer disease duration (β = 0.438, P < 0.001). Conclusions WMTI is more sensitive than diffusion tensor imaging in detecting T2DM-related WM microstructure abnormalities and can provide novel insights into the possible pathological changes underlying WM degeneration in T2DM. De,⊥ could be a potential imaging marker in monitoring disease progression in the brain and early intervention treatment for the cognitive impairment in T2DM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Gao
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Peichun Pan
- Department of Graduate, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Graduate, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Min Tang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Xuejiao Yan
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Man Wang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Kai Ai
- Department of Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Xi’an, China
| | - Xiaoyan Lei
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Xiaoling Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
| | - Dongsheng Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, China
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Burzynska AZ, Anderson C, Arciniegas DB, Calhoun V, Choi IY, Mendez Colmenares A, Kramer AF, Li K, Lee J, Lee P, Thomas ML. Correlates of axonal content in healthy adult span: Age, sex, myelin, and metabolic health. CEREBRAL CIRCULATION - COGNITION AND BEHAVIOR 2024; 6:100203. [PMID: 38292016 PMCID: PMC10827486 DOI: 10.1016/j.cccb.2024.100203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
As the emerging treatments that target grey matter pathology in Alzheimer's Disease have limited effectiveness, there is a critical need to identify new neural targets for treatments. White matter's (WM) metabolic vulnerability makes it a promising candidate for new interventions. This study examined the age and sex differences in estimates of axonal content, as well the associations of with highly prevalent modifiable health risk factors such as metabolic syndrome and adiposity. We estimated intra-axonal volume fraction (ICVF) using the Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) in a sample of 89 cognitively and neurologically healthy adults (20-79 years). We showed that ICVF correlated positively with age and estimates of myelin content. The ICVF was also lower in women than men, across all ages, which difference was accounted for by intracranial volume. Finally, we found no association of metabolic risk or adiposity scores with the current estimates of ICVF. In addition, the previously observed adiposity-myelin associations (Burzynska et al., 2023) were independent of ICVF. Although our findings confirm the vulnerability of axons to aging, they suggest that metabolic dysfunction may selectively affect myelin content, at least in cognitively and neurologically healthy adults with low metabolic risk, and when using the specific MRI techniques. Future studies need to revisit our findings using larger samples and different MRI approaches, and identify modifiable factors that accelerate axonal deterioration as well as mechanisms linking peripheral metabolism with the health of myelin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Z Burzynska
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Charles Anderson
- Department of Computer Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - David B. Arciniegas
- Marcus Institute for Brain Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Vince Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - In-Young Choi
- Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - Andrea Mendez Colmenares
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, IL, USA
- Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kaigang Li
- Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jongho Lee
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Phil Lee
- Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Bosticardo S, Schiavi S, Schaedelin S, Battocchio M, Barakovic M, Lu PJ, Weigel M, Melie-Garcia L, Granziera C, Daducci A. Evaluation of tractography-based myelin-weighted connectivity across the lifespan. Front Neurosci 2024; 17:1228952. [PMID: 38239829 PMCID: PMC10794573 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1228952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Recent studies showed that the myelin of the brain changes in the life span, and demyelination contributes to the loss of brain plasticity during normal aging. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) allows studying brain connectivity in vivo by mapping axons in white matter with tractography algorithms. However, dMRI does not provide insight into myelin; thus, combining tractography with myelin-sensitive maps is necessary to investigate myelin-weighted brain connectivity. Tractometry is designated for this purpose, but it suffers from some serious limitations. Our study assessed the effectiveness of the recently proposed Myelin Streamlines Decomposition (MySD) method in estimating myelin-weighted connectomes and its capacity to detect changes in myelin network architecture during the process of normal aging. This approach opens up new possibilities compared to traditional Tractometry. Methods In a group of 85 healthy controls aged between 18 and 68 years, we estimated myelin-weighted connectomes using Tractometry and MySD, and compared their modulation with age by means of three well-known global network metrics. Results Following the literature, our results show that myelin development continues until brain maturation (40 years old), after which degeneration begins. In particular, mean connectivity strength and efficiency show an increasing trend up to 40 years, after which the process reverses. Both Tractometry and MySD are sensitive to these changes, but MySD turned out to be more accurate. Conclusion After regressing the known predictors, MySD results in lower residual error, indicating that MySD provides more accurate estimates of myelin-weighted connectivity than Tractometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Bosticardo
- Diffusion Imaging and Connectivity Estimation (DICE) Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simona Schiavi
- Diffusion Imaging and Connectivity Estimation (DICE) Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- ASG Superconductors S.p.A., Genoa, Italy
| | - Sabine Schaedelin
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Matteo Battocchio
- Diffusion Imaging and Connectivity Estimation (DICE) Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Sherbrooke Connectivity Imaging Laboratory (SCIL), Département d’Informatique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Muhamed Barakovic
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Po-Jui Lu
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Weigel
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lester Melie-Garcia
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Cristina Granziera
- Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINK), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Daducci
- Diffusion Imaging and Connectivity Estimation (DICE) Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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9
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Khormi I, Al-Iedani O, Alshehri A, Ramadan S, Lechner-Scott J. MR myelin imaging in multiple sclerosis: A scoping review. J Neurol Sci 2023; 455:122807. [PMID: 38035651 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.122807] [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: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
The inability of disease-modifying therapies to stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), has led to the development of a new therapeutic strategy focussing on myelin repair. While conventional MRI lacks sensitivity for quantifying myelin damage, advanced MRI techniques are proving effective. The development of targeted therapeutics requires histological validation of myelin imaging results, alongside the crucial task of establishing correlations between myelin imaging results and clinical assessments, so that the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions can be evaluated. The aims of this scoping review were to identify myelin imaging methods - some of which have been histologically validated, and to determine how these approaches correlate with clinical assessments of people with MS (pwMS), thus allowing for effective therapeutic evaluation. A search of two databases was undertaken for publications relating to studies on adults MS using either MRI/MR-histology of the MS brain in the range 1990-to-2022. The myelin imaging methods specified were relaxometry, magnetization transfer, and quantitative susceptibility. Relaxometry was used most frequently, with myelin water fraction (MWF) being the primary metric. Studies conducted on tissue from various regions of the brain showed that MWF was significantly lower in pwMS than in healthy controls. Magnetization transfer ratio indicated that the macromolecular content of lesions was lower than that of normal-appearing tissue. Higher magnetic susceptibility of lesions were indicative of myelin breakdown and iron accumulation. Several myelin imaging metrics were correlated with disability, disease severity and duration. Many studies showed a good correlation between myelin measured histologically and by MR myelin imaging techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim Khormi
- School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, Australia; College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Oun Al-Iedani
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
| | - Abdulaziz Alshehri
- School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, Australia; Department of Radiology, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saadallah Ramadan
- School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, Australia.
| | - Jeannette Lechner-Scott
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, Australia; Department of Neurology, John Hunter Hospital, New Lambton Heights, Australia; School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
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10
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Dvorak AV, Kumar D, Zhang J, Gilbert G, Balaji S, Wiley N, Laule C, Moore GW, MacKay AL, Kolind SH. The CALIPR framework for highly accelerated myelin water imaging with improved precision and sensitivity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh9853. [PMID: 37910622 PMCID: PMC10619933 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh9853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are powerful tools for the study of human tissue, but, in practice, their utility has been limited by lengthy acquisition times. Here, we introduce the Constrained, Adaptive, Low-dimensional, Intrinsically Precise Reconstruction (CALIPR) framework in the context of myelin water imaging (MWI); a quantitative MRI technique generally regarded as the most rigorous approach for noninvasive, in vivo measurement of myelin content. The CALIPR framework exploits data redundancy to recover high-quality images from a small fraction of an imaging dataset, which allowed MWI to be acquired with a previously unattainable sequence (fully sampled acquisition 2 hours:57 min:20 s) in 7 min:26 s (4.2% of the dataset, acceleration factor 23.9). CALIPR quantitative metrics had excellent precision (myelin water fraction mean coefficient of variation 3.2% for the brain and 3.0% for the spinal cord) and markedly increased sensitivity to demyelinating disease pathology compared to a current, widely used technique. The CALIPR framework facilitates drastically improved MWI and could be similarly transformative for other quantitative MRI applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam V. Dvorak
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Dushyant Kumar
- Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- Global MR Applications & Workflow, GE HealthCare Canada, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | | | - Sharada Balaji
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Neale Wiley
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cornelia Laule
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - G.R. Wayne Moore
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alex L. MacKay
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Shannon H. Kolind
- Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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11
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Parker DM, Adams JN, Kim S, McMillan L, Yassa MA. NODDI-derived measures of microstructural integrity in medial temporal lobe white matter pathways are associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and cognitive outcomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.11.561946. [PMID: 37905117 PMCID: PMC10614746 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.11.561946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Diffusion tensor imaging has been used to assess white matter (WM) changes in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the tensor model is necessarily limited by its assumptions. Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) can offer insights into microstructural features of WM change. We assessed whether NODDI more sensitively detects AD-related changes in medial temporal lobe WM than traditional tensor metrics. METHODS Standard diffusion and NODDI metrics were calculated for medial temporal WM tracts from 199 older adults drawn from ADNI3 who also received PET to measure pathology and neuropsychological testing. RESULTS NODDI measures in medial temporal tracts were more strongly correlated to cognitive performance and pathology than standard measures. The combination of NODDI and standard metrics exhibited the strongest prediction of cognitive performance in random forest analyses. CONCLUSIONS NODDI metrics offer additional insights into contributions of WM degeneration to cognitive outcomes in the aging brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana M. Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
| | - Jenna N. Adams
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
| | - Soyun Kim
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
| | - Liv McMillan
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
| | - Michael A. Yassa
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
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12
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Economou M, Bempt FV, Van Herck S, Wouters J, Ghesquière P, Vanderauwera J, Vandermosten M. Myelin plasticity during early literacy training in at-risk pre-readers. Cortex 2023; 167:86-100. [PMID: 37542803 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.05.023] [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: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of neuroimaging evidence shows that white matter can change as a result of experience and structured learning. Although the majority of previous work has used diffusion MRI to characterize such changes in white matter, diffusion metrics offer limited biological specificity about which microstructural features may be driving white matter plasticity. Recent advances in myelin-specific MRI techniques offer a promising opportunity to assess the specific contribution of myelin in learning-related plasticity. Here we describe the application of such an approach to examine structural plasticity during an early intervention in preliterate children at risk for dyslexia. To this end, myelin water imaging data were collected before and after a 12-week period in (1) at-risk children following early literacy training (n = 13-24), (2) at-risk children engaging with other non-literacy games (n = 10-17) and (3) children without a risk receiving no training (n = 11-22). Before the training, regional risk-related differences were identified, showing higher myelin water fraction (MWF) in right dorsal white matter in at-risk children compared to the typical control group. Concerning intervention-specific effects, our results revealed an increase across left-hemispheric and right ventral MWF over the course of training in the at-risk children receiving early literacy training, but not in the at-risk active control group or the no-risk typical control group. Overall, our results provide support for the use of myelin water imaging as a sensitive tool to investigate white matter and offer a first indication of myelin plasticity in young children at the onset of literacy acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Economou
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Femke Vanden Bempt
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Shauni Van Herck
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Wouters
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pol Ghesquière
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolijn Vanderauwera
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Maaike Vandermosten
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven Child and Youth Institute, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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13
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Pieciak T, París G, Beck D, Maximov II, Tristán-Vega A, de Luis-García R, Westlye LT, Aja-Fernández S. Spherical means-based free-water volume fraction from diffusion MRI increases non-linearly with age in the white matter of the healthy human brain. Neuroimage 2023; 279:120324. [PMID: 37574122 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120324] [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: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The term free-water volume fraction (FWVF) refers to the signal fraction that could be found as the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain, which has been demonstrated as a sensitive measure that correlates with cognitive performance and various neuropathological processes. It can be quantified by properly fitting the isotropic component of the magnetic resonance (MR) signal in diffusion-sensitized sequences. Using N=287 healthy subjects (178F/109M) aged 25-94, this study examines in detail the evolution of the FWVF obtained with the spherical means technique from multi-shell acquisitions in the human brain white matter across the adult lifespan, which has been previously reported to exhibit a positive trend when estimated from single-shell data using the bi-tensor signal representation. We found evidence of a noticeably non-linear gain after the sixth decade of life, with a region-specific variate and varying change rate of the spherical means-based multi-shell FWVF parameter with age, at the same time, a heteroskedastic pattern across the adult lifespan is suggested. On the other hand, the FW corrected diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) leads to a region-dependent flattened age-related evolution of the mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA), along with a considerable reduction in their variability, as compared to the studies conducted over the standard (single-component) DTI. This way, our study provides a new perspective on the trajectory-based assessment of the brain and explains the conceivable reason for the variations observed in FA and MD parameters across the lifespan with previous studies under the standard diffusion tensor imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Pieciak
- Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.
