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Gerhardt S, Karl D, Mann K, Kiefer F, Vollstädt-Klein S. Association Between Functional and Structural Brain Connectivity of the Default Mode Network in Non-treatment Seeking Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Alcohol 2021; 57:540-551. [PMID: 34929740 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agab079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with alterations within the default mode network (DMN) at rest. Also, impaired white matter structures have been observed in individuals with AUD. This study developed a workflow for examining the relation between functional and structural connectivity, exemplary for nodes of the DMN within a sample of non-treatment seeking individuals with AUD. Furthermore, AUD severity was correlated with both measures independently. METHODS The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol included anatomical, resting state and diffusion weighted imaging measurements. Independent component analyses and deterministic fiber tracking as well as correlation analyses, including the severity of AUD, were performed. N = 18 out of 23 adult study participants took part in the fMRI examination, and N = 15 were included in the final analyses. RESULTS Established resting-state networks were reliably identified in our sample. Structural connections were found between several nodes of the DMN, whereas only fibers between the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex were reliably detected in all individuals. A negative correlation was observed between brain activation during rest and AUD severity in left parietal and temporal regions and the putamen. A more severe AUD predicted impairments in white matter integrity of the cingulum. CONCLUSION In AUD, information obtained from a combination of resting-state, diffusion weighted data and clinical information has great potential to provide a more profound understanding of the disorder since alterations may already become apparent at earlier stages of the disorder, e.g. in non-treatment seeking individuals. SUMMARY Alcohol use disorder leads to alterations in the default mode network of the resting brain that is associated with the severity of the disorder. Following our workflow, white matter impairments can be observed between some of the nodes of the default mode network using diffusion tensor imaging. Both, resting-state functional and structural connectivity relate to the severity of alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Gerhardt
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Damian Karl
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Karl Mann
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Falk Kiefer
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.,Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences (MCTN), Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.,Feuerlein Center on Translational Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sabine Vollstädt-Klein
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Quadrat J 5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.,Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences (MCTN), Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
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Mundorf A, Peterburs J, Ocklenburg S. Asymmetry in the Central Nervous System: A Clinical Neuroscience Perspective. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:733898. [PMID: 34970125 PMCID: PMC8712556 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.733898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent large-scale neuroimaging studies suggest that most parts of the human brain show structural differences between the left and the right hemisphere. Such structural hemispheric asymmetries have been reported for both cortical and subcortical structures. Interestingly, many neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders have been associated with altered functional hemispheric asymmetries. However, findings concerning the relation between structural hemispheric asymmetries and disorders have largely been inconsistent, both within specific disorders as well as between disorders. In the present review, we compare structural asymmetries from a clinical neuroscience perspective across different disorders. We focus especially on recent large-scale neuroimaging studies, to concentrate on replicable effects. With the notable exception of major depressive disorder, all reviewed disorders were associated with distinct patterns of alterations in structural hemispheric asymmetries. While autism spectrum disorder was associated with altered structural hemispheric asymmetries in a broader range of brain areas, most other disorders were linked to more specific alterations in brain areas related to cognitive functions that have been associated with the symptomology of these disorders. The implications of these findings are highlighted in the context of transdiagnostic approaches to psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annakarina Mundorf
- Institute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jutta Peterburs
- Institute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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3
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Lee J, Ju G, Son JW, Shin CJ, Lee SI, Park H, Kim S. White matter integrity in alcohol-dependent patients with long-term abstinence. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e26078. [PMID: 34032740 PMCID: PMC8154411 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000026078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on association studies on amounts of alcohol consumed and cortical and subcortical structural shrinkage, we investigated the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on white matter pathways using probabilistic tractography.Twenty-three alcohol-dependent men (with an average sobriety of 13.1 months) from a mental health hospital and 22 age-matched male healthy social drinkers underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging. Eighteen major white matter pathways were reconstructed using the TRActs Constrained by UnderLying Anatomy tool (provided by the FreeSurfer). The hippocampal volumes were estimated using an automated procedure. The lifetime drinking history interview, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, and pack-years of smoking were also evaluated.Analysis of covariance controlling for age, cigarette smoking, total motion index indicated that there was no definite difference of diffusion parameters between the 2 groups after multiple comparison correction. As hippocampal volume decreased, the fractional anisotropy of the right cingulum-angular bundle decreased. Additionally, the axial diffusivity of right cingulum-angular bundle was positively correlated with the alcohol abstinence period.The results imply resilience of white matter in patients with alcohol dependence. Additional longitudinal studies with multimodal methods and neuropsychological tests may improve our findings of the changes in white matter pathways in patients with alcohol dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeonghwan Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Gawon Ju
