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Toenders YJ, de Moor MHM, van der Cruijsen R, Green K, Achterberg M, Crone EA. Within-person biological mechanisms of mood variability in childhood and adolescence. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26766. [PMID: 39046072 PMCID: PMC11267453 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26766] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Mood variability, the day-to-day fluctuation in mood, differs between individuals and develops during adolescence. Because adolescents show higher mood variability and average mood than children and adults, puberty might be a potential biological mechanism underlying this increase. The goal of this preregistered developmental study was to examine the neural and hormonal underpinnings of adolescent-specific within-person changes in mood variability, with a specific focus on testosterone, cortisol, pubertal status, and resting-state functional brain connectivity. Data from two longitudinal cohorts were used: the L-CID twin study (aged 7-13, N at the first timepoint = 258) and the accelerated Leiden Self-Concept study (SC; aged 11-21, N at the first timepoint = 138). In both studies resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data was collected, as well as daily mood. Additionally, in the SC study self-reported puberty testosterone and cortisol were collected. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) were used to study the within-person relations between these biological measures and mood variability and average mood. Mood variability and average mood peaked in adolescence and testosterone levels and self-reported puberty also showed an increase. Connectivity between prefrontal cortex (dlPFC and vmPFC) and subcortical regions (caudate, amygdala) decreased across development. Moreover, higher testosterone predicted average negative mood at the next time point, but not vice versa. Further, stronger vmPFC-amygdala functional connectivity predicted decreases in mood variability. Here, we show that brain connectivity during development is an important within-person biological mechanism of the development of mood in adolescents. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Mood variability peaks in adolescence. Within-person changes in testosterone predict within-person changes in mood. Within-person changes in vmPFC-amygdala connectivity predict within-person changes in mood variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yara J. Toenders
- Developmental and Educational PsychologyLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral SciencesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Marleen H. M. de Moor
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child StudiesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | | | - Kayla Green
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral SciencesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Michelle Achterberg
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child StudiesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Eveline A. Crone
- Developmental and Educational PsychologyLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral SciencesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
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2
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Lima Santos JP, Kontos AP, Holland CL, Suss SJ, Stiffler RS, Bitzer HB, Colorito AT, Shaffer M, Skeba A, Iyengar S, Manelis A, Brent D, Shirtcliff EA, Ladouceur CD, Phillips ML, Collins MW, Versace A. The Role of Puberty and Sex on Brain Structure in Adolescents With Anxiety Following Concussion. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:285-297. [PMID: 36517369 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence represents a window of vulnerability for developing psychological symptoms following concussion, especially in girls. Concussion-related lesions in emotion regulation circuits may help explain these symptoms. However, the contribution of sex and pubertal maturation remains unclear. Using the neurite density index (NDI) in emotion regulation tracts (left/right cingulum bundle [CB], forceps minor [FMIN], and left/right uncinate fasciculus), we sought to elucidate these relationships. METHODS No adolescent had a history of anxiety and/or depression. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Children's Depression Rating Scale were used at scan to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms in 55 concussed adolescents (41.8% girls) and 50 control adolescents with no current/history of concussion (44% girls). We evaluated if a mediation-moderation model including the NDI (mediation) and sex or pubertal status (moderation) could help explain this relationship. RESULTS Relative to control adolescents, concussed adolescents showed higher anxiety (p = .003) and lower NDI, with those at more advanced pubertal maturation showing greater abnormalities in 4 clusters: the left CB frontal (p = .002), right CB frontal (p = .011), FMIN left-sided (p = .003), and FMIN right-sided (p = .003). Across all concussed adolescents, lower NDI in the left CB frontal and FMIN left-sided clusters partially mediated the association between concussion and anxiety, with the CB being specific to female adolescents. These effects did not explain depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that lower NDI in the CB and FMIN may help explain anxiety following concussion and that adolescents at more advanced (vs less advanced) status of pubertal maturation may be more vulnerable to concussion-related injuries, especially in girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Paulo Lima Santos
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Anthony P Kontos
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery/UPMC Sports Concussion Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Cynthia L Holland
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery/UPMC Sports Concussion Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Stephen J Suss
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery/UPMC Sports Concussion Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Richelle S Stiffler
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Hannah B Bitzer
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
| | - Adam T Colorito
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
| | - Madelyn Shaffer
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
| | - Alexander Skeba
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Satish Iyengar
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Anna Manelis
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David Brent
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Elizabeth A Shirtcliff
- Center for Translational Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
| | - Cecile D Ladouceur
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Mary L Phillips
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael W Collins
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery/UPMC Sports Concussion Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Amelia Versace