| | - Guillem París
- Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Dani Beck
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway. https://twitter.com/_DaniBeck
| | - Ivan I Maximov
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Antonio Tristán-Vega
- Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Rodrigo de Luis-García
- Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. https://twitter.com/larswestlye
| | - Santiago Aja-Fernández
- Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. https://twitter.com/SantiagoAjaFer1
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14
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Schilling KG, Chad JA, Chamberland M, Nozais V, Rheault F, Archer D, Li M, Gao Y, Cai L, Del'Acqua F, Newton A, Moyer D, Gore JC, Lebel C, Landman BA. White matter tract microstructure, macrostructure, and associated cortical gray matter morphology across the lifespan. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.25.559330. [PMID: 37808645 PMCID: PMC10557619 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.25.559330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Characterizing how, when and where the human brain changes across the lifespan is fundamental to our understanding of developmental processes of childhood and adolescence, degenerative processes of aging, and divergence from normal patterns in disease and disorders. We aimed to provide detailed descriptions of white matter pathways across the lifespan by thoroughly characterizing white matter microstructure, white matter macrostructure, and morphology of the cortex associated with white matter pathways. We analyzed 4 large, high-quality, publicly-available datasets comprising 2789 total imaging sessions, and participants ranging from 0 to 100 years old, using advanced tractography and diffusion modeling. We first find that all microstructural, macrostructural, and cortical features of white matter bundles show unique lifespan trajectories, with rates and timing of development and degradation that vary across pathways - describing differences between types of pathways and locations in the brain, and developmental milestones of maturation of each feature. Second, we show cross-sectional relationships between different features that may help elucidate biological changes occurring during different stages of the lifespan. Third, we show unique trajectories of age-associations across features. Finally, we find that age associations during development are strongly related to those during aging. Overall, this study reports normative data for several features of white matter pathways of the human brain that will be useful for studying normal and abnormal white matter development and degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt G Schilling
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jordan A Chad
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Maxime Chamberland
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | | | - Francois Rheault
- Medical Imaging and Neuroinformatic (MINi) Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Derek Archer
- Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Muwei Li
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Yurui Gao
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Leon Cai
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Flavio Del'Acqua
- NatbrainLab, Department of Forensics and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, London UK
| | - Allen Newton
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Daniel Moyer
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - John C Gore
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Catherine Lebel
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Bennett A Landman
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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15
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Burzynska AZ, Anderson C, Arciniegas DB, Calhoun V, Choi IY, Colmenares AM, Hiner G, Kramer AF, Li K, Lee J, Lee P, Oh SH, Umland S, Thomas ML. Metabolic syndrome and adiposity: Risk factors for decreased myelin in cognitively healthy adults. CEREBRAL CIRCULATION - COGNITION AND BEHAVIOR 2023; 5:100180. [PMID: 38162292 PMCID: PMC10757180 DOI: 10.1016/j.cccb.2023.100180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions that affects ∼25% of the global population, including excess adiposity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and elevated blood pressure. MetS is one of major risk factors not only for chronic diseases, but also for dementia and cognitive dysfunction, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. White matter is of particular interest in the context of MetS due to the metabolic vulnerability of myelin maintenance, and the accumulating evidence for the importance of the white matter in the pathophysiology of dementia. Therefore, we investigated the associations of MetS risk score and adiposity (combined body mass index and waist circumference) with myelin water fraction measured with myelin water imaging. In 90 cognitively and neurologically healthy adults (20-79 years), we found that both high MetS risk score and adiposity were correlated with lower myelin water fraction in late-myelinating prefrontal and associative fibers, controlling for age, sex, race, ethnicity, education and income. Our findings call for randomized clinical trials to establish causality between MetS, adiposity, and myelin content, and to explore the potential of weight loss and visceral adiposity reduction as means to support maintenance of myelin integrity throughout adulthood, which could open new avenues for prevention or treatment of cognitive decline and dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Z Burzynska
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Charles Anderson
- Department of Computer Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - David B Arciniegas
- Marcus Institute for Brain Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Vince Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - In-Young Choi
- Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - Andrea Mendez Colmenares
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Grace Hiner
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, IL, USA
- Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kaigang Li
- Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jongho Lee
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Phil Lee
- Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - Se-Hong Oh
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Samantha Umland
- The BRAiN lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Michael Thomas, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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16
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Alsameen MH, Gong Z, Qian W, Kiely M, Triebswetter C, Bergeron CM, Cortina LE, Faulkner ME, Laporte JP, Bouhrara M. C-NODDI: a constrained NODDI model for axonal density and orientation determinations in cerebral white matter. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1205426. [PMID: 37602266 PMCID: PMC10435293 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1205426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) provides measures of neurite density and dispersion through computation of the neurite density index (NDI) and the orientation dispersion index (ODI). However, NODDI overestimates the cerebrospinal fluid water fraction in white matter (WM) and provides physiologically unrealistic high NDI values. Furthermore, derived NDI values are echo-time (TE)-dependent. In this work, we propose a modification of NODDI, named constrained NODDI (C-NODDI), for NDI and ODI mapping in WM. Methods Using NODDI and C-NODDI, we investigated age-related alterations in WM in a cohort of 58 cognitively unimpaired adults. Further, NDI values derived using NODDI or C-NODDI were correlated with the neurofilament light chain (NfL) concentration levels, a plasma biomarker of axonal degeneration. Finally, we investigated the TE dependence of NODDI or C-NODDI derived NDI and ODI. Results ODI derived values using both approaches were virtually identical, exhibiting constant trends with age. Further, our results indicated a quadratic relationship between NDI and age suggesting that axonal maturation continues until middle age followed by a decrease. This quadratic association was notably significant in several WM regions using C-NODDI, while limited to a few regions using NODDI. Further, C-NODDI-NDI values exhibited a stronger correlation with NfL concentration levels as compared to NODDI-NDI, with lower NDI values corresponding to higher levels of NfL. Finally, we confirmed the previous finding that NDI estimation using NODDI was dependent on TE, while NDI derived values using C-NODDI exhibited lower sensitivity to TE in WM. Conclusion C-NODDI provides a complementary method to NODDI for determination of NDI in white matter.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Mustapha Bouhrara
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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17
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Villalon-Reina JE, Nir TM, Nourollahimoghadam E, Dhinagar N, Jahanshad N, Thompson PM, Henriques RN. Evaluating Fiber Orientation Dispersion Measures Computed From Single-Shell Diffusion MRI. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023; 2023:1-6. [PMID: 38083769 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10340067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Fiber orientation dispersion is one of the fundamental features that can be estimated from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) of the brain. Several approaches have been proposed to estimate dispersion from single- and multi-shell dMRI acquisitions. Here, we derive solutions to bring these proposed methods to a standard orientation dispersion index (ODI) with the goal of making them comparable across different dMRI acquisitions. To illustrate the utility of the measures in studying brain aging, we further examined the age-dependent trajectory of the different single- and multi-shell ODI estimates in the white matter across the lifespan.Clinical Relevance- This work computes metrics of brain microstructure that can be adapted for large neuroimaging initiatives that aim to study the brain's development and aging, and to identify deviations that may serve as biomarkers of brain disease.