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Jung-Woo Son
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Chul-Jin Shin
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Sang Ick Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Hyemi Park
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Siekyeong Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea
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4
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Visuoperceptive Impairments in Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: A Critical Review of Behavioral Studies. Neuropsychol Rev 2021; 31:361-384. [PMID: 33591477 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-020-09469-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The present literature review is aimed at offering a comprehensive and critical view of behavioral data collected during the past seventy years concerning visuoperception in severe alcohol use disorders (AUD). To pave the way for a renewal of research and clinical approaches in this very little understood field, this paper (1) provides a critical review of previous behavioral studies exploring visuoperceptive processing in severe AUD, (2) identifies the alcohol-related parameters and demographic factors that influence the deficits, and (3) addresses the limitations of this literature and their implications for current clinical strategies. By doing so, this review highlights the presence of visuoperceptive deficits but also shows how the lack of in-depth studies exploring the visual system in this clinical population results in the current absence of integration of these deficits in the dominant models of vision. Given the predominance of vision in everyday life, we stress the need to better delineate the extent, the specificity, and the actual implications of the deficits for severe AUD.
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Creupelandt C, D'Hondt F, Maurage P. Neural correlates of visuoperceptive changes in severe alcohol use disorder: A critical review of neuroimaging and electrophysiological findings. J Neurosci Res 2021; 99:1253-1275. [PMID: 33550638 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Visuoperceptive deficits are frequently reported in severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) and are considered as pervasive and persistent in time. While this topic of investigation has previously driven researchers' interest, far fewer studies have focused on visuoperception in SAUD since the '90s, leaving open central questions regarding the origin and implications of these deficits. To renew research in the field and provide a solid background to work upon, this paper reviews the neural correlates of visuoperception in SAUD, based on data from neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies. Results reveal structural and functional changes within the visual system but also in the connections between occipital and frontal areas. We highlight the lack of integration of these findings in the dominant models of vision which stress the dynamic nature of the visual system and consider the presence of both bottom-up and top-down cerebral mechanisms. Visuoperceptive changes are also discussed in the framework of long-lasting debates regarding the influence of demographic and alcohol-related factors, together stressing the presence of inter-individual differences. Capitalizing on this review, we provide guidelines to inform future research, and ultimately improve clinical care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie Creupelandt
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (UCLEP), Faculté de Psychologie, Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Fabien D'Hondt
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - LilNCog - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, France.,CHU Lille, Clinique de Psychiatrie, CURE, Lille, France.,Centre National de Ressources et de Résilience Lille-Paris (CN2R), Lille, France
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (UCLEP), Faculté de Psychologie, Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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6
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Januszko P, Gmaj B, Piotrowski T, Kopera M, Klimkiewicz A, Wnorowska A, Wołyńczyk-Gmaj D, Brower KJ, Wojnar M, Jakubczyk A. Delta resting-state functional connectivity in the cognitive control network as a prognostic factor for maintaining abstinence: An eLORETA preliminary study. Drug Alcohol Depend 2021; 218:108393. [PMID: 33158664 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 10/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cortical regions that support cognitive control are increasingly well recognized, but the functional mechanisms that promote such control over emotional and behavioral hyperreactivity to alcohol in recently abstinent alcohol-dependent patients are still insufficiently understood. This study aimed to identify neurophysiological biomarkers of maintaining abstinence in alcohol-dependent individuals after alcohol treatment by investigating the resting-state EEG-based functional connectivity in the cognitive control network (CCN). METHODS Lagged phase synchronization between CCN areas by means of eLORETA as well as the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were assessed in abstinent alcohol-dependent patients recruited from treatment centers. A preliminary prospective study design was used to classify participants into those who did and did not maintain abstinence during a follow-up period (median 12 months) after discharge from residential treatment. RESULTS Alcohol-dependent individuals, who maintained abstinence (N = 18), showed significantly increased lagged phase synchronization between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left posterior parietal cortex (IPL) as well as between the right anterior insula cortex/frontal operculum (IA/FO) and the right inferior frontal junction (IFJ) in the delta band compared to those who later relapsed (N = 16). Regression analysis showed that the increased left frontoparietal delta connectivity in the early period of abstinence significantly predicted maintaining abstinence over the ensuing 12 months. Furthermore, right frontoinsular delta connectivity correlated negatively with impulsivity and depression measures. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the increased delta resting-state functional connectivity in the CCN may be a promising neurophysiological predictor of maintaining abstinence in individuals with alcohol dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Januszko
