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Bennett A, Garner R, Morris MD, La Rocca M, Barisano G, Cua R, Loon J, Alba C, Carbone P, Gao S, Pantoja A, Khan A, Nouaili N, Vespa P, Toga AW, Duncan D. Manual lesion segmentations for traumatic brain injury characterization. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2023; 2:1068591. [PMID: 37554636 PMCID: PMC10406209 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2023.1068591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in heterogenous lesions that can be visualized through various neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, injury burden varies greatly between patients and structural deformations often impact usability of available analytic algorithms. Therefore, it is difficult to segment lesions automatically and accurately in TBI cohorts. Mislabeled lesions will ultimately lead to inaccurate findings regarding imaging biomarkers. Therefore, manual segmentation is currently considered the gold standard as this produces more accurate masks than existing automated algorithms. These masks can provide important lesion phenotype data including location, volume, and intensity, among others. There has been a recent push to investigate the correlation between these characteristics and the onset of post traumatic epilepsy (PTE), a disabling consequence of TBI. One motivation of the Epilepsy Bioinformatics Study for Antiepileptogenic Therapy (EpiBioS4Rx) is to identify reliable imaging biomarkers of PTE. Here, we report the protocol and importance of our manual segmentation process in patients with moderate-severe TBI enrolled in EpiBioS4Rx. Through these methods, we have generated a dataset of 127 validated lesion segmentation masks for TBI patients. These ground-truths can be used for robust PTE biomarker analyses, including optimization of multimodal MRI analysis via inclusion of lesioned tissue labels. Moreover, our protocol allows for analysis of the refinement process. Though tedious, the methods reported in this work are necessary to create reliable data for effective training of future machine-learning based lesion segmentation methods in TBI patients and subsequent PTE analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Bennett
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Rachael Garner
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael D. Morris
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Marianna La Rocca
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica “M. Merlin”, Università degli studi di Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Barisano
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Ruskin Cua
- USC Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Jordan Loon
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Celina Alba
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Patrick Carbone
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Shawn Gao
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Asenat Pantoja
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Azrin Khan
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Noor Nouaili
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Paul Vespa
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Arthur W. Toga
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Dominique Duncan
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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2
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King DJ, Seri S, Catroppa C, Anderson VA, Wood AG. Structural-covariance networks identify topology-based cortical-thickness changes in children with persistent executive function impairments after traumatic brain injury. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118612. [PMID: 34563681 PMCID: PMC8591373 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Paediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) results in inconsistent changes to regional morphometry of the brain across studies. Structural-covariance networks represent the degree to which the morphology (typically cortical-thickness) of cortical-regions co-varies with other regions, driven by both biological and developmental factors. Understanding how heterogeneous regional changes may influence wider cortical network organization may more appropriately capture prognostic information in terms of long term outcome following a pTBI. The current study aimed to investigate the relationships between cortical organisation as measured by structural-covariance, and long-term cognitive impairment following pTBI. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from n = 83 pTBI patients and 33 typically developing controls underwent 3D-tissue segmentation using Freesurfer to estimate cortical-thickness across 68 cortical ROIs. Structural-covariance between regions was estimated using Pearson's correlations between cortical-thickness measures across 68 regions-of-interest (ROIs), generating a group-level 68 × 68 adjacency matrix for patients and controls. We grouped a subset of patients who underwent executive function testing at 2-years post-injury using a neuropsychological impairment (NPI) rule, defining impaired- and non-impaired subgroups. Despite finding no significant reductions in regional cortical-thickness between the control and pTBI groups, we found specific reductions in graph-level strength of the structural covariance graph only between controls and the pTBI group with executive function (EF) impairment. Node-level differences in strength for this group were primarily found in frontal regions. We also investigated whether the top n nodes in terms of effect-size of cortical-thickness reductions were nodes that had significantly greater strength in the typically developing brain than n randomly selected regions. We found that acute cortical-thickness reductions post-pTBI are loaded onto regions typically high in structural covariance. This association was found in those patients with persistent EF impairment at 2-years post-injury, but not in those for whom these abilities were spared. This study posits that the topography of post-injury cortical-thickness reductions in regions that are central to the typical structural-covariance topology of the brain, can explain which patients have poor EF at follow-up.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J King
- College of Health and Life Sciences and Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK.