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18
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Zhou L, Li Y, Sweeney EM, Wang XH, Kuceyeski A, Chiang GC, Ivanidze J, Wang Y, Gauthier SA, de Leon MJ, Nguyen TD. Association of brain tissue cerebrospinal fluid fraction with age in healthy cognitively normal adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1162001. [PMID: 37396667 PMCID: PMC10312090 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1162001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and purpose Our objective was to apply multi-compartment T2 relaxometry in cognitively normal individuals aged 20-80 years to study the effect of aging on the parenchymal CSF fraction (CSFF), a potential measure of the subvoxel CSF space. Materials and methods A total of 60 volunteers (age range, 22-80 years) were enrolled. Voxel-wise maps of short-T2 myelin water fraction (MWF), intermediate-T2 intra/extra-cellular water fraction (IEWF), and long-T2 CSFF were obtained using fast acquisition with spiral trajectory and adiabatic T2prep (FAST-T2) sequence and three-pool non-linear least squares fitting. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to study the association between age and regional MWF, IEWF, and CSFF measurements, adjusting for sex and region of interest (ROI) volume. ROIs include the cerebral white matter (WM), cerebral cortex, and subcortical deep gray matter (GM). In each model, a quadratic term for age was tested using an ANOVA test. A Spearman's correlation between the normalized lateral ventricle volume, a measure of organ-level CSF space, and the regional CSFF, a measure of tissue-level CSF space, was computed. Results Regression analyses showed that there was a statistically significant quadratic relationship with age for CSFF in the cortex (p = 0.018), MWF in the cerebral WM (p = 0.033), deep GM (p = 0.017) and cortex (p = 0.029); and IEWF in the deep GM (p = 0.033). There was a statistically highly significant positive linear relationship between age and regional CSFF in the cerebral WM (p < 0.001) and deep GM (p < 0.001). In addition, there was a statistically significant negative linear association between IEWF and age in the cerebral WM (p = 0.017) and cortex (p < 0.001). In the univariate correlation analysis, the normalized lateral ventricle volume correlated with the regional CSFF measurement in the cerebral WM (ρ = 0.64, p < 0.001), cortex (ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001), and deep GM (ρ = 0.66, p < 0.001). Conclusion Our cross-sectional data demonstrate that brain tissue water in different compartments shows complex age-dependent patterns. Parenchymal CSFF, a measure of subvoxel CSF-like water in the brain tissue, is quadratically associated with age in the cerebral cortex and linearly associated with age in the cerebral deep GM and WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangdong Zhou
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Elizabeth M. Sweeney
- Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Endeavor (PennSIVE), Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Xiuyuan H. Wang
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Amy Kuceyeski
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Gloria C. Chiang
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jana Ivanidze
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Yi Wang
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Susan A. Gauthier
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Mony J. de Leon
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Thanh D. Nguyen
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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Nair AK, Van Hulle CA, Bendlin BB, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Wild N, Kollmorgen G, Suridjan I, Busse WW, Dean DC, Rosenkranz MA. Impact of asthma on the brain: evidence from diffusion MRI, CSF biomarkers and cognitive decline. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad180. [PMID: 37377978 PMCID: PMC10292933 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad180] [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: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic systemic inflammation increases the risk of neurodegeneration, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Part of the challenge in reaching a nuanced understanding is the presence of multiple risk factors that interact to potentiate adverse consequences. To address modifiable risk factors and mitigate downstream effects, it is necessary, although difficult, to tease apart the contribution of an individual risk factor by accounting for concurrent factors such as advanced age, cardiovascular risk, and genetic predisposition. Using a case-control design, we investigated the influence of asthma, a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, on brain health in participants recruited to the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (31 asthma patients, 186 non-asthma controls, aged 45-90 years, 62.2% female, 92.2% cognitively unimpaired), a sample enriched for parental history of Alzheimer's disease. Asthma status was determined using detailed prescription information. We employed multi-shell diffusion weighted imaging scans and the three-compartment neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging model to assess white and gray matter microstructure. We used cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to examine evidence of Alzheimer's disease pathology, glial activation, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. We evaluated cognitive changes over time using a preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite. Using permutation analysis of linear models, we examined the moderating influence of asthma on relationships between diffusion imaging metrics, CSF biomarkers, and cognitive decline, controlling for age, sex, and cognitive status. We ran additional models controlling for cardiovascular risk and genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease, defined as a carrier of at least one apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele. Relative to controls, greater Alzheimer's disease pathology (lower amyloid-β42/amyloid-β40, higher phosphorylated-tau-181) and synaptic degeneration (neurogranin) biomarker concentrations were associated with more adverse white matter metrics (e.g. lower neurite density, higher mean diffusivity) in patients with asthma. Higher concentrations of the pleiotropic cytokine IL-6 and the glial marker S100B were associated with more salubrious white matter metrics in asthma, but not in controls. The adverse effects of age on white matter integrity were accelerated in asthma. Finally, we found evidence that in asthma, relative to controls, deterioration in white and gray matter microstructure was associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Taken together, our findings suggest that asthma accelerates white and gray matter microstructural changes associated with aging and increasing neuropathology, that in turn, are associated with more rapid cognitive decline. Effective asthma control, on the other hand, may be protective and slow progression of cognitive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Kumar Nair
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53703, USA
| | - Carol A Van Hulle
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Barbara B Bendlin
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, WCIE 6BT, UK
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Norbert Wild
- Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Core Lab RED, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | | | - Ivonne Suridjan
- CDMA Clinical Development, Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, CH-6346, Rotkreuz, Switzerland
| | - William W Busse
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Douglas C Dean
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Melissa A Rosenkranz
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53703, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
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20
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Korbmacher M, Gurholt TP, de Lange AMG, van der Meer D, Beck D, Eikefjord E, Lundervold A, Andreassen OA, Westlye LT, Maximov II. Bio-psycho-social factors' associations with brain age: a large-scale UK Biobank diffusion study of 35,749 participants. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1117732. [PMID: 37359862 PMCID: PMC10288151 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1117732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain age refers to age predicted by brain features. Brain age has previously been associated with various health and disease outcomes and suggested as a potential biomarker of general health. Few previous studies have systematically assessed brain age variability derived from single and multi-shell diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Here, we present multivariate models of brain age derived from various diffusion approaches and how they relate to bio-psycho-social variables within the domains of sociodemographic, cognitive, life-satisfaction, as well as health and lifestyle factors in midlife to old age (N = 35,749, 44.6-82.8 years of age). Bio-psycho-social factors could uniquely explain a small proportion of the brain age variance, in a similar pattern across diffusion approaches: cognitive scores, life satisfaction, health and lifestyle factors adding to the variance explained, but not socio-demographics. Consistent brain age associations across models were found for waist-to-hip ratio, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, matrix puzzles solving, and job and health satisfaction and perception. Furthermore, we found large variability in sex and ethnicity group differences in brain age. Our results show that brain age cannot be sufficiently explained by bio-psycho-social variables alone. However, the observed associations suggest to adjust for sex, ethnicity, cognitive factors, as well as health and lifestyle factors, and to observe bio-psycho-social factor interactions' influence on brain age in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Korbmacher
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Center (MMIV), Bergen, Norway
| | - Tiril P. Gurholt
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ann-Marie G. de Lange
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- LREN, Centre for Research in Neurosciences, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dennis van der Meer
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Dani Beck
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eli Eikefjord
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Center (MMIV), Bergen, Norway
| | - Arvid Lundervold
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Center (MMIV), Bergen, Norway
- Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Ole A. Andreassen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars T. Westlye
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ivan I. Maximov
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorder Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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21
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Ge GR, Rolland JP, Song W, Nedergaard M, Parker KJ. Fluid compartments influence elastography of the aging mouse brain. Phys Med Biol 2023; 68:095004. [PMID: 36996842 PMCID: PMC10108361 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/acc922] [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: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Objective. Elastography of the brain has the potential to reveal subtle but clinically important changes in the structure and composition as a function of age, disease, and injury.Approach. In order to quantify the specific effects of aging on mouse brain elastography, and to determine the key factors influencing observed changes, we applied optical coherence tomography reverberant shear wave elastography at 2000 Hz to a group of wild-type healthy mice ranging from young to old age.Main results. We found a strong trend towards increasing stiffness with age, with an approximately 30% increase in shear wave speed from 2 months to 30 months within this sampled group. Furthermore, this appears to be strongly correlated with decreasing measures of whole brain fluid content, so older brains have less water and are stiffer. Rheological models are applied, and the strong effect is captured by specific assignment of changes to the glymphatic compartment of the brain fluid structures along with a correlated change in the parenchymal stiffness.Significance. Short-term and longer-term changes in elastography measures may provide a sensitive biomarker of progressive and fine-scale changes in the glymphatic fluid channels and parenchymal components of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary R Ge
- Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, 480 Intercampus Drive, Box 270186, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Jannick P Rolland
- Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, 480 Intercampus Drive, Box 270186, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Wei Song
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 645, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - Maiken Nedergaard
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 645, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - Kevin J Parker
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, 724 Computer Studies Building, Box 270231, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
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22
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Li Y, Wen H, Li H, Peng Y, Tai J, Bai J, Mei L, Ji T, Li X, Liu Y, Ni X. Characterisation of brain microstructural alterations in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome using diffusion kurtosis imaging. J Sleep Res 2023; 32:e13710. [PMID: 36377256 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common chronic sleep-related breathing disorder in children. Previous studies showed widespread alterations in white matter (WM) in children with OSA mainly by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), while diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) extended DTI and exhibited improved sensitivity in detecting developmental and pathological changes in neural tissues. Therefore, we conducted whole-brain DTI and DKI analyses and compared the differences in kurtosis and diffusion parameters within the skeleton between 41 children with OSA and 32 healthy children. Between-group differences were evaluated by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis (p < 0.05, TFCE corrected), and partial correlations between DKI metrics and sleep parameters were assessed considering age and gender as covariates. Compared with the controls, children with OSA showed significantly decreased kurtosis fractional anisotropy (KFA) mainly in white matter regions with a complex fibre arrangement including the posterior corona radiate (PCR), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), while decreased FA in white matter regions with a coherent fibre arrangement including the posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC), anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), and corpus callosum (CC). Notably, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated the KFA value in complex tissue regions significantly (p < 0.001) differentiated children with OSA from the controls. In addition, the KFA value in the left PCR, SLF, and IFOF showed significant partial correlations to the sleep parameters for children with OSA. Combining DKI derived kurtosis and diffusion parameters can provide complementary neuroimaging biomarkers for assessing white matter alterations, and reveal pathological changes and monitor disease progression in paediatric OSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhua Li
