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Khan AF, Iturria-Medina Y. Beyond the usual suspects: multi-factorial computational models in the search for neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:386. [PMID: 39313512 PMCID: PMC11420368 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03073-w] [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: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 08/20/2024] [Accepted: 08/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
From Alzheimer's disease to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the molecular cascades underlying neurodegenerative disorders remain poorly understood. The clinical view of neurodegeneration is confounded by symptomatic heterogeneity and mixed pathology in almost every patient. While the underlying physiological alterations originate, proliferate, and propagate potentially decades before symptomatic onset, the complexity and inaccessibility of the living brain limit direct observation over a patient's lifespan. Consequently, there is a critical need for robust computational methods to support the search for causal mechanisms of neurodegeneration by distinguishing pathogenic processes from consequential alterations, and inter-individual variability from intra-individual progression. Recently, promising advances have been made by data-driven spatiotemporal modeling of the brain, based on in vivo neuroimaging and biospecimen markers. These methods include disease progression models comparing the temporal evolution of various biomarkers, causal models linking interacting biological processes, network propagation models reproducing the spatial spreading of pathology, and biophysical models spanning cellular- to network-scale phenomena. In this review, we discuss various computational approaches for integrating cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multi-modal data, primarily from large observational neuroimaging studies, to understand (i) the temporal ordering of physiological alterations, i(i) their spatial relationships to the brain's molecular and cellular architecture, (iii) mechanistic interactions between biological processes, and (iv) the macroscopic effects of microscopic factors. We consider the extents to which computational models can evaluate mechanistic hypotheses, explore applications such as improving treatment selection, and discuss how model-informed insights can lay the groundwork for a pathobiological redefinition of neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Faraz Khan
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, Montreal, Canada
| | - Yasser Iturria-Medina
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Canada.
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, Montreal, Canada.
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2
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Hare SM, Adhikari BM, Mo C, Chen S, Wijtenburg SA, Seneviratne C, Kane-Gerard S, Sathyasaikumar KV, Notarangelo FM, Schwarcz R, Kelly DL, Rowland LM, Buchanan RW. Tryptophan challenge in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls: acute effects on circulating kynurenine and kynurenic acid, cognition and cerebral blood flow. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:1594-1601. [PMID: 37118058 PMCID: PMC10516920 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01587-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairments predict poor functional outcomes in people with schizophrenia. These impairments may be causally related to increased levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA), a major metabolic product of tryptophan (TRYP). In the brain, KYNA acts as an antagonist of the of α7-nicotinic acetylcholine and NMDA receptors, both of which are involved in cognitive processes. To examine whether KYNA plays a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, we compared the acute effects of a single oral dose of TRYP (6 g) in 32 healthy controls (HC) and 37 people with either schizophrenia (Sz), schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorder, in a placebo-controlled, randomized crossover study. We examined plasma levels of KYNA and its precursor kynurenine; selected cognitive measures from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery; and resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) using arterial spin labeling imaging. In both cohorts, the TRYP challenge produced significant, time-dependent elevations in plasma kynurenine and KYNA. The resting CBF signal (averaged across all gray matter) was affected differentially, such that TRYP was associated with higher CBF in HC, but not in participants with a Sz-related disorder. While TRYP did not significantly impair cognitive test performance, there was a trend for TRYP to worsen visuospatial memory task performance in HC. Our results demonstrate that oral TRYP challenge substantially increases plasma levels of kynurenine and KYNA in both groups, but exerts differential group effects on CBF. Future studies are required to investigate the mechanisms underlying these CBF findings, and to evaluate the impact of KYNA fluctuations on brain function and behavior. (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02067975).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Hare
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
| | - Bhim M Adhikari
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Chen Mo
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Shuo Chen
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - S Andrea Wijtenburg
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Chamindi Seneviratne
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Samuel Kane-Gerard
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Korrapati V Sathyasaikumar
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Francesca M Notarangelo
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Robert Schwarcz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Deanna L Kelly
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Laura M Rowland
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Robert W Buchanan
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
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3
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Selvaggi P, Jauhar S, Kotoula V, Pepper F, Veronese M, Santangelo B, Zelaya F, Turkheimer FE, Mehta MA, Howes OD. Reduced cortical cerebral blood flow in antipsychotic-free first-episode psychosis and relationship to treatment response. Psychol Med 2023; 53:5235-5245. [PMID: 36004510 PMCID: PMC10476071 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722002288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Altered cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been found in people at risk for psychosis, with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and with chronic schizophrenia (SCZ). Studies using arterial spin labelling (ASL) have shown reduction of cortical CBF and increased subcortical CBF in SCZ. Previous studies have investigated CBF using ASL in FEP, reporting increased CBF in striatum and reduced CBF in frontal cortex. However, as these people were taking antipsychotics, it is unclear whether these changes are related to the disorder or antipsychotic treatment and how they relate to treatment response. METHODS We examined CBF in FEP free from antipsychotic medication (N = 21), compared to healthy controls (N = 22). Both absolute and relative-to-global CBF were assessed. We also investigated the association between baseline CBF and treatment response in a partially nested follow-up study (N = 14). RESULTS There was significantly lower absolute CBF in frontal cortex (Cohen's d = 0.84, p = 0.009) and no differences in striatum or hippocampus. Whole brain voxel-wise analysis revealed widespread cortical reductions in absolute CBF in large cortical clusters that encompassed occipital, parietal and frontal cortices (Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement (TFCE)-corrected <0.05). No differences were found in relative-to-global CBF in the selected region of interests and in voxel-wise analysis. Relative-to-global frontal CBF was correlated with percentage change in total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale after antipsychotic treatment (r = 0.67, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS These results show lower cortical absolute perfusion in FEP prior to starting antipsychotic treatment and suggest relative-to-global frontal CBF as assessed with magnetic resonance imaging could potentially serve as a biomarker for antipsychotic response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Selvaggi