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Bartłomiej Gmaj
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Tadeusz Piotrowski
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Kopera
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Klimkiewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Wnorowska
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Dorota Wołyńczyk-Gmaj
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Kirk J Brower
- Department of Psychiatry, Addiction Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Marcin Wojnar
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland; Department of Psychiatry, Addiction Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Andrzej Jakubczyk
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Nowowiejska 27, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
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7
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Eye Movements and White Matter are Associated with Emotional Control in Children Treated for Brain Tumors. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2020; 26:978-992. [PMID: 32456730 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617720000491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Children treated for brain tumors often experience social and emotional difficulties, including challenges with emotion regulation; our goal was to investigate the attention-related component processes of emotion regulation, using a novel eye-tracking measure, and to evaluate its relations with emotional functioning and white matter (WM) organization. METHOD Fifty-four children participated in this study; 36 children treated for posterior fossa tumors, and 18 typically developing children. Participants completed two versions of an emotion regulation eye-tracking task, designed to differentiate between implicit (i.e., automatic) and explicit (i.e., voluntary) subprocesses. The Emotional Control scale from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function was used to evaluate emotional control in daily life, and WM organization was assessed with diffusion tensor imaging. RESULTS We found that emotional faces captured attention across all groups (F(1,51) = 32.18, p < .001, η2p = .39). However, unlike typically developing children, patients were unable to override the attentional capture of emotional faces when instructed to (emotional face-by-group interaction: F(2,51) = 5.58, p = .006, η2p = .18). Across all children, our eye-tracking measure of emotion regulation was modestly associated with the parent-report emotional control score (r = .29, p = .045), and in patients it was associated with WM microstructure in the body and splenium of the corpus callosum (all t > 3.03, all p < .05). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that an attention-related component process of emotion regulation is disrupted in children treated for brain tumors, and that it may relate to their emotional difficulties and WM organization. This work provides a foundation for future theoretical and mechanistic investigations of emotional difficulties in brain tumor survivors.
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8
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Prabhakar V, Martin T, Müller-Oehring EM, Goodcase R, Schulte T, Poston KL, Brontë-Stewart HM. Quantitative Digitography Measures Fine Motor Disturbances in Chronically Treated HIV Similar to Parkinson's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:539598. [PMID: 33132893 PMCID: PMC7575770 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.539598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Motor and cognitive deficits were compared in aging, chronically treated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) people, people with mild-to-moderate stage Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy controls. Methods: Groups consisted of 36 people with PD, 28 with HIV infection, and 28 healthy controls. Motor function was assessed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS-III) and a rapid alternating finger tapping (RAFT) task on an engineered keyboard known as Quantitative Digitography (QDG). Executive function, verbal memory, and visuospatial processing were assessed using standard neuropsychological tests. Results: HIV demonstrated RAFT deficits similar to PD such as reduced amplitude (P = 0.023) and greater amplitude variability (P = 0.019) in the index finger when compared to controls. This fine motor disturbance correlated with HIV's immune health, measured by their CD4+ T cell count (P < 0.01). The UPDRS did not yield motor differences between HIV and controls. Executive function and verbal memory were impaired in HIV (P = 0.006, P = 0.016, respectively), but not in PD; visuospatial processing was similarly impaired in HIV and PD (P < 0.05) although motor deficits predominated in PD. Conclusions: Fine motor bradykinesia measured quantitatively by QDG RAFT holds promise as a marker of motor decline related to current immune health in aging HIV patients and may be useful in longitudinal studies regarding mechanisms of immunosenescence vs. potential toxicity of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in this population. Additionally, motor and cognitive networks in HIV may be affected differently as the disease progresses as observed in the differential patterns of impairment between HIV and PD, providing insight into the mechanisms of brain deterioration in HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varsha Prabhakar
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.,Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Talora Martin
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.,School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Eva M Müller-Oehring
- Center for Health Sciences, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Ryan Goodcase
