Clinical characteristics of post-stroke basal ganglia aphasia and the study of language-related white matter tracts based on diffusion spectrum imaging

BACKGROUND

Stroke often damages the basal ganglia, leading to atypical and transient aphasia, indicating that post-stroke basal ganglia aphasia (PSBGA) may be related to different anatomical structural damage and functional remodeling rehabilitation mechanisms. The basal ganglia contain dense white matter tracts (WMTs). Hence, damage to the functional tract may be an essential anatomical structural basis for the development of PSBGA.

METHODS

We first analyzed the clinical characteristics of PSBGA in 28 patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs) using the Western Aphasia Battery and neuropsychological test batteries. Moreover, we investigated white matter injury during the acute stage using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scans for differential tractography. Finally, we used multiple regression models in correlation tractography to analyze the relationship between various language functions and quantitative anisotropy (QA) of WMTs.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, patients with PSBGA showed lower scores for fluency, comprehension (auditory word recognition and sequential commands), naming (object naming and word fluency), reading comprehension of sentences, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, along with increased scores in Hamilton Anxiety Scale-17 and Hamilton Depression Scale-17 within 7 days after stroke onset (P < 0.05). Differential tractography revealed that patients with PSBGA had damaged fibers, including in the body fibers of the corpus callosum, left cingulum bundles, left parietal aslant tracts, bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus II, bilateral thalamic radiation tracts, left fornix, corpus callosum tapetum, and forceps major, compared with HCs (FDR < 0.02). Correlation tractography highlighted that better comprehension was correlated with a higher QA of the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), corpus callosum forceps minor, and left extreme capsule (FDR < 0.0083). Naming was positively associated with the QA of the left IFOF, forceps minor, left arcuate fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus (UF) (FDR < 0.0083). Word fluency of naming was also positively associated with the QA of the forceps minor, left IFOF, and thalamic radiation tracts (FDR < 0.0083). Furthermore, reading was positively correlated with the QA of the forceps minor, left IFOF, and UF (FDR < 0.0083).

CONCLUSION

PSBGA is primarily characterized by significantly impaired word fluency of naming and preserved repetition abilities, as well as emotional and cognitive dysfunction. Damaged limbic pathways, dorsally located tracts in the left hemisphere, and left basal ganglia pathways are involved in PSBGA pathogenesis. The results of connectometry analysis further refine the current functional localization model of higher-order neural networks associated with language functions.

Exploring the impact of biological alterations in the superior thalamic radiations on exploratory eye movements in attenuated psychosis syndrome

Introduction

Aberrant fixation and scan paths in visual searches have been repeatedly reported in schizophrenia. The frontal eye fields (FEF) and thalamus may be responsible for fixation and scan paths. These two regions are connected by superior thalamic radiation (STR) in humans. Studies have reported reduced fixation numbers and shortened scan path lengths in individuals with attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS) and schizophrenia. In this study, we hypothesized that STRs in the white matter fiber bundles of impairments underlie abnormalities in fixation and scan path length in individuals with APS.

Methods

Twenty-one individuals with APS and 30 healthy controls participated in this study. All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging, and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the left and right STR were analyzed using the novel method TractSeg. The number of eye fixations (NEF), total eye scanning length (TESL), and mean eye scanning length (MESL), derived using the exploratory eye movement (EEM) test, were adopted to evaluate the fixation and scan path length. We compared the FA values of the bilateral STR and EEM parameters between the APS and healthy control groups. We investigated the correlation between bilateral STR and EEM parameters in the APS and healthy control groups.

Results

NEF, TESL, MESL, and the FA values of the left STR were significantly reduced in individuals with APS compared to healthy controls. The left STR FA value in the APS group was significantly positively correlated with the MESL (r = 0.567, p = 0.007). In addition, the right STR FA value of the APS group was significantly correlated with the TESL (r = 0.587, p = 0.005) and MESL (r = 0.756, p = 0.7×10-4).

Discussion

These results demonstrate that biological changes in the STR, which connects the thalamus and FEF, underlie abnormalities in fixation and scanning. Recently, aberrations in the thalamus-frontal connection have been shown to underlie the emergence of psychotic symptoms. STR impairment may be a part of the biological basis of APS in individuals with subthreshold psychotic symptoms.

Imaging Markers for Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: An Overview

Idiopathic bormal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a neurological syndrome that clinically presents with Hakim's triad, namely cognitive impairment, gait disturbances, and urinary incontinence. The fact that iNPH is potentially reversible makes its accurate and early diagnosis of paramount importance. Its main imaging characteristic is the dilation of the brain's ventricular system and the imaging parameters are also included in its diagnostic criteria along with clinical data. There is a variety of different modalities used and a great number of imaging markers that have been described while assessing iNPH patients. The present literature review attempts to describe the most important of these imaging markers and to shed some light on their role in diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and possibly prognosis of this potentially reversible neurological syndrome.