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Hongwei Wen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Chongqing, China
| | - Hongbin Li
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Yun Peng
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Tai
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Bai
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Mei
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Tingting Ji
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaodan Li
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Liu
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Ni
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Centre for Children's Health, Beijing, China
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23
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Qiu H, Wu C, Liang J, Hu M, Chen Y, Huang Z, Yang Z, Zhao J, Chu J. Structural alterations of spinocerebellar ataxias type 3: from pre-symptomatic to symptomatic stage. Eur Radiol 2023; 33:2881-2894. [PMID: 36370172 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-022-09214-3] [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: 05/14/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate and characterize the structural alterations of the brain in SCA3, and their correlations with the scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) and normal brain ATXN3 expression. METHODS We performed multimodal analyses in 52 SCA3 (15 pre-symptomatic) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 35) to assess the abnormalities of gray and white matter (WM) of the cerebrum, brainstem, and cerebellum via FreeSurfer, SUIT, and TBSS, and their associations with disease severity. Twenty SCA3 patients (5 pre- and 15 symptomatic) were followed for at least a year. Besides, we uncovered the normal pattern of brain ATXN3 spatial distribution. RESULTS Pre-symptomatic patients showed only WM damage, mainly in the cerebellar peduncles, compared to HCs. In the advanced stage, the WM damage followed a caudal-rostral pattern. Meanwhile, continuous nonlinear structure damage was characterized by brainstem volumetric reduction and relatively symmetric cerebellar and basal ganglia atrophy but spared the cerebral cortex, partially explained by the ATXN3 overexpression. The bilateral pallidum, brainstem, and cerebellar peduncles demonstrated a very large effect size. Besides, all these alterations were significantly correlated with SARA; the pons (r = -0.65) and superior cerebellar peduncle (r = -0.68) volume demonstrated a higher correlation than the cerebellum with SARA. The longitudinal study further uncovered progressive atrophy of pons in symptomatic SCA3. CONCLUSIONS Significant WM damage starts before the ataxia onset. The bilateral pallidum, brainstem, and cerebellar peduncles are the most vulnerable targets. The volume of pons appears to be the most promising imaging biomarker for a longitudinal study. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrial ID: ChiCTR2100045857 ( http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=55652&htm=4 ) KEY POINTS: • Pre- SCA3 showed WM damage mainly in cerebellar peduncles. Continuous brain damage was characterized by brainstem, widespread, and relatively symmetric cerebellar and basal ganglia atrophy. • Volumetric abnormalities were most evident in the bilateral pallidum, brainstem, and cerebellar peduncles in SCA3. • The volume of pons might identify the disease progression longitudinally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haishan Qiu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Chao Wu
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiahui Liang
- Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Manshi Hu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingqian Chen
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Zihuan Huang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiyun Yang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jianping Chu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 58th, The Second Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
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24
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Walker KA, Duggan MR, Gong Z, Dark HE, Laporte JP, Faulkner ME, An Y, Lewis A, Moghekar AR, Resnick SM, Bouhrara M. MRI and fluid biomarkers reveal determinants of myelin and axonal loss with aging. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2023; 10:397-407. [PMID: 36762407 PMCID: PMC10014005 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE White matter damage is a feature of Alzheimer's disease, yet little is known about how facets of the Alzheimer's disease process relate to key features of white matter structure. We examined the association of Alzheimer's disease (Aß42/40 ratio; pTau181), neuronal injury (NfL), and reactive astrogliosis (GFAP) biomarkers with MRI measures of myelin content and axonal density. METHODS Among cognitively normal participants in the BLSA and GESTALT studies who received MRI measures of myelin content (defined by myelin water fraction [MWF]) and axonal density (defined by neurite density index [NDI]), we quantified plasma levels of Aβ42 , Aβ40 , pTau181, NfL, and GFAP. Linear regression models adjusted for demographic variables were used to relate these plasma biomarker levels to the MRI measures. RESULTS In total, 119 participants received MWF imaging (age: 56 [SD 21]), of which 43 received NDI imaging (age: 50 [SD 18]). We found no relationship between plasma biomarkers and total brain myelin content. However, secondary analysis found higher GFAP was associated with lower MWF in the temporal lobes (ß = -0.13; P = 0.049). Further, higher levels of NfL (ß = -0.22; P = 0.009) and GFAP (ß = -0.29; P = 0.002) were associated with lower total brain axonal density. Secondary analyses found lower Aβ42/40 ratio and higher pTau181 were also associated with lower axonal density, but only in select brain regions. These results remained similar after additionally adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors. INTERPRETATION Plasma biomarkers of neuronal injury and astrogliosis are associated with reduced axonal density and region-specific myelin content. Axonal loss and demyelination may co-occur with neurodegeneration and astrogliosis ahead of clinically meaningful cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keenan A Walker
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Michael R Duggan
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Zhaoyuan Gong
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Heather E Dark
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - John P Laporte
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Mary E Faulkner
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Yang An
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Alexandria Lewis
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Abhay R Moghekar
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Susan M Resnick
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
| | - Mustapha Bouhrara
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224
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25
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Pietrasik W, Cribben I, Olsen F, Malykhin N. Diffusion tensor imaging of superficial prefrontal white matter in healthy aging. Brain Res 2023; 1799:148152. [PMID: 36343726 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.148152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a heterogenous structure that is highly susceptible to the effects of aging. Few studies have investigated age effects on the superficial white matter (WM) contained within the PFC using in-vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography to examine the effects of age, sex, and intracranial volume (ICV) on superficial WM within specific PFC subregions, and to model the relationships with age using higher order polynomial regression modelling. PFC WM of 140 healthy individuals, aged 18-85, was segmented into medial and lateral orbitofrontal, medial prefrontal, and dorsolateral prefrontal subregions. Differences due to age in microstructural parameters such as fractional anisotropy (FA), axial and radial diffusivities, and macrostructural measures of tract volumes, fiber counts, average fiber lengths, and average number of fibers per voxel were examined. We found that most prefrontal subregions demonstrated age effects, with decreases in FA, tract volume, and fiber counts, and increases in all diffusivity measures. Age relationships were mostly non-linear, with higher order regressions chosen in most cases. Declines in PFC FA began at the onset of adulthood while the greatest changes in diffusivity and volume did not occur until middle age. The effects of age were most prominent in medial tracts while the lateral orbitofrontal tracts were less affected. Significant effects of sex and ICV were also observed in certain parameters. The patterns mostly followed myelination order, with late-myelinating prefrontal subregions experiencing earlier and more pronounced age effects, further supporting the frontal theory of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wojciech Pietrasik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ivor Cribben
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Accounting & Business Analytics, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Fraser Olsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Nikolai Malykhin
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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26
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Wang W, Yu Q, Liang W, Xu F, Li Z, Tang Y, Liu S. Altered cortical microstructure in preterm infants at term-equivalent age relative to term-born neonates. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:651-662. [PMID: 35259759 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Preterm (PT) birth is a potential factor for abnormal brain development. Although various alterations of cortical structure and functional connectivity in preterm infants have been reported, the underlying microstructural foundation is still undetected thoroughly in PT infants relative to full-term (FT) neonates. To detect the very early cortical microstructural alteration noninvasively with advanced neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) on a whole-brain basis, we used multi-shell diffusion MRI of healthy newborns selected from the Developing Human Connectome Project. 73 PT infants and 69 FT neonates scanned at term-equivalent age were included in this study. By extracting the core voxels of gray matter (GM) using GM-based spatial statistics (GBSS), we found that comparing to FT neonates, infants born preterm showed extensive lower neurite density in both primary and higher-order association cortices (FWE corrected, P < 0.025). Higher orientation dispersion was only found in very preterm subgroup in the orbitofrontal cortex, fronto-insular cortex, entorhinal cortex, a portion of posterior cingular gyrus, and medial parieto-occipital cortex. This study provided new insights into exploring structural MR for functional and behavioral variations in preterm population, and these findings may have marked clinical importance, particularly in the guidance of ameliorating the development of premature brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Wang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Qiaowen Yu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China
| | - Wenjia Liang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Feifei Xu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Zhuoran Li
- Department of Ultrasound, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China
| | - Yuchun Tang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Shuwei Liu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
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27
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Petkoski S, Ritter P, Jirsa VK. White-matter degradation and dynamical compensation support age-related functional alterations in human brain. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:6241-6256. [PMID: 36611231 PMCID: PMC10183745 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Structural connectivity of the brain at different ages is analyzed using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The largest decrease of streamlines is found in frontal regions and for long inter-hemispheric links. The average length of the tracts also decreases, but the clustering is unaffected. From functional MRI we identify age-related changes of dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) and spatial covariation features of functional connectivity (FC) links captured by metaconnectivity. They indicate more stable dFC, but wider range and variance of MC, whereas static features of FC did not show any significant differences with age. We implement individual connectivity in whole-brain models and test several hypotheses for the mechanisms of operation among underlying neural system. We demonstrate that age-related functional fingerprints are only supported if the model accounts for: (i) compensation of the individual brains for the overall loss of structural connectivity and (ii) decrease of propagation velocity due to the loss of myelination. We also show that with these 2 conditions, it is sufficient to decompose the time-delays as bimodal distribution that only distinguishes between intra- and inter-hemispheric delays, and that the same working point also captures the static FC the best, and produces the largest variability at slow time-scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spase Petkoski
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
| | - Petra Ritter
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Brain Simulation Section, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
| | - Viktor K Jirsa
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
