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Lissaman R, Rajagopal S, Kearley J, Pasvanis S, Rajah MN. Menopause status- and sex-related differences in age associations with spatial context memory and white matter microstructure at midlife. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 141:151-159. [PMID: 38954878 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Decline in spatial context memory emerges in midlife, the time when most females transition from pre- to post-menopause. Recent evidence suggests that, among post-menopausal females, advanced age is associated with functional brain alterations and lower spatial context memory. However, it is unknown whether similar effects are evident for white matter (WM) and, moreover, whether such effects contribute to sex differences at midlife. To address this, we conducted a study on 96 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults (30 males, 32 pre-menopausal females, 34 post-menopausal females). Spatial context memory was assessed using a face-location memory paradigm, while WM microstructure was assessed using diffusion tensor imaging. Behaviorally, advanced age was associated with lower spatial context memory in post-menopausal females but not pre-menopausal females or males. Additionally, advanced age was associated with microstructural variability in predominantly frontal WM (e.g., anterior corona radiata, genu of corpus callosum), which was related to lower spatial context memory among post-menopausal females. Our findings suggest that post-menopausal status enhances vulnerability to age effects on the brain's WM and episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rikki Lissaman
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | | | - Julia Kearley
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Maria Natasha Rajah
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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2
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Pavlinek A, Adhya D, Tsompanidis A, Warrier V, Vernon AC, Lancaster M, Mill J, Srivastava DP, Baron-Cohen S. Using Organoids to Model Sex Differences in the Human Brain. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:100343. [PMID: 39092139 PMCID: PMC11292257 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex differences are widespread during neurodevelopment and play a role in neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, which is more prevalent in males than females. In humans, males have been shown to have larger brain volumes than females with development of the hippocampus and amygdala showing prominent sex differences. Mechanistically, sex steroids and sex chromosomes drive these differences in brain development, which seem to peak during prenatal and pubertal stages. Animal models have played a crucial role in understanding sex differences, but the study of human sex differences requires an experimental model that can recapitulate complex genetic traits. To fill this gap, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain organoids are now being used to study how complex genetic traits influence prenatal brain development. For example, brain organoids from individuals with autism and individuals with X chromosome-linked Rett syndrome and fragile X syndrome have revealed prenatal differences in cell proliferation, a measure of brain volume differences, and excitatory-inhibitory imbalances. Brain organoids have also revealed increased neurogenesis of excitatory neurons due to androgens. However, despite growing interest in using brain organoids, several key challenges remain that affect its validity as a model system. In this review, we discuss how sex steroids and the sex chromosomes each contribute to sex differences in brain development. Then, we examine the role of X chromosome inactivation as a factor that drives sex differences. Finally, we discuss the combined challenges of modeling X chromosome inactivation and limitations of brain organoids that need to be taken into consideration when studying sex differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pavlinek
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dwaipayan Adhya
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alex Tsompanidis
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Varun Warrier
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony C. Vernon
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jonathan Mill
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Deepak P. Srivastava
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Aberizk K, Addington JM, Bearden CE, Cadenhead KS, Cannon TD, Cornblatt BA, Keshavan M, Mathalon DH, Perkins DO, Stone WS, Tsuang MT, Woods SW, Walker EF, Ku BS. Relations of Lifetime Perceived Stress and Basal Cortisol With Hippocampal Volume Among Healthy Adolescents and Those at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 96:401-411. [PMID: 38092185 PMCID: PMC11166888 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hippocampal volume (HV) is sensitive to environmental influences. Under normative conditions in humans, HV increases linearly into childhood and asymptotes in early adulthood. Studies of humans and nonhuman animals have provided evidence of inverse relationships between several measures of stress and HV. METHODS Using structural equation modeling, this study aimed to characterize the relationships of age, basal cortisol, biological sex, and lifetime perceived stress with bilateral HV in a sample of healthy adolescents and adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) (N = 571, 43% female; age range = 12-19.9 years). This sample included 469 individuals at CHR-P and 102 healthy comparison participants from the combined baseline cohorts of the second and third NAPLS (North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study). RESULTS A structural model that constrained the individual effects of basal cortisol and perceived stress to single path coefficients, and freely estimated the effects of age and biological sex in group models, optimized model fit and parsimony relative to other candidate models. Significant inverse relationships between basal cortisol and bilateral HV were observed in adolescents at CHR-P and healthy comparison participants. Significant sex differences in bilateral HV were also observed, with females demonstrating smaller HV than males in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Multigroup structural equation modeling revealed heterogeneity in the relationships of age and biological sex with basal cortisol, lifetime perceived stress, and bilateral HV in individuals at CHR-P and healthy comparison participants. Moreover, the findings support previous literature indicating that elevated basal cortisol is a nonspecific risk factor for reduced HV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina Aberizk
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
| | - Jean M Addington
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Carrie E Bearden
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California
| | | | - Tyrone D Cannon
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Matcheri Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel H Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Diana O Perkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - William S Stone
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Ming T Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California
| | - Scott W Woods
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Elaine F Walker
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Benson S Ku
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
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4
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Quintana GR, Pfaus JG. Do Sex and Gender Have Separate Identities? ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024:10.1007/s10508-024-02933-2. [PMID: 39105983 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-024-02933-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
The largely binary nature of biological sex and its conflation with the socially constructed concept of gender has created much strife in the last few years. The notion of gender identity and its differences and similarities with sex have fostered much scientific and legal confusion and disagreement. Settling the debate can have significant repercussions for science, medicine, legislation, and people's lives. The present review addresses this debate though different levels of analysis (i.e., genetic, anatomical, physiological, behavioral, and sociocultural), and their implications and interactions. We propose a rationale where both perspectives coexist, where diversity is the default, establishing a delimitation to the conflation between sex and gender, while acknowledging their interaction. Whereas sex in humans and other mammals is a biological reality that is largely binary and based on genes, chromosomes, anatomy, and physiology, gender is a sociocultural construct that is often, but not always, concordant with a person' sex, and can span a multitude of expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo R Quintana
- Departamento de Psicología y Filosofía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Arica y Parinacota, Chile
| | - James G Pfaus
- Department of Psychology and Life Sciences, Charles University, Prague, 18200, Czech Republic.
- Center for Sexual Health and Intervention, Czech National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
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5
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Lissek S, Schlaffke L, Tegenthoff M. Microstructural properties of attention-related white matter tracts are associated with the renewal effect of extinction. Behav Brain Res 2024; 471:115125. [PMID: 38936425 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
The tendency to show the renewal effect of extinction appears as an intra-individually stable, reproducible processing strategy associated with differential patterns of BOLD activation in hippocampus, iFG and vmPFC, as well as differential resting-state functional connectivity between prefrontal regions and the dorsal attention network. Also, pharmacological modulations of the noradrenergic system that influence attentional processing have partially different effects upon individuals with (REN) and without (NoREN) a propensity for renewal. However, it is as yet unknown whether REN and NoREN individuals differ regarding microstructural properties in attention-related white matter (WM) regions, and whether such differences are related to noradrenergic processing. In this diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis we investigated the relation between microstructural properties of attention-related WM tracts and ABA renewal propensity, under conditions of noradrenergic stimulation by means of the noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine, compared to placebo. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was higher in participants with noradrenergic stimulation (ATO) compared to placebo (PLAC), the effect was predominantly left-lateralized and based on the comparison of ATO REN and PLAC REN participants. In REN participants of both treatment groups, FA in several WM tracts showed a positive correlation with the ABA renewal level, suggesting higher renewal levels were associated with higher microstructural integrity. These findings point towards a relation between microstructural properties of attention-related WM tracts and the propensity for renewal that is not specifically dependent on noradrenergic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Lara Schlaffke
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
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6
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Gardner M, Shinohara RT, Bethlehem RAI, Romero-Garcia R, Warrier V, Dorfschmidt L, Shanmugan S, Thompson P, Seidlitz J, Alexander-Bloch AF, Chen AA. ComBatLS: A location- and scale-preserving method for multi-site image harmonization. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.21.599875. [PMID: 39131292 PMCID: PMC11312440 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.21.599875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Recent work has leveraged massive datasets and advanced harmonization methods to construct normative models of neuroanatomical features and benchmark individuals' morphology. However, current harmonization tools do not preserve the effects of biological covariates including sex and age on features' variances; this failure may induce error in normative scores, particularly when such factors are distributed unequally across sites. Here, we introduce a new extension of the popular ComBat harmonization method, ComBatLS, that preserves biological variance in features' locations and scales. We use UK Biobank data to show that ComBatLS robustly replicates individuals' normative scores better than other ComBat methods when subjects are assigned to sex-imbalanced synthetic "sites". Additionally, we demonstrate that ComBatLS significantly reduces sex biases in normative scores compared to traditional methods. Finally, we show that ComBatLS successfully harmonizes consortium data collected across over 50 studies. R implementation of ComBatLS is available at https://github.com/andy1764/ComBatFamily .
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7
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Maddern XJ, Ursich LT, Bailey G, Pearl A, Anversa RG, Lawrence AJ, Walker LC. Sex Differences in Alcohol Use: Is It All About Hormones? Endocrinology 2024; 165:bqae088. [PMID: 39018449 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqae088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
Risky alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are a rising problem in women, yet a major disparity in our understanding of what drives alcohol consumption in women remains. Historically biomedical research has focused on male subjects; however, recent increases in reporting of females, have highlighted major differences between the sexes. Here we review the current literature of the effect of gonadal steroid hormones (estrogens, androgens, and progestins), neurosteriods, and neurobiological factors on alcohol use in clinical and preclinical studies of both sexes. Further, we briefly discuss how fundamental sex differences in genetics, metabolism, neuroimmune, and stress responses may influence sex differences in alcohol intake. Comparing the sexes could aid in the discovery of novel therapeutics to treat AUD, and implementation of current treatment options in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier J Maddern
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Lauren T Ursich
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Grace Bailey
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Amy Pearl
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Roberta G Anversa
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Andrew J Lawrence
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Leigh C Walker
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
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8
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Maldonado-Devincci AM, Odelade AE, Irby-Shabazz A, Jadhav V, Nepal P, Chang EM, Chang AY, Han J. Longitudinal sex-specific impacts of high-fat diet on dopaminergic dysregulation and behavior from periadolescence to late adulthood. Nutr Neurosci 2024:1-14. [PMID: 39046103 DOI: 10.1080/1028415x.2024.2377471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Obesity is recognized for its adverse impact on brain health and related behaviors; however, the specific longitudinal effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) from juvenile stages of development through late adulthood remain poorly understood, particularly sex-specific outcomes. This study aimed to determine how prolonged exposure to HFD, commencing during periadolescence, would differentially predispose male and female mice to an elevated risk of dopaminergic dysregulation and associated behavioral deficits. METHODS One-month-old C57BL/6J male and female mice were subjected to either a control diet or an HFD for 5 and 9 months. Muscle strength, motor skills, sensorimotor integration, and anxiety-like behaviors were assessed at the end of the 5th and 8th months. Key dopaminergic molecules, including dopamine (DA), dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2), dopamine transporter (DAT), and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), were quantified at the end of the 5th or 9th months. RESULTS Behaviorally, male mice exposed to HFD exhibited more pronounced alterations in sensorimotor integration, anxiety-like behavior, and muscle strength after the 5th month of dietary exposure. In contrast, female mice displayed most behavioral differences after the 8th month of HFD exposure. Physiologically, there were notable sex-specific variations in the dopaminergic pathway response to HFD. Male mice exposed to HFD exhibited elevated tissue levels of VMAT2 and DRD2, whereas female mice showed reduced levels of DRD2 and DAT compared to control groups. DISCUSSION These findings indicate a general trend of altered time course susceptibility in male mice to chronic HFD consumption compared to their female counterparts, with male mice impacted earlier than females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoniette M Maldonado-Devincci
- Department of Psychology, John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
| | - Anuoluwapo E Odelade
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
| | - Adenike Irby-Shabazz
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
| | - Vidya Jadhav
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
| | - Pragya Nepal
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
| | - Evelyn M Chang
- Program in Liberal Medical Education, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence
| | - Alex Y Chang
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Jian Han
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA
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9
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Bakker J. Neurobiological characteristics associated with gender identity: Findings from neuroimaging studies in the Amsterdam cohort of children and adolescents experiencing gender incongruence. Horm Behav 2024; 164:105601. [PMID: 39029340 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
This review has been based on my invited lecture at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology in 2023. Gender incongruence is defined as a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual's experienced gender and the sex assigned at birth. A prominent hypothesis on the etiology of gender incongruence proposes that it is related to an altered or less pronounced sexual differentiation of the brain. This hypothesis has primarily been based on postmortem studies of the hypothalamus in transgender individuals. To further address this hypothesis, a series of structural and functional neuroimaging studies were conducted in the Amsterdam cohort of children and adolescents experiencing gender incongruence. Additional research objectives were to determine whether any sex and gender differences are established before or after puberty, as well as whether gender affirming hormone treatment would affect brain development and function. We found some evidence in favor of the sexual differentiation hypothesis at the functional level, but this was less evident at the structural level. We also observed some specific transgender neural signatures, suggesting that they might present a unique brain phenotype rather than being shifted towards either end of the male-female spectrum. Our results further suggest that the years between childhood and mid-adolescence represent an important period in which puberty-related factors influence several neural characteristics, such as white matter development and functional connectivity patterns, in both a sex and gender identity specific way. These latter observations thus lead to the important question about the possible negative consequences of delaying puberty on neurodevelopment. To further address this question, larger-scale, longitudinal studies are required to increase our understanding of the possible neurodevelopmental impacts of delaying puberty in transgender youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Bakker
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liège, Belgium.