- Center for Health Sciences, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States
| | - Tilman Schulte
- Center for Health Sciences, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States.,Department of Clinical Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Kathleen L Poston
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Helen M Brontë-Stewart
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.,Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
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9
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Structural remodeling secondary to functional remodeling in advanced-stage peripheral facial neuritis. Neurol Sci 2020; 41:2453-2460. [PMID: 32206961 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-020-04325-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Structural remodeling is a classic manifestation of disease decompensation. Facial synkinesis is the most troubling sequela of peripheral facial neuritis, and its structural remodeling, especially in white matter (WM), is still poorly understood. Therefore, understanding WM microstructure is important for predicting WM pathology and for early intervention in facial synkinesis patients. METHODS A total of 20 facial synkinesis patients (18 men and 2 women; mean age, 33.35 ± 6.97 years old) and 19 healthy controls (17 men and 2 women; mean age, 33.21 ± 6.75 years old) were enrolled in this study. rs-fMRI data, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data, and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) data were collected, and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) values were used to analyze changes in WM microstructure and interhemispheric coordination. RESULTS Compared with the healthy controls, facial synkinesis patients exhibited significantly lower regional fractional anisotropy (FA) in the genu of the corpus callosum and the body of the corpus callosum, significantly higher regional FA in the retrolenticular part of the internal capsule, and significantly decreased VMHC values bilaterally in the orbital inferior frontal gyri, the fusiform gyri, the superior temporal gyri, the superior frontal gyri, and the supplementary motor areas. Furthermore, a lower regional FA in the genu of the corpus callosum was correlated with higher BDI scores in facial synkinesis patients. CONCLUSION Structural remodeling, especially changes in white matter microstructure, may be the central mechanism for severe sequelae of peripheral facial neuritis.
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Sousa SS, Sampaio A, Marques P, López-Caneda E, Gonçalves ÓF, Crego A. Functional and structural connectivity of the executive control network in college binge drinkers. Addict Behav 2019; 99:106009. [PMID: 31487578 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Binge Drinking (BD) is a pattern of excessive alcohol consumption highly prevalent among college students, and has been associated with structural and functional alterations of brain networks. Recent advances in the resting-state connectivity analysis have boosted the research of the network-level connectivity disturbances associated with many psychiatric and neurological disorders, including addiction. Accordingly, atypical functional connectivity patterns in resting-state networks such as the Executive Control Network (ECN) have been found in substance users and alcohol-dependent individuals. In this study, we assessed for the first time the ECN functional and structural connectivity in a group of 34 college students, 20 (10 women) binge drinkers (BDs) in comparison with a group of 14 (8 women) alcohol abstinent controls (AACs). Overall, our findings documented increased resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the BDs left middle frontal cortex of the left ECN in comparison to the AACs, while no structural connectivity differences were observed between groups. Pearson correlations revealed a positive association between the left middle frontal gyrus rsFC and the frequency of BD episodes per month, in the BD group. These findings suggest that maintaining a pattern of acute and intermittent alcohol consumption during important stages of brain development, as the transition from adolescence to adulthood, is associated with impaired ECN rsFC despite no group differences being yet noticed in the ECN structural connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sónia S Sousa
- Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
| | - Adriana Sampaio
- Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Paulo Marques
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Eduardo López-Caneda
- Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Óscar F Gonçalves
- Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital. Harvard Medical School, Charlestown campus: 79/96 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Department of Applied Psychology, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 404 International Village, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Alberto Crego
- Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
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11
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Alterations in the Structural and Functional Connectivity of the Visuomotor Network of Children With Periventricular Leukomalacia. Semin Pediatr Neurol 2019; 31:48-56. [PMID: 31548024 PMCID: PMC6761984 DOI: 10.1016/j.spen.2019.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Children born preterm with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) demonstrate increased difficulties with tasks requiring visuomotor integration. The visuomotor integration network encompasses brain regions within frontal, parietal, and occipital cortices. Because of their proximity to the lateral ventricle the underlying white matter pathways are at a high risk of damage following PVL-related hypoxic-ischemic white matter injury. This study provides an exploratory analysis of the structural and functional connections within the visuomotor integration network, along with an a priori evaluation of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and frontal aslant tract. For each pathway, tracts within both hemispheres revealed decreased volume and number of reconstructed fibers and an increase in quantitative anisotropy and generalized fractional anisotropy. The connectivity results also indicate that there may be changes to both the structural integrity and functional integration of neural networks involved with visuomotor integration functions in children with PVL.