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Grecco GG, Shahid SS, Atwood BK, Wu YC. Alterations of brain microstructures in a mouse model of prenatal opioid exposure detected by diffusion MRI. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17085. [PMID: 36224335 PMCID: PMC9556691 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21416-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing opioid use among pregnant women is fueling a crisis of infants born with prenatal opioid exposure. A large body of research has been devoted to studying the management of opioid withdrawal during the neonatal period in these infants, but less substantive work has explored the long-term impact of prenatal opioid exposure on neurodevelopment. Using a translationally relevant mouse model of prenatal methadone exposure (PME), the aim of the study is to investigate the cerebral microstructural differences between the mice with PME and prenatal saline exposure (PSE). The brains of eight-week-old male offspring with either PME (n = 15) or PSE (n = 15) were imaged using high resolution in-vivo diffusion magnetic resonance imaging on a 9.4 Tesla small animal scanner. Brain microstructure was characterized using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and Bingham neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (Bingham-NODDI). Voxel-based analysis (VBA) was performed using the calculated microstructural parametric maps. The VBA showed significant (p < 0.05) bilateral alterations in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), orientation dispersion index (ODI) and dispersion anisotropy index (DAI) across several cortical and subcortical regions, compared to PSE. Particularly, in PME offspring, FA, MD and AD were significantly higher in the hippocampus, dorsal amygdala, thalamus, septal nuclei, dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens. These DTI-based results suggest widespread bilateral microstructural alterations across cortical and subcortical regions in PME offspring. Consistent with the observations in DTI, Bingham-NODDI derived ODI exhibited significant reduction in PME offspring within the hippocampus, dorsal striatum and cortex. NODDI-based results further suggest reduction in dendritic arborization in PME offspring across multiple cortical and subcortical regions. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of prenatal opioid exposure to examine microstructural organization in vivo. Our findings demonstrate perturbed microstructural complexity in cortical and subcortical regions persisting into early adulthood which could interfere with critical neurodevelopmental processes in individuals with prenatal opioid exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory G. Grecco
- grid.257413.60000 0001 2287 3919Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA ,grid.257413.60000 0001 2287 3919Indiana University School of Medicine, Medical Scientist Training Program, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
| | - Syed Salman Shahid
- grid.257413.60000 0001 2287 3919Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 West 16th Street, Suite 4100, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
| | - Brady K. Atwood
- grid.257413.60000 0001 2287 3919Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA ,grid.257413.60000 0001 2287 3919Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
| | - Yu-Chien Wu
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 West 16th Street, Suite 4100, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA. .,Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
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29
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Bauer CE, Zachariou V, Maillard P, Caprihan A, Gold BT. Multi-compartment diffusion magnetic resonance imaging models link tract-related characteristics with working memory performance in healthy older adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:995425. [PMID: 36275003 PMCID: PMC9581239 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.995425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Multi-compartment diffusion MRI metrics [such as metrics from free water elimination diffusion tensor imaging (FWE-DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI)] may reflect more specific underlying white-matter tract characteristics than traditional, single-compartment metrics [i.e., metrics from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)]. However, it remains unclear if multi-compartment metrics are more closely associated with age and/or cognitive performance than single-compartment metrics. Here we compared the associations of single-compartment [Fractional Anisotropy (FA)] and multi-compartment diffusion MRI metrics [FWE-DTI metrics: Free Water Eliminated Fractional Anisotropy (FWE-FA) and Free Water (FW); NODDI metrics: Intracellular Volume Fraction (ICVF), Orientation Dispersion Index (ODI), and CSF-Fraction] with both age and working memory performance. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guided, white matter tractography approach was employed to compute diffusion metrics within a network of tracts connecting functional regions involved in working memory. Ninety-nine healthy older adults (aged 60-85) performed an in-scanner working memory task while fMRI was performed and also underwent multi-shell diffusion acquisition. The network of white matter tracts connecting functionally-activated regions was identified using probabilistic tractography. Diffusion metrics were extracted from skeletonized white matter tracts connecting fMRI activation peaks. Diffusion metrics derived from both single and multi-compartment models were associated with age (p s ≤ 0.011 for FA, FWE-FA, ICVF and ODI). However, only multi-compartment metrics, specifically FWE-FA (p = 0.045) and ICVF (p = 0.020), were associated with working memory performance. Our results suggest that while most current diffusion metrics are sensitive to age, several multi-compartment metrics (i.e., FWE-FA and ICVF) appear more sensitive to cognitive performance in healthy older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E. Bauer
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Valentinos Zachariou
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Pauline Maillard
- Department of Neurology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | | | - Brian T. Gold
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
- Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Lexington, KY, United States
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30
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Rajashekar N, Blumberg HP, Villa LM. Neuroimaging Studies of Brain Structure in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder: A Review. JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY AND BRAIN SCIENCE 2022; 7:e220006. [PMID: 36092855 PMCID: PMC9453888 DOI: 10.20900/jpbs.20220006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common mood disorder that can have severe consequences during later life, including suffering and impairment due to mood and cognitive symptoms, elevated risk for dementia and an especially high risk for suicide. Greater understanding of the brain circuitry differences involved in older adults with BD (OABD) in later life and their relationship to aging processes is required to improve outcomes of OABD. The current literature on gray and white matter findings, from high resolution structural and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, has shown that BD in younger age groups is associated with gray matter reductions within cortical and subcortical brain regions that subserve emotion processing and regulation, as well as reduced structural integrity of white matter tracts connecting these brain regions. While fewer neuroimaging studies have focused on OABD, it does appear that many of the structural brain differences found in younger samples are present in OABD. There is also initial suggestion that there are additional brain differences, for at least a subset of OABD, that may result from more pronounced gray and white matter declines with age that may contribute to adverse outcomes. Preclinical and clinical data supporting neuro-plastic and -protective effects of mood-stabilizing medications, suggest that treatments may reverse and/or prevent the progression of brain changes thereby reducing symptoms. Future neuroimaging research implementing longitudinal designs, and large-scale, multi-site initiatives with detailed clinical and treatment data, holds promise for reducing suffering, cognitive dysfunction and suicide in OABD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niroop Rajashekar
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Hilary P. Blumberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Luca M. Villa
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX37JX, UK
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31
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Afzali M, Pieciak T, Jones DK, Schneider JE, Özarslan E. Cumulant expansion with localization: A new representation of the diffusion MRI signal. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2022; 1:958680. [PMID: 37555138 PMCID: PMC10406302 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2022.958680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Diffusion MR is sensitive to the microstructural features of a sample. Fine-scale characteristics can be probed by employing strong diffusion gradients while the low b-value regime is determined by the cumulants of the distribution of particle displacements. A signal representation based on the cumulants, however, suffers from a finite convergence radius and cannot represent the 'localization regime' characterized by a stretched exponential decay that emerges at large gradient strengths. Here, we propose a new representation for the diffusion MR signal. Our method provides not only a robust estimate of the first three cumulants but also a meaningful extrapolation of the entire signal decay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Afzali
- Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Tomasz Pieciak
- LPI, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Derek K. Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Jürgen E. Schneider
- Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Evren Özarslan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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32
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Taha HT, Chad JA, Chen JJ. DKI enhances the sensitivity and interpretability of age-related DTI patterns in the white matter of UK biobank participants. Neurobiol Aging 2022; 115:39-49. [PMID: 35468551 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Studies of healthy brain aging traditionally report diffusivity patterns associated with white matter degeneration using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which assumes that diffusion measured at typical b-values (approximately 1000 s/mm2) is Gaussian. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of DTI that measures non-Gaussian diffusion (kurtosis) to better capture microenvironmental processes by incorporating additional data at a higher b-value. In this study, using diffusion data (b-values of 1000 and 2000 s/mm2) from 700 UK Biobank participants aged 46-80, we investigate (1) the extent of novel information gained from adding diffusional kurtosis to diffusivity observations in aging, and (2) how conventional DTI metrics in aging compare with diffusivity metrics derived from DKI, which are corrected for kurtosis. We establish a pattern of lower kurtosis alongside higher diffusivity among older adults, with kurtosis generally being more sensitive to age than diffusivity. We also find discrepancies between diffusivity metrics derived from DTI and DKI, emphasizing the importance of accounting for non-Gaussian diffusion when interpreting age-related diffusivity patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiba T Taha
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jordan A Chad
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - J Jean Chen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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33
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Wartolowska KA, Webb AJ. White matter damage due to pulsatile versus steady blood pressure differs by vascular territory: A cross-sectional analysis of the UK Biobank cohort study. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2022; 42:802-810. [PMID: 34775867 PMCID: PMC9014677 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x211058803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Small vessel disease is associated with age, mean blood pressure (MAP) and blood pressure pulsatility (PP). We used data from the UK Biobank cohort study to determine the relative importance of MAP versus PP driving white matter injury within individual white matter tracts, particularly in the anterior and posterior vascular territory. The associations between blood pressure and diffusion indices in 27 major tracts were analysed using unadjusted and fully-adjusted general linear models and mixed-effect linear models. Blood pressure and neuroimaging data were available for 37,041 participants (mean age 64+/-7.5 years, 53% female). In unadjusted analyses, MAP and PP were similarly associated with diffusion indices in the anterior circulation. In the posterior circulation, the associations were weaker, particularly for MAP. In fully-adjusted analyses, MAP remained associated with all diffusion indices in the anterior circulation, independently of age. In the posterior circulation, the effect of MAP became protective. PP remained associated with greater mean diffusivity and extracellular free water diffusion in the anterior circulation and all diffusion indices in the posterior circulation. There was a significant interaction between PP and age. This implies discordant mechanisms for chronic white matter injury in different brain regions and potentially in the associated stroke risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina A Wartolowska
- Wolfson Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Alastair Js Webb
- Wolfson Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
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34