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10
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Herlin B, Uszynski I, Chauvel M, Dupont S, Poupon C. Sex-related variability of white matter tracts in the whole HCP cohort. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02833-0. [PMID: 39012482 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02833-0] [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: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral differences between men and women have been studied extensively, as have differences in brain anatomy. However, most studies have focused on differences in gray matter, while white matter has been much less studied. We conducted a comprehensive study of 77 deep white matter tracts to analyze their volumetric and microstructural variability between men and women in the full Human Connectome Project (HCP) cohort of 1065 healthy individuals aged 22-35 years. We found a significant difference in total brain volume between men and women (+ 12.6% in men), consistent with the literature. 16 tracts showed significant volumetric differences between men and women, one of which stood out due to a larger effect size: the corpus callosum genu, which was larger in women (+ 7.3% in women, p = 5.76 × 10-19). In addition, we found several differences in microstructural parameters between men and women, both using standard Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) parameters and more complex microstructural parameters from the Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) model, with the tracts showing the greatest differences belonging to motor (cortico-spinal tracts, cortico-cerebellar tracts) or limbic (cingulum, fornix, thalamo-temporal radiations) systems. These microstructural differences may be related to known behavioral differences between the sexes in timed motor performance, aggressiveness/impulsivity, and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Herlin
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
- Rehabilitation Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France.
- Université Paris Sorbonne, Paris, France.
| | - I Uszynski
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - M Chauvel
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - S Dupont
- Reference Center for Rare Epilepsies, Department of Neurology, Epileptology Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
- Rehabilitation Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
- Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne-Université, Inserm U1127, CNRS 7225, Paris, France
- Université Paris Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - C Poupon
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
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11
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Zhou J, Wang H, Pao C, Zhou J, Zou Z. Association between 29 food groups of diet quality questionnaire and perceived stress in Chinese adults: a prospective study from China health and nutrition survey. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1832. [PMID: 38982411 PMCID: PMC11234725 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19308-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Diet plays a fundamental role in promoting resilience against stress-related disorders. We aimed to examine the overall and sex-specific association between food groups and perceived stress in adults. METHODS We analyzed the prospective data of 7,434 adults who completed both the 2011 and 2015 surveys of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). The Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ) was used to code all the food items of 2011 dietary intake into 29 food groups, and perceived stress in 2015 was measured using a 14-item perceived stress scale (PSS-14). Univariate analysis and logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between food groups and perceived stress. RESULTS People who perceived a higher level of stress (PSS-14 total score > 25) made up 41.5% and 45.1% of the male and female groups, respectively (χ2 = 9.605, p = 0.002). Individuals with increased intake of food groups such as legumes, other vegetables, other fruits, yogurt, poultry, fish & seafood, fluid milk, and fruit juice were less likely to experience a higher level of psychological stress (OR range: 0.544-0.892, p < 0.05). Additionally, we found sex-specific associations between food groups and perceived stress. The difference in the proportion of food groups, such as fluid milk and fish & seafood, between the two stress groups in men was statistically significant (p < 0.025). In the female group, the distribution of eight food groups, like legumes and nuts & seeds, between the two stress groups was statistically significant (p < 0.025). CONCLUSION This study indicated that food groups were differentially associated with perceived stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Huan Wang
- Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, Peking University School of Public Health/National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China
| | - Christine Pao
- Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service, Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jingjing Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhiyong Zou
- Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, Peking University School of Public Health/National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China.
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12
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Arenaza-Urquijo EM, Boyle R, Casaletto K, Anstey KJ, Vila-Castelar C, Colverson A, Palpatzis E, Eissman JM, Kheng Siang Ng T, Raghavan S, Akinci M, Vonk JMJ, Machado LS, Zanwar PP, Shrestha HL, Wagner M, Tamburin S, Sohrabi HR, Loi S, Bartrés-Faz D, Dubal DB, Prashanthi V, Okonkwo O, Hohman TJ, Ewers M, Buckley RF. Sex and gender differences in cognitive resilience to aging and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement 2024. [PMID: 38967222 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13844] [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: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Sex and gender-biological and social constructs-significantly impact the prevalence of protective and risk factors, influencing the burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD; amyloid beta and tau) and other pathologies (e.g., cerebrovascular disease) which ultimately shape cognitive trajectories. Understanding the interplay of these factors is central to understanding resilience and resistance mechanisms explaining maintained cognitive function and reduced pathology accumulation in aging and AD. In this narrative review, the ADDRESS! Special Interest Group (Alzheimer's Association) adopted a multidisciplinary approach to provide the foundations and recommendations for future research into sex- and gender-specific drivers of resilience, including a sex/gender-oriented review of risk factors, genetics, AD and non-AD pathologies, brain structure and function, and animal research. We urge the field to adopt a sex/gender-aware approach to resilience to advance our understanding of the intricate interplay of biological and social determinants and consider sex/gender-specific resilience throughout disease stages. HIGHLIGHTS: Sex differences in resilience to cognitive decline vary by age and cognitive status. Initial evidence supports sex-specific distinctions in brain pathology. Findings suggest sex differences in the impact of pathology on cognition. There is a sex-specific change in resilience in the transition to clinical stages. Gender and sex factors warrant study: modifiable, immune, inflammatory, and vascular.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eider M Arenaza-Urquijo
- Environment and Health Over the Life Course Programme, Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health Programme, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain
- University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rory Boyle
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kaitlin Casaletto
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kaarin J Anstey
- University of New South Wales Ageing Futures Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sidney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Clara Vila-Castelar
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Aaron Colverson
- University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine Interdisciplinary Research Lab, University of Florida, Center of Arts in Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Eleni Palpatzis
- Environment and Health Over the Life Course Programme, Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health Programme, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain
- University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaclyn M Eissman
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ted Kheng Siang Ng
- Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Muge Akinci
- Environment and Health Over the Life Course Programme, Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health Programme, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain
- University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jet M J Vonk
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Luiza S Machado
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Farroupilha, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Preeti P Zanwar
- Jefferson College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- The Network on Life Course and Health Dynamics and Disparities, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - Maude Wagner
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Stefano Tamburin
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Hamid R Sohrabi
- Centre for Healthy Ageing, Health Future Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Psychology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Samantha Loi
- Neuropsychiatry Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - David Bartrés-Faz
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences & Institut de Neurociències, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Dena B Dubal
- Department of Neurology and Weill Institute of Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Biomedical and Neurosciences Graduate Programs, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Ozioma Okonkwo
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Timothy J Hohman
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Michael Ewers
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig Maximilians Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Munich), Munich, Germany
| | - Rachel F Buckley
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Nishikawa Y, Watanabe K, Holobar A, Kitamura R, Maeda N, Hyngstrom AS. Sex differences in laterality of motor unit firing behavior of the first dorsal interosseous muscle in strength-matched healthy young males and females. Eur J Appl Physiol 2024; 124:1979-1990. [PMID: 38366213 PMCID: PMC11199256 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-024-05420-7] [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: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare laterality in motor unit firing behavior between females and males. METHODS Twenty-seven subjects (14 females) were recruited for this study. The participants performed ramp up and hold isometric index finger abduction at 10, 30, and 60% of their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) signals were recorded in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle and decomposed into individual motor unit (MU) firing behavior using a convolution blind source separation method. RESULTS In total, 769 MUs were detected (females, n = 318 and males, n = 451). Females had a significantly higher discharge rate than males at each relative torque level (10%: male dominant hand, 13.4 ± 2.7 pps vs. female dominant hand, 16.3 ± 3.4 pps; 30%: male dominant hand, 16.1 ± 3.9 pps vs. female dominant hand, 20.0 ± 5.0 pps; and 60%: male dominant hand, 19.3 ± 3.8 vs. female dominant hand, 25.3 ± 4.8 pps; p < 0.0001). The recruitment threshold was also significantly higher in females than in males at 30 and 60% MVC. Furthermore, males exhibited asymmetrical discharge rates at 30 and 60% MVC and recruitment thresholds at 30 and 60% MVC, whereas no asymmetry was observed in females. CONCLUSION In the FDI muscle, compared to males, females exhibited different neuromuscular strategies with higher discharge rates and recruitment thresholds and no asymmetrical MU firing behavior. Notably, the findings that sex differences in neuromuscular activity also occur in healthy individuals provide important information for understanding the pathogenesis of various diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuichi Nishikawa
- Faculty of Frontier Engineering, Institute of Science & Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.