| | - Stefano Seri
- College of Health and Life Sciences and Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
| | - Cathy Catroppa
- Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Vicki A Anderson
- Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Amanda G Wood
- College of Health and Life Sciences and Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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3
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Sandry J, Dobryakova E. Global hippocampal and selective thalamic nuclei atrophy differentiate chronic TBI from Non-TBI. Cortex 2021; 145:37-56. [PMID: 34689031 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases later in life. One neurobiological parallel between chronic TBI and neurodegeneration may be accelerated aging and the nature of atrophy across subcortical gray matter structures. The main aim of the present investigation is to evaluate and rank the degree that subcortical gray matter atrophy differentiates chronic moderate-severe TBI from non-TBI participants by evaluating morphometric differences between groups. Forty individuals with moderate-severe chronic TBI (9.23 yrs from injury) and 33 healthy controls (HC) underwent high resolution 3D T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging. Whole brain volume was classified into white matter, cortical and subcortical gray matter structures with hippocampi and thalami further segmented into subfields and nuclei, respectively. Extensive atrophy was observed across nearly all brain regions for chronic TBI participants. A series of multivariate logistic regression models identified subcortical gray matter structures of the hippocampus and thalamus as the most sensitive to differentiating chronic TBI from non-TBI participants (McFadden R2 = .36, p < .001). Further analyses revealed the pattern of hippocampal atrophy to be global, occurring across nearly all subfields. The pattern of thalamic atrophy appeared to be much more selective and non-uniform, with largest between-group differences evident for nuclei bordering the ventricles. Subcortical gray matter was negatively correlated with time since injury (r = -.31, p = .054), while white matter and cortical gray matter were not. Cognitive ability was lower in the chronic TBI group (Cohen's d = .97, p = .003) and correlated with subcortical structures including the pallidum (r2 = .23, p = .038), thalamus (r2 = .36, p = .007) and ventral diencephalon (r2 = .23, p = .036). These data may support an accelerated aging hypothesis in chronic moderate-severe TBI that coincides with a similar neuropathological profile found in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Sandry
- Psychology Department, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
| | - Ekaterina Dobryakova
- Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, Kessler Foundation, East Hanover, NJ, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School Newark, NJ, USA
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4
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Ferrazzano P, Yeske B, Mumford J, Kirk G, Bigler ED, Bowen K, O'Brien N, Rosario B, Beers SR, Rathouz P, Bell MJ, Alexander AL. Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volumetric Measures of Functional Outcome after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescents. J Neurotrauma 2021; 38:1799-1808. [PMID: 33487126 PMCID: PMC8219192 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2019.6918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescent traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, resulting in >35,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year. Although neuroimaging is a primary diagnostic tool in the clinical assessment of TBI, our understanding of how specific neuroimaging findings relate to outcome remains limited. Our study aims to identify imaging biomarkers of long-term neurocognitive outcome after severe adolescent TBI. Twenty-four adolescents with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale ≤8) enrolled in the ADAPT (Approaches and Decisions after Pediatric TBI) study were recruited for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning 1-2 years post-injury at 13 participating sites. Subjects underwent outcome assessments ∼1-year post-injury, including the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (IQ) and the Pediatric Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE-Peds). A typically developing control cohort of 38 age-matched adolescents also underwent scanning and neurocognitive assessment. Brain-image segmentation was performed on T1-weighted images using Freesurfer. Brain and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid volumes were used to compute a ventricle-to-brain ratio (VBR) for each subject, and the corpus callosum cross-sectional area was determined in the midline for each subject. The TBI group demonstrated higher VBR and lower corpus callosum area compared to the control cohort. After adjusting for age and sex, VBR was significantly related with GOSE-Peds score in the TBI group (n = 24, p = 0.01, cumulative odds ratio = 2.18). After adjusting for age, sex, intracranial volume, and brain volume, corpus callosum cross-sectional area correlated significantly with IQ score in the TBI group (partial cor = 0.68, n = 18, p = 0.007) and with PSI (partial cor = 0.33, p = 0.02). No association was found between VBR and IQ or between corpus callosum and GOSE-Peds. After severe adolescent TBI, quantitative MRI measures of VBR and corpus callosum cross-sectional area are associated with global functional outcome and neurocognitive outcomes, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Ferrazzano