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Kornaropoulos EN, Winzeck S, Rumetshofer T, Wikstrom A, Knutsson L, Correia MM, Sundgren PC, Nilsson M. Sensitivity of Diffusion MRI to White Matter Pathology: Influence of Diffusion Protocol, Magnetic Field Strength, and Processing Pipeline in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Front Neurol 2022; 13:837385. [PMID: 35557624 PMCID: PMC9087851 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.837385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There are many ways to acquire and process diffusion MRI (dMRI) data for group studies, but it is unknown which maximizes the sensitivity to white matter (WM) pathology. Inspired by this question, we analyzed data acquired for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) at 3T (3T-DTI and 3T-DKI) and DTI at 7T in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy controls (HC). Parameter estimates in 72 WM tracts were obtained using TractSeg. The impact on the sensitivity to WM pathology was evaluated for the diffusion protocol, the magnetic field strength, and the processing pipeline. Sensitivity was quantified in terms of Cohen's d for group comparison. Results showed that the choice of diffusion protocol had the largest impact on the effect size. The effect size in fractional anisotropy (FA) across all WM tracts was 0.26 higher when derived by DTI than by DKI and 0.20 higher in 3T compared with 7T. The difference due to the diffusion protocol was larger than the difference due to magnetic field strength for the majority of diffusion parameters. In contrast, the difference between including or excluding different processing steps was near negligible, except for the correction of distortions from eddy currents and motion which had a clearly positive impact. For example, effect sizes increased on average by 0.07 by including motion and eddy correction for FA derived from 3T-DTI. Effect sizes were slightly reduced by the incorporation of denoising and Gibbs-ringing removal (on average by 0.011 and 0.005, respectively). Smoothing prior to diffusion model fitting generally reduced effect sizes. In summary, 3T-DTI in combination with eddy current and motion correction yielded the highest sensitivity to WM pathology in patients with SLE. However, our results also indicated that the 3T-DKI and 7T-DTI protocols used here may be adjusted to increase effect sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenios N. Kornaropoulos
- Clinical Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Stefan Winzeck
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- BioMedIA Group, Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Anna Wikstrom
- Clinical Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Linda Knutsson
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- F.M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Marta M. Correia
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Pia C. Sundgren
- Clinical Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Lund University BioImaging Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Department of Medical Imaging and Physiology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Markus Nilsson
- Clinical Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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35
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Economou M, Billiet T, Wouters J, Ghesquière P, Vanderauwera J, Vandermosten M. Myelin water fraction in relation to fractional anisotropy and reading in 10-year-old children. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2209-2217. [PMID: 35403895 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02486-x] [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: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Diffusion-weighted imaging studies have repeatedly shown that white matter correlates with reading throughout development. However, the neurobiological interpretation of this relationship is constrained by the limited microstructural specificity of diffusion imaging. A critical component of white matter microstructure is myelin, which can be investigated noninvasively using MRI. Here, we examined the link between myelin water fraction (MWF) and reading ability in 10-year-old children (n = 69). To better understand this relationship, we additionally investigated how these two variables relate to fractional anisotropy (FA; a common index of diffusion-weighted imaging). Our analysis revealed that lower MWF coheres with better reading scores in left-hemispheric tracts relevant for reading. While we replicated previous reports on a positive relationship between FA and MWF, we did not find any evidence for an association between reading and FA. Together, these findings contrast previous research suggesting that poor reading abilities might be rooted in lower myelination and emphasize the need for further longitudinal research to understand how this relationship evolves throughout reading development. Altogether, this study contributes important insights into the role of myelin-related processes in the relationship between reading and white matter structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Economou
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Thibo Billiet
- Icometrix, Research and Development, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Wouters
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pol Ghesquière
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolijn Vanderauwera
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Maaike Vandermosten
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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36
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Brosnan MB, Shalev N, Ramduny J, Sotiropoulos SN, Chechlacz M. Right fronto-parietal networks mediate the neurocognitive benefits of enriched environments. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac080. [PMID: 35474852 PMCID: PMC9035529 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to enriched environments throughout a lifetime, providing so-called reserve, protects against cognitive decline in later years. It has been hypothesized that high levels of alertness necessitated by enriched environments might strengthen the right fronto-parietal networks to facilitate this neurocognitive resilience. We have previously shown that enriched environments offset age-related deficits in selective attention by preserving grey matter within right fronto-parietal regions. Here, using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, we examined the relationship between enriched environments, microstructural properties of fronto-parietal white matter association pathways (three branches of the superior longitudinal fasciculus), structural brain health (atrophy), and attention (alertness, orienting and executive control) in a group of older adults. We show that exposure to enriched environments is associated with a lower orientation dispersion index within the right superior longitudinal fasciculus 1 which in turn mediates the relationship between enriched environments and alertness, as well as grey and white matter atrophy. This suggests that enriched environments may induce white matter plasticity (and prevent age-related dispersion of axons) within the right fronto-parietal networks to facilitate the preservation of neurocognitive health in later years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Méadhbh B. Brosnan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nir Shalev
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Jivesh Ramduny
- School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Stamatios N. Sotiropoulos
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK
| | - Magdalena Chechlacz
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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37
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Kiely M, Triebswetter C, Cortina LE, Gong Z, Alsameen MH, Spencer RG, Bouhrara M. Insights into human cerebral white matter maturation and degeneration across the adult lifespan. Neuroimage 2022; 247:118727. [PMID: 34813969 PMCID: PMC8792239 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) microstructural properties change across the adult lifespan and with neuronal diseases. Understanding microstructural changes due to aging is paramount to distinguish them from neuropathological changes. Conducted on a large cohort of 147 cognitively unimpaired subjects, spanning a wide age range of 21 to 94 years, our study evaluated sex- and age-related differences in WM microstructure. Specifically, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indices, sensitive measures of myelin and axonal density in WM, and myelin water fraction (MWF), a measure of the fraction of the signal of water trapped within the myelin sheets, to probe these differences. Furthermore, we examined regional correlations between MWF and DTI indices to evaluate whether the DTI metrics provide information complementary to MWF. While sexual dimorphism was, overall, nonsignificant, we observed region-dependent differences in MWF, that is, myelin content, and axonal density with age and found that both exhibit nonlinear, but distinct, associations with age. Furthermore, DTI indices were moderately correlated with MWF, indicating their good sensitivity to myelin content as well as to other constituents of WM tissue such as axonal density. The microstructural differences captured by our MRI metrics, along with their weak to moderate associations with MWF, strongly indicate the potential value of combining these outcome measures in a multiparametric approach. Furthermore, our results support the last-in-first-out and the gain-predicts-loss hypotheses of WM maturation and degeneration. Indeed, our results indicate that the posterior WM regions are spared from neurodegeneration as compared to anterior regions, while WM myelination follows a temporally symmetric time course across the adult life span.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Kiely
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Curtis Triebswetter
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Luis E Cortina
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Zhaoyuan Gong
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Maryam H Alsameen
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Richard G Spencer
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA
| | - Mustapha Bouhrara
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, 21224 MD, USA.
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38
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Motovylyak A, Vogt NM, Adluru N, Ma Y, Wang R, Oh JM, Kecskemeti SR, Alexander AL, Dean DC, Gallagher CL, Sager MA, Hermann BP, Rowley HA, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Bendlin BB, Okonkwo OC. Age-related differences in white matter microstructure measured by advanced diffusion MRI in healthy older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. AGING BRAIN 2022; 2:100030. [PMID: 36908893 PMCID: PMC9999444 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2022.100030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is an advanced diffusion imaging technique, which can detect more distinct microstructural features compared to conventional Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). NODDI allows the signal to be divided into multiple water compartments and derive measures for orientation dispersion index (ODI), neurite density index (NDI) and volume fraction of isotropic diffusion compartment (FISO). This study aimed to investigate which diffusion metric-fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), NDI, ODI, or FISO-is most influenced by aging and reflects cognitive function in a population of healthy older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Age was significantly associated with all but one diffusion parameters and regions of interest. NDI and MD in the cingulate region adjacent to the cingulate cortex showed a significant association with a composite measure of Executive Function and was proven to partially mediate the relationship between aging and Executive Function decline. These results suggest that both DTI and NODDI parameters are sensitive to age-related differences in white matter regions vulnerable to aging, particularly among older adults at risk for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Motovylyak
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Nicholas M. Vogt
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Nagesh Adluru
- Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Yue Ma
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Rui Wang
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- The Swedish School of Sport and Health Science, GIH, Lidingövägen 1, Box 5626, SE-11486 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jennifer M. Oh
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Steven R. Kecskemeti
- Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Andrew L. Alexander
- Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1111 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Douglas C. Dean
- Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1111 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1111 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Catherine L. Gallagher
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terrace, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1111 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Mark A. Sager
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 610 Walnut St Suite 957, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Bruce P. Hermann
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 610 Walnut St Suite 957, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Howard A. Rowley
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Sterling C. Johnson
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terrace, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Sanjay Asthana
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terrace, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Barbara B. Bendlin
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Ozioma C. Okonkwo
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terrace, Madison, WI 53705, USA
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Schlüter C, Fraenz C, Friedrich P, Güntürkün O, Genç E. Neurite density imaging in amygdala nuclei reveals interindividual differences in neuroticism. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:2051-2063. [PMID: 35049113 PMCID: PMC8933246 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroticism is known to have significant health implications. While previous research revealed that interindividual differences in the amygdala function are associated with interindividual differences in neuroticism, the impact of the amygdala’s structure and especially microstructure on variations in neuroticism remains unclear. Here, we present the first study using NODDI to examine the association between the in vivo microstructural architecture of the amygdala and neuroticism at the level of neurites. We, therefore, acquired brain images from 221 healthy participants using advanced multi‐shell diffusion‐weighted imaging. Because the amygdala comprises several nuclei, we, moreover, used a high‐resolution T1 image to automatically segment the amygdala into eight different nuclei. Neuroticism and its facets have been assessed using the NEO‐PI‐R. Finally, we associated neuroticism and its facets with the volume and microstructure of the amygdala nuclei. Statistical analysis revealed that lower neurite density in the lateral amygdala nucleus (La) was significantly associated with higher scores in depression, one of the six neuroticism facets. The La is the sensory relay of the amygdala, filtering incoming information based on previous experiences. Reduced neurite density and related changes in the dendritic structure of the La could impair its filtering function. This again might cause harmless sensory information to be misevaluated as threatening and lead to the altered amygdala responsivity as reported in previous studies investigating the functional correlates of neuroticism and neuroticism‐related disorders like depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Schlüter