| | - Kohei Watanabe
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Biomechanics, School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Aleš Holobar
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Ryoka Kitamura
- Graduate School of Frontier Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Noriaki Maeda
- Division of Sports Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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Luders E, Gaser C, Spencer D, Thankamony A, Hughes I, Simpson H, Srirangalingam U, Gleeson H, Hines M, Kurth F. Cortical gyrification in women and men and the (missing) link to prenatal androgens. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:3995-4003. [PMID: 38733283 PMCID: PMC11260240 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have reported sex differences in cortical gyrification. Since most cortical folding is principally defined in utero, sex chromosomes as well as gonadal hormones are likely to influence sex-specific aspects of local gyrification. Classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) causes high levels of androgens during gestation in females, whereas levels in males are largely within the typical male range. Therefore, CAH provides an opportunity to study the possible effects of prenatal androgens on cortical gyrification. Here, we examined the vertex-wise absolute mean curvature-a common estimate for cortical gyrification-in individuals with CAH (33 women and 20 men) and pair-wise matched controls (33 women and 20 men). There was no significant main effect of CAH and no significant CAH-by-sex interaction. However, there was a significant main effect of sex in five cortical regions, where gyrification was increased in women compared to men. These regions were located on the lateral surface of the brain, specifically left middle frontal (rostral and caudal), right inferior frontal, left inferior parietal, and right occipital. There was no cortical region where gyrification was increased in men compared to women. Our findings do not only confirm prior reports of increased cortical gyrification in female brains but also suggest that cortical gyrification is not significantly affected by prenatal androgen exposure. Instead, cortical gyrification might be determined by sex chromosomes either directly or indirectly-the latter potentially by affecting the underlying architecture of the cortex or the size of the intracranial cavity, which is smaller in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen Luders
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala 75237, Sweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), Uppsala 75238, Sweden
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90033, USA
| | - Christian Gaser
- Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena 07747, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena 07747, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Germany
| | - Debra Spencer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB23RQ, UK
| | - Ajay Thankamony
- Department of Paediatrics, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK
- Weston Centre for Paediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK
| | - Ieuan Hughes
- Department of Paediatrics, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK
| | - Helen Simpson
- Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University College Hospital London, London NW12BU, UK
| | | | | | - Melissa Hines
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB23RQ, UK
| | - Florian Kurth
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Departments of Neuroradiology and Radiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena 07747, Germany
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15
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Page D, Buchanan CR, Moodie JE, Harris MA, Taylor A, Valdés Hernández M, Muñoz Maniega S, Corley J, Bastin ME, Wardlaw JM, Russ TC, Deary IJ, Cox SR. Examining the neurostructural architecture of intelligence: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study. Cortex 2024; 178:269-286. [PMID: 39067180 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Examining underlying neurostructural correlates of specific cognitive abilities is practically and theoretically complicated by the existence of the positive manifold (all cognitive tests positively correlate): if a brain structure is associated with a cognitive task, how much of this is uniquely related to the cognitive domain, and how much is due to covariance with all other tests across domains (captured by general cognitive functioning, also known as general intelligence, or 'g')? We quantitatively address this question by examining associations between brain structural and diffusion MRI measures (global tissue volumes, white matter hyperintensities, global white matter diffusion fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity, and FreeSurfer processed vertex-wise cortical volumes, smoothed at 20mm fwhm) with g and cognitive domains (processing speed, crystallised ability, memory, visuospatial ability). The cognitive domains were modelled using confirmatory factor analysis to derive both hierarchical and bifactor solutions using 13 cognitive tests in 697 participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study (mean age 72.5 years; SD = .7). Associations between the extracted cognitive factor scores for each domain and g were computed for each brain measure covarying for age, sex and intracranial volume, and corrected for false discovery rate. There were a range of significant associations between cognitive domains and global MRI brain structural measures (r range .008 to .269, p < .05). Regions implicated by vertex-wise regional cortical volume included a widespread number of medial and lateral areas of the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes. However, at both global and regional level, much of the domain-MRI associations were shared (statistically accounted for by g). Removing g-related variance from cognitive domains attenuated association magnitudes with global brain MRI measures by 27.9-59.7% (M = 46.2%), with only processing speed retaining all significant associations. At the regional cortical level, g appeared to account for the majority (range 22.1-88.4%; M = 52.8% across cognitive domains) of regional domain-specific associations. Crystallised and memory domains had almost no unique cortical correlates, whereas processing speed and visuospatial ability retained limited cortical volumetric associations. The greatest spatial overlaps across cognitive domains (as denoted by g) were present in the medial and lateral temporal, lateral parietal and lateral frontal areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Page
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Colin R Buchanan
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Joanna E Moodie
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mathew A Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Adele Taylor
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Maria Valdés Hernández
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Division of Neuroimaging Sciences and Row Fogo Centre for Small Vessel Diseases Research, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute Centre at the University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Susana Muñoz Maniega
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Division of Neuroimaging Sciences and Row Fogo Centre for Small Vessel Diseases Research, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute Centre at the University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Janie Corley
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mark E Bastin
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Joanna M Wardlaw
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Division of Neuroimaging Sciences and Row Fogo Centre for Small Vessel Diseases Research, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute Centre at the University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tom C Russ
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK; Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Simon R Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
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16
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Zhao CL, Hou W, Jia Y, Sahakian BJ, Luo Q. Sex differences of signal complexity at resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and their associations with the estrogen-signaling pathway in the brain. Cogn Neurodyn 2024; 18:973-986. [PMID: 38826661 PMCID: PMC11143120 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-023-09954-y] [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: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the brain have been widely reported and may hold the key to elucidating sex differences in many medical conditions and drug response. However, the molecular correlates of these sex differences in structural and functional brain measures in the human brain remain unclear. Herein, we used sample entropy (SampEn) to quantify the signal complexity of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) in a large neuroimaging cohort (N = 1,642). The frontoparietal control network and the cingulo-opercular network had high signal complexity while the cerebellar and sensory motor networks had low signal complexity in both men and women. Compared with those in male brains, we found greater signal complexity in all functional brain networks in female brains with the default mode network exhibiting the largest sex difference. Using the gene expression data in brain tissues, we identified genes that were significantly associated with sex differences in brain signal complexity. The significant genes were enriched in the gene sets that were differentially expressed between the brain cortex and other tissues, the estrogen-signaling pathway, and the biological function of neural plasticity. In particular, the G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 gene in the estrogen-signaling pathway was expressed more in brain regions with greater sex differences in SampEn. In conclusion, greater complexity in female brains may reflect the interactions between sex hormone fluctuations and neuromodulation of estrogen in women. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-023-09954-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-li Zhao
- College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, 410073 China
| | - Wenjie Hou
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433 China
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, MOE Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438 China
| | - Yanbing Jia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471000 China
| | - Barbara J. Sahakian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - the DIRECT Consortium
- College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, 410073 China
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433 China
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, MOE Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438 China
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471000 China
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Qiang Luo
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433 China
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, MOE Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438 China
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17
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Saha P, Sarkar D. Characterization and Classification of ADHD Subtypes: An Approach Based on the Nodal Distribution of Eigenvector Centrality and Classification Tree Model. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2024; 55:622-634. [PMID: 36100839 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-022-01432-6] [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] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In recent times, the complex network theory is increasingly applied to characterize, classify, and diagnose a broad spectrum of neuropathological conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's disease, bipolar disorder, and many others. Nevertheless, the diagnosis and associated subtype identification majorly rely on the baseline correlation matrix obtained from the functional MRI scan. Thus, the existing protocols are either full of personalized bias or computationally expensive as network complexity-based simple but deterministic protocols are yet to be developed and formalized. This article proposes a deterministic method to identify and differentiate the common ADHD subtypes, which is based on a single complexity measure, namely the eigenvector centrality. The node-wise centrality differences were explored using a classification tree model (p < 0.05) to diagnose the subtypes. Identification of marker nodes from default mode, visual, frontoparietal, limbic, and cerebellar networks strongly vouch for the involvement of multiple brain regions in ADHD neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Papri Saha
- Department of Computer Science, Derozio Memorial College, Kolkata, 700136, India.
| | - Debasish Sarkar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, 700009, India
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18
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Hu M, Lou Y, Zhu C, Chen J, Liu S, Liang Y, Liu S, Tang Y. Evaluating the Impact of Intracranial Volume Correction Approaches on the Quantification of Intracranial Structures in MRI: A Systematic Analysis. J Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 59:2164-2177. [PMID: 37702125 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.28974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In neuroscience, accurately quantifying individual brain regions in large cohorts is a challenge. Differences in intracranial structures can suggest functional differences, but they also reflect the effects of other factors. However, there is currently no standardized method for the correction of intracranial structure measurements. PURPOSE To identify the optimal method to counteract the influence of total intracranial volume (TIV) and gender on the measurement of intracranial structures. STUDY TYPE Prospective. POPULATION/SUBJECTS One hundred forty-one healthy adult volunteers (70 male, mean age 21.8 ± 1.7 years). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE T1-weighted 3D gradient-echo sequence at 3.0 T. ASSESSMENT A radiologist with 5 years of work experience screened the raw images to exclude poor-quality images. Freesurfer then performed automated segmentation to obtain measurements of intracranial structures. Male-only, female-only, and TIV-matched sub-samples were created separately. Comparisons between the original data and these sub-samples were used to assess the effects of gender and TIV. Comparison the consistency between TIV-matched sample and corrected data that corrected by four methods: Proportion method, power-corrected proportion method, covariate regression method, and residual method. STATISTICAL TESTS Cohen's d for examining group distribution disparities, t-tests for probing mean differences, correlation coefficients to assess the relationships between intracranial substructure measurements and TIV. Multiple comparison corrections were applied to the results. RESULTS The correlation coefficients between TIV and the volumes of intracranial structures ranged from 0.033 to 0.883, with an average of 0.467. Thirty significant volume differences were found among 36 structures in the original sample, while no differences were observed in the TIV-matched sample. Among the four correction methods, the residual method had highest consistency (similarity 94.4%) with the TIV-matched group. DATA CONCLUSION The variation in intracranial structure sizes between genders was largely attributable to TIV. The residual method offers a more accurate and effective approach for correcting the effects of TIV on intracranial structures. EVIDENCE LEVEL 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minqi Hu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Yunxia Lou
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Department of Ultrasound, Cheeloo Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Caiting Zhu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Jiachen Chen
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Shizhou Liu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Yongfeng Liang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Department of Radiology, Cheeloo Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Shuwei Liu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Yuchun Tang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Advanced Medical Research Institute, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
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19
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Zarifkar P, Wagner MK, Fisher PM, Stenbæk DS, Berg SK, Knudsen GM, Benros ME, Kondziella D, Hassager C. Brain network changes and cognitive function after cardiac arrest. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae174. [PMID: 39045091 PMCID: PMC11264146 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae174] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have improved over the past two decades. Despite this progress, long-term cognitive impairment remains prevalent even in those with early recovery of consciousness after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; however, little is known about the determinants and underlying mechanisms. We utilized the REcovery after cardiac arrest surVIVAL cohort of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors who fully regained consciousness to correlate cognition measurements with brain network changes using resting-state functional MRI and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment at hospital discharge and a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment at three-month follow-up. About half of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors displayed cognitive impairments at discharge, and in most, cognitive deficits persisted at three-month follow-up, particularly in the executive and visuospatial functions. Compared to healthy controls, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors exhibited increased connectivity between resting-state networks, particularly involving the frontoparietal network. The increased connectivity between the frontoparietal and visual networks was associated with less favourable cognitive outcomes (β = 14.0, P = 0.01), while higher education seemed to confer some cognitive protection (β = -2.06, P = 0.03). In sum, the data highlight the importance of subtle cognitive impairment, also in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors who are eligible for home discharge, and the potential of functional MRI to identify alterations in brain networks correlating with cognitive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pardis Zarifkar
- Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Kirstine Wagner
- Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrick MacDonald Fisher
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dea Siggaard Stenbæk
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Selina Kikkenborg Berg
- Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gitte Moos Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael E Benros
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Centre for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2870 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Daniel Kondziella
- Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Hassager
- Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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20
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Jiang Z, Sullivan PF, Li T, Zhao B, Wang X, Luo T, Huang S, Guan PY, Chen J, Yang Y, Stein JL, Li Y, Liu D, Sun L, Zhu H. The pivotal role of the X-chromosome in the genetic architecture of the human brain. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2023.08.30.23294848. [PMID: 37693466 PMCID: PMC10491353 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.23294848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Genes on the X-chromosome are extensively expressed in the human brain. However, little is known for the X-chromosome's impact on the brain anatomy, microstructure, and functional network. We examined 1,045 complex brain imaging traits from 38,529 participants in the UK Biobank. We unveiled potential autosome-X-chromosome interactions, while proposing an atlas outlining dosage compensation (DC) for brain imaging traits. Through extensive association studies, we identified 72 genome-wide significant trait-locus pairs (including 29 new associations) that share genetic architectures with brain-related disorders, notably schizophrenia. Furthermore, we discovered unique sex-specific associations and assessed variations in genetic effects between sexes. Our research offers critical insights into the X-chromosome's role in the human brain, underscoring its contribution to the differences observed in brain structure and functionality between sexes.