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Benjamin Yeske
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jeanette Mumford
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Gregory Kirk
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Erin D. Bigler
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | | | - Nicole O'Brien
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Bedda Rosario
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sue R. Beers
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul Rathouz
- Department of Population Health, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Michael J. Bell
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Andrew L. Alexander
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Waisman Center Brain Imaging Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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5
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Liang X, Yeh CH, Domínguez D JF, Poudel G, Swinnen SP, Caeyenberghs K. Longitudinal fixel-based analysis reveals restoration of white matter alterations following balance training in young brain-injured patients. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 30:102621. [PMID: 33780865 PMCID: PMC8022866 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in children and adolescents. Young TBI patients suffer from gross motor deficits, such as postural control deficits, which can severely compromise their daily life activities. However, little attention has been devoted to uncovering the underlying white matter changes in response to training in TBI. In this study, we used longitudinal fixel-based analysis (FBA), an advanced diffusion imaging analysis technique, to investigate the effect of a balance training program on white matter fibre density and morphology in a group of young TBI patients. METHODS Young patients with moderate-to-severe TBI (N = 17, 10 females, mean age = 13 ± 3 years) and age-matched controls (N = 17) underwent a home-based balance training program. Diffusion MRI scans together with gross motor assessments, including the gross motor items of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale, and the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) were administered before and at completion of 8-weeks of training. We used FBA to compare microstructural differences in fibre density (FD), macrostructural (morphological) changes in fibre cross-section (FC), and the combined FD and FC (FDC) metric across the whole brain. We then performed a longitudinal analysis to test whether training restores the white matter in the regions found to be damaged before treatment. RESULTS Whole-brain fixel-based analysis revealed lower FD and FC in TBI patients compared to the control group across several commissural tracts, association fibres and projection fibres, with FD reductions of up to 50%. Following training, TBI patients showed a significant interaction effect between Group and Time for the SOT test, as well as significant increases in macrostructural white matter (i.e., FC & FDC) in left sensorimotor tracts. The amount of change in FC and FDC over time was, however, not associated with behavioural changes. DISCUSSION Our fixel-based findings identified both microstructural and macrostructural abnormalities in young TBI patients. The longitudinal results provide a deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying balance training, which will allow clinicians to make more effective treatment decisions in everyday clinical practice with brain-injured patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Liang
- Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Chun-Hung Yeh
- Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Medical Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Juan F Domínguez D
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Govinda Poudel
- Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Motor Control Laboratory, Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Karen Caeyenberghs
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
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6
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Wang H, Baker EW, Mandal A, Pidaparti RM, West FD, Kinder HA. Identification of predictive MRI and functional biomarkers in a pediatric piglet traumatic brain injury model. Neural Regen Res 2021; 16:338-344. [PMID: 32859794 PMCID: PMC7896230 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.290915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) at a young age can lead to the development of long-term functional impairments. Severity of injury is well demonstrated to have a strong influence on the extent of functional impairments; however, identification of specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers that are most reflective of injury severity and functional prognosis remain elusive. Therefore, the objective of this study was to utilize advanced statistical approaches to identify clinically relevant MRI biomarkers and predict functional outcomes using MRI metrics in a translational large animal piglet TBI model. TBI was induced via controlled cortical impact and multiparametric MRI was performed at 24 hours and 12 weeks post-TBI using T1-weighted, T2-weighted, T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion-weighted imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging. Changes in spatiotemporal gait parameters were also assessed using an automated gait mat at 24 hours and 12 weeks post-TBI. Principal component analysis was performed to determine the MRI metrics and spatiotemporal gait parameters that explain the largest sources of variation within the datasets. We found that linear combinations of lesion size and midline shift acquired using T2-weighted imaging explained most of the variability of the data at both 24 hours and 12 weeks post-TBI. In addition, linear combinations of velocity, cadence, and stride length were found to explain most of the gait data variability at 24 hours and 12 weeks post-TBI. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine if MRI metrics are predictive of changes in gait. We found that both lesion size and midline shift are significantly correlated with decreases in stride and step length. These results from this study provide an important first step at identifying relevant MRI and functional biomarkers that are predictive of functional outcomes in a clinically relevant piglet TBI model. This study was approved by the University of Georgia Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (AUP: A2015 11-001) on December 22, 2015.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongzhi Wang
- Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Emily W Baker
- Regenerative Bioscience Center; Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Abhyuday Mandal
- Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Franklin D West
- Regenerative Bioscience Center; Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Holly A Kinder
- Regenerative Bioscience Center; Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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7
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King DJ, Novak J, Shephard AJ, Beare R, Anderson VA, Wood AG. Lesion Induced Error on Automated Measures of Brain Volume: Data From a Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Cohort. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:491478. [PMID: 33424529 PMCID: PMC7793828 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.491478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural segmentation of T1-weighted (T1w) MRI has shown morphometric differences, both compared to controls and longitudinally, following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). While many patients with TBI present with abnormalities on structural MRI images, most neuroimaging software packages have not been systematically evaluated for accuracy in the presence of these pathology-related MRI abnormalities. The current study aimed to assess whether acute MRI lesions (MRI acquired 7–71 days post-injury) cause error in the estimates of brain volume produced by the semi-automated segmentation tool, Freesurfer. More specifically, to investigate whether this error was global, the presence of lesion-induced error in the contralesional hemisphere, where no abnormal signal was present, was measured. A dataset of 176 simulated lesion cases was generated using actual lesions from 16 pediatric TBI (pTBI) cases recruited from the emergency department and 11 typically-developing controls. Simulated lesion cases were compared to the “ground truth” of the non-lesion control-case T1w images. Using linear mixed-effects models, results showed that hemispheric measures of cortex volume were significantly lower in the contralesional-hemisphere compared to the ground truth. Interestingly, however, cortex volume (and cerebral white matter volume) were not significantly different in the lesioned hemisphere. However, percent volume difference (PVD) between the simulated lesion and ground truth showed that the magnitude of difference of cortex volume in the contralesional-hemisphere (mean PVD = 0.37%) was significantly smaller than that in the lesioned hemisphere (mean PVD = 0.47%), suggesting a small, but systematic lesion-induced error. Lesion characteristics that could explain variance in the PVD for each hemisphere were investigated. Taken together, these results suggest that the lesion-induced error caused by simulated lesions was not focal, but globally distributed. Previous post-processing approaches to adjust for lesions in structural analyses address the focal region where the lesion was located however, our results suggest that focal correction approaches are insufficient for the global error in morphometric measures of the injured brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J King
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Jan Novak
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Adam J Shephard
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Beare
- Developmental Imaging, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Medicine, Peninsula Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Vicki A Anderson
- Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Amanda G Wood
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Faculty of Health, School of Psychology, Deakin University Melbourne Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, Australia
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8
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Bagnato S, Boccagni C. Moderate/severe traumatic brain injury as a trigger of chronic neurodegeneration in humans. Neural Regen Res 2020; 15:1247-1248. [PMID: 31960805 PMCID: PMC7047794 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.272574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Bagnato
- Unit of Neurophysiology and Unit for Severe Acquired Brain Injuries, Rehabilitation Department, Giuseppe Giglio Foundation, Cefalù, Italy