Radiological biomarkers of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: new approaches for detecting concomitant Alzheimer's disease and predicting prognosis

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a clinical syndrome characterized by cognitive decline, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence. As iNPH often occurs in elderly individuals prone to many types of comorbidity, a differential diagnosis with other neurodegenerative diseases is crucial, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). A growing body of published work provides evidence of radiological methods, including multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography, which may help noninvasively differentiate iNPH from AD or reveal concurrent AD pathology in vivo. Imaging methods detecting morphological changes, white matter microstructural changes, cerebrospinal fluid circulation, and molecular imaging have been widely applied in iNPH patients. Here, we review radiological biomarkers using different methods in evaluating iNPH pathophysiology and differentiating or detecting concomitant AD, to noninvasively predict the possible outcome postshunt and select candidates for shunt surgery.

An atlas of white matter anatomy, its variability, and reproducibility based on constrained spherical deconvolution of diffusion MRI

Virtual dissection of white matter (WM) using diffusion MRI tractography is confounded by its poor reproducibility. Despite the increased adoption of advanced reconstruction models, early region-of-interest driven protocols based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) remain the dominant reference for virtual dissection protocols. Here we bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive description of typical WM anatomy reconstructed using a reproducible automated subject-specific parcellation-based approach based on probabilistic constrained-spherical deconvolution (CSD) tractography. We complement this with a WM template in MNI space comprising 68 bundles, including all associated anatomical tract selection labels and associated automated workflows. Additionally, we demonstrate bundle inter- and intra-subject variability using 40 (20 test-retest) datasets from the human connectome project (HCP) and 5 sessions with varying b-values and number of b-shells from the single-subject Multiple Acquisitions for Standardization of Structural Imaging Validation and Evaluation (MASSIVE) dataset. The most reliably reconstructed bundles were the whole pyramidal tracts, primary corticospinal tracts, whole superior longitudinal fasciculi, frontal, parietal and occipital segments of the corpus callosum and middle cerebellar peduncles. More variability was found in less dense bundles, e.g., the fornix, dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRTT), and premotor pyramidal tract. Using the DRTT as an example, we show that this variability can be reduced by using a higher number of seeding attempts. Overall inter-session similarity was high for HCP test-retest data (median weighted-dice = 0.963, stdev = 0.201 and IQR = 0.099). Compared to the HCP-template bundles there was a high level of agreement for the HCP test-retest data (median weighted-dice = 0.747, stdev = 0.220 and IQR = 0.277) and for the MASSIVE data (median weighted-dice = 0.767, stdev = 0.255 and IQR = 0.338). In summary, this WM atlas provides an overview of the capabilities and limitations of automated subject-specific probabilistic CSD tractography for mapping white matter fasciculi in healthy adults. It will be most useful in applications requiring a reproducible parcellation-based dissection protocol, and as an educational resource for applied neuroimaging and clinical professionals.

Preliminary Exploration of the Sequence of Nerve Fiber Bundles Involvement for Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A Correlation Analysis Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging

The study preliminarily explored the sequence and difference of involvement in different neuroanatomical structures in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH). We retrospectively analyzed the differences in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters in 15 ROIs [including the bilateral centrum semiovale (CS), corpus callosum (CC) (body, genu, and splenium), head of the caudate nucleus (CN), internal capsule (IC) (anterior and posterior limb), thalamus (TH), and the bilateral frontal horn white matter hyperintensity (FHWMH)] between 27 INPH patients and 11 healthy controls and the correlation between DTI indices and clinical symptoms, as evaluated by the INPH grading scale (INPHGS), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the timed up and go test (TUG-t), before and 1 month after shunt surgery. Significant differences were observed in DTI parameters from the CS (p_FA1 = 0.004, p_ADC1 = 0.005) and the genu (p_FA2 = 0.022; p_ADC2 = 0.001) and body (p_FA3 = 0.003; p_ADC3 = 0.002) of the CC between the groups. The DTI parameters from the CS were strongly correlated with the MMSE score both pre-operatively and post-operatively. There was association between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of anterior and posterior limbs of the IC and MMSE. The DTI parameters of the head of the CN were correlated with motion, and the ADC value was significantly associated with the MMSE score. The FA value from TH correlated with an improvement in urination after shunt surgery. We considered that different neuroanatomical structures are affected differently by disease due to their positions in neural pathways and characteristics, which is further reflected in clinical symptoms and the prognosis of shunt surgery.

Thalamic Nuclei and Thalamocortical Pathways After Left Hemispheric Stroke and Their Association with Picture Naming

Background: Previous studies utilized lesion-centric approaches to study the role of the thalamus in language. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that non-lesioned dorsomedial and ventral anterior nuclei (DMVAC) and pulvinar lateral posterior nuclei complexes (PLC) of the thalamus and their projections to the left hemisphere show secondary effects of the strokes, and that their microstructural integrity is closely related to language-related functions. Methods: Subjects with language impairments after a left-hemispheric cortical and/or subcortical, early stroke (n = 31, ≤6 months) or late stroke (n = 30, ≥12 months) sparing thalamus underwent the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The tissue integrity of DMVAC, PLC, and their cortical projections was quantified with DTI. The right-left asymmetry profiles of these structures were evaluated in relation to the time since stroke. The association between microstructural integrity and BNT score was investigated in relation to stroke chronicity with partial correlation analyses adjusted for confounds. Results: In both early stroke and late stroke groups, left-sided tracts showed significantly higher mean diffusivities (MDs), which were likely due to Wallerian degeneration. Higher MD values of the cortical projections from the left PLC (r = -0.5, p = 0.005) and DMVAC (r = -0.53, p = 0.002) were correlated with lower BNT score in the late stroke but not early stroke group. Conclusion: Nonlesioned thalamic nuclei and thalamocortical pathways show rightward lateralization of the microstructural integrity after a left hemispheric stroke, and this pattern is associated with poorer naming.