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Patrick Friedrich
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Erhan Genç
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
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40
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Guo Y, Yang X, Yuan Z, Qiu J, Lu W. A comparison between diffusion tensor imaging and generalized q-sampling imaging in the age prediction of healthy adults via machine learning approaches. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 35038689 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac4bfe] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Brain age, which is predicted using neuroimaging data, has become an important biomarker in aging research. This study applied diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI) model to predict age respectively, with the purpose of evaluating which diffusion model is more accurate in estimating age and revealing age-related changes in the brain. APPROACH Diffusion MRI data of 125 subjects from two sites were collected. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and quantitative anisotropy (QA) from the two diffusion models were calculated and were used as features of machine learning models. Sequential backward elimination algorithm was used for feature selection. Six machine learning approaches including linear regression, ridge regression, support vector regression (SVR) with linear kernel, quadratic kernel and radial basis function (RBF) kernel and feedforward neural network were used to predict age using FA and QA features respectively. MAIN RESULTS Age predictions using FA features were more accurate than predictions using QA features for all the 6 machine learning algorithms. Post-hoc analysis revealed that FA was more sensitive to age-related white matter alterations in the brain. In addition, SVR with RBF kernel based on FA features achieved better performances than the competing algorithms with MAE ranging from 7.74 to 10.54, MSE ranging from 87.79 to 150.86, and nMSE ranging from 0.05 to 0.14 Significance: FA from DTI model was more suitable than QA from GQI model in age prediction. FA metric was more sensitive to age-related white matter changes in the brain and FA of several brain regions could be used as white matter biomarkers in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Guo
- Department of Radiology, Shandong First Medical University, No.619 Changcheng Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, CHINA
| | - Xi Yang
- Pennsylvania State University, Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA, State College, Pennsylvania, 16801, UNITED STATES
| | - Zilong Yuan
- Hubei Cancer Hospital, No. 116 South Zhuodaoquan Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, CHINA
| | - Jianfeng Qiu
- Shandong Medical University, No. 6699 Qingdao Road, Jinan, 250100, CHINA
| | - Weizhao Lu
- Department of Radiology, Taishan Medical University, No.619 Changcheng Road, Taian, Shandong, 271016, CHINA
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41
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Yik JT, Becquart P, Gill J, Petkau J, Traboulsee A, Carruthers R, Kolind SH, Devonshire V, Sayao AL, Schabas A, Tam R, Moore GRW, Li DKB, Stukas S, Wellington C, Quandt JA, Vavasour IM, Laule C. Serum neurofilament light chain correlates with myelin and axonal magnetic resonance imaging markers in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2022; 57:103366. [PMID: 35158472 DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurofilaments are cytoskeletal proteins that are detectable in the blood after neuroaxonal injury. Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression, greater lesion volume, and brain atrophy are associated with higher levels of serum neurofilament light chain (NfL), but few studies have examined the relationship between NfL and advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures related to myelin and axons. We assessed the relationship between serum NfL and brain MRI measures in a diverse group of MS participants. METHODS AND MATERIALS 103 participants (20 clinically isolated syndrome, 33 relapsing-remitting, 30 secondary progressive, 20 primary progressive) underwent 3T MRI to obtain myelin water fraction (MWF), geometric mean T2 (GMT2), water content, T1; high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI)-derived axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), fractional anisotropy (FA); diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI)-derived AD, RD, FA; restricted, hindered, water and fiber fractions; and volume measurements of normalized brain, lesion, thalamic, deep gray matter (GM), and cortical thickness. Multiple linear regressions assessed the strength of association between serum NfL (dependent variable) and each MRI measure in whole brain (WB), normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and T2 lesions (independent variables), while controlling for age, expanded disability status scale, and disease duration. RESULTS Serum NfL levels were significantly associated with metrics of axonal damage (FA: R2WB-HARDI = 0.29, R2NAWM-HARDI = 0.31, R2NAWM-DBSI = 0.30, R2Lesion-DBSI = 0.31; AD: R2WB-HARDI=0.31), myelin damage (MWF: R2WB = 0.29, R2NAWM = 0.30, RD: R2WB-HARDI = 0.32, R2NAWM-HARDI = 0.34, R2Lesion-DBSI = 0.30), edema and inflammation (T1: R2Lesion = 0.32; GMT2: R2WB = 0.31, R2Lesion = 0.31), and cellularity (restricted fraction R2WB = 0.30, R2NAWM = 0.32) across the entire MS cohort. Higher serum NfL levels were associated with significantly higher T2 lesion volume (R2 = 0.35), lower brain structure volumes (thalamus R2 = 0.31; deep GM R2 = 0.33; normalized brain R2 = 0.31), and smaller cortical thickness R2 = 0.31). CONCLUSION The association between NfL and myelin MRI markers suggest that elevated serum NfL is a useful biomarker that reflects not only acute axonal damage, but also damage to myelin and inflammation, likely due to the known synergistic myelin-axon coupling relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackie T Yik
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Pierre Becquart
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jasmine Gill
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - John Petkau
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Anthony Traboulsee
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Robert Carruthers
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Shannon H Kolind
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Virginia Devonshire
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Ana-Luiza Sayao
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alice Schabas
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Roger Tam
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - G R Wayne Moore
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - David K B Li
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Sophie Stukas
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cheryl Wellington
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jacqueline A Quandt
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Irene M Vavasour
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cornelia Laule
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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Dhiman S, Fountain-Zaragoza S, Jensen JH, Falangola MF, McKinnon ET, Moss HG, Thorn KE, Rieter WJ, Spampinato MV, Nietert PJ, Helpern JA, Benitez A. Fiber Ball White Matter Modeling Reveals Microstructural Alterations in Healthy Brain Aging. AGING BRAIN 2022; 2:100037. [PMID: 36324695 PMCID: PMC9624504 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2022.100037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related white matter degeneration is characterized by myelin breakdown and neuronal fiber loss that preferentially occur in regions that myelinate later in development. Conventional diffusion MRI (dMRI) has demonstrated age-related increases in diffusivity but provide limited information regarding the tissue-specific changes driving these effects. A recently developed dMRI biophysical modeling technique, Fiber Ball White Matter (FBWM) modeling, offers enhanced biological interpretability by estimating microstructural properties specific to the intra-axonal and extra-axonal spaces. We used FBWM to illustrate the biological mechanisms underlying changes throughout white matter in healthy aging using data from 63 cognitively unimpaired adults ages 45-85 with no radiological evidence of neurodegeneration or incipient Alzheimer's disease. Conventional dMRI and FBWM metrics were computed for two late-myelinating (genu of the corpus callosum and association tracts) and two early-myelinating regions (splenium of the corpus callosum and projection tracts). We examined the associations between age and these metrics in each region and tested whether age was differentially associated with these metrics in late- vs. early-myelinating regions. We found that conventional metrics replicated patterns of age-related increases in diffusivity in late-myelinating regions. FBWM additionally revealed specific intra- and extra-axonal changes suggestive of myelin breakdown and preferential loss of smaller-diameter axons, yielding in vivo corroboration of findings from histopathological studies of aged brains. These results demonstrate that advanced biophysical modeling approaches, such as FBWM, offer novel information about the microstructure-specific alterations contributing to white matter changes in healthy aging. These tools hold promise as sensitive indicators of early pathological changes related to neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddhartha Dhiman
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Stephanie Fountain-Zaragoza
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Jens H Jensen
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Maria Fatima Falangola
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Emilie T McKinnon
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Hunter G Moss
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Kathryn E Thorn
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - William J Rieter
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Maria Vittoria Spampinato
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Paul J Nietert
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Joseph A Helpern
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Andreana Benitez
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.,Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
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Omer N, Galun M, Stern N, Blumenfeld-Katzir T, Ben-Eliezer N. Data-driven algorithm for myelin water imaging: Probing subvoxel compartmentation based on identification of spatially global tissue features. Magn Reson Med 2021; 87:2521-2535. [PMID: 34958690 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Multicomponent analysis of MRI T2 relaxation time (mcT2 ) is commonly used for estimating myelin content by separating the signal at each voxel into its underlying distribution of T2 values. This voxel-based approach is challenging due to the large ambiguity in the multi-T2 space and the low SNR of MRI signals. Herein, we present a data-driven mcT2 analysis, which utilizes the statistical strength of identifying spatially global mcT2 motifs in white matter segments before deconvolving the local signal at each voxel. METHODS Deconvolution is done using a tailored optimization scheme, which incorporates the global mcT2 motifs without additional prior assumptions regarding the number of microscopic components. The end results of this process are voxel-wise myelin water fraction maps. RESULTS Validations are shown for computer-generated signals, uniquely designed subvoxel mcT2 phantoms, and in vivo human brain. Results demonstrated excellent fitting accuracy, both for the numerical and the physical mcT2 phantoms, exhibiting excellent agreement between calculated myelin water fraction and ground truth. Proof-of-concept in vivo validation is done by calculating myelin water fraction maps for white matter segments of the human brain. Interscan stability of myelin water fraction values was also estimated, showing good correlation between scans. CONCLUSION We conclude that studying global tissue motifs prior to performing voxel-wise mcT2 analysis stabilizes the optimization scheme and efficiently overcomes the ambiguity in the T2 space. This new approach can improve myelin water imaging and the investigation of microstructural compartmentation in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam Omer
- The Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Meirav Galun
- Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Weitzman Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Neta Stern
- The Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Noam Ben-Eliezer
- The Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
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44
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Nonparametric D-R 1-R 2 distribution MRI of the living human brain. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118753. [PMID: 34852278 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Diffusion-relaxation correlation NMR can simultaneously characterize both the microstructure and the local chemical composition of complex samples that contain multiple populations of water. Recent developments on tensor-valued diffusion encoding and Monte Carlo inversion algorithms have made it possible to transfer diffusion-relaxation correlation NMR from small-bore scanners to clinical MRI systems. Initial studies on clinical MRI systems employed 5D D-R1 and D-R2 correlation to characterize healthy brain in vivo. However, these methods are subject to an inherent bias that originates from not including R2 or R1 in the analysis, respectively. This drawback can be remedied by extending the concept to 6D D-R1-R2 correlation. In this work, we present a sparse acquisition protocol that records all data necessary for in vivo 6D D-R1-R2 correlation MRI across 633 individual measurements within 25 min-a time frame comparable to previous lower-dimensional acquisition protocols. The data were processed with a Monte Carlo inversion algorithm to obtain nonparametric 6D D-R1-R2 distributions. We validated the reproducibility of the method in repeated measurements of healthy volunteers. For a post-therapy glioblastoma case featuring cysts, edema, and partially necrotic remains of tumor, we present representative single-voxel 6D distributions, parameter maps, and artificial contrasts over a wide range of diffusion-, R1-, and R2-weightings based on the rich information contained in the D-R1-R2 distributions.