| | - Cristina Boccagni
- Unit of Neurophysiology and Unit for Severe Acquired Brain Injuries, Rehabilitation Department, Giuseppe Giglio Foundation, Cefalù, Italy
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9
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Giboin LS, Loewe K, Hassa T, Kramer A, Dettmers C, Spiteri S, Gruber M, Schoenfeld MA. Cortical, subcortical and spinal neural correlates of slackline training-induced balance performance improvements. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116061. [PMID: 31374329 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans develop posture and balance control during childhood. Interestingly, adults can also learn to master new complex balance tasks, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not fully understood yet. Here, we combined broad scale brain connectivity fMRI at rest and spinal excitability measurements during movement. Six weeks of slackline training improved the capability to walk on a slackline which was paralleled by functional connectivity changes in brain regions associated with posture and balance control and by task-specific changes of spinal excitability. Importantly, the performance of trainees was not better than control participants in a different, untrained balance task. In conclusion, slackline training induced large-scale neuroplasticity which solely transferred into highly task specific performance improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis-Solal Giboin
- Sensorimotor Performance Lab, Human Research Performance Centre, University Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Kristian Loewe
- Dept of Experimental Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany; Dept of Computer Science, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Hassa
- Lurija Institute, Kliniken Schmieder Allensbach, Germany
| | - Andreas Kramer
- Sensorimotor Performance Lab, Human Research Performance Centre, University Konstanz, Germany
| | - Christian Dettmers
- Lurija Institute, Kliniken Schmieder Allensbach, Germany; Kliniken Schmieder Konstanz, Germany
| | - Stefan Spiteri
- Lurija Institute, Kliniken Schmieder Allensbach, Germany
| | - Markus Gruber
- Sensorimotor Performance Lab, Human Research Performance Centre, University Konstanz, Germany
| | - Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
- Dept of Experimental Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany; Lurija Institute, Kliniken Schmieder Allensbach, Germany; Dept of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Kliniken Schmieder Heidelberg, Germany
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10
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Kinder HA, Baker EW, Wang S, Fleischer CC, Howerth EW, Duberstein KJ, Mao H, Platt SR, West FD. Traumatic Brain Injury Results in Dynamic Brain Structure Changes Leading to Acute and Chronic Motor Function Deficits in a Pediatric Piglet Model. J Neurotrauma 2019; 36:2930-2942. [PMID: 31084386 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2018.6303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children. Pediatric TBI patients often suffer from crippling cognitive, emotional, and motor function deficits that have negative lifelong effects. The objective of this study was to longitudinally assess TBI pathophysiology using multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), gait analysis, and histological approaches in a pediatric piglet model. TBI was produced by controlled cortical impact in Landrace piglets. MRI data, including from proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), were collected 24 hours and 12 weeks post-TBI, and gait analysis was performed at multiple time-points over 12 weeks post-TBI. A subset of animals was sacrificed 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks post-TBI for histological analysis. MRI results demonstrated that TBI led to a significant brain lesion and midline shift as well as microscopic tissue damage with altered brain diffusivity, decreased white matter integrity, and reduced cerebral blood flow. MRS showed a range of neurochemical changes after TBI. Histological analysis revealed neuronal loss, astrogliosis/astrocytosis, and microglia activation. Further, gait analysis showed transient impairments in cadence, cycle time, % stance, step length, and stride length, as well as long-term impairments in weight distribution after TBI. Taken together, this study illustrates the distinct time course of TBI pathoanatomic and functional responses up to 12 weeks post-TBI in a piglet TBI model. The study of TBI injury and recovery mechanisms, as well as the testing of therapeutics in this translational model, are likely to be more predictive of human responses and clinical outcomes compared to traditional small animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly A Kinder
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Emily W Baker
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Silun Wang
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Candace C Fleischer
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Elizabeth W Howerth
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Kylee J Duberstein
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Hui Mao
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Simon R Platt
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Franklin D West
- Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.,Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