The role of diffusion tensor imaging in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: A literature review

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a syndrome that comprises a triad of gait disturbance, dementia and urinary incontinence, associated with ventriculomegaly in the absence of elevated intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure. It is important to identify patients with iNPH because some of its clinical features may be reversed by the insertion of a CSF shunt. The diagnosis is based on clinical history, physical examination and brain imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recently, some papers have investigated the role of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in evaluating white matter alterations in patients with iNPH. DTI analysis in specific anatomical regions seems to be a promising MR biomarker of iNPH and could also be used in the differential diagnosis from other dementias. However, there is a substantial lack of structured reviews on this topic. Thus, we performed a literature search and analyzed the most recent and pivotal articles that investigated the role of DTI in iNPH in order to provide an up-to-date overview of the application of DTI in this setting. We reviewed studies published between January 2000 and June 2020. Thirty-eight studies and four reviews were included. Despite heterogeneity in analysis approaches, the majority of studies reported significant correlations between DTI and clinical symptoms in iNPH patients, as well as different DTI patterns in patients with iNPH compared to those with Alzheimer or Parkinson diseases. It remains to be determined whether DTI could predict the success after CSF shunting.

Neural circuits of idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A perspective review of brain connectivity and symptoms meta-analysis

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a prevalent reversible neurological disorder characterized by impaired locomotion, cognition and urinary control with ventriculomegaly. Symptoms can be relieved with cerebrospinal fluid drainage, which makes iNPH the leading cause of reversible dementia. Because of a limited understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, unspecific symptoms and the high prevalence of comorbidity (i.e. Alzheimer's disease), iNPH is largely underdiagnosed. For these reasons, there is an urgent need for developing noninvasive quantitative biomarkers for iNPH diagnosis and prognosis. Structural and functional changes of brain circuits in relation to symptoms and treatment response are expected to deliver major advances in this direction. We review structural and functional brain connectivity findings in iNPH and complement those findings with iNPH symptom meta-analyses in healthy populations. Our goal is to reinforce our conceptualization of iNPH as to brain network mechanisms and foster the development of new hypotheses for future research and treatment options.

DTI Profiles for Rapid Description of Cohorts at the Clinical-Research Interface

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a syndrome comprising gait disturbance, cognitive decline and urinary incontinence that is an unique model of reversible brain injury, but it presents as a challenging spectrum of disease cohorts. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), with its ability to interrogate structural white matter patterns at a microarchitectural level, is a potentially useful tool for the confirmation and characterization of disease cohorts at the clinical-research interface. However, obstacles to its widespread use involve the need for consistent DTI analysis and interpretation tools across collaborator sites. We present the use of DTI profiles, a simplistic methodology to interpret white matter injury patterns based on the morphology of diffusivity parameters. We examined 13 patients with complex NPH, i.e., patients with NPH and overlay from multiple comorbidities, including vascular risk burden and neurodegenerative disease, undergoing extended CSF drainage, clinical assessments, and multi-modal MR imaging. Following appropriate exclusions, we compared the morphology of DTI profiles in such complex NPH patients (n = 12, comprising 4 responders and 8 non-responders) to exemplar DTI profiles from a cohort of classic NPH patients (n = 16) demonstrating responsiveness of white matter injury to ventriculo-peritoneal shunting. In the cohort of complex NPH patients, mean age was 71.3 ± 7.6 years (10 males, 2 females) with a mean MMSE score of 21.1. There were 5 age-matched healthy controls, mean age was 73.4 ± 7.2 years (1 male, 4 females) and mean MMSE score was 26.8. In the exemplar cohort of classic NPH patients, mean age was 74.7 ± 5.9 years (10 males, 6 females) and mean MMSE score was 24.1. There were 9 age-matched healthy controls, mean age was 69.4 ± 9.7 years (4 males, 5 females) and mean MMSE score was 28.6. We found that, despite the challenges of acquiring DTI metrics from differing scanners across collaborator sites and NPH patients presenting as differing cohorts along the spectrum of disease, DTI profiles for responsiveness to interventions were comparable. Distinct DTI characteristics were demonstrated for complex NPH responders vs. non-responders. The morphology of DTI profiles for complex NPH responders mimicked DTI patterns found in predominantly shunt-responsive patients undergoing intervention for classic NPH. However, DTI profiles for complex NPH non-responders was suggestive of atrophy. Our findings suggest that it is possible to use DTI profiles to provide a methodology for rapid description of differing cohorts of disease at the clinical-research interface. By describing DTI measures morphologically, it was possible to consistently compare white matter injury patterns across international collaborator datasets.