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Parker N, Cheng W, Hindley GFL, Parekh P, Shadrin AA, Maximov II, Smeland OB, Djurovic S, Dale AM, Westlye LT, Frei O, Andreassen OA. Psychiatric disorders and brain white matter exhibit genetic overlap implicating developmental and neural cell biology. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4924-4932. [PMID: 37759039 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02264-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Improved understanding of the shared genetic architecture between psychiatric disorders and brain white matter may provide mechanistic insights for observed phenotypic associations. Our objective is to characterize the shared genetic architecture of bipolar disorder (BD), major depression (MD), and schizophrenia (SZ) with white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) and identify shared genetic loci to uncover biological underpinnings. We used genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for BD (n = 413,466), MD (n = 420,359), SZ (n = 320,404), and white matter FA (n = 33,292) to uncover the genetic architecture (i.e., polygenicity and discoverability) of each phenotype and their genetic overlap (i.e., genetic correlations, overlapping trait-influencing variants, and shared loci). This revealed that BD, MD, and SZ are at least 7-times more polygenic and less genetically discoverable than average FA. Even in the presence of weak genetic correlations (range = -0.05 to -0.09), average FA shared an estimated 42.5%, 43.0%, and 90.7% of trait-influencing variants as well as 12, 4, and 28 shared loci with BD, MD, and SZ, respectively. Shared variants were mapped to genes and tested for enrichment among gene-sets which implicated neurodevelopmental expression, neural cell types, myelin, and cell adhesion molecules. For BD and SZ, case vs control tract-level differences in FA associated with genetic correlations between those same tracts and the respective disorder (rBD = 0.83, p = 4.99e-7 and rSZ = 0.65, p = 5.79e-4). Genetic overlap at the tract-level was consistent with average FA results. Overall, these findings suggest a genetic basis for the involvement of brain white matter aberrations in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Parker
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Weiqiu Cheng
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Guy F L Hindley
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Pravesh Parekh
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexey A Shadrin
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ivan I Maximov
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Olav B Smeland
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Srdjan Djurovic
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Anders M Dale
- Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- K.G. Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Oleksandr Frei
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Bioinformatics, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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Navarri X, Vosberg DE, Shin J, Richer L, Leonard G, Pike GB, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Desrivières S, Flor H, Grigis A, Garavan H, Gowland P, Heinz A, Brühl R, Martinot JL, Martinot MLP, Artiges E, Nees F, Orfanos DP, Poustka L, Hohmann S, Fröhner JH, Smolka MN, Vaidya N, Walter H, Whelan R, Schumann G, Pausova Z, Paus T. A biologically informed polygenic score of neuronal plasticity moderates the association between cognitive aptitudes and cortical thickness in adolescents. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 60:101232. [PMID: 36963244 PMCID: PMC10064237 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101232] [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: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Although many studies of the adolescent brain identified positive associations between cognitive abilities and cortical thickness, little is known about mechanisms underlying such brain-behavior relationships. With experience-induced plasticity playing an important role in shaping the cerebral cortex throughout life, it is likely that some of the inter-individual variations in cortical thickness could be explained by genetic variations in relevant molecular processes, as indexed by a polygenic score of neuronal plasticity (PGS-NP). Here, we studied associations between PGS-NP, cognitive abilities, and thickness of the cerebral cortex, estimated from magnetic resonance images, in the Saguenay Youth Study (SYS, 533 females, 496 males: age=15.0 ± 1.8 years of age; cross-sectional), and the IMAGEN Study (566 females, 556 males; between 14 and 19 years; longitudinal). Using Gene Ontology, we first identified 199 genes implicated in neuronal plasticity, which mapped to 155,600 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Second, we estimated their effect sizes from an educational attainment meta-GWAS to build a PGS-NP. Third, we examined a possible moderating role of PGS-NP in the relationship between performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), and its subtests, and the thickness of 34 cortical regions. In SYS, we observed a significant interaction between PGS-NP and object assembly vis-à-vis thickness in male adolescents (p = 0.026). A median-split analysis showed that, in males with a 'high' PGS-NP, stronger associations between object assembly and thickness were found in regions with larger age-related changes in thickness (r = 0.55, p = 0.00075). Although the interaction between PIQ and PGS-NP was non-significant (p = 0.064), we performed a similar median-split analysis. Again, in the high PGS-NP males, positive associations between PIQ and thickness were observed in regions with larger age-related changes in thickness (r = 0.40, p = 0.018). In the IMAGEN cohort, we did not replicate the first set of results (interaction between PGS-NP and cognitive abilities via-a-vis cortical thickness) while we did observe the same relationship between the brain-behaviour relationship and (longitudinal) changes in cortical thickness (Matrix reasoning: r = 0.63, p = 6.5e-05). No statistically significant results were observed in female adolescents in either cohort. Overall, these cross-sectional and longitudinal results suggest that molecular mechanisms involved in neuronal plasticity may contribute to inter-individual variations of cortical thickness related to cognitive abilities during adolescence in a sex-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Navarri
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Daniel E Vosberg
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Jean Shin
- Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Louis Richer
- Department of Health Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1, Canada
| | - Gabriel Leonard
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - G Bruce Pike
- Departments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Arun L W Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Herta Flor
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, 05405 Burlington, VT, USA
| | - Penny Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Brühl
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 "Trajectoires développementales en psychiatrie"; Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 "Trajectoires développementales & psychiatrie", University Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS; Centre Borelli, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; and AP-HP. Sorbonne Université, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 "Trajectoires développementales en psychiatrie"; Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, Gif-sur-Yvette; and Psychiatry Department, EPS Barthélémy Durand, Etampes, France
| | - Frauke Nees
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany; Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sarah Hohmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Juliane H Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nilakshi Vaidya
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zdenka Pausova
- Departments of Physiology and Nutritional Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S3G3, Canada.