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Sameer Jauhar
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Early Intervention Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Vasileia Kotoula
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Fiona Pepper
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Barbara Santangelo
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Federico E. Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mitul A. Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Oliver D. Howes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, UK
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Sciences (ICS), Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
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Dipasquale O, Cohen A, Martins D, Zelaya F, Turkheimer F, Veronese M, Mehta MA, Williams SCR, Yang B, Banerjee S, Wang Y. Molecular-enriched functional connectivity in the human brain using multiband multi-echo simultaneous ASL/BOLD fMRI. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11751. [PMID: 37474568 PMCID: PMC10359289 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38573-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Receptor-enriched analysis of functional connectivity by targets (REACT) is a strategy to enrich functional MRI (fMRI) data with molecular information on the neurotransmitter distribution density in the human brain, providing a biological basis to the functional connectivity (FC) analysis. Although this approach has been used in BOLD fMRI studies only so far, extending its use to ASL imaging would provide many advantages, including the more direct link of ASL with neuronal activity compared to BOLD and its suitability for pharmacological MRI studies assessing drug effects on baseline brain function. Here, we applied REACT to simultaneous ASL/BOLD resting-state fMRI data of 29 healthy subjects and estimated the ASL and BOLD FC maps related to six molecular systems. We then compared the ASL and BOLD FC maps in terms of spatial similarity, and evaluated and compared the test-retest reproducibility of each modality. We found robust spatial patterns of molecular-enriched FC for both modalities, moderate similarity between BOLD and ASL FC maps and comparable reproducibility for all but one molecular-enriched functional networks. Our findings showed that ASL is as informative as BOLD in detecting functional circuits associated with specific molecular pathways, and that the two modalities may provide complementary information related to these circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ottavia Dipasquale
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Alexander Cohen
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA
| | - Daniel Martins
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Federico Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Steven C R Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | | | | | - Yang Wang
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
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Lawn T, Howard MA, Turkheimer F, Misic B, Deco G, Martins D, Dipasquale O. From neurotransmitters to networks: Transcending organisational hierarchies with molecular-informed functional imaging. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 150:105193. [PMID: 37086932 PMCID: PMC10390343 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023]
Abstract
The human brain exhibits complex interactions across micro, meso-, and macro-scale organisational principles. Recent synergistic multi-modal approaches have begun to link micro-scale information to systems level dynamics, transcending organisational hierarchies and offering novel perspectives into the brain's function and dysfunction. Specifically, the distribution of micro-scale properties (such as receptor density or gene expression) can be mapped onto macro-scale measures from functional MRI to provide novel neurobiological insights. Methodological approaches to enrich functional imaging analyses with molecular information are rapidly evolving, with several streams of research having developed relatively independently, each offering unique potential to explore the trans-hierarchical functioning of the brain. Here, we address the three principal streams of research - spatial correlation, molecular-enriched network, and in-silico whole brain modelling analyses - to provide a critical overview of the different sources of molecular information, how this information can be utilised within analyses of fMRI data, the merits and pitfalls of each methodology, and, through the use of key examples, highlight their promise to shed new light on key domains of neuroscientific inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Lawn
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Matthew A Howard
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Federico Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Bratislav Misic
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Daniel Martins
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ottavia Dipasquale
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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6
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Pisani S, Gunasekera B, Lu Y, Vignando M, Ffytche D, Aarsland D, Chaudhuri KR, Ballard C, Lee JY, Kim YK, Velayudhan L, Bhattacharyya S. Grey matter volume loss in Parkinson's disease psychosis and its relationship with serotonergic gene expression: A meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105081. [PMID: 36775084 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroanatomical alterations underlying psychosis in Parkinson's Disease (PDP) remain unclear. We carried out a meta-analysis of MRI studies investigating the neural correlates of PDP and examined its relation with dopaminergic and serotonergic receptor gene expression. METHODS PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were searched for MRI studies (k studies = 10) of PDP compared to PD patients without psychosis (PDnP). Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images and multiple linear regression analyses was used to examine the relationship between pooled estimates of grey matter volume (GMV) loss in PDP and D1/D2 and 5-HT1a/5-HT2a receptor gene expression estimates from Allen Human Brain Atlas. RESULTS We observed lower grey matter volume in parietal-temporo-occipital regions (PDP n = 211, PDnP, n = 298). GMV loss in PDP was associated with local expression of 5-HT1a (b = 0.109, p = 0.012) and 5-HT2a receptors (b= -0.106, p = 0.002) but not dopaminergic receptors. CONCLUSION Widespread GMV loss in the parieto-temporo-occipital regions may underlie PDP. Association between grey matter volume and local expression of serotonergic receptor genes may suggest a role for serotonergic receptors in PDP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Pisani
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
| | - Brandon Gunasekera
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
| | - Yining Lu
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
| | - Miriam Vignando
- Centre for Neuroimaging Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
| | - Dominic Ffytche
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
| | - Dag Aarsland
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom; Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM), Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.
| | - K Ray Chaudhuri
- Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Parkinson's Foundation Centre of Excellence, King's College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Clive Ballard
- Medical School, Medical School Building, St Luke's Campus, Magdalen Road, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, United Kingdom.
| | - Jee-Young Lee
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University-Seoul Metropolitan Government, Boramae Medical Center, 20, Boramae-ro 5-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 07061, Republic of Korea.