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21
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Matte Bon G, Kraft D, Comasco E, Derntl B, Kaufmann T. Modeling brain sex in the limbic system as phenotype for female-prevalent mental disorders. Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:42. [PMID: 38750598 PMCID: PMC11097569 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00615-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex differences exist in the prevalence and clinical manifestation of several mental disorders, suggesting that sex-specific brain phenotypes may play key roles. Previous research used machine learning models to classify sex from imaging data of the whole brain and studied the association of class probabilities with mental health, potentially overlooking regional specific characteristics. METHODS We here investigated if a regionally constrained model of brain volumetric imaging data may provide estimates that are more sensitive to mental health than whole brain-based estimates. Given its known role in emotional processing and mood disorders, we focused on the limbic system. Using two different cohorts of healthy subjects, the Human Connectome Project and the Queensland Twin IMaging, we investigated sex differences and heritability of brain volumes of limbic structures compared to non-limbic structures, and subsequently applied regionally constrained machine learning models trained solely on limbic or non-limbic features. To investigate the biological underpinnings of such models, we assessed the heritability of the obtained sex class probability estimates, and we investigated the association with major depression diagnosis in an independent clinical sample. All analyses were performed both with and without controlling for estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV). RESULTS Limbic structures show greater sex differences and are more heritable compared to non-limbic structures in both analyses, with and without eTIV control. Consequently, machine learning models performed well at classifying sex based solely on limbic structures and achieved performance as high as those on non-limbic or whole brain data, despite the much smaller number of features in the limbic system. The resulting class probabilities were heritable, suggesting potentially meaningful underlying biological information. Applied to an independent population with major depressive disorder, we found that depression is associated with male-female class probabilities, with largest effects obtained using the limbic model. This association was significant for models not controlling for eTIV whereas in those controlling for eTIV the associations did not pass significance correction. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our results highlight the potential utility of regionally constrained models of brain sex to better understand the link between sex differences in the brain and mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Matte Bon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Calwerstraße 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Dominik Kraft
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Calwerstraße 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Calwerstraße 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Kaufmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Calwerstraße 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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22
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Chen J, Bayanagari VL, Chung S, Wang Y, Lui YW. Deep learning with diffusion MRI as in vivo microscope reveals sex-related differences in human white matter microstructure. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9835. [PMID: 38744901 PMCID: PMC11094063 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60340-y] [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: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Biological sex is a crucial variable in neuroscience studies where sex differences have been documented across cognitive functions and neuropsychiatric disorders. While gross statistical differences have been previously documented in macroscopic brain structure such as cortical thickness or region size, less is understood about sex-related cellular-level microstructural differences which could provide insight into brain health and disease. Studying these microstructural differences between men and women paves the way for understanding brain disorders and diseases that manifest differently in different sexes. Diffusion MRI is an important in vivo, non-invasive methodology that provides a window into brain tissue microstructure. Our study develops multiple end-to-end classification models that accurately estimates the sex of a subject using volumetric diffusion MRI data and uses these models to identify white matter regions that differ the most between men and women. 471 male and 560 female healthy subjects (age range, 22-37 years) from the Human Connectome Project are included. Fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity and mean kurtosis are used to capture brain tissue microstructure characteristics. Diffusion parametric maps are registered to a standard template to reduce bias that can arise from macroscopic anatomical differences like brain size and contour. This study employ three major model architectures: 2D convolutional neural networks, 3D convolutional neural networks and Vision Transformer (with self-supervised pretraining). Our results show that all 3 models achieve high sex classification performance (test AUC 0.92-0.98) across all diffusion metrics indicating definitive differences in white matter tissue microstructure between males and females. We further use complementary model architectures to inform about the pattern of detected microstructural differences and the influence of short-range versus long-range interactions. Occlusion analysis together with Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to determine which white matter regions contribute most to sex classification. The results indicate that sex-related differences manifest in both local features as well as global features / longer-distance interactions of tissue microstructure. Our highly consistent findings across models provides new insight supporting differences between male and female brain cellular-level tissue organization particularly in the central white matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junbo Chen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, 370 Jay Street, 9th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA.
| | - Vara Lakshmi Bayanagari
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, 370 Jay Street, 9th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - Sohae Chung
- Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yao Wang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, 370 Jay Street, 9th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA
| | - Yvonne W Lui
- Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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23
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Zhao S, Sang F, Liu C, Wang F, Liu J, Chen C, Wang J, Li X, Zhang Z. Age-related enhancement of the association between episodic memory and gray matter volume in medial temporal and frontal lobes. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2024; 20:10. [PMID: 38702688 PMCID: PMC11069137 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-024-00237-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Episodic memory (EM) deteriorates as a result of normal aging as well as Alzheimer's disease. The neural underpinnings of such age-related memory impairments in older individuals are not well-understood. Although previous research has unveiled the association between gray matter volume (GMV) and EM in the elderly population, such findings exhibit variances across distinct age cohorts. Consequently, an investigation into the dynamic evolution of this relationship with advancing age is imperative. RESULT The present study utilized a sliding window approach to examine how the correlation between EM and GMV varied with age in a cross-sectional sample of 926 Chinese older adults. We found that both verbal EM (VEM) and spatial EM (SEM) exhibited positive correlations with GMV in extensive areas primarily in the temporal and frontal lobes and that these correlations typically became stronger with older age. Moreover, there were variations in the strength of the correlation between EM and GMV with age, which differed based on sex and the specific type of EM. Specifically, the association between VEM and GMVs in the insula and parietal regions became stronger with age for females but not for males, whereas the association between SEM and GMVs in the parietal and occipital regions became stronger for males but not for females. At the brain system level, there is a significant age-related increase in the correlations between both types of EM and the GMV of both the anterior temporal (AT) system and the posterior medial (PM) system in male group. In females, both types of EM show stronger age-related correlations with the GMV of the AT system compared to males. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed a significant positive correlation between GMV in most regions associated with EM and age, particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes. This discovery offers new insights into the connection between brain structure and the diminishing episodic memory function among older individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaokun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Feng Sang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Chen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Fei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jiawen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Jun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Xin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Zhanjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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24
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Fu GJ, Wang LD, Chi XS, Liang X, Wei JJ, Huang ZH, Shen W, Zhang YL. Research Progress on the Experimental Model and Underlying Mechanistic Studies of Tension-Type Headaches. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2024; 28:439-451. [PMID: 38502437 PMCID: PMC11126509 DOI: 10.1007/s11916-024-01238-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Tension-type headaches (TTH) significantly diminish patients' quality of life and increase absenteeism, thereby imposing a substantial economic burden. Animal models are essential tools for studying disease mechanisms and drug development. However, until now, little focus has been placed on summarizing the animal models of TTH and associated mechanistic studies. This narrative review discusses the current animal models of TTH and related mechanistic studies to provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of and treatments for TTH. RECENT FINDINGS The primary method for constructing an animal model of TTH involves injecting a solution of pain relievers, such as adenosine triphosphate, nerve growth factor, or a high concentration of salt solution, into the neck to initiate harmful cervical muscle responses. This model enables the examination of the interaction between peripheral muscles and central sensitization, which is crucial for understanding the pathophysiology of TTH. Mechanistic studies based on this model have investigated the effect of the P2X receptor antagonist, P2X7 receptor blockade, the P2Y1 receptor agonist 2-MESADP, P2Y1 receptor antagonist MRS2179, nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, and acetylsalicylic acid. Despite notable advancements, the current model of TTH has limitations, including surgical complexity and the inability to replicate chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). To gain a more comprehensive understanding and develop more effective treatment methods, future studies should focus on simplifying surgical procedures, examining other predisposing factors, and establishing a model for chronic TTH. This will offer a deeper insight into the pathophysiological mechanism of TTH and pave the way for improved treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo-Jing Fu
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China
| | - Liu-Ding Wang
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China
| | - Xian-Su Chi
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China
| | - Xiao Liang
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China
| | - Jing-Jing Wei
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China
| | - Zhi-Hong Huang
- Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Weifang, 262,550, China
| | - Wei Shen
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China.
| | - Yun-Ling Zhang
- Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100,091, China.
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25
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Coverdale NS, Champagne AA, Allen MD, Tremblay JC, Ethier TS, Fernandez-Ruiz J, Marshall RA, MacPherson REK, Pyke KE, Cook DJ, Olver TD. Brain atrophy, reduced cerebral perfusion, arterial stiffening, and wall thickening with aging coincide with stimulus-specific changes in fMRI-BOLD responses. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2024; 326:R346-R356. [PMID: 38406844 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00270.2023] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate how aging affects blood flow and structure of the brain. It was hypothesized older individuals would have lower gray matter volume (GMV), resting cerebral blood flow (CBF0), and depressed responses to isometabolic and neurometabolic stimuli. In addition, increased carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (PWV), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and decreased brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) would be associated with lower CBF0, cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), and GMV. Brain scans (magnetic resonance imaging) and cardiovascular examinations were conducted in young (age = 24 ± 3 yr, range = 22-28 yr; n = 13) and old (age = 71 ± 4 yr; range = 67-82 yr, n = 14) participants, and CBF0, CVR [isometabolic % blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) in response to a breath hold (BH)], brain activation patterns during a working memory task (neurometabolic %BOLD response to N-back trial), GMV, PWV, IMT, and FMD were measured. CBF0 and to a lesser extent CVRBH were lower in the old group (P ≤ 0.050); however, the increase in the %BOLD response to the memory task was not blunted (P ≥ 0.2867). Age-related differential activation patterns during the working memory task were characterized by disinhibition of the default mode network in the old group (P < 0.0001). Linear regression analyses revealed PWV, and IMT were negatively correlated with CBF0, CVRBH, and GMV across age groups, but within the old group alone only the relationships between PWV-CVRBH and IMT-GMV remained significant (P ≤ 0.0183). These findings suggest the impacts of age on cerebral %BOLD responses are stimulus specific, brain aging involves alterations in cerebrovascular and possibly neurocognitive control, and arterial stiffening and wall thickening may serve a role in cerebrovascular aging.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Cerebral perfusion was lower in old versus young adults. %Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to an isometabolic stimulus and gray matter volume were decreased in old versus young adults and associated with arterial stiffening and wall thickening. The increased %BOLD response to a neurometabolic stimulus appeared unaffected by age; however, the old group displayed disinhibition of the default mode network during the stimulus. Thus, age-related alterations in cerebral %BOLD responses were stimulus specific and related to arterial remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole S Coverdale
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Allen A Champagne
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matti D Allen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joshua C Tremblay
- School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Tarrah S Ethier
- School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Juan Fernandez-Ruiz
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
| | - Rory A Marshall
- Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Rebecca E K MacPherson
- Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kyra E Pyke
- School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Douglas J Cook
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Surgery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - T Dylan Olver
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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26
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Moraes C, Varotto E, Artico M, Galassi FM, Forte F, Habicht ME. 3D facial approximation and endocast analysis of the Mummy of Minirdis (Ancient Egypt, ca. 2,300 Before Present). Morphologie 2024; 108:100781. [PMID: 38677263 DOI: 10.1016/j.morpho.2024.100781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
The present article offers the facial approximation of the mummy of the ancient Egyptian adolescent named Minirdis (ca. 2300 years BP) by means of anatomical analysis of video-images and through a facial approximation protocol implemented on more historical personages. An evaluation of the mummy's endocast is also offered. A potential diagnosis of Sotos syndrome is cautiously considered but its inherent limitations are detailed. Finally, the methodology is presented as a valuable tool both for bio-historical research and for further studies on normal and pathologic morphologies of the cranio-facial district.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Moraes
- Arc-Team Brazil, Sinop-MT, Brazil
| | - E Varotto
- College of Humanities, Art and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - M Artico
- Department of Sensory Organs, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - F M Galassi
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
| | - F Forte
- Science Department, School of Pharmacy, Roma TRE University, Rome Italy & Urology Department, MG Vannini Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - M E Habicht
- College of Humanities, Art and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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27
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Righi S, Gavazzi G, Benedetti V, Raineri G, Viggiano MP. How the Effect of Virtual Reality on Cognitive Functioning Is Modulated by Gender Differences. Bioengineering (Basel) 2024; 11:408. [PMID: 38671829 PMCID: PMC11048133 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11040408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) can be a promising tool to simulate reality in various settings but the real impact of this technology on the human mental system is still unclear as to how VR might (if at all) interfere with cognitive functioning. Using a computer, we can concentrate, enter a state of flow, and still maintain control over our surrounding world. Differently, VR is a very immersive experience which could be a challenge for our ability to allocate divided attention to the environment to perform executive functioning tasks. This may also have a different impact on women and men since gender differences in both executive functioning and the immersivity experience have been referred to by the literature. The present study aims to investigate cognitive multitasking performance as a function of (1) virtual reality and computer administration and (2) gender differences. To explore this issue, subjects were asked to perform simultaneous tasks (span forward and backward, logical-arithmetic reasoning, and visuospatial reasoning) in virtual reality via a head-mounted display system (HDMS) and on a personal computer (PC). Our results showed in virtual reality an overall impairment of executive functioning but a better performance of women, compared to men, in visuospatial reasoning. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing a detrimental effect of virtual reality on cognitive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Righi
- Department of Neurofarba, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50135 Florence, Italy; (G.G.); (V.B.); (G.R.); (M.P.V.)
