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Male AG, Goudzwaard E, Nakahara S, Turner JA, Calhoun VD, Mueller BA, Lim KO, Bustillo JR, Belger A, Voyvodic J, O'Leary D, Mathalon DH, Ford JM, Potkin SG, Preda A, van Erp TGM. Structural white matter abnormalities in Schizophrenia and associations with neurocognitive performance and symptom severity. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2024; 342:111843. [PMID: 38896909 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2024.111843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with robust white matter (WM) abnormalities but influences of potentially confounding variables and relationships with cognitive performance and symptom severity remain to be fully determined. This study was designed to evaluate WM abnormalities based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in individuals with schizophrenia, and their relationships with cognitive performance and symptom severity. Data from individuals with schizophrenia (SZ; n=138, mean age±SD=39.02±11.82; 105 males) and healthy controls (HC; n=143, mean age±SD=37.07±10.84; 102 males) were collected as part of the Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network Phase 3 study. Fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), and mean diffusivity (MD) were compared between individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls, and their relationships with neurocognitive performance and symptomatology assessed. Individuals with SZ had significantly lower FA in forceps minor and the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus compared to HC. FA in several tracts were associated with speed of processing and attention/vigilance and the severity of the negative symptom alogia. This study suggests that regional WM abnormalities are fundamentally involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and may contribute to cognitive performance deficits and symptom expression observed in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alie G Male
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
| | - Esther Goudzwaard
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA; University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1000 GG, The Netherlands
| | - Soichiro Nakahara
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA; Discovery Accelerator Venture Unit Direct Reprogramming, Astellas Pharma Inc., 21 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8585, Japan
| | - Jessica A Turner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA; Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Bryon A Mueller
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
| | - Kelvin O Lim
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
| | - Juan R Bustillo
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Aysenil Belger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - James Voyvodic
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Daniel O'Leary
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Daniel H Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA
| | - Judith M Ford
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA
| | - Steven G Potkin
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
| | - Adrian Preda
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
| | - Theo G M van Erp
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA; Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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Dietze LMF, McWhinney SR, Radua J, Hajek T. Extended and replicated white matter changes in obesity: Voxel-based and region of interest meta-analyses of diffusion tensor imaging studies. Front Nutr 2023; 10:1108360. [PMID: 36960197 PMCID: PMC10028081 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1108360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Obesity has become a global public health issue, which impacts general health and the brain. Associations between obesity and white matter microstructure measured using diffusion tensor imaging have been under reviewed, despite a relatively large number of individual studies. Our objective was to determine the association between obesity and white matter microstructure in a large general population sample. Methods We analyzed location of brain white matter changes in obesity using the Anisotropic Effect Size Seed-based d Mapping (AES-SDM) method in a voxel-based meta-analysis, with validation in a region of interest (ROI) effect size meta-analysis. Our sample included 21 742 individuals from 51 studies. Results The voxel-based spatial meta-analysis demonstrated reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) with obesity in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, middle cerebellar peduncles, anterior thalamic radiation, cortico-spinal projections, and cerebellum. The ROI effect size meta-analysis replicated associations between obesity and lower FA in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, middle cerebellar peduncles. Effect size of obesity related brain changes was small to medium. Discussion Our findings demonstrate obesity related brain white matter changes are localized rather than diffuse. Better understanding the brain correlates of obesity could help identify risk factors, and targets for prevention or treatment of brain changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorielle M. F. Dietze
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | | | - Joaquim Radua
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Mental Health Research Networking Center (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Psychiatric Research and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tomas Hajek
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- National Institute of Mental Health, Prague, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Tomas Hajek,
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Huang H, Ma X, Yue X, Kang S, Li Y, Rao Y, Feng Y, Wu J, Long W, Chen Y, Lyu W, Tan X, Qiu S. White Matter Characteristics of Damage Along Fiber Tracts in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Clin Neuroradiol 2022; 33:327-341. [DOI: 10.1007/s00062-022-01213-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
The white matter (WM) of the brain of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is susceptible to neurodegenerative processes, but the specific types and positions of microstructural lesions along the fiber tracts remain unclear.
Methods
In this study 61 T2DM patients and 61 healthy controls were recruited and underwent diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI). The results were reconstructed with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI). WM microstructural abnormalities were identified using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Pointwise WM tract differences were detected through automatic fiber quantification (AFQ). The relationships between WM tract abnormalities and clinical characteristics were explored with partial correlation analysis.
Results
TBSS revealed widespread WM lesions in T2DM patients with decreased fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity and an increased orientation dispersion index (ODI). The AFQ results showed microstructural abnormalities in T2DM patients in specific portions of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), right arcuate fasciculus (ARC), left anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), and forceps major (FMA). In the right ARC of T2DM patients, an aberrant ODI was positively correlated with fasting insulin and insulin resistance, and an abnormal intracellular volume fraction was negatively correlated with fasting blood glucose. Additionally, negative associations were found between blood pressure and microstructural abnormalities in the right ARC, left ATR, and FMA in T2DM patients.