| | - Yu Kyeong Kim
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University-Seoul Metropolitan Government, Boramae Medical Center, 20, Boramae-ro 5-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 07061, Republic of Korea.
| | - Latha Velayudhan
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom; Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
| | - Sagnik Bhattacharyya
- Division of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
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Oliver D, Davies C, Zelaya F, Selvaggi P, De Micheli A, Catalan A, Baldwin H, Arribas M, Modinos G, Crossley NA, Allen P, Egerton A, Jauhar S, Howes OD, McGuire P, Fusar-Poli P. Parsing neurobiological heterogeneity of the clinical high-risk state for psychosis: A pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling study. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1092213. [PMID: 36970257 PMCID: PMC10031088 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1092213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The impact of the clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR-P) construct is dependent on accurately predicting outcomes. Individuals with brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms (BLIPS) have higher risk of developing a first episode of psychosis (FEP) compared to individuals with attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS). Supplementing subgroup stratification with information from candidate biomarkers based on neurobiological parameters, such as resting-state, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), may help refine risk estimates. Based on previous evidence, we hypothesized that individuals with BLIPS would exhibit increased rCBF compared to APS in key regions linked to dopaminergic pathways. Methods Data from four studies were combined using ComBat (to account for between-study differences) to analyse rCBF in 150 age- and sex-matched subjects (n = 30 healthy controls [HCs], n = 80 APS, n = 20 BLIPS and n = 20 FEP). Global gray matter (GM) rCBF was examined in addition to region-of-interest (ROI) analyses in bilateral/left/right frontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. Group differences were assessed using general linear models: (i) alone; (ii) with global GM rCBF as a covariate; (iii) with global GM rCBF and smoking status as covariates. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses and Bayesian ROI analyses were also conducted. No significant group differences were found in global [F(3,143) = 1,41, p = 0.24], bilateral frontal cortex [F(3,143) = 1.01, p = 0.39], hippocampus [F(3,143) = 0.63, p = 0.60] or striatum [F(3,143) = 0.52, p = 0.57] rCBF. Similar null findings were observed in lateralized ROIs (p > 0.05). All results were robust to addition of covariates (p > 0.05). No significant clusters were identified in whole-brain voxel-wise analyses (p > 0.05FWE). Weak-to-moderate evidence was found for an absence of rCBF differences between APS and BLIPS in Bayesian ROI analyses. Conclusion On this evidence, APS and BLIPS are unlikely to be neurobiologically distinct. Due to this and the weak-to-moderate evidence for the null hypothesis, future research should investigate larger samples of APS and BLIPS through collaboration across large-scale international consortia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Oliver
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Cathy Davies
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Pierluigi Selvaggi
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Andrea De Micheli
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- OASIS Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ana Catalan
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Mental Health Department, Basurto University Hospital, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Campus de Leioa, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, UPV/EHU, University of the Basque Country, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Helen Baldwin
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Maite Arribas
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas A. Crossley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paul Allen
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alice Egerton
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sameer Jauhar
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver D. Howes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- OASIS Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
- Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute for Health Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- OASIS Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
- Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute for Health Research, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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8
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Bojesen KB, Glenthøj BY, Sigvard AK, Tangmose K, Raghava JM, Ebdrup BH, Rostrup E. Cerebral blood flow in striatum is increased by partial dopamine agonism in initially antipsychotic-naïve patients with psychosis. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1-11. [PMID: 36754993 PMCID: PMC10600821 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723000144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in striatum and thalamus is increased in medicated patients with psychosis, but whether this is caused by treatment or illness pathology is unclear. Specifically, effects of partial dopamine agonism, sex, and clinical correlates on rCBF are sparsely investigated. We therefore assessed rCBF in antipsychotic-naïve psychosis patients before and after aripiprazole monotherapy and related findings to sex and symptom improvement. METHODS We assessed rCBF with the pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (PCASL) sequence in 49 first-episode patients (22.6 ± 5.2 years, 58% females) and 50 healthy controls (HCs) (22.3 ± 4.4 years, 63% females) at baseline and in 29 patients and 49 HCs after six weeks. RCBF in striatum and thalamus was estimated with a region-of-interest (ROI) approach. Psychopathology was assessed with the positive and negative syndrome scale. RESULTS Baseline rCBF in striatum and thalamus was not altered in the combined patient group compared with HCs, but female patients had lower striatal rCBF compared with male patients (p = 0.009). Treatment with a partial dopamine agonist increased rCBF significantly in striatum (p = 0.006) in the whole patient group, but not significantly in thalamus. Baseline rCBF in nucleus accumbens was negatively associated with improvement in positive symptoms (p = 0.046), but baseline perfusion in whole striatum and thalamus was not related to treatment outcome. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that striatal perfusion is increased by partial dopamine agonism and decreased in female patients prior to first treatment. This underlines the importance of treatment effects and sex differences when investigating the neurobiology of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Borup Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Yding Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne Korning Sigvard
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Karen Tangmose
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jayachandra Mitta Raghava
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Bjørn Hylsebeck Ebdrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
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9