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Paus T. Tracking Development of Connectivity in the Human Brain: Axons and Dendrites. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:455-463. [PMID: 36344316 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The neuron doctrine laid the foundation for our current thinking about the structural and functional organization of the human brain. With the basic units of the nervous system-neurons-being physically separate, their connectivity relies on the conduction of action potentials in axons and their transmission across the synaptic cleft to the dendrites of other neurons. This study reviews available ex vivo data about the cellular composition of the human cerebral cortex, focusing on axons and dendrites, to conceptualize biological sources of signals detected in vivo with magnetic resonance imaging. To bridge the gap between ex vivo and in vivo observations, I then explain the basic principles of virtual histology, an approach that integrates spatially cell- or process-specific transcriptomic data with magnetic resonance signals to facilitate their neurobiological interpretation. Finally, I provide an overview of the initial insights gained in this manner in studies of brain development and maturation, in both health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Paus
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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Mirza-Davies A, Foley S, Caseras X, Baker E, Holmans P, Escott-Price V, Jones DK, Harrison JR, Messaritaki E. The impact of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease on the structural brain networks of young adults. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:987677. [PMID: 36532292 PMCID: PMC9748570 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.987677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction We investigated the structural brain networks of 562 young adults in relation to polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genotype data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Methods Diffusion MRI data were used to perform whole-brain tractography and generate structural brain networks for the whole-brain connectome, and for the default mode, limbic and visual subnetworks. The mean clustering coefficient, mean betweenness centrality, characteristic path length, global efficiency and mean nodal strength were calculated for these networks, for each participant. The connectivity of the rich-club, feeder and local connections was also calculated. Polygenic risk scores (PRS), estimating each participant's genetic risk, were calculated at genome-wide level and for nine specific disease pathways. Correlations were calculated between the PRS and (a) the graph theoretical metrics of the structural networks and (b) the rich-club, feeder and local connectivity of the whole-brain networks. Results In the visual subnetwork, the mean nodal strength was negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.19, p = 1.4 × 10-3), the mean betweenness centrality was positively correlated with the plasma lipoprotein particle assembly PRS (r = 0.16, p = 5.5 × 10-3), and the mean clustering coefficient was negatively correlated with the tau-protein binding PRS (r = -0.16, p = 0.016). In the default mode network, the mean nodal strength was negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.14, p = 0.044). The rich-club and feeder connectivities were negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.16, p = 0.035; r = -0.15, p = 0.036). Discussion We identified small reductions in brain connectivity in young adults at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Mirza-Davies
- School of Medicine, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Sonya Foley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Xavier Caseras
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Baker
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Holmans
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Valentina Escott-Price
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Derek K. Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Judith R. Harrison
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational and Clinical Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Eirini Messaritaki
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- BRAIN Biomedical Research Unit, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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Sex differences in the human brain: a roadmap for more careful analysis and interpretation of a biological reality. Biol Sex Differ 2022; 13:43. [PMID: 35883159 PMCID: PMC9327177 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00448-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence, magnitude, and significance of sex differences in the human brain are hotly debated topics in the scientific community and popular media. This debate is largely fueled by studies containing strong, opposing conclusions: either little to no evidence exists for sex differences in human neuroanatomy, or there are small-to-moderate differences in the size of certain brain regions that are highly reproducible across cohorts (even after controlling for sex differences in average brain size). Our Commentary uses the specific comparison between two recent large-scale studies that adopt these opposing views-namely the review by Eliot and colleagues (2021) and the direct analysis of ~ 40k brains by Williams and colleagues (2021)-in an effort to clarify this controversy and provide a framework for conducting this research. First, we review observations that motivate research on sex differences in human neuroanatomy, including potential causes (evolutionary, genetic, and environmental) and effects (epidemiological and clinical evidence for sex-biased brain disorders). We also summarize methodological and empirical support for using structural MRI to investigate such patterns. Next, we outline how researchers focused on sex differences can better specify their study design (e.g., how sex was defined, if and how brain size was adjusted for) and results (by e.g., distinguishing sexual dimorphisms from sex differences). We then compare the different approaches available for studying sex differences across a large number of individuals: direct analysis, meta-analysis, and review. We stress that reviews do not account for methodological differences across studies, and that this variation explains many of the apparent inconsistencies reported throughout recent reviews (including the work by Eliot and colleagues). For instance, we show that amygdala volume is consistently reported as male-biased in studies with sufficient sample sizes and appropriate methods for brain size correction. In fact, comparing the results from multiple large direct analyses highlights small, highly reproducible sex differences in the volume of many brain regions (controlling for brain size). Finally, we describe best practices for the presentation and interpretation of these findings. Care in interpretation is important for all domains of science, but especially so for research on sex differences in the human brain, given the existence of broad societal gender-biases and a history of biological data being used justify sexist ideas. As such, we urge researchers to discuss their results from simultaneously scientific and anti-sexist viewpoints.