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11
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Molteni E, Pagani E, Strazzer S, Arrigoni F, Beretta E, Boffa G, Galbiati S, Filippi M, Rocca MA. Fronto-temporal vulnerability to disconnection in paediatric moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. Eur J Neurol 2019; 26:1183-1190. [PMID: 30964589 DOI: 10.1111/ene.13963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In patients with moderate and severe paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), we investigated the presence and severity of white matter (WM) tract damage, cortical lobar and deep grey matter (GM) atrophies, their interplay and their correlation with outcome rating scales. METHODS Diffusion tensor (DT) and 3D T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained from 22 TBI children (13 boys; mean age at insult = 11.6 years; 72.7% in chronic condition) and 31 age-matched healthy children. Patients were tested with outcome rating scales and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). DT MRI indices were obtained from several supra- and infra-tentorial WM tracts. Cortical lobar and deep GM volumes were derived. Comparisons between patients and controls, and between patients in acute (<6 months from the event) vs. chronic (≥6 months) condition were performed. RESULTS Patients showed a widespread pattern of decreased WM FA and GM atrophy. Compared to acute, chronic patients showed severer atrophy in the right frontal lobe and reduced FA in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and corpus callosum (CC). Decreased axial diffusivity was observed in acute patients versus controls in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and CC. Chronic patients showed increased axial diffusivity in the same structures. Uncinate fasciculus DT MRI abnormalities correlated with atrophy in the frontal and temporal lobes. Hippocampal atrophy correlated with reduced WISC scores, whereas putamen atrophy correlated with lower functional independence measure scores. CONCLUSIONS The study isolated a distributed fronto-temporal network of structures particularly vulnerable to axonal damage and atrophy that may contribute to cognitive deficits following TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Molteni
- Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Lecco, Italy
| | - E Pagani
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - S Strazzer
- Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Lecco, Italy
| | - F Arrigoni
- Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Lecco, Italy
| | - E Beretta
- Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Lecco, Italy
| | - G Boffa
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - S Galbiati
- Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Lecco, Italy
| | - M Filippi
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - M A Rocca
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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12
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King DJ, Ellis KR, Seri S, Wood AG. A systematic review of cross-sectional differences and longitudinal changes to the morphometry of the brain following paediatric traumatic brain injury. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 23:101844. [PMID: 31075554 PMCID: PMC6510969 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Paediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) is a leading cause of disability for children and young adults. Children are a uniquely vulnerable group with the disease process that occurs following a pTBI interacting with the trajectory of normal brain development. Quantitative MRI post-injury has suggested a long-term, neurodegenerative effect of TBI on the morphometry of the brain, in both adult and childhood TBI. Changes to the brain beyond that of anticipated, age-dependant differences may allow us to estimate the state of the brain post-injury and produce clinically relevant predictions for long-term outcome. The current review synthesises the existing literature to assess whether, following pTBI, the morphology of the brain exhibits either i) longitudinal change and/or ii) differences compared to healthy controls and outcomes. The current literature suggests that morphometric differences from controls are apparent cross-sectionally at both acute and late-chronic timepoints post-injury, thus suggesting a non-transient effect of injury. Developmental trajectories of morphometry are altered in TBI groups compared to patients, and it is unlikely that typical maturation overcomes damage post-injury, or even 'catches up' with that of typically-developing peers. However, there is limited evidence for diverted developmental trajectories being associated with cognitive impairment post-injury. The current review also highlights the apparent challenges to the existing literature and potential methods by which these can be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J King
- School of Life and Health Sciences & Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - K R Ellis
- School of Life and Health Sciences & Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - S Seri
- School of Life and Health Sciences & Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - A G Wood
- School of Life and Health Sciences & Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; Child Neuropsychology, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
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13