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Zhang D, Fu Q, Xue C, Xiao C, Sun Y, Liu W, Hu X. Characterization of Hemodynamic Alteration in Parkinson's Disease and Effect on Resting-State Connectivity. Neuroscience 2023:S0306-4522(23)00006-4. [PMID: 36642395 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a convolution of latent neural activity and the hemodynamic response function (HRF). According to prior studies, the neurodegenerative process in idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (PD) interacts significantly with neuromuscular abnormalities. Although these underlying neuromuscular changes might influence the temporal characteristics of HRF and fMRI signals, relatively few studies have explored this possibility. We hypothesized that such alterations would engender changes in estimated functional connectivity (FC) in fMRI space compared to latent neural space. To test these theories, we calculated voxel-level HRFs by deconvolving resting-state fMRI data from PD patients (n = 61) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 47). Significant group differences in HRF (P < 0.05, Gaussian random field-corrected) were observed in several regions previously associated with PD. Subsequently, we focused on putamen-seed-based FC differences between the PD and HC groups using fMRI and latent neural signals. The results suggested that neglecting HRF variability may cultivate false-positive and false-negative FC group differences. Furthermore, HRF was related to dopamine receptor type 2 (DRD2) gene expression (P < 0.001, t = -7.06, false discover rate-corrected). Taken together, these findings reveal HRF variation and its possible underlying molecular mechanism in PD, and suggest that deconvolution could reduce the impact of HRF variation on FC group differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qianyi Fu
- International Laboratory for Children's Medical Imaging Research, School of Biological Sciences and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chen Xue
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chaoyong Xiao
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu Sun
- International Laboratory for Children's Medical Imaging Research, School of Biological Sciences and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Research Centre for University of Birmingham and Southeast University, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Weiguo Liu
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Xiao Hu
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
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10
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Vamvakas A, Lawn T, Veronese M, Williams SCR, Tsougos I, Howard MA. Neurotransmitter receptor densities are associated with changes in regional Cerebral blood flow during clinical ongoing pain. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:5235-5249. [PMID: 35796178 PMCID: PMC9812236 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Arterial spin labelling (ASL) plays an increasingly important role in neuroimaging pain research but does not provide molecular insights regarding how regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) relates to underlying neurotransmission. Here, we integrate ASL with positron emission tomography (PET) and brain transcriptome data to investigate the molecular substrates of rCBF underlying clinically relevant pain states. Two data sets, representing acute and chronic ongoing pain respectively, were utilised to quantify changes in rCBF; one examining pre-surgical versus post-surgical pain, and the second comparing patients with painful hand Osteoarthritis to a group of matched controls. We implemented a whole-brain spatial correlation analysis to explore associations between change in rCBF (ΔCBF) and neurotransmitter receptor distributions derived from normative PET templates. Additionally, we utilised transcriptomic data from the Allen Brain Atlas to inform distributions of receptor expression. Both datasets presented significant correlations of ΔCBF with the μ-opioid and dopamine-D2 receptor expressions, which play fundamental roles in brain activity associated with pain experiences. ΔCBF also correlated with the gene expression distributions of several receptors involved in pain processing. Overall, this is the first study illustrating the molecular basis of ongoing pain ASL indices and emphasises the potential of rCBF as a biomarker in pain research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Vamvakas
- Medical Physics Department, Medical SchoolUniversity of ThessalyLarisaGreece
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Timothy Lawn
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Steven C. R. Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Ioannis Tsougos
- Medical Physics Department, Medical SchoolUniversity of ThessalyLarisaGreece
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Matthew A. Howard
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
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11
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Knudsen LV, Sheldrick AJ, Vafaee MS, Michel TM. Diversifying autism neuroimaging research: An arterial spin labeling review. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2022:13623613221137230. [DOI: 10.1177/13623613221137230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Cognition and brain homeostasis depends on cerebral blood flow to secure adequate oxygen and nutrient distribution to the brain tissue. Altered cerebral blood flow has previously been reported in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum condition in comparison to non-autistics. This phenomenon might suggest cerebral blood flow as a potential biomarker for autism spectrum condition. Major technological advancement enables the non-invasive and quantitative measurement of cerebral blood flow via arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging. However, most neuroimaging studies in autistic individuals exploit the indirect blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signal instead. Therefore, this review examines the use of arterial spin labeling to further investigate the neurobiology of the autism spectrum condition. Followed by a comparison of results from molecular imaging and arterial spin labeling studies and a discussion concerning the future direction and potential of arterial spin labeling in this context. We found that arterial spin labeling study results are consistent with those of molecular imaging, especially after considering the effect of age and sex. Arterial spin labeling has numerous application possibilities besides the quantification of cerebral blood flow, including assessment of functional connectivity and arterial transit time. Therefore, we encourage researchers to explore and consider the application of arterial spin labeling for future scientific studies in the quest to better understand the neurobiology of autism spectrum condition. Lay abstract Brain function and health depend on cerebral blood flow to secure the necessary delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain tissue. However, cerebral blood flow appears to be altered in autistic compared to non-autistic individuals, potentially suggesting this difference to be a cause and potential identification point of autism. Recent technological development enables precise and non-invasive measurement of cerebral blood flow via the magnetic resonance imaging method referred to as arterial spin labeling. However, most neuroimaging studies still prefer using the physiologically indirect measure derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging. Therefore, this review examines the use of arterial spin labeling to further investigate the neurobiology of autism. Furthermore, the review includes a comparison of results from molecular imaging and arterial spin labeling followed by a discussion concerning the future direction and potential of arterial spin labeling. We found that arterial spin labeling study results are consistent with those of molecular imaging, especially after considering the effect of age and sex. In addition, arterial spin labeling has numerous application possibilities besides the quantification of cerebral blood flow. Therefore, we encourage researchers to explore and consider the application of arterial spin labeling for future scientific studies in the quest to better understand the neurobiology of autism.