Conclusion
Using AFQ, together with DTI and NODDI, various kinds of microstructural alterations in the right SLF, right ARC, left ATR, and FMA can be accurately identified and may be associated with insulin and glucose status and blood pressure in T2DM patients.
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Luttenbacher I, Phillips A, Kazemi R, Hadipour AL, Sanghvi I, Martinez J, Adamson MM. Transdiagnostic role of glutamate and white matter damage in neuropsychiatric disorders: A Systematic Review. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 147:324-348. [PMID: 35151030 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.12.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ) have been considered distinct categories of diseases despite their overlapping characteristics and symptomatology. We aimed to provide an in-depth review elucidating the role of glutamate/Glx and white matter (WM) abnormalities in these disorders from a transdiagnostic perspective. The PubMed online database was searched for studies published between 2010 and 2021. After careful screening, 401 studies were included. The findings point to decreased levels of glutamate in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in both SZ and BD, whereas Glx is elevated in the Hippocampus in SZ and MDD. With regard to WM abnormalities, the Corpus Callosum and superior Longitudinal Fascicle were the most consistently identified brain regions showing decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) across all the reviewed disorders, except GAD. Additionally, the Uncinate Fasciculus displayed decreased FA in all disorders, except OCD. Decreased FA was also found in the inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus, inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus, Thalamic Radiation, and Corona Radiata in SZ, BD, and MDD. Decreased FA in the Fornix and Corticospinal Tract were found in BD and SZ patients. The Cingulum and Anterior Limb of Internal Capsule exhibited decreased FA in MDD and SZ patients. The results suggest a gradual increase in severity from GAD to SZ defined by the number of brain regions with WM abnormality which may be partially caused by abnormal glutamate levels. WM damage could thus be considered a potential marker of some of the main neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Luttenbacher
- Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Angela Phillips
- Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Reza Kazemi
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abed L Hadipour
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Isha Sanghvi
- Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Julian Martinez
- Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Maheen M Adamson
- Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Luckhoff HK, du Plessis S, Scheffler F, Phahladira L, Kilian S, Buckle C, Smit R, Chiliza B, Asmal L, Emsley R. Fronto-limbic white matter fractional anisotropy and body mass index in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients compared to healthy controls. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2020; 305:111173. [PMID: 32896691 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In this diffusion tensor imaging study, we explored the associations of body mass index (BMI) with white matter microstructure in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients (n = 69) versus healthy controls (n = 93). We focused on fractional anisotropy (FA) measures for fronto-limbic white matter tracts known to connect brain regions which form part of a "core eating network". Secondary objectives included the associations of body mass with global illness severity, psychopathology and depressive symptoms. In a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) model, there was a significant interaction between BMI and group (patient versus control) across the fronto-limbic white matter tracts of interest (F(1,155)= 4.91, p = 0.03). In a sub-analysis, BMI was significantly inversely correlated with FA measures for the genu and body of the corpus callosum, left and right tapetum, and left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus in controls. In patients, BMI was significantly positively correlated with white matter FA for the genu of the corpus callosum and left tapetum. Lower BMI was significantly correlated with more severe negative symptoms, as was earlier age of illness onset. Body mass may be differentially associated with fronto-limbic white matter microstructure in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- H K Luckhoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa.
| | - S du Plessis
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - F Scheffler
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - L Phahladira
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - S Kilian
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - C Buckle
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - R Smit
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - B Chiliza
- Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - L Asmal
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
| | - R Emsley
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape 7500, South Africa
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Spangaro M, Mazza E, Poletti S, Cavallaro R, Benedetti F. Obesity influences white matter integrity in schizophrenia. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 97:135-142. [PMID: 30025224 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND White matter (WM) alterations have been consistently described in patients with schizophrenia and correlated with the severity of psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment. Obesity has been reported in over 40% of patients with schizophrenia and has been associated with cognitive deficits, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic alterations, and overall mortality. Moreover, studies among healthy subjects and subjects at risk for psychosis reported an influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) on structural connectivity. We therefore hypothesized that obesity and overweight could further disrupt WM integrity of patients affected by schizophrenia. METHODS Eighty-eight schizophrenia patients were evaluated for BMI. We divided the sample in overweight/obese and normal weight groups. We then performed whole brain tract-based spatial statistics in the WM skeleton with threshold-free cluster enhancement of DTI measures of WM microstructure: axial (AD), radial (RD), and mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA). RESULTS A significant difference between the two groups was observed: normal weight patients showed higher AD and a higher FA trend compared to obese patients in several fibers' tracts including longitudinal fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, corona radiata, thalamic radiation, fronto-occipital fasciculus, cingulum and corpus callosum. CONCLUSIONS Elevated BMI might contribute to WM disruption of schizophrenia by hampering structural connectivity in critical cortico-limbic networks, known to play a crucial role in neurocognitive functioning, emotional processing and psychopathology whose dysfunction are prominent features of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Spangaro
- IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Milan, Italy
| | - Elena Mazza
- IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sara Poletti
- University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Cavallaro
- IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Milan, Italy; University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Benedetti
- University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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Koivukangas J, Björnholm L, Tervonen O, Miettunen J, Nordström T, Kiviniemi V, Mäki P, Mukkala S, Moilanen I, Barnett JH, Jones PB, Nikkinen J, Veijola J. Body mass index and brain white matter structure in young adults at risk for psychosis - The Oulu Brain and Mind Study. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2016; 254:169-176. [PMID: 27474847 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Antipsychotic medications and psychotic illness related factors may affect both weight and brain structure in people with psychosis. Genetically high-risk individuals offer an opportunity to study the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and brain structure free from these potential confounds. We examined the effect of BMI on white matter (WM) microstructure in subjects with familial risk for psychosis (FR). We used diffusion tensor imaging and tract-based spatial statistics to explore the effect of BMI on whole brain FA in 42 (13 males) participants with FR and 46 (16 males) control participants aged 20-25 years drawn from general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. We also measured axial, radial and mean diffusivities. Most of the participants were normal weight rather than obese. In the FR group, decrease in fractional anisotropy and increase in radial diffusivity were associated with an increase in BMI in several brain areas. In controls the opposite pattern was seen in participants with higher BMI. There was a statistically significant interaction between group and BMI on FA and radial and mean diffusivities. Our results suggest that the effect of BMI on WM differs between individuals with FR for psychosis and controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni Koivukangas
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Aurora Doctoral Program, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Lassi Björnholm
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Osmo Tervonen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jouko Miettunen
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Tanja Nordström
- Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Vesa Kiviniemi
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Pirjo Mäki
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Länsi-Pohja Healthcare District, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Middle Ostrobothnia Central Hospital, Kiuru, Finland; Mental Health Services, Joint Municipal Authority of Wellbeing in Raahe District, Finland; Mental Health Services, Basic Health Care District of Kallio, Finland; Visala Hospital, Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District, Finland
| | - Sari Mukkala
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Irma Moilanen
- Aurora Doctoral Program, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Clinic of Child Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; PEDEGO Research Center, and Medical Research Center Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Jennifer H Barnett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Cambridge Cognition, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter B Jones
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Juha Nikkinen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Juha Veijola
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Aurora Doctoral Program, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
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Tang CY, Narula J, Friedman JI. Novel imaging strategies for assessment of cerebrovascular involvement. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 79:674-82. [PMID: 23239206 DOI: 10.1002/msj.21354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
There is an important correlation between vascular risk factors and nonspecific imaging findings in the brain such as white-matter hyperintensities. These vascular risk factors are also associated with dementia and lesser forms of cognitive impairment. One hypothesis is that these vascular risk factors lead to disruption of connective networks in the central nervous system that are supported by myelinated white-matter fibers, which in turn lead to deficits in functional signaling between various brain regions. Another possibility is an alteration of the neurovascular coupling due to vascular risk factors. This reduced functional signaling contributes to the cognitive deficits in persons harboring these vascular risk factors. Lifestyle changes may restore some of these functional deficits through brain plasticity. It is imperative that preclinical diagnostic techniques are developed to identify these early brain changes in persons harboring vascular risk factors, as such efforts may improve primary and secondary prevention efforts. Recently developed imaging techniques may provide objective imaging biomarkers to measure the structural and functional brain changes in persons with vascular risk factors and resulting subclinical atherosclerotic disease. This article reviews a few of these novel imaging techniques.
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Longitudinal in-vivo diffusion tensor imaging for assessing brain developmental changes in BALB/cJ mice, a model of reduced sociability relevant to autism. Brain Res 2012; 1455:56-67. [PMID: 22513103 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.03.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2011] [Revised: 02/17/2012] [Accepted: 03/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is highly sensitive in detecting brain structure and connectivity phenotypes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Since one of the core symptoms of ASD is reduced sociability (reduced tendency to seek social interaction), we hypothesized that DTI will be sensitive in detecting neural phenotypes that correlate with decreased sociability in mouse models. Relative to C57BL/6J (B6) mice, juvenile BALB/cJ mice show reduced sociability. We performed social approach test in a three-chambered apparatus and in-vivo longitudinal DTI at post-natal days 30, 50 and 70 days-of-age in BALB/cJ (n=32) and B6 (n=15) mice to assess the correlation between DTI and sociability and to evaluate differences in DTI parameters between these two strains. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values from in-vivo DTI data were analyzed from white matter (corpus callosum, internal and external capsule) and gray matter (cerebral cortex, frontal motor cortex, hippocampus, thalamus and amygdaloid) regions based on their relevance to ASD. A moderate but significant (p<0.05) negative correlation between sociability and FA in hippocampus and frontal motor cortex was noted for BALB/cJ mice at 30 days-of-age. Significant differences in FA and MD values between BALB/cJ and B6 mice were observed in most white and gray matter areas at all three time points. Significant differences in developmental trajectories of FA and MD values from thalamus and frontal motor cortex were also observed between BALB/cJ and B6, indicating relative under-connectivity in BALB/cJ mice. These results indicate that DTI may be used as an in-vivo, non-invasive imaging method to assess developmental trajectories of brain connectivity in mouse models of neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders.
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