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28
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Newman BT, Jacokes Z, Venkadesh S, Webb SJ, Kleinhans NM, McPartland JC, Druzgal TJ, Pelphrey KA, Van Horn JD. Conduction velocity, G-ratio, and extracellular water as microstructural characteristics of autism spectrum disorder. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301964. [PMID: 38630783 PMCID: PMC11023574 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The neuronal differences contributing to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still not well defined. Previous studies have suggested that myelin and axons are disrupted during development in ASD. By combining structural and diffusion MRI techniques, myelin and axons can be assessed using extracellular water, aggregate g-ratio, and a new approach to calculating axonal conduction velocity termed aggregate conduction velocity, which is related to the capacity of the axon to carry information. In this study, several innovative cellular microstructural methods, as measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are combined to characterize differences between ASD and typically developing adolescent participants in a large cohort. We first examine the relationship between each metric, including microstructural measurements of axonal and intracellular diffusion and the T1w/T2w ratio. We then demonstrate the sensitivity of these metrics by characterizing differences between ASD and neurotypical participants, finding widespread increases in extracellular water in the cortex and decreases in aggregate g-ratio and aggregate conduction velocity throughout the cortex, subcortex, and white matter skeleton. We finally provide evidence that these microstructural differences are associated with higher scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) a commonly used diagnostic tool to assess ASD. This study is the first to reveal that ASD involves MRI-measurable in vivo differences of myelin and axonal development with implications for neuronal and behavioral function. We also introduce a novel formulation for calculating aggregate conduction velocity, that is highly sensitive to these changes. We conclude that ASD may be characterized by otherwise intact structural connectivity but that functional connectivity may be attenuated by network properties affecting neural transmission speed. This effect may explain the putative reliance on local connectivity in contrast to more distal connectivity observed in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T. Newman
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Zachary Jacokes
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Siva Venkadesh
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Sara J. Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington, Seattle WA, United States of America
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle WA, United States of America
| | - Natalia M. Kleinhans
- Department of Radiology, Integrated Brain Imaging Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - James C. McPartland
- Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - T. Jason Druzgal
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - John Darrell Van Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
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29
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Sorooshyari SK. Beyond network connectivity: A classification approach to brain age prediction with resting-state fMRI. Neuroimage 2024; 290:120570. [PMID: 38467344 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The brain is a complex, dynamic organ that shows differences in the same subject at various periods. Understanding how brain activity changes across age as a function of the brain networks has been greatly abetted by fMRI. Canonical analysis consists of determining how alterations in connectivity patterns (CPs) of certain regions are affected. An alternative approach is taken here by not considering connectivity but rather features computed from recordings at the regions of interest (ROIs). Using machine learning (ML) we assess how neural signals are altered by and prospectively predictive of age and sex via a methodology that is novel in drawing upon pairwise classification across six decades of subjects' chronological ages. ML is used to answer the equally important questions of what properties of the computed features are most predictive as well as which brain networks are most affected by aging. It was found that there is decreased differentiation among the neural signals of older subjects that are separated in age by the same number of years as younger subjects. Furthermore, the burstiness of the signals change at different rates between males and females. The findings provide insight into brain aging via an ROI-based analysis, the consideration of several feature groups, and a novel classification-based ML pipeline. There is also a contribution to understanding the effects of data aggregated from different recording centers on the conclusions of fMRI studies.
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30
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Habich A, Oltra J, Schwarz CG, Przybelski SA, Oppedal K, Inguanzo A, Blanc F, Lemstra AW, Hort J, Westman E, Segura B, Junque C, Lowe VJ, Boeve BF, Aarsland D, Dierks T, Kantarci K, Ferreira D. Grey matter networks in women and men with dementia with Lewy bodies. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2024; 10:84. [PMID: 38615089 PMCID: PMC11016082 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00702-5] [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: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex differences permeate many aspects of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), yet sex differences in patterns of neurodegeneration in DLB remain largely unexplored. Here, we test whether grey matter networks differ between sexes in DLB and compare these findings to sex differences in healthy controls. In this cross-sectional study, we analysed clinical and neuroimaging data of patients with DLB and cognitively healthy controls matched for age and sex. Grey matter networks were constructed by pairwise correlations between 58 regional volumes after correction for age, intracranial volume, and centre. Network properties were compared between sexes and diagnostic groups. Additional analyses were conducted on w-scored data to identify DLB-specific sex differences. Data from 119 (68.7 ± 8.4 years) men and 45 women (69.9 ± 9.1 years) with DLB, and 164 healthy controls were included in this study. Networks of men had a lower nodal strength compared to women. In comparison to healthy women, the grey matter networks of healthy men showed a higher global efficiency, modularity, and fewer modules. None of the network measures showed significant sex differences in DLB. Comparing DLB patients with healthy controls revealed global differences in women and more local differences in men. Modular analyses showed a more distinct demarcation between cortical and subcortical regions in men compared with women. While topologies of grey matter networks differed between sexes in healthy controls, those sex differences were diluted in DLB patients. These findings suggest a disease-driven convergence of neurodegenerative patterns in women and men with DLB, which may inform precision medicine in DLB.
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Grants
- R01 AG041851 NIA NIH HHS
- C06 RR018898 NCRR NIH HHS
- P50 AG016574 NIA NIH HHS
- R01 AG040042 NIA NIH HHS
- R01 NS080820 NINDS NIH HHS
- R37 AG011378 NIA NIH HHS
- U01 NS100620 NINDS NIH HHS
- U01 AG006786 NIA NIH HHS
- ALF Medicine, Demensfonden, Center for Innovative Medicine (CIMED), Swedish Research Council (VR)
- Demensfonden, Foundation for Geriatric Diseases at Karolinska Institutet, Loo och Hans Osterman Stiftelse, Stiftelsen för Gamla Tjänarinnor, Stohnes Stiftelsen, KI Travel grants
- 2018 fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; and co-financed by the European Social Fund (PRE2018-086675)
- Stohnes Stiftelsen, Loo och Hans Osterman Stiftelse
- project nr. LX22NPO5107 (MEYS): Financed by EU – Next Generation EU
- Swedish Research Council (VR), Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), Center for Innovative Medicine (CIMED), King Gustaf V:s and Queen Victorias Foundation, Hjärnfonden, Alzheimerfonden, Parkinsonfonden,
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO PID2020-114640GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR 2021SGR00801) María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence (Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona) CEX2021-001159-M, Ministry of Science and Innovation.
- National Institutes of Health (U01-NS100620; P50-AG016574)
- Western Norway Regional Health Authority
- National Institutes of Health (U01-NS100620; R01-AG040042)
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Affiliation(s)
- Annegret Habich
- Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Javier Oltra
- Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Ketil Oppedal
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Anna Inguanzo
- Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Frédéric Blanc
- Day Hospital of Geriatrics, Memory Resource and Research Centre (CM2R) of Strasbourg, Department of Geriatrics, Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- ICube Laboratory and Federation de Medecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), University of Strasbourg and French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Team Imagerie Multimodale Integrative en Sante (IMIS)/ICONE, Strasbourg, France
| | - Afina W Lemstra
- Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jakub Hort
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eric Westman
- Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Barbara Segura
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018-ISCIII), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Carme Junque
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018-ISCIII), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Val J Lowe
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Dag Aarsland
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Center for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Thomas Dierks
- University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Kejal Kantarci
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Daniel Ferreira
- Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Fernando Pessoa Canarias, Las Palmas, Spain.
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31
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Gu Y, Maria-Stauffer E, Bedford SA, Romero-Garcia R, Grove J, Børglum AD, Martin H, Baron-Cohen S, Bethlehem RA, Warrier V. Polygenic scores for autism are associated with neurite density in adults and children from the general population. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.10.24305539. [PMID: 38645251 PMCID: PMC11030520 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.10.24305539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Genetic variants linked to autism are thought to change cognition and behaviour by altering the structure and function of the brain. Although a substantial body of literature has identified structural brain differences in autism, it is unknown whether autism-associated common genetic variants are linked to changes in cortical macro- and micro-structure. We investigated this using neuroimaging and genetic data from adults (UK Biobank, N = 31,748) and children (ABCD, N = 4,928). Using polygenic scores and genetic correlations we observe a robust negative association between common variants for autism and a magnetic resonance imaging derived phenotype for neurite density (intracellular volume fraction) in the general population. This result is consistent across both children and adults, in both the cortex and in white matter tracts, and confirmed using polygenic scores and genetic correlations. There were no sex differences in this association. Mendelian randomisation analyses provide no evidence for a causal relationship between autism and intracellular volume fraction, although this should be revisited using better powered instruments. Overall, this study provides evidence for shared common variant genetics between autism and cortical neurite density.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanjun Gu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK
| | | | - Saashi A. Bedford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK
| | | | | | - Rafael Romero-Garcia
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH
- Department of Medical Physiology and Biophysics, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), HUVR/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla/CIBERSAM, ISCIII, 41013, Sevilla, Spain, 41013
| | - Jakob Grove
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, 8210, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine (CGPM), Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine (Human Genetics) and iSEQ Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, 8000
| | - Anders D. Børglum
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, 8210, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine (CGPM), Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine (Human Genetics) and iSEQ Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Hilary Martin
- Human Genetics Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | | | - Varun Warrier
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH
- Human Genetics Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
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32
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Saha R, Saha DK, Fu Z, Duda M, Silva RF, Calhoun VD. Analysis of Longitudinal Change Patterns in Developing Brain Using Functional and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging via Multimodal Fusion. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.07.588473. [PMID: 38645216 PMCID: PMC11030394 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.07.588473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and sMRI) are complementary approaches that can be used to study longitudinal brain changes in adolescents. Each individual modality offers distinct insights into the brain. Each individual modality may overlook crucial aspects of brain analysis. By combining them, we can uncover hidden brain connections and gain a more comprehensive understanding. In previous work, we identified multivariate patterns of change in whole-brain function during adolescence. In this work, we focus on linking functional change patterns (FCPs) to brain structure. We introduce two approaches and applied them to data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset. First, we evaluate voxelwise sMRI-FCP coupling to identify structural patterns linked to our previously identified FCPs. Our approach revealed multiple interesting patterns in functional network connectivity (FNC) and gray matter volume (GMV) data that were linked to subject level variation. FCP components 2 and 4 exhibit extensive associations between their loadings and voxel-wise GMV data. Secondly, we leveraged a symmetric multimodal fusion technique called multiset canonical correlation analysis (mCCA) + joint independent component analysis (jICA). Using this approach, we identify structured FCPs such as one showing increased connectivity between visual and sensorimotor domains and decreased connectivity between sensorimotor and cognitive control domains, linked to structural change patterns (SCPs) including alterations in the bilateral sensorimotor cortex. Interestingly, females exhibit stronger coupling between brain functional and structural changes than males, highlighting sex-related differences. The combined results from both asymmetric and symmetric multimodal fusion methods underscore the intricate sex-specific nuances in neural dynamics. By utilizing two complementary multimodal approaches, our study enhances our understanding of the dynamic nature of brain connectivity and structure during the adolescent period, shedding light on the nuanced processes underlying adolescent brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rekha Saha
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Debbrata K. Saha
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Zening Fu
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Marlena Duda
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Rogers F. Silva
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University 55 Park Pl NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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33
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Sanchis-Segura C, Wilcox RR. From means to meaning in the study of sex/gender differences and similarities. Front Neuroendocrinol 2024; 73:101133. [PMID: 38604552 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2024.101133] [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: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The incorporation of sex and gender (S/G) related factors is commonly acknowledged as a necessary step to advance towards more personalized diagnoses and treatments for somatic, psychiatric, and neurological diseases. Until now, most attempts to integrate S/G-related factors have been reduced to identifying average differences between females and males in behavioral/ biological variables. The present commentary questions this traditional approach by highlighting three main sets of limitations: 1) Issues stemming from the use of classic parametric methods to compare means; 2) challenges related to the ability of means to accurately represent the data within groups and differences between groups; 3) mean comparisons impose a results' binarization and a binary theoretical framework that precludes advancing towards precision medicine. Alternative methods free of these limitations are also discussed. We hope these arguments will contribute to reflecting on how research on S/G factors is conducted and could be improved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Sanchis-Segura
- Departament de Psicologia bàsica, Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain.