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12
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An Efficient Automatic Midsagittal Plane Extraction in Brain MRI. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/app8112203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, a fully automatic and computationally efficient midsagittal plane (MSP) extraction technique in brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) has been proposed. Automatic detection of MSP in neuroimages can significantly aid in registration of medical images, asymmetric analysis, and alignment or tilt correction (recenter and reorientation) in brain MRIs. The parameters of MSP are estimated in two steps. In the first step, symmetric features and principal component analysis (PCA)-based technique is used to vertically align the bilateral symmetric axis of the brain. In the second step, PCA is used to achieve a set of parallel lines (principal axes) from the selected two-dimensional (2-D) elliptical slices of brain MRIs, followed by a plane fitting using orthogonal regression. The developed algorithm has been tested on 157 real T1-weighted brain MRI datasets including 14 cases from the patients with brain tumors. The presented algorithm is compared with a state-of-the-art approach based on bilateral symmetry maximization. Experimental results revealed that the proposed algorithm is fast (<1.04 s per MRI volume) and exhibits superior performance in terms of accuracy and precision (a mean z-distance of 0.336 voxels and a mean angle difference of 0.06).
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Quantitative Analysis of Kynurenine Aminotransferase II in the Adult Rat Brain Reveals High Expression in Proliferative Zones and Corpus Callosum. Neuroscience 2017; 369:1-14. [PMID: 29126954 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Kynurenic acid, a metabolite of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation, acts as an endogenous antagonist of alpha7 nicotinic and NMDA receptors and is implicated in a number of neurophysiological and neuropathological processes including cognition and neurodegenerative events. Therefore, kynurenine aminotransferase II (KAT II/AADAT), the enzyme responsible for the formation of the majority of neuroactive kynurenic acid in the brain, has prompted significant interest. Using immunohistochemistry, this enzyme was localized primarily in astrocytes throughout the adult rat brain, but detailed neuroanatomical studies are lacking. Here, we employed quantitative in situ hybridization to analyze the relative expression of KAT II mRNA in the brain of rats under normal conditions and 6 h after the administration of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). Specific hybridization signals for KAT II were detected, with the highest expression in the subventricular zone (SVZ), the rostral migratory stream and the floor of the third ventricle followed by the corpus callosum and the hippocampus. This pattern of mRNA expression was paralleled by differential protein expression, determined by serial dilutions of antibodies (up to 1:1 million), and was confirmed to be primarily astrocytic in nature. The mRNA signal in the SVZ and the hippocampus was substantially increased by the LPS treatment without detectable changes elsewhere. These results demonstrate that KAT II is expressed in the rat brain in a region-specific manner and that gene expression is sensitive to inflammatory processes. This suggests an unrecognized role for kynurenic acid in the brain's germinal zones.