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12
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Gunasekera B, Davies C, Blest-Hopley G, Veronese M, Ramsey NF, Bossong MG, Radua J, Bhattacharyya S. Task-independent acute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on human brain function and its relationship with cannabinoid receptor gene expression: A neuroimaging meta-regression analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104801. [PMID: 35914625 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104801] [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: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) remain unclear. Here, we examined the spatial acute effect of THC on human regional brain activation or blood flow (hereafter called 'activation signal') in a 'core' network of brain regions from 372 participants, tested using a within-subject repeated measures design under experimental conditions. We also investigated whether the neuromodulatory effects of THC are related to the local expression of the cannabinoid-type-1 (CB1R) and type-2 (CB2R) receptors. Finally, we investigated the dose-response relationship between THC and key brain substrates. These meta-analytic findings shed new light on the localisation of the effects of THC in the human brain, suggesting that THC has neuromodulatory effects in regions central to many cognitive tasks and processes, related to dose, with greater effects in regions with higher levels of CB1R expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Gunasekera
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Cathy Davies
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Grace Blest-Hopley
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King's College London, UK; Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua, Italy
| | - Nick F Ramsey
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Matthijs G Bossong
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Joaquim Radua
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sagnik Bhattacharyya
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
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13
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Cortical D1 and D2 dopamine receptor availability modulate methylphenidate-induced changes in brain activity and functional connectivity. Commun Biol 2022; 5:514. [PMID: 35637272 PMCID: PMC9151821 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03434-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine signaling plays a critical role in shaping brain functional network organization and behavior. Prominent theories suggest the relative expression of D1- to D2-like dopamine receptors shapes excitatory versus inhibitory signaling, with broad consequences for cognition. Yet it remains unknown how the balance between cortical D1R versus D2R signaling coordinates the activity and connectivity of functional networks in the human brain. To address this, we collected three PET scans and two fMRI scans in 36 healthy adults (13 female/23 male; average age 43 ± 12 years), including a baseline D1R PET scan and two sets of D2R PET scans and fMRI scans following administration of either 60 mg oral methylphenidate or placebo (two separate days, blinded, order counterbalanced). The drug challenge allowed us to assess how pharmacologically boosting dopamine levels alters network organization and behavior in association with D1R-D2R ratios across the brain. We found that the relative D1R-D2R ratio was significantly greater in high-level association cortices than in sensorimotor cortices. After stimulation with methylphenidate compared to placebo, brain activity (as indexed by the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations) increased in association cortices and decreased in sensorimotor cortices. Further, within-network resting state functional connectivity strength decreased more in sensorimotor than association cortices following methylphenidate. Finally, in association but not sensorimotor cortices, the relative D1R-D2R ratio (but not the relative availability of D1R or D2R alone) was positively correlated with spatial working memory performance, and negatively correlated with age. Together, these data provide a framework for how dopamine-boosting drugs like methylphenidate alter brain function, whereby regions with relatively higher inhibitory D2R (i.e., sensorimotor cortices) tend to have greater decreases in brain activity and connectivity compared to regions with relatively higher excitatory D1R (i.e., association cortices). They also support the importance of a balanced interaction between D1R and D2R in association cortices for cognitive function and its degradation with aging. Joint PET and MRI analyses of cortical D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in healthy adults provide a framework for understanding how dopamine-boosting drugs alter brain function.
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14
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Yan W, Palaniyappan L, Liddle PF, Rangaprakash D, Wei W, Deshpande G. Characterization of Hemodynamic Alterations in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and Their Effect on Resting-State fMRI Functional Connectivity. Schizophr Bull 2022; 48:695-711. [PMID: 34951473 PMCID: PMC9077436 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Common and distinct neural bases of Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) have been explored using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) functional connectivity (FC). However, fMRI is an indirect measure of neural activity, which is a convolution of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) and latent neural activity. The HRF, which models neurovascular coupling, varies across the brain within and across individuals, and is altered in many psychiatric disorders. Given this background, this study had three aims: quantifying HRF aberrations in SZ and BP, measuring the impact of such HRF aberrations on FC group differences, and exploring the genetic basis of HRF aberrations. We estimated voxel-level HRFs by deconvolving rs-fMRI data obtained from SZ (N = 38), BP (N = 19), and matched healthy controls (N = 35). We identified HRF group differences (P < .05, FDR corrected) in many regions previously implicated in SZ/BP, with mediodorsal, habenular, and central lateral nuclei of the thalamus exhibiting HRF differences in all pairwise group comparisons. Thalamus seed-based FC analysis revealed that ignoring HRF variability results in false-positive and false-negative FC group differences, especially in insula, superior frontal, and lingual gyri. HRF was associated with DRD2 gene expression (P < .05, 1.62 < |Z| < 2.0), as well as with medication dose (P < .05, 1.75 < |Z| < 3.25). In this first study to report HRF aberrations in SZ and BP, we report the possible modulatory effect of dopaminergic signalling on HRF, and the impact that HRF variability can have on FC studies in clinical samples. To mitigate the impact of HRF variability on FC group differences, we suggest deconvolution during data preprocessing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Yan
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, AU MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
- Department of Information Management, School of E-business and Logistics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
| | - Lena Palaniyappan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Peter F Liddle
- Centre for Translational Neuroimaging, Division of Mental Health and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, UK
| | - D Rangaprakash
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Information Management, School of E-business and Logistics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
| | - Gopikrishna Deshpande
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, AU MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
- Alabama Advanced Imaging Consortium, Birmingham, AL
- Center for Neuroscience, Auburn University, AL, USA
- School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Learning and Cognition, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
- Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
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15