| | - Rand R Wilcox
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
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34
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Anger JT, Case LK, Baranowski AP, Berger A, Craft RM, Damitz LA, Gabriel R, Harrison T, Kaptein K, Lee S, Murphy AZ, Said E, Smith SA, Thomas DA, Valdés Hernández MDC, Trasvina V, Wesselmann U, Yaksh TL. Pain mechanisms in the transgender individual: a review. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2024; 5:1241015. [PMID: 38601924 PMCID: PMC11004280 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2024.1241015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Specific Aim Provide an overview of the literature addressing major areas pertinent to pain in transgender persons and to identify areas of primary relevance for future research. Methods A team of scholars that have previously published on different areas of related research met periodically though zoom conferencing between April 2021 and February 2023 to discuss relevant literature with the goal of providing an overview on the incidence, phenotype, and mechanisms of pain in transgender patients. Review sections were written after gathering information from systematic literature searches of published or publicly available electronic literature to be compiled for publication as part of a topical series on gender and pain in the Frontiers in Pain Research. Results While transgender individuals represent a significant and increasingly visible component of the population, many researchers and clinicians are not well informed about the diversity in gender identity, physiology, hormonal status, and gender-affirming medical procedures utilized by transgender and other gender diverse patients. Transgender and cisgender people present with many of the same medical concerns, but research and treatment of these medical needs must reflect an appreciation of how differences in sex, gender, gender-affirming medical procedures, and minoritized status impact pain. Conclusions While significant advances have occurred in our appreciation of pain, the review indicates the need to support more targeted research on treatment and prevention of pain in transgender individuals. This is particularly relevant both for gender-affirming medical interventions and related medical care. Of particular importance is the need for large long-term follow-up studies to ascertain best practices for such procedures. A multi-disciplinary approach with personalized interventions is of particular importance to move forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer T. Anger
- Department of Urology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Laura K. Case
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Andrew P. Baranowski
- Pelvic Pain Medicine and Neuromodulation, University College Hospital Foundation Trust, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ardin Berger
- Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Rebecca M. Craft
- Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Lyn Ann Damitz
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Rodney Gabriel
- Division of Regional Anesthesia, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Tracy Harrison
- Department of OB/GYN & Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Kirsten Kaptein
- Division of Plastic Surgery, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Sanghee Lee
- Department of Urology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Anne Z. Murphy
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Engy Said
- Division of Regional Anesthesia, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Stacey Abigail Smith
- Division of Infection Disease, The Hope Clinic of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - David A. Thomas
- Office of Research on Women's Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Maria del C. Valdés Hernández
- Department of Neuroimaging Sciences, Center for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Victor Trasvina
- Department of Urology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Ursula Wesselmann
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine/Division of Pain Medicine, Neurology and Psychology, and Consortium for Neuroengineering and Brain-Computer Interfaces, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Tony L. Yaksh
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
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35
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Oltra J, Segura B, Strafella AP, van Eimeren T, Ibarretxe-Bilbao N, Diez-Cirarda M, Eggers C, Lucas-Jiménez O, Monté-Rubio GC, Ojeda N, Peña J, Ruppert MC, Sala-Llonch R, Theis H, Uribe C, Junque C. A multi-site study on sex differences in cortical thickness in non-demented Parkinson's disease. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2024; 10:69. [PMID: 38521776 PMCID: PMC10960793 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00686-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Clinical, cognitive, and atrophy characteristics depending on sex have been previously reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, though sex differences in cortical gray matter measures in early drug naïve patients have been described, little is known about differences in cortical thickness (CTh) as the disease advances. Our multi-site sample comprised 211 non-demented PD patients (64.45% males; mean age 65.58 ± 8.44 years old; mean disease duration 6.42 ± 5.11 years) and 86 healthy controls (50% males; mean age 65.49 ± 9.33 years old) with available T1-weighted 3 T MRI data from four international research centers. Sex differences in regional mean CTh estimations were analyzed using generalized linear models. The relation of CTh in regions showing sex differences with age, disease duration, and age of onset was examined through multiple linear regression. PD males showed thinner cortex than PD females in six frontal (bilateral caudal middle frontal, bilateral superior frontal, left precentral and right pars orbitalis), three parietal (bilateral inferior parietal and left supramarginal), and one limbic region (right posterior cingulate). In PD males, lower CTh values in nine out of ten regions were associated with longer disease duration and older age, whereas in PD females, lower CTh was associated with older age but with longer disease duration only in one region. Overall, male patients show a more widespread pattern of reduced CTh compared with female patients. Disease duration seems more relevant to explain reduced CTh in male patients, suggesting worse prognostic over time. Further studies should explore sex-specific cortical atrophy trajectories using large longitudinal multi-site data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Oltra
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Clínic Campus, Carrer de Casanova, 143, Ala Nord, 5th floor, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Carrer del Rosselló, 149, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Barbara Segura
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Clínic Campus, Carrer de Casanova, 143, Ala Nord, 5th floor, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Carrer del Rosselló, 149, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018-ISCIII), Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Carrer de Villarroel, 170, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Antonio P Strafella
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., M5T 1R8, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Edmond J. Safra Parkinson Disease Program, Neurology Division, Toronto Western Hospital & Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, University of Toronto, 399 Bathurst Street, M5T 2S8, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Thilo van Eimeren
- Multimodal Neuroimaging Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Cologne, Kerpener Straße, 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Cologne, Kerpener Straße, 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany
| | - Naroa Ibarretxe-Bilbao
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Avenida de las Universidades, 24, 48007, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Maria Diez-Cirarda
- Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Health Research Institute 'San Carlos' (IdISCC), Complutense University of Madrid, Calle del Profesor Martín Lagos, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carsten Eggers
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Cologne, Kerpener Straße, 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg and Giessen Universiy, Hans-Meerwein-Straße, 6, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Olaia Lucas-Jiménez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Avenida de las Universidades, 24, 48007, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Gemma C Monté-Rubio
- Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimaging (CMCiB), Gemans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Camí de les Escoles, s/n, 08916, Badalona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Natalia Ojeda
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Avenida de las Universidades, 24, 48007, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Javier Peña
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Avenida de las Universidades, 24, 48007, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Marina C Ruppert
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg and Giessen Universiy, Hans-Meerwein-Straße, 6, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Roser Sala-Llonch
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Carrer del Rosselló, 149, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Department of Biomedicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Clínic Campus, Carrer de Casanova, 143, Ala Nord, 5th floor, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Biomedical Imaging Group, Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN: CB06/01/1039-ISCIII), Carrer de Casanova, 143, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Hendrik Theis
- Multimodal Neuroimaging Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Cologne, Kerpener Straße, 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Cologne, Kerpener Straße, 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany
| | - Carme Uribe
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., M5T 1R8, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Carme Junque
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Clínic Campus, Carrer de Casanova, 143, Ala Nord, 5th floor, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Carrer del Rosselló, 149, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018-ISCIII), Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Carrer de Villarroel, 170, 08036, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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36
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Vosberg DE. Sex and Gender in Population Neuroscience. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 38509404 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2024_468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
To understand psychiatric and neurological disorders and the structural and functional properties of the human brain, it is essential to consider the roles of sex and gender. In this chapter, I first define sex and gender and describe studies of sex differences in non-human animals. In humans, I describe the sex differences in behavioral and clinical phenotypes and neuroimaging-derived phenotypes, including whole-brain measures, regional subcortical and cortical measures, and structural and functional connectivity. Although structural whole-brain sex differences are large, regional effects (adjusting for whole-brain volumes) are typically much smaller and often fail to replicate. Nevertheless, while an individual neuroimaging feature may have a small effect size, aggregating them in a "maleness/femaleness" score or machine learning multivariate paradigm may prove to be predictive and informative of sex- and gender-related traits. Finally, I conclude by summarizing emerging investigations of gender norms and gender identity and provide methodological recommendations to incorporate sex and gender in population neuroscience research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Vosberg
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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37
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Ren JY, Zhu M, Dong SZ. Sex differences in normal fetal regional brain apparent diffusion coefficient changes assessed by in utero DWI. Front Pediatr 2024; 12:1354475. [PMID: 38567183 PMCID: PMC10985338 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1354475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective There are differences in the vulnerability of male and female fetal brains to adverse intrauterine exposure, preterm birth, and associated perinatal brain injury. The main objective of this study was to identify any statistically significant difference in the change of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the intracranial regions of male and female fetuses in the second and third trimesters. Methods Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 200 fetuses between 20 and 37 gestational ages (GA) with normal results or suspicious results on sonography followed by structural MRI. Pairwise ADC values of the regions of interest (ROIs) were manually delineated on either side of the cerebral white matter: frontal white matter (FWM), parietal white matter (PWM), occipital white matter (OWM), temporal white matter (TWM), basal ganglia (BG), thalamus (THA), cerebellar hemisphere (CBM), and a single measurement in the pons. The changes in these values were studied over the gestational range, along with potential sex differences and asymmetries of the cerebral hemispheres. Results During the third trimester, ADC values in OWM, TWM, and CBM were significantly higher in male fetuses than those in female fetuses (p < 0.05). After the correction of false-discovery rates (FDR), the difference in CBM was the only statistically significant (p = 0.0032). However, the decreased rate of ADC values in male fetuses in CWM (except for FWM), BG, THA, CBM, and pons was higher than that in female fetuses during the second and third trimesters. Conclusions We have shown some differences in the intracranial regional ADC changes between male and female fetuses using in utero DWI during the second and third trimesters.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Su-Zhen Dong
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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38
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Luckhoff HK, Smit R, Phahladira L, du Plessis, Emsley R, Asmal L. Sex versus gender associations with brain structure. J Clin Neurosci 2024; 122:103-109. [PMID: 38493700 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2024.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
In contrast to sex (a biological distinction), little is known about the associations between gender (a societal construct) and brain structure in the general population. In response to this knowledge gap, we examined the associations of sex vs. gender with FreeSurfer-generated cortical thickness and proportion-adjusted subcortical brain volume regions-of-interest (ROIs) in healthy adults (n = 88) screened for general medical conditions, mental illness, substance abuse, and intracranial pathologies. Gender role endorsement was assessed using the well-established and validated Bem Sex Role Inventory. For our main objectives, we calculated a continuum score as a composite measure of gender. For our secondary objectives, we examined sex-specific associations of the masculine vs. feminine gender role endorsement domains with brain structural outcomes. We found that female sex, independent of continuum scores, was associated with larger proportion-adjusted volumes for the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and ventral diencephalon. Higher continuum scores, independent of sex, were associated with thicker cortical thickness for the left and right superior frontal cortex, caudal and rostral middle frontal cortex, and right pars orbitalis. Female sex and higher continuum scores were independently associated with larger corpus callosum volumes. Post-hoc testing showed sex-specific associations between higher femininity scores and thicker prefrontal cortical thickness for the ROIs in females, but not in males. In conclusion, sex and gender showed semi-independent associations with brain structure in a general population sample. Our research supports the disaggregation of sex and gender to provide a more nuanced perspective on brain structural differences between men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- H K Luckhoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - R Smit
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - L Phahladira
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - du Plessis
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - R Emsley
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - L Asmal
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
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Kirby ED, Andrushko JW, Rinat S, D'Arcy RCN, Boyd LA. Investigating female versus male differences in white matter neuroplasticity associated with complex visuo-motor learning. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5951. [PMID: 38467763 PMCID: PMC10928090 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56453-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has increasingly been used to characterize structure-function relationships during white matter neuroplasticity. Biological sex differences may be an important factor that affects patterns of neuroplasticity, and therefore impacts learning and rehabilitation. The current study examined a participant cohort before and after visuo-motor training to characterize sex differences in microstructural measures. The participants (N = 27) completed a 10-session (4 week) complex visuo-motor training task with their non-dominant hand. All participants significantly improved movement speed and their movement speed variability over the training period. White matter neuroplasticity in females and males was examined using fractional anisotropy (FA) and myelin water fraction (MWF) along the cortico-spinal tract (CST) and the corpus callosum (CC). FA values showed significant differences in the middle portion of the CST tract (nodes 38-51) across the training period. MWF showed a similar cluster in the inferior portion of the tract (nodes 18-29) but did not reach significance. Additionally, at baseline, males showed significantly higher levels of MWF measures in the middle body of the CC. Combining data from females and males would have resulted in reduced sensitivity, making it harder to detect differences in neuroplasticity. These findings offer initial insights into possible female versus male differences in white matter neuroplasticity during motor learning. This warrants investigations into specific patterns of white matter neuroplasticity for females versus males across the lifespan. Understanding biological sex-specific differences in white matter neuroplasticity may have significant implications for the interpretation of change associated with learning or rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Kirby