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45
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Calvert GHM, Carson RG. Neural mechanisms mediating cross education: With additional considerations for the ageing brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:260-288. [PMID: 34801578 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
CALVERT, G.H.M., and CARSON, R.G. Neural mechanisms mediating cross education: With additional considerations for the ageing brain. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV 21(1) XXX-XXX, 2021. - Cross education (CE) is the process whereby a regimen of unilateral limb training engenders bilateral improvements in motor function. The contralateral gains thus derived may impart therapeutic benefits for patients with unilateral deficits arising from orthopaedic injury or stroke. Despite this prospective therapeutic utility, there is little consensus concerning its mechanistic basis. The precise means through which the neuroanatomical structures and cellular processes that mediate CE may be influenced by age-related neurodegeneration are also almost entirely unknown. Notwithstanding the increased incidence of unilateral impairment in later life, age-related variations in the expression of CE have been examined only infrequently. In this narrative review, we consider several mechanisms which may mediate the expression of CE with specific reference to the ageing CNS. We focus on the adaptive potential of cellular processes that are subserved by a specific set of neuroanatomical pathways including: the corticospinal tract, corticoreticulospinal projections, transcallosal fibres, and thalamocortical radiations. This analysis may inform the development of interventions that exploit the therapeutic utility of CE training in older persons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn H M Calvert
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Richard G Carson
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK; School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
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46
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Cruz-Almeida Y, Coombes S, Febo M. Pain differences in neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging measures among community-dwelling older adults. Exp Gerontol 2021; 154:111520. [PMID: 34418483 PMCID: PMC9091979 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is a technique providing more detailed information on the microstructural bases of white matter. Given the previously reported white matter contributions to chronic pain, the present study aims to investigate pain-specific differences in NODDI measures across white matter tracts in a sample of community-dwelling older adults with (n = 29) and without (n = 18) chronic musculoskeletal pain. We further aimed to investigate associations between NODDI measures and clinical and experimental pain measures. As part of the Nepal study, a subset of older adults (>60 years old), underwent multiple laboratory sessions providing self-reported and experimental pain measures and a diffusion weighted neuroimaging sequence. Older adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain had a lower neurite density with less geometric complexity across a number of white matter tracts compared to older pain-free controls (corrected p's < 0.05). Lower neurite density was associated with greater self-reported pain intensity and anatomical pain sites, as well as greater experimental pain sensitivity (p's < 0.05). There were also significant pain-by-sex differences in neurite density and geometric complexity across multiple white matter tracts mainly around the hippocampus (corrected p's < 0.05). Finally, there were no pain differences with respect to extra-cellular water diffusion (corrected p's > 0.05). Our study demonstrates less geometric complexity in neurite density and architecture in chronic musculoskeletal pain, partly in a sex-dependent manner. An increased understanding of neurobiological mechanisms such as those measured by NODDI may contribute to the potential targeting of interventions in our older population suffering from chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yenisel Cruz-Almeida
- Pain Research & Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America; Department of Community Dentistry & Behavioral Science, College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America; Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America.
| | - Stephen Coombes
- Pain Research & Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America; Department of Applied Kinesiology & Physiology, College of Health & Human Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Marcelo Febo
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
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47
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Henriques RN, Jespersen SN, Jones DK, Veraart J. Toward more robust and reproducible diffusion kurtosis imaging. Magn Reson Med 2021; 86:1600-1613. [PMID: 33829542 PMCID: PMC8199974 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The general utility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is challenged by its poor robustness to imaging artifacts and thermal noise that often lead to implausible kurtosis values. THEORY AND METHODS A robust scalar kurtosis index can be estimated from powder-averaged diffusion-weighted data. We introduce a novel DKI estimator that uses this scalar kurtosis index as a proxy for the mean kurtosis to regularize the fit. RESULTS The regularized DKI estimator improves the robustness and reproducibility of the kurtosis metrics and results in parameter maps with enhanced quality and contrast. CONCLUSION Our novel DKI estimator promotes the wider use of DKI in clinical research and potentially diagnostics by improving the reproducibility and precision of DKI fitting and, as such, enabling enhanced visual, quantitative, and statistical analyses of DKI parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sune N. Jespersen
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN) and MINDLabDepartment of Clinical MedicineAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
- Department of Physics and AstronomyAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| | - Derek K. Jones
- CUBRICSchool of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Mary MacKillop Institute for Health ResearchAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Jelle Veraart
- Center for Biomedical ImagingNew York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkNYUSA
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48
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Tsuchida A, Laurent A, Crivello F, Petit L, Pepe A, Beguedou N, Debette S, Tzourio C, Mazoyer B. Age-Related Variations in Regional White Matter Volumetry and Microstructure During the Post-adolescence Period: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Cohort of 1,713 University Students. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:692152. [PMID: 34413727 PMCID: PMC8369154 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.692152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Human brain white matter undergoes a protracted maturation that continues well into adulthood. Recent advances in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) methods allow detailed characterizations of the microstructural architecture of white matter, and they are increasingly utilized to study white matter changes during development and aging. However, relatively little is known about the late maturational changes in the microstructural architecture of white matter during post-adolescence. Here we report on regional changes in white matter volume and microstructure in young adults undergoing university-level education. As part of the MRi-Share multi-modal brain MRI database, multi-shell, high angular resolution DWI data were acquired in a unique sample of 1,713 university students aged 18-26. We assessed the age and sex dependence of diffusion metrics derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) in the white matter regions as defined in the John Hopkins University (JHU) white matter labels atlas. We demonstrate that while regional white matter volume is relatively stable over the age range of our sample, the white matter microstructural properties show clear age-related variations. Globally, it is characterized by a robust increase in neurite density index (NDI), and to a lesser extent, orientation dispersion index (ODI). These changes are accompanied by a decrease in diffusivity. In contrast, there is minimal age-related variation in fractional anisotropy. There are regional variations in these microstructural changes: some tracts, most notably cingulum bundles, show a strong age-related increase in NDI coupled with decreases in radial and mean diffusivity, while others, mainly cortico-spinal projection tracts, primarily show an ODI increase and axial diffusivity decrease. These age-related variations are not different between males and females, but males show higher NDI and ODI and lower diffusivity than females across many tracts. These findings emphasize the complexity of changes in white matter structure occurring in this critical period of late maturation in early adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami Tsuchida
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Alexandre Laurent
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Fabrice Crivello
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Laurent Petit
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Antonietta Pepe
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Naka Beguedou
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France
| | - Stephanie Debette
- Université de Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, U1219, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Bordeaux, France
| | - Christophe Tzourio
- Université de Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, U1219, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Bordeaux, France
| | - Bernard Mazoyer
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, Bordeaux, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CEA, Bordeaux, France.,Université de Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, U1219, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Bordeaux, France
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49
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Koirala N, Perdue MV, Su X, Grigorenko EL, Landi N. Neurite density and arborization is associated with reading skill and phonological processing in children. Neuroimage 2021; 241:118426. [PMID: 34303796 PMCID: PMC8539928 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Studies exploring neuroanatomic correlates of reading have associated white matter tissue properties with reading disability and related componential skills (e.g., phonological and single-word reading skills). Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) are widely used surrogate measures of tissue microstructure with high sensitivity; however, they lack specificity for individual microstructural features. Here we investigated neurite features with higher specificity in order to explore the underlying microstructural architecture. Methods: Diffusion weighted images (DWI) and a battery of behavioral and neuropsychological assessments were obtained from 412 children (6 – 16 years of age). Neurite indices influenced by orientation and density were attained from 23 major white matter tracts. Partial correlations were calculated between neurite indices and indicators of phonological processing and single-word reading skills using age, sex, and image quality metrics as covariates. In addition, mediation analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the indirect effect of phonological processing on reading skills. Results: We observed that orientation dispersion index (ODI) and neurite density index (NDI) were negatively correlated with single-word reading and phonological processing skills in several tracts previously shown to have structural correlates with reading efficiency. We also observed a significant and substantial effect in which phonological processing mediated the relationship between neurite indices and reading skills in most tracts. Conclusions: In sum, we established that better reading and phonological processing skills are associated with greater tract coherence (lower ODI) and lower neurite density (lower NDI). We interpret these findings as evidence that reading is associated with neural architecture and its efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabin Koirala
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States.
| | - Meaghan V Perdue
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, United States
| | - Xing Su
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Elena L Grigorenko
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Texas, United States
| | - Nicole Landi
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, United States
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50
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Buyanova IS, Arsalidou M. Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:662031. [PMID: 34295229 PMCID: PMC8290169 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.662031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter makes up about fifty percent of the human brain. Maturation of white matter accompanies biological development and undergoes the most dramatic changes during childhood and adolescence. Despite the advances in neuroimaging techniques, controversy concerning spatial, and temporal patterns of myelination, as well as the degree to which the microstructural characteristics of white matter can vary in a healthy brain as a function of age, gender and cognitive abilities still exists. In a selective review we describe methods of assessing myelination and evaluate effects of age and gender in nine major fiber tracts, highlighting their role in higher-order cognitive functions. Our findings suggests that myelination indices vary by age, fiber tract, and hemisphere. Effects of gender were also identified, although some attribute differences to methodological factors or social and learning opportunities. Findings point to further directions of research that will improve our understanding of the complex myelination-behavior relation across development that may have implications for educational and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina S. Buyanova
- Neuropsy Lab, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Language and Brain, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Marie Arsalidou
- Neuropsy Lab, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
- Cognitive Centre, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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