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Vignando M, Ffytche D, Lewis SJG, Lee PH, Chung SJ, Weil RS, Hu MT, Mackay CE, Griffanti L, Pins D, Dujardin K, Jardri R, Taylor JP, Firbank M, McAlonan G, Mak HKF, Ho SL, Mehta MA. Mapping brain structural differences and neuroreceptor correlates in Parkinson's disease visual hallucinations. Nat Commun 2022; 13:519. [PMID: 35082285 PMCID: PMC8791961 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28087-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's psychosis (PDP) describes a spectrum of symptoms that may arise in Parkinson's disease (PD) including visual hallucinations (VH). Imaging studies investigating the neural correlates of PDP have been inconsistent in their findings, due to differences in study design and limitations of scale. Here we use empirical Bayes harmonisation to pool together structural imaging data from multiple research groups into a large-scale mega-analysis, allowing us to identify cortical regions and networks involved in VH and their relation to receptor binding. Differences of morphometrics analysed show a wider cortical involvement underlying VH than previously recognised, including primary visual cortex and surrounding regions, and the hippocampus, independent of its role in cognitive decline. Structural covariance analyses point to the involvement of the attentional control networks in PD-VH, while associations with receptor density maps suggest neurotransmitter loss may be linked to the cortical changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Vignando
- Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Dominic Ffytche
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Simon J G Lewis
- ForeFront Parkinson's Disease Research Clinic, Brain and Mind Centre, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Phil Hyu Lee
- Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | | | - Rimona S Weil
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1M 3BG, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michele T Hu
- Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Clare E Mackay
- Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ludovica Griffanti
- Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Delphine Pins
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Centre Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Kathy Dujardin
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Centre Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Renaud Jardri
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Centre Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, 59000, Lille, France
| | - John-Paul Taylor
- Newcastle University, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Biomedical Research Building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Michael Firbank
- Newcastle University, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Biomedical Research Building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Grainne McAlonan
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Henry K F Mak
- Division of Neurology, Dept of Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Shu Leong Ho
- Division of Neurology, Dept of Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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16
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Lu HY, Lorenc ES, Zhu H, Kilmarx J, Sulzer J, Xie C, Tobler PN, Watrous AJ, Orsborn AL, Lewis-Peacock J, Santacruz SR. Multi-scale neural decoding and analysis. J Neural Eng 2021; 18. [PMID: 34284369 PMCID: PMC8840800 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac160f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Objective. Complex spatiotemporal neural activity encodes rich information related to behavior and cognition. Conventional research has focused on neural activity acquired using one of many different measurement modalities, each of which provides useful but incomplete assessment of the neural code. Multi-modal techniques can overcome tradeoffs in the spatial and temporal resolution of a single modality to reveal deeper and more comprehensive understanding of system-level neural mechanisms. Uncovering multi-scale dynamics is essential for a mechanistic understanding of brain function and for harnessing neuroscientific insights to develop more effective clinical treatment. Approach. We discuss conventional methodologies used for characterizing neural activity at different scales and review contemporary examples of how these approaches have been combined. Then we present our case for integrating activity across multiple scales to benefit from the combined strengths of each approach and elucidate a more holistic understanding of neural processes. Main results. We examine various combinations of neural activity at different scales and analytical techniques that can be used to integrate or illuminate information across scales, as well the technologies that enable such exciting studies. We conclude with challenges facing future multi-scale studies, and a discussion of the power and potential of these approaches. Significance. This roadmap will lead the readers toward a broad range of multi-scale neural decoding techniques and their benefits over single-modality analyses. This Review article highlights the importance of multi-scale analyses for systematically interrogating complex spatiotemporal mechanisms underlying cognition and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung-Yun Lu
- The University of Texas at Austin, Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth S Lorenc
- The University of Texas at Austin, Psychology, Austin, TX, United States of America.,The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Neuroscience, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Hanlin Zhu
- Rice University, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Justin Kilmarx
- The University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - James Sulzer
- The University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, Austin, TX, United States of America.,The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Neuroscience, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Chong Xie
- Rice University, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- University of Zurich, Neuroeconomics and Social Neuroscience, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew J Watrous
- The University of Texas at Austin, Neurology, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Amy L Orsborn
- University of Washington, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seattle, WA, United States of America.,University of Washington, Bioengineering, Seattle, WA, United States of America.,Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Jarrod Lewis-Peacock
- The University of Texas at Austin, Psychology, Austin, TX, United States of America.,The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Neuroscience, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Samantha R Santacruz
- The University of Texas at Austin, Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX, United States of America.,The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Neuroscience, Austin, TX, United States of America
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17
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Selvaggi P, Rizzo G, Mehta MA, Turkheimer FE, Veronese M. Integration of human whole-brain transcriptome and neuroimaging data: Practical considerations of current available methods. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 355:109128. [PMID: 33722642 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA) is the first example of human brain transcriptomic mappings and detailed anatomical annotations which, for the first time, has allowed the integration of human brain transcriptomics with neuroimaging. This has been made possible because the AHBA offered an original dataset that contains mRNA expression measures for >20,000 genes covering the whole brain and, critically, in a standard stereotaxic space. In recent years many different methods have been used to integrate this data set with brain imaging data, although this endeavour has lacked harmony in terms of the workflow of data processing and subsequent analyses. In this work we discuss five main issues that experience has highlighted as in need of thorough consideration when integrating the AHBA with neuroimaging. These concerns are corroborated by comparing the performance of three different publicly available methods in correlating the same measures of serotonin receptors density with the correspondent AHBA mRNA maps. In this representative case, we were able to show how these methods can lead to discrepant results, suggesting that processing options are not neutral. We believe that the field should take into serious consideration these issues as they could undermine reproducibility and, in the end, the intrinsic value of the AHBA. We also advise on possible strategies to overcome these discrepancies. Finally, we encourage authors towards practices that will improve reproducibility such as transparency in reporting, algorithm and data sharing, collaboration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Selvaggi