- BrainNet, Health and Technology District, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Faculty of Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Justin W Andrushko
- DM Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
- Brain Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Shie Rinat
- Brain Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Ryan C N D'Arcy
- BrainNet, Health and Technology District, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- DM Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
| | - Lara A Boyd
- DM Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Brain Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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40
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Gurholt TP, Borda MG, Parker N, Fominykh V, Kjelkenes R, Linge J, van der Meer D, Sønderby IE, Duque G, Westlye LT, Aarsland D, Andreassen OA. Linking sarcopenia, brain structure and cognitive performance: a large-scale UK Biobank study. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae083. [PMID: 38510210 PMCID: PMC10953622 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae083] [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: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Sarcopenia refers to age-related loss of muscle mass and function and is related to impaired somatic and brain health, including cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. However, the relationships between sarcopenia, brain structure and cognition are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the associations between sarcopenic traits, brain structure and cognitive performance. We included 33 709 UK Biobank participants (54.2% female; age range 44-82 years) with structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, thigh muscle fat infiltration (n = 30 561) from whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (muscle quality indicator) and general cognitive performance as indicated by the first principal component of a principal component analysis across multiple cognitive tests (n = 22 530). Of these, 1703 participants qualified for probable sarcopenia based on low handgrip strength, and we assigned the remaining 32 006 participants to the non-sarcopenia group. We used multiple linear regression to test how sarcopenic traits (probable sarcopenia versus non-sarcopenia and percentage of thigh muscle fat infiltration) relate to cognitive performance and brain structure (cortical thickness and area, white matter fractional anisotropy and deep and lower brain volumes). Next, we used structural equation modelling to test whether brain structure mediated the association between sarcopenic and cognitive traits. We adjusted all statistical analyses for confounders. We show that sarcopenic traits (probable sarcopenia versus non-sarcopenia and muscle fat infiltration) are significantly associated with lower cognitive performance and various brain magnetic resonance imaging measures. In probable sarcopenia, for the included brain regions, we observed widespread significant lower white matter fractional anisotropy (77.1% of tracts), predominantly lower regional brain volumes (61.3% of volumes) and thinner cortical thickness (37.9% of parcellations), with |r| effect sizes in (0.02, 0.06) and P-values in (0.0002, 4.2e-29). In contrast, we observed significant associations between higher muscle fat infiltration and widespread thinner cortical thickness (76.5% of parcellations), lower white matter fractional anisotropy (62.5% of tracts) and predominantly lower brain volumes (35.5% of volumes), with |r| effect sizes in (0.02, 0.07) and P-values in (0.0002, 1.9e-31). The regions showing the most significant effect sizes across the cortex, white matter and volumes were of the sensorimotor system. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed that sensorimotor brain regions mediate the link between sarcopenic and cognitive traits [probable sarcopenia: P-values in (0.0001, 1.0e-11); muscle fat infiltration: P-values in (7.7e-05, 1.7e-12)]. Our findings show significant associations between sarcopenic traits, brain structure and cognitive performance in a middle-aged and older adult population. Mediation analyses suggest that regional brain structure mediates the association between sarcopenic and cognitive traits, with potential implications for dementia development and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiril P Gurholt
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Miguel Germán Borda
- Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM), Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger 4068, Norway
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger 4036, Norway
- Semillero de Neurociencias y Envejecimiento, Ageing Institute, Medical School, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota 111611, Colombia
| | - Nadine Parker
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Vera Fominykh
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Rikka Kjelkenes
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo 0373, Norway
| | - Jennifer Linge
- AMRA Medical AB, Linköping 58222, Sweden
- Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping 58183, Sweden
| | - Dennis van der Meer
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
- School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200MD, The Netherlands
| | - Ida E Sønderby
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Gustavo Duque
- Dr. Joseph Kaufmann Chair in Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine and Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo 0373, Norway
| | - Dag Aarsland
- Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM), Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger 4068, Norway
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo 0424, Norway
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Won J, Callow DD, Purcell JJ, Smith JC. Hippocampal functional connectivity mediates the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive function in healthy young adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2024; 30:199-208. [PMID: 37646336 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617723000498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) induces neuroprotective effects in the hippocampus, a key brain region for memory and learning. We investigated the association between CRF and functional connectivity (FC) of the hippocampus in healthy young adults. We also examined the association between hippocampal FC and neurocognitive function. Lastly, we tested whether hippocampal FC mediates the association between 2-Min Walk Test (2MWT) and neurocognitive function. METHODS 913 young adults (28.7 ± 3.7 years) from the Human Connectome Project were included in the analyses. The 2MWT performance result was used as a proxy for cardiovascular endurance. Fluid and crystalized composite neurocognitive scores were used to assess cognition. Resting-state functional MRI data were processed to measure hippocampal FC. Linear regression was used to examine the association between 2MWT, hippocampal FC, and neurocognitive outcomes after controlling for age, sex, years of education, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and gait speed. RESULTS Better 2MWT performance was associated with greater FC between the anterior hippocampus and right posterior cingulate and left middle temporal gyrus. No associations between 2MWT and posterior hippocampal FC, whole hippocampal FC, and caudate FC (control region) were observed. Greater anterior hippocampal FC was associated with better crystalized cognition scores. Lastly, greater FC between the anterior hippocampus and right posterior cingulate mediated the association between better 2MWT scores and higher crystalized cognition scores. CONCLUSIONS Anterior hippocampal FC may be one underlying neurophysiological mechanism that promotes the association between 2MWT performance and crystalized composite cognitive function in healthy young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyeon Won
- Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas, TX, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Daniel D Callow
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Jeremy J Purcell
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - J Carson Smith
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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42
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Wierenga LM, Ruigrok A, Aksnes ER, Barth C, Beck D, Burke S, Crestol A, van Drunen L, Ferrara M, Galea LAM, Goddings AL, Hausmann M, Homanen I, Klinge I, de Lange AM, Geelhoed-Ouwerkerk L, van der Miesen A, Proppert R, Rieble C, Tamnes CK, Bos MGN. Recommendations for a Better Understanding of Sex and Gender in the Neuroscience of Mental Health. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:100283. [PMID: 38312851 PMCID: PMC10837069 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.100283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
There are prominent sex/gender differences in the prevalence, expression, and life span course of mental health and neurodiverse conditions. However, the underlying sex- and gender-related mechanisms and their interactions are still not fully understood. This lack of knowledge has harmful consequences for those with mental health problems. Therefore, we set up a cocreation session in a 1-week workshop with a multidisciplinary team of 25 researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to identify the main barriers in sex and gender research in the neuroscience of mental health. Based on this work, here we provide recommendations for methodologies, translational research, and stakeholder involvement. These include guidelines for recording, reporting, analysis beyond binary groups, and open science. Improved understanding of sex- and gender-related mechanisms in neuroscience may benefit public health because this is an important step toward precision medicine and may function as an archetype for studying diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Marise Wierenga
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Amber Ruigrok
- Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Eira Ranheim Aksnes
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Claudia Barth
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dani Beck
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sarah Burke
- Interdisciplinary Center for Psychopathology and Emotion regulation, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Arielle Crestol
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lina van Drunen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Maria Ferrara
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Psychiatry, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- University Hospital Psychiatry Unit, Integrated Department of Mental Health and Addictive Behavior, University S. Anna Hospital and Health Trust, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Liisa Ann Margaret Galea
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anne-Lise Goddings
- University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Markus Hausmann
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Inka Homanen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ineke Klinge
- Dutch Society for Gender & Health, the Netherlands
- Gendered Innovations at European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ann-Marie de Lange
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging, Centre for Research in Neurosciences, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lineke Geelhoed-Ouwerkerk
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Anna van der Miesen
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ricarda Proppert
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Carlotta Rieble
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Christian Krog Tamnes
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marieke Geerte Nynke Bos
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Zang Z, Chi X, Luan M, Hu S, Zhou K, Liu J. Inter-individual, hemispheric and sex variability of brain activations during numerosity processing. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:459-475. [PMID: 38197958 PMCID: PMC10917853 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02747-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Numerosity perception is a fundamental and innate cognitive function shared by both humans and many animal species. Previous research has primarily focused on exploring the spatial and functional consistency of neural activations that were associated with the processing of numerosity information. However, the inter-individual variability of brain activations of numerosity perception remains unclear. In the present study, with a large-sample functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset (n = 460), we aimed to localize the functional regions related to numerosity perceptions and explore the inter-individual, hemispheric, and sex differences within these brain regions. Fifteen subject-specific activated regions, including the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), posterior intraparietal sulcus (pIPS), insula, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), premotor area (PM), middle occipital gyrus (MOG) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), were delineated in each individual and then used to create a functional probabilistic atlas to quantify individual variability in brain activations of numerosity processing. Though the activation percentages of most regions were higher than 60%, the intersections of most regions across individuals were considerably lower, falling below 50%, indicating substantial variations in brain activations related to numerosity processing among individuals. Furthermore, significant hemispheric and sex differences in activation location, extent, and magnitude were also found in these regions. Most activated regions in the right hemisphere had larger activation volumes and activation magnitudes, and were located more lateral and anterior than their counterparts in the left hemisphere. In addition, in most of these regions, males displayed stronger activations than females. Our findings demonstrate large inter-individual, hemispheric, and sex differences in brain activations related to numerosity processing, and our probabilistic atlas can serve as a robust functional and spatial reference for mapping the numerosity-related neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyao Zang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Xiaoyue Chi
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Mengkai Luan
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, 650 Qing Yuan Huan Road, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Siyuan Hu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Ke Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Jia Liu
- Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
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44
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Spets DS, Cohen JE, Konishi K, Aroner S, Misra M, Lee H, Goldstein JM. Impact of sex and reproductive status on the default mode network in early midlife: implications for aging of memory circuitry and function. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae088. [PMID: 38494419 PMCID: PMC10944696 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae088] [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: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Alterations to the resting-state default mode network (rsDMN) are early indicators of memory decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain regions shared by the rsDMN and memory circuitry are highly sexually dimorphic. However, data are limited regarding the impact of sex and reproductive status on rsDMN connectivity and memory circuitry and function. In the current investigation, rsDMN connectivity was assessed in 180 early midlife adults aged 45 to 55 by sex and reproductive status (87 women; 93 men). Associations between left and right hippocampal connectivity of rsDMN and verbal memory encoding circuitry were examined using linear mixed models, controlled for age and parental socioeconomic status, testing interactions by sex and reproductive status. Relative to men, women exhibited greater rsDMN connectivity between the left and right hippocampus. In relation to rsDMN-memory encoding connectivity, sex differences were revealed across the menopausal transition, such that only postmenopausal women exhibited loss of the ability to decrease rsDMN left-right hippocampal connectivity during memory encoding associated with poorer memory performance. Results demonstrate that sex and reproductive status play an important role in aging of the rsDMN and interactions with memory circuitry/function. This suggests the critical importance of sex and reproductive status when studying early midlife indicators of memory decline and AD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan S Spets
- Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory for Sex Differences in the Brain, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Justine E Cohen
- Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory for Sex Differences in the Brain, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Kyoko Konishi
- Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory for Sex Differences in the Brain, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Sarah Aroner
- Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory for Sex Differences in the Brain, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Madhusmita Misra
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Hang Lee
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, 500 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jill M Goldstein
- Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory for Sex Differences in the Brain, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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45