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Corporaal SHA, Bruijn SM, Hoogkamer W, Chalavi S, Boisgontier MP, Duysens J, Swinnen SP, Gooijers J. Different neural substrates for precision stepping and fast online step adjustments in youth. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:2039-2053. [PMID: 29368052 PMCID: PMC5884917 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1586-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Humans can navigate through challenging environments (e.g., cluttered or uneven terrains) by modifying their preferred gait pattern (e.g., step length, step width, or speed). Growing behavioral and neuroimaging evidence suggests that the ability to modify preferred step patterns requires the recruitment of cognitive resources. In children, it is argued that prolonged development of complex gait is related to the ongoing development of involved brain regions, but this has not been directly investigated yet. Here, we aimed to elucidate the relationship between structural brain properties and complex gait in youth aged 9–18 years. We used volumetric analyses of cortical grey matter (GM) and whole-brain voxelwise statistical analyses of white matter (WM), and utilized a treadmill-based precision stepping task to investigate complex gait. Moreover, precision stepping was performed on step targets which were either unperturbed or perturbed (i.e., unexpectedly shifting to a new location). Our main findings revealed that larger unperturbed precision step error was associated with decreased WM microstructural organization of tracts that are particularly associated with attentional and visual processing functions. These results strengthen the hypothesis that precision stepping on unperturbed step targets is driven by cortical processes. In contrast, no significant correlations were found between perturbed precision stepping and cortical structures, indicating that other (neural) mechanisms may be more important for this type of stepping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharissa H A Corporaal
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sjoerd M Bruijn
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Hoogkamer
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
| | - Sima Chalavi
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthieu P Boisgontier
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jacques Duysens
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Research Institute for Neuroscience and Disease (LIND), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolien Gooijers
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, box 1501, 3001, Leuven, Belgium.
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14
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Xu J, Elazab A, Liang J, Jia F, Zheng H, Wang W, Wang L, Hu Q. Cortical and Subcortical Structural Plasticity Associated with the Glioma Volumes in Patients with Cerebral Gliomas Revealed by Surface-Based Morphometry. Front Neurol 2017. [PMID: 28649229 PMCID: PMC5465275 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Postlesional plasticity has been identified in patients with cerebral gliomas by inducing a large functional reshaping of brain networks. Although numerous non-invasive functional neuroimaging methods have extensively investigated the mechanisms of this functional redistribution in patients with cerebral gliomas, little effort has been made to investigate the structural plasticity of cortical and subcortical structures associated with the glioma volume. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the contralateral cortical and subcortical structures are able to actively reorganize by themselves in these patients. The compensation mechanism following contralateral cortical and subcortical structural plasticity is considered. We adopted the surface-based morphometry to investigate the difference of cortical and subcortical gray matter (GM) volumes in a cohort of 14 healthy controls and 13 patients with left-hemisphere cerebral gliomas [including 1 patients with World Health Organization (WHO I), 8 WHO II, and 4 WHO III]. The glioma volume ranges from 5.1633 to 208.165 cm2. Compared to healthy controls, we found significantly increased GM volume of the right cuneus and the left thalamus, as well as a trend toward enlargement in the right globus pallidus in patients with cerebral gliomas. Moreover, the GM volumes of these regions were positively correlated with the glioma volumes of the patients. These results provide evidence of cortical and subcortical enlargement, suggesting the usefulness of surface-based morphometry to investigate the structural plasticity. Moreover, the structural plasticity might be acted as the compensation mechanism to better fulfill its functions in patients with cerebral gliomas as the gliomas get larger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinping Xu
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ahmed Elazab
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,Misr Higher Institute for Commerce and Computers, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Jinhua Liang
- Neurosurgery, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fucang Jia
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Huimin Zheng
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weimin Wang
- Neurosurgery, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou, China
| | - Limin Wang
- Psychological Department, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingmao Hu
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
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