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Gaia Rizzo
- Invicro, W12 0NN, London, UK; Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, SW72AZ, London, UK
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Federico E Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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18
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Dukart J, Holiga S, Rullmann M, Lanzenberger R, Hawkins PCT, Mehta MA, Hesse S, Barthel H, Sabri O, Jech R, Eickhoff SB. JuSpace: A tool for spatial correlation analyses of magnetic resonance imaging data with nuclear imaging derived neurotransmitter maps. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:555-566. [PMID: 33079453 PMCID: PMC7814756 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that drug‐induced spatial alteration patterns in resting state functional activity as measured using magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) are associated with the distribution of specific receptor systems targeted by respective compounds. Based on this approach, we introduce a toolbox (JuSpace) allowing for cross‐modal correlation of MRI‐based measures with nuclear imaging derived estimates covering various neurotransmitter systems including dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, and GABAergic (gamma‐aminobutric acid) neurotransmission. We apply JuSpace to two datasets covering Parkinson's disease patients (PD) and risperidone‐induced changes in rsfMRI and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Consistently with the predominant neurodegeneration of dopaminergic and serotonergic system in PD, we find significant spatial associations between rsfMRI activity alterations in PD and dopaminergic (D2) and serotonergic systems (5‐HT1b). Risperidone induced CBF alterations were correlated with its main targets in serotonergic and dopaminergic systems. JuSpace provides a biologically meaningful framework for linking neuroimaging to underlying neurotransmitter information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juergen Dukart
- Institute of Neuroscience and MedicineBrain & Behaviour (INM‐7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems NeuroscienceMedical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Stefan Holiga
- Roche Pharma Research and Early DevelopmentRoche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann‐La Roche Ltd.BaselSwitzerland
| | - Michael Rullmann
- Department of Nuclear MedicineUniversity Hospital of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and PsychotherapyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Peter C. T. Hawkins
- Department of NeuroimagingInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Mitul A. Mehta
- Department of NeuroimagingInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Swen Hesse
- Department of Nuclear MedicineUniversity Hospital of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Henryk Barthel
- Department of Nuclear MedicineUniversity Hospital of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Osama Sabri
- Department of Nuclear MedicineUniversity Hospital of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Robert Jech
- Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical NeuroscienceCharles University, 1st Faculty of Medicine and General University HospitalPragueCzech Republic
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and MedicineBrain & Behaviour (INM‐7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems NeuroscienceMedical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
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19
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Ceccarini J, Liu H, Van Laere K, Morris ED, Sander CY. Methods for Quantifying Neurotransmitter Dynamics in the Living Brain With PET Imaging. Front Physiol 2020; 11:792. [PMID: 32792972 PMCID: PMC7385290 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging in neuropsychiatry is a powerful tool for the quantification of molecular brain targets to characterize disease, assess disease subtype differences, evaluate short- and long-term effects of treatments, or even to measure neurotransmitter levels in healthy and psychiatric conditions. In this work, we present different methodological approaches (time-invariant models and models with time-varying terms) that have been used to measure dynamic changes in neurotransmitter levels induced by pharmacological or behavioral challenges in humans. The developments and potential use of hybrid PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for neurotransmission brain research will also be highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Ceccarini
- Division of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Heather Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Koen Van Laere
- Division of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Evan D Morris
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.,Invicro LLC, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Christin Y Sander
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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20
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Sander CY, Hansen HD, Wey HY. Advances in simultaneous PET/MR for imaging neuroreceptor function. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2020; 40:1148-1166. [PMID: 32169011 PMCID: PMC7238372 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x20910038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Hybrid imaging using PET/MRI has emerged as a platform for elucidating novel neurobiology, molecular and functional changes in disease, and responses to physiological or pharmacological interventions. For the central nervous system, PET/MRI has provided insights into biochemical processes, linking selective molecular targets and distributed brain function. This review highlights several examples that leverage the strengths of simultaneous PET/MRI, which includes measuring the perturbation of multi-modal imaging signals on dynamic timescales during pharmacological challenges, physiological interventions or behavioral tasks. We discuss important considerations for the experimental design of dynamic PET/MRI studies and data analysis approaches for comparing and quantifying simultaneous PET/MRI data. The primary focus of this review is on functional PET/MRI studies of neurotransmitter and receptor systems, with an emphasis on the dopamine, opioid, serotonin and glutamate systems as molecular neuromodulators. In this context, we provide an overview of studies that employ interventions to alter the activity of neuroreceptors or the release of neurotransmitters. Overall, we emphasize how the synergistic use of simultaneous PET/MRI with appropriate study design and interventions has the potential to expand our knowledge about the molecular and functional dynamics of the living human brain. Finally, we give an outlook on the future opportunities for simultaneous PET/MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christin Y Sander
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA
| | - Hanne D Hansen
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA.,Neurobiology Research Unit and NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hsiao-Ying Wey
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA
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21