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Balsor JL, Arbabi K, Singh D, Kwan R, Zaslavsky J, Jeyanesan E, Murphy KM. A Practical Guide to Sparse k-Means Clustering for Studying Molecular Development of the Human Brain. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:668293. [PMID: 34867140 PMCID: PMC8636820 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.668293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying the molecular development of the human brain presents unique challenges for selecting a data analysis approach. The rare and valuable nature of human postmortem brain tissue, especially for developmental studies, means the sample sizes are small (n), but the use of high throughput genomic and proteomic methods measure the expression levels for hundreds or thousands of variables [e.g., genes or proteins (p)] for each sample. This leads to a data structure that is high dimensional (p ≫ n) and introduces the curse of dimensionality, which poses a challenge for traditional statistical approaches. In contrast, high dimensional analyses, especially cluster analyses developed for sparse data, have worked well for analyzing genomic datasets where p ≫ n. Here we explore applying a lasso-based clustering method developed for high dimensional genomic data with small sample sizes. Using protein and gene data from the developing human visual cortex, we compared clustering methods. We identified an application of sparse k-means clustering [robust sparse k-means clustering (RSKC)] that partitioned samples into age-related clusters that reflect lifespan stages from birth to aging. RSKC adaptively selects a subset of the genes or proteins contributing to partitioning samples into age-related clusters that progress across the lifespan. This approach addresses a problem in current studies that could not identify multiple postnatal clusters. Moreover, clusters encompassed a range of ages like a series of overlapping waves illustrating that chronological- and brain-age have a complex relationship. In addition, a recently developed workflow to create plasticity phenotypes (Balsor et al., 2020) was applied to the clusters and revealed neurobiologically relevant features that identified how the human visual cortex changes across the lifespan. These methods can help address the growing demand for multimodal integration, from molecular machinery to brain imaging signals, to understand the human brain’s development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin L Balsor
- McMaster Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Keon Arbabi
- McMaster Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Desmond Singh
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Rachel Kwan
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan Zaslavsky
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ewalina Jeyanesan
- McMaster Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kathryn M Murphy
- McMaster Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Frigerio A, Ballerini L, Valdés Hernández M. Structural, Functional, and Metabolic Brain Differences as a Function of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation: A Systematic Review of the Human Neuroimaging Literature. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2021; 50:3329-3352. [PMID: 33956296 PMCID: PMC8604863 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02005-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
This review systematically explored structural, functional, and metabolic features of the cisgender brain compared with the transgender brain before hormonal treatment and the heterosexual brain compared to the homosexual brain from the analysis of the neuroimaging literature up to 2018, and identified and discussed subsequent studies published up to March 2021. Our main aim was to help identifying neuroradiological brain features that have been related to human sexuality to contribute to the understanding of the biological elements involved in gender identity and sexual orientation. We analyzed 39 studies on gender identity and 24 on sexual orientation. Our results suggest that some neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and neurometabolic features in transgender individuals resemble those of their experienced gender despite the majority resembling those from their natal sex. In homosexual individuals the majority resemble those of their same-sex heterosexual population rather than their opposite-sex heterosexual population. However, it is always difficult to interpret findings with noninvasive neuroimaging. Given the gross nature of these measures, it is possible that more differences too subtle to measure with available tools yet contributing to gender identity and sexual orientation could be found. Conflicting results contributed to the difficulty of identifying specific brain features which consistently differ between cisgender and transgender or between heterosexual and homosexual groups. The small number of studies, the small-to-moderate sample size of each study, and the heterogeneity of the investigations made it impossible to meta-analyze all the data extracted. Further studies are necessary to increase the understanding of the neurological substrates of human sexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Frigerio
- Division of Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB, UK
| | - Lucia Ballerini
- Division of Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB, UK
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