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Oltra J, Habich A, Schwarz CG, Nedelska Z, Przybelski SA, Inguanzo A, Diaz‐Galvan P, Lowe VJ, Oppedal K, Gonzalez MC, Philippi N, Blanc F, Barkhof F, Lemstra AW, Hort J, Padovani A, Rektorova I, Bonanni L, Massa F, Kramberger MG, Taylor J, Snædal JG, Walker Z, Antonini A, Dierks T, Segura B, Junque C, Westman E, Boeve BF, Aarsland D, Kantarci K, Ferreira D. Sex differences in brain atrophy in dementia with Lewy bodies. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:1815-1826. [PMID: 38131463 PMCID: PMC10947875 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13571] [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: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sex influences neurodegeneration, but it has been poorly investigated in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We investigated sex differences in brain atrophy in DLB using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS We included 436 patients from the European-DLB consortium and the Mayo Clinic. Sex differences and sex-by-age interactions were assessed through visual atrophy rating scales (n = 327; 73 ± 8 years, 62% males) and automated estimations of regional gray matter volume and cortical thickness (n = 165; 69 ± 9 years, 72% males). RESULTS We found a higher likelihood of frontal atrophy and smaller volumes in six cortical regions in males and thinner olfactory cortices in females. There were significant sex-by-age interactions in volume (six regions) and cortical thickness (seven regions) across the entire cortex. DISCUSSION We demonstrate that males have more widespread cortical atrophy at younger ages, but differences tend to disappear with increasing age, with males and females converging around the age of 75. HIGHLIGHTS Male DLB patients had higher odds for frontal atrophy on radiological visual rating scales. Male DLB patients displayed a widespread pattern of cortical gray matter alterations on automated methods. Sex differences in gray matter measures in DLB tended to disappear with increasing age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Oltra
- Medical Psychology UnitDepartment of MedicineInstitute of NeuroscienceUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS)BarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Division of Clinical GeriatricsCenter for Alzheimer ResearchDepartment of NeurobiologyCare Sciences and SocietyKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Annegret Habich
- Division of Clinical GeriatricsCenter for Alzheimer ResearchDepartment of NeurobiologyCare Sciences and SocietyKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, University of BernBernSwitzerland
| | | | - Zuzana Nedelska
- Memory ClinicDepartment of NeurologyCharles University2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University HospitalPragueCzech Republic
| | | | - Anna Inguanzo
- Division of Clinical GeriatricsCenter for Alzheimer ResearchDepartment of NeurobiologyCare Sciences and SocietyKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | | | - Val J. Lowe
- Department of RadiologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Ketil Oppedal
- Center for Age‐Related MedicineStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- Stavanger Medical Imaging Laboratory (SMIL)Department of RadiologyStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- The Norwegian Centre for Movement DisordersStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
| | - Maria C. Gonzalez
- Center for Age‐Related MedicineStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- Stavanger Medical Imaging Laboratory (SMIL)Department of RadiologyStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- The Norwegian Centre for Movement DisordersStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- Department of Quality and Health TechnologyFaculty of Health SciencesUniversity of StavangerStavangerNorway
| | - Nathalie Philippi
- Geriatrics and Neurology UnitsResearch and Resources Memory Center (CM2R)Hôpitaux Universitaires de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance
- ICube Laboratory (CNRS, UMR 7357)StrasbourgFrance
| | - Frederic Blanc
- Geriatrics and Neurology UnitsResearch and Resources Memory Center (CM2R)Hôpitaux Universitaires de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance
- ICube Laboratory (CNRS, UMR 7357)StrasbourgFrance
| | - Frederik Barkhof
- Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine (AMC)Amsterdam UMC, Vrije UniversiteitAmsterdamthe Netherlands
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC)University College LondonLondonUK
| | - Afina W. Lemstra
- Alzheimer Center AmsterdamNeurologyVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VumcAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Amsterdam NeuroscienceNeurodegeneration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VumcAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Jakub Hort
- Memory ClinicDepartment of NeurologyCharles University2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University HospitalPragueCzech Republic
| | - Alessandro Padovani
- Neurology UnitDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Sciences (DSCS)University of BresciaBresciaItaly
| | - Irena Rektorova
- Brain and Mind ResearchCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITET)Masaryk UniversityBrnoCzech Republic
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti‐Pescara ChietiChietiItaly
| | - Federico Massa
- Department of NeuroscienceRehabilitationOphthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child HealthUniversity of GenovaGenovaItaly
| | | | - John‐Paul Taylor
- Translational and Clinical Research InstituteFaculty of Medical SciencesNewcastle UniversityNewcastle upon TyneUK
| | | | - Zuzana Walker
- Division of PsychiatryUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- St Margaret's HospitalEssex Partnership University NHS Foundation TrustEssexUK
| | - Angelo Antonini
- Parkinson and Movement Disorders UnitStudy Center on Neurodegeneration (CESNE)PadovaItaly
| | - Thomas Dierks
- University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, University of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Barbara Segura
- Medical Psychology UnitDepartment of MedicineInstitute of NeuroscienceUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS)BarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018‐ISCIII)BarcelonaCataloniaSpain
| | - Carme Junque
- Medical Psychology UnitDepartment of MedicineInstitute of NeuroscienceUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS)BarcelonaCataloniaSpain
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018‐ISCIII)BarcelonaCataloniaSpain
| | - Eric Westman
- Division of Clinical GeriatricsCenter for Alzheimer ResearchDepartment of NeurobiologyCare Sciences and SocietyKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | | | - Dag Aarsland
- Center for Age‐Related MedicineStavanger University HospitalStavangerNorway
- Department of Old Age PsychiatryInstitute of PsychiatryPsychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN)King's College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Daniel Ferreira
- Division of Clinical GeriatricsCenter for Alzheimer ResearchDepartment of NeurobiologyCare Sciences and SocietyKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- Department of RadiologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
- Facultad de Ciencias de la SaludUniversidad Fernando Pessoa CanariasLas PalmasEspaña
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46
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Sang F, Zhao S, Li Z, Yang Y, Chen Y, Zhang Z. Cortical thickness reveals sex differences in verbal and visuospatial memory. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae067. [PMID: 38451300 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae067] [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: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Although previous studies have reported the sex differences in behavior/cognition and the brain, the sex difference in the relationship between memory abilities and the underlying neural basis in the aging process remains unclear. In this study, we used a machine learning model to estimate the association between cortical thickness and verbal/visuospatial memory in females and males and then explored the sex difference of these associations based on a community-elderly cohort (n = 1153, age ranged from 50.42 to 86.67 years). We validated that females outperformed males in verbal memory, while males outperformed females in visuospatial memory. The key regions related to verbal memory in females include the medial temporal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and some regions around the insula. Further, those regions are more located in limbic, dorsal attention, and default-model networks, and are associated with face recognition and perception. The key regions related to visuospatial memory include the lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, and some occipital regions. They overlapped more with dorsal attention, frontoparietal and visual networks, and were associated with object recognition. These findings imply the memory performance advantage of females and males might be related to the different memory processing tendencies and their associated network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Sang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Shaokun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Zilin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yiru Yang
- School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Yaojing Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Zhanjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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47
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Ryali S, Zhang Y, de los Angeles C, Supekar K, Menon V. Deep learning models reveal replicable, generalizable, and behaviorally relevant sex differences in human functional brain organization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2310012121. [PMID: 38377194 PMCID: PMC10907309 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310012121] [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: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex plays a crucial role in human brain development, aging, and the manifestation of psychiatric and neurological disorders. However, our understanding of sex differences in human functional brain organization and their behavioral consequences has been hindered by inconsistent findings and a lack of replication. Here, we address these challenges using a spatiotemporal deep neural network (stDNN) model to uncover latent functional brain dynamics that distinguish male and female brains. Our stDNN model accurately differentiated male and female brains, demonstrating consistently high cross-validation accuracy (>90%), replicability, and generalizability across multisession data from the same individuals and three independent cohorts (N ~ 1,500 young adults aged 20 to 35). Explainable AI (XAI) analysis revealed that brain features associated with the default mode network, striatum, and limbic network consistently exhibited significant sex differences (effect sizes > 1.5) across sessions and independent cohorts. Furthermore, XAI-derived brain features accurately predicted sex-specific cognitive profiles, a finding that was also independently replicated. Our results demonstrate that sex differences in functional brain dynamics are not only highly replicable and generalizable but also behaviorally relevant, challenging the notion of a continuum in male-female brain organization. Our findings underscore the crucial role of sex as a biological determinant in human brain organization, have significant implications for developing personalized sex-specific biomarkers in psychiatric and neurological disorders, and provide innovative AI-based computational tools for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srikanth Ryali
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Carlo de los Angeles
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Kaustubh Supekar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Vinod Menon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
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48
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Lafta MS, Mwinyi J, Affatato O, Rukh G, Dang J, Andersson G, Schiöth HB. Exploring sex differences: insights into gene expression, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, cognition, and pathology. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1340108. [PMID: 38449735 PMCID: PMC10915038 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1340108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Increased knowledge about sex differences is important for development of individualized treatments against many diseases as well as understanding behavioral and pathological differences. This review summarizes sex chromosome effects on gene expression, epigenetics, and hormones in relation to the brain. We explore neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, cognition, and brain pathology aiming to explain the current state of the art. While some domains exhibit strong differences, others reveal subtle differences whose overall significance warrants clarification. We hope that the current review increases awareness and serves as a basis for the planning of future studies that consider both sexes equally regarding similarities and differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muataz S. Lafta
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jessica Mwinyi
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Centre for Women’s Mental Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Oreste Affatato
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Centre for Women’s Mental Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gull Rukh
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Junhua Dang
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gerhard Andersson
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helgi B. Schiöth
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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49
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Zhao X, Wang Y, Wu X, Liu S. An MRI Study of Morphology, Asymmetry, and Sex Differences of Inferior Precentral Sulcus. Brain Topogr 2024:10.1007/s10548-024-01035-5. [PMID: 38374489 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-024-01035-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Numerous studies utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have observed sex and interhemispheric disparities in sulcal morphology, which could potentially underpin certain functional disparities in the human brain. Most of the existing research examines the precentral sulcus comprehensively, with a rare focus on its subsections. To explore the morphology, asymmetry, and sex disparities within the inferior precentral sulcus (IPCS), we acquired 3.0T magnetic resonance images from 92 right-handed Chinese adolescents. Brainvisa was used to reconstruct the IPCS structure and calculate its mean depth (MD). Based on the morphological patterns of IPCS, it was categorized into five distinct types. Additionally, we analyzed four different types of spatial relationships between IPCS and inferior frontal sulcus (IFS). There was a statistically significant sex disparity in the MD of IPCS, primarily observed in the right hemisphere. Females exhibited significantly greater asymmetry in the MD of IPCS compared to males. No statistically significant sex or hemispheric variations were identified in sulcal patterns. Our findings expand the comprehension of inconsistencies in sulcal structure, while also delivering an anatomical foundation for the study of related regions' function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinran Zhao
- Department of Clinical Medicine, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250033, Shandong, China
- Institute for Sectional Anatomy and Digital Human, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
- Department of Neurology, Tongji Medical College, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Institute for Sectional Anatomy and Digital Human, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaokang Wu
- Department of Clinical Medicine, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250033, Shandong, China
- Institute for Sectional Anatomy and Digital Human, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China
| | - Shuwei Liu
- Institute for Sectional Anatomy and Digital Human, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder, Shandong Key Laboratory of Digital Human and Clinical Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
- Institute of Brain and Brain-Inspired Science, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
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50
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Newman BT, Jacokes Z, Venkadesh S, Webb SJ, Kleinhans NM, McPartland JC, Druzgal TJ, Pelphrey KA, Van Horn JD. Conduction Velocity, G-ratio, and Extracellular Water as Microstructural Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.23.550166. [PMID: 37546913 PMCID: PMC10402058 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.23.550166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
The neuronal differences contributing to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still not well defined. Previous studies have suggested that myelin and axons are disrupted during development in ASD. By combining structural and diffusion MRI techniques, myelin and axons can be assessed using extracellular water, aggregate g-ratio, and a novel metric termed aggregate conduction velocity, which is related to the capacity of the axon to carry information. In this study, several innovative cellular microstructural methods, as measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are combined to characterize differences between ASD and typically developing adolescent participants in a large cohort. We first examine the relationship between each metric, including microstructural measurements of axonal and intracellular diffusion and the T1w/T2w ratio. We then demonstrate the sensitivity of these metrics by characterizing differences between ASD and neurotypical participants, finding widespread increases in extracellular water in the cortex and decreases in aggregate g-ratio and aggregate conduction velocity throughout the cortex, subcortex, and white matter skeleton. We finally provide evidence that these microstructural differences are associated with higher scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) a commonly used diagnostic tool to assess ASD. This study is the first to reveal that ASD involves MRI-measurable in vivo differences of myelin and axonal development with implications for neuronal and behavioral function. We also introduce a novel neuroimaging metric, aggregate conduction velocity, that is highly sensitive to these changes. We conclude that ASD may be characterized by otherwise intact structural connectivity but that functional connectivity may be attenuated by network properties affecting neural transmission speed. This effect may explain the putative reliance on local connectivity in contrast to more distal connectivity observed in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T. Newman
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Zachary Jacokes
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Siva Venkadesh
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Sara J. Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington, Seattle WA USA 98195
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 1920 Terry Ave, Building Cure-03, Seattle WA 98101
| | - Natalia M. Kleinhans
- Department of Radiology, Integrated Brain Imaging Center, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St Seattle, WA 98195
| | - James C. McPartland
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520
- Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, 40 Temple Street, Suite 6A, New Haven, CT, 06520
| | - T. Jason Druzgal
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - John Darrell Van Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA 22903
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