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Turkheimer FE, Selvaggi P, Mehta MA, Veronese M, Zelaya F, Dazzan P, Vernon AC. Normalizing the Abnormal: Do Antipsychotic Drugs Push the Cortex Into an Unsustainable Metabolic Envelope? Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:484-495. [PMID: 31755955 PMCID: PMC7147598 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The use of antipsychotic medication to manage psychosis, principally in those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, is well established. Antipsychotics are effective in normalizing positive symptoms of psychosis in the short term (delusions, hallucinations and disordered thought). Their long-term use is, however, associated with side effects, including several types of movement (extrapyramidal syndrome, dyskinesia, akathisia), metabolic and cardiac disorders. Furthermore, higher lifetime antipsychotic dose-years may be associated with poorer cognitive performance and blunted affect, although the mechanisms driving the latter associations are not well understood. In this article, we propose a novel model of the long-term effects of antipsychotic administration focusing on the changes in brain metabolic homeostasis induced by the medication. We propose here that the brain metabolic normalization, that occurs in parallel to the normalization of psychotic symptoms following antipsychotic treatment, may not ultimately be sustainable by the cerebral tissue of some patients; these patients may be characterized by already reduced oxidative metabolic capacity and this may push the brain into an unsustainable metabolic envelope resulting in tissue remodeling. To support this perspective, we will review the existing data on the brain metabolic trajectories of patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia as indexed using available neuroimaging tools before and after use of medication. We will also consider data from pre-clinical studies to provide mechanistic support for our model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico E Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Pierluigi Selvaggi
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Paola Dazzan
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Anthony C Vernon
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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22
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Dipasquale O, Selvaggi P, Veronese M, Gabay AS, Turkheimer F, Mehta MA. Receptor-Enriched Analysis of functional connectivity by targets (REACT): A novel, multimodal analytical approach informed by PET to study the pharmacodynamic response of the brain under MDMA. Neuroimage 2019; 195:252-260. [PMID: 30953835 PMCID: PMC6547164 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the main limitations of pharmacological fMRI is its inability to provide a molecular insight into the main effect of compounds, leaving an open question about the relationship between drug effects and haemodynamic response. The aim of this study is to investigate the acute effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on functional connectivity (FC) using a novel multimodal method (Receptor-Enriched Analysis of functional Connectivity by Targets - REACT). This approach enriches the resting state (rs-)fMRI analysis with the molecular information about the distribution density of serotonin receptors in the brain, given the serotonergic action of MDMA. Twenty healthy subjects participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. A high-resolution in vivo atlas of four serotonin receptors (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT4) and its transporter (5-HTT) was used as a template in a two-step multivariate regression analysis to estimate the spatial maps reflecting the whole-brain connectivity behaviour related to each target under placebo and MDMA. Results showed that the networks exhibiting significant changes after MDMA administration are the ones informed by the 5-HTT and 5-HT1A distribution density maps, which are the main targets of this compound. Changes in the 5-HT1A-enriched functional maps were also associated with the pharmacokinetic levels of MDMA and MDMA-induced FC changes in the 5-HT2A-enriched maps correlated with the spiritual experience subscale of the Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire. By enriching the rs-fMRI analysis with molecular data of voxel-wise distribution of the serotonin receptors across the brain, we showed that MDMA effects on FC can be understood through the distribution of its main targets. This result supports the ability of this method to characterise the specificity of the functional response of the brain to MDMA binding to serotonergic receptors, paving the way to the definition of a new fingerprint in the characterization of new compounds and potentially to a further understanding to the response to treatment. MDMA connectivity effects understood through the distribution of 5-HT1A and 5-HTT. Direct link between PK levels of MDMA and 5-HT1A-enriched functional connectivity maps. Ability to link receptor targets to functional mechanisms underlying behaviour. Mapping pharmacodynamic effects onto the drug's molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ottavia Dipasquale
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Pierluigi Selvaggi
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mattia Veronese
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony S Gabay
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Federico Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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23
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Dopamine D 2/3 Binding Potential Modulates Neural Signatures of Working Memory in a Load-Dependent Fashion. J Neurosci 2018; 39:537-547. [PMID: 30478031 PMCID: PMC6335744 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1493-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) modulates corticostriatal connections. Studies in which imaging of the DA system is integrated with functional imaging during cognitive performance have yielded mixed findings. Some work has shown a link between striatal DA (measured by PET) and fMRI activations, whereas others have failed to observe such a relationship. One possible reason for these discrepant findings is differences in task demands, such that a more demanding task with greater prefrontal activations may yield a stronger association with DA. Moreover, a potential DA–BOLD association may be modulated by task performance. We studied 155 (104 normal-performing and 51 low-performing) healthy older adults (43% females) who underwent fMRI scanning while performing a working memory (WM) n-back task along with DA D2/3 PET assessment using [11C]raclopride. Using multivariate partial-least-squares analysis, we observed a significant pattern revealing positive associations of striatal as well as extrastriatal DA D2/3 receptors to BOLD response in the thalamo–striatal–cortical circuit, which supports WM functioning. Critically, the DA–BOLD association in normal-performing, but not low-performing, individuals was expressed in a load-dependent fashion, with stronger associations during 3-back than 1-/2-back conditions. Moreover, normal-performing adults expressing upregulated BOLD in response to increasing task demands showed a stronger DA–BOLD association during 3-back, whereas low-performing individuals expressed a stronger association during 2-back conditions. This pattern suggests a nonlinear DA–BOLD performance association, with the strongest link at the maximum capacity level. Together, our results suggest that DA may have a stronger impact on functional brain responses during more demanding cognitive tasks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dopamine (DA) is a major neuromodulator in the CNS and plays a key role in several cognitive processes via modulating the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal. Some studies have shown a link between DA and BOLD, whereas others have failed to observe such a relationship. A possible reason for the discrepancy is differences in task demands, such that a more demanding task with greater prefrontal activations may yield a stronger association with DA. We examined the relationship of DA to BOLD response during working memory under three load conditions and found that the DA–BOLD association is expressed in a load-dependent fashion. These findings may help explain the disproportionate impairment evident in more effortful cognitive tasks in normal aging and in those suffering dopamine-dependent neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease).
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