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Ocklenburg S, Friedrich P, Güntürkün O, Genç E. Intrahemispheric white matter asymmetries: the missing link between brain structure and functional lateralization? Rev Neurosci 2016; 27:465-80. [DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2015-0052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
AbstractHemispheric asymmetries are a central principle of nervous system architecture and shape the functional organization of most cognitive systems. Structural gray matter asymmetries and callosal interactions have been identified as contributing neural factors but always fell short to constitute a full explanans. Meanwhile, recent advances in in vivo white matter tractography have unrevealed the asymmetrical organization of many intrahemispheric white matter pathways, which might serve as the missing link to explain the substrate of functional lateralization. By taking into account callosal interactions, gray matter asymmetries and asymmetrical interhemispheric pathways, we opt for a new triadic model that has the potential to explain many observations which cannot be elucidated within the current frameworks of lateralized cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Ocklenburg
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University of Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Patrick Friedrich
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University of Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University of Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Erhan Genç
- 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University of Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
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Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a major public health issue due to its prevalence and severe health consequences. It may affect several aspects of an individual's life including work and relationships, and it also increases risk for additional problems such as brain injury. The causes and outcomes of AUD are varied; thus, attempting to understand this complex phenomenon requires investigation from multiple perspectives. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful means to investigate brain anatomical and functional alterations related to AUD. Recent advances in MRI methods allow better investigation of the alterations to structural and functional brain networks in AUD. Here, we focus on findings from studies using multiple MRI techniques, which converge to support the considerable vulnerability of frontal systems. Indeed, MRI studies provide evidence for a "disconnection syndrome" which could be involved in the poor behavioral control observed in AUD.
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Liu K, Li B, Qian S, Jiang Q, Li L, Sun G. Altered interhemispheric resting state functional connectivity during passive hyperthermia. Int J Hyperthermia 2015; 31:840-9. [PMID: 26608616 DOI: 10.3109/02656736.2015.1058977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study examines the effect of passive hyperthermia on interhemispheric resting state functional connectivity and the correlation between interhemispheric resting state functional connectivity and efficiency of a succedent working memory task. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analyses on resting state MRI data and a one-back task from 14 healthy subjects in both HT (hyperthermia, 50 °C) conditions and normal control (NC, 25 °C) conditions. The group analyses of the differences for VMHC between the two conditions and the correlation analysis between the VMHC and the reaction time (RT) of the one-back task were performed with the statistical parametric mapping software package and the software REST. RESULTS Compared with NC conditions, HT conditions increased VMHC in the cuneus, the postcentral gyrus, and the fusiform gyrus. No region showed decreased VMHC in the HT group in comparison with the NC group. For NC conditions, negative correlations were demonstrated between RT of the one-back task and VMHC in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, and bilateral middle frontal gyrus; for HT conditions, negative correlations were demonstrated between RT and VMHC in bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, as well as cerebellum posterior lobe. CONCLUSION Passive heat stress can impact the interhemispheric information interactions at resting state and the VMHC deficits may play an important role in cognitive dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Liu
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
| | - Bo Li
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
| | - Shaowen Qian
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
| | - Qingjun Jiang
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
| | - Li Li
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
| | - Gang Sun
- a Department of Medical Imaging , Jinan Military General Hospital , Shandong , China
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Alfonso-Loeches S, Ureña-Peralta J, Morillo-Bargues MJ, Gómez-Pinedo U, Guerri C. Ethanol-Induced TLR4/NLRP3 Neuroinflammatory Response in Microglial Cells Promotes Leukocyte Infiltration Across the BBB. Neurochem Res 2015; 41:193-209. [PMID: 26555554 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-015-1760-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Revised: 10/31/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We reported that the ethanol-induced innate immune response by activating TLR4 signaling triggers gliosis and neuroinflammation. Ethanol also activates other immune receptors, such as NOD-like-receptors, and specifically NLRP3-inflammasome in astroglial cells, to stimulate caspase-1 cleavage and IL-1β and IL-18 cytokines production. Yet, whether microglia NLRs are also sensitive to the ethanol effects that contribute to neuroinflammation is uncertain. Using cerebral cortexes of the chronic alcohol-fed WT and TLR4(-/-) mice, we demonstrated that chronic ethanol treatment enhanced TLR4 mediated-NLRP3/Caspase-1 complex activation, and up-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines levels. Ethanol-induced NLRP3-inflammasome activation and mitochondria-ROS generation were also observed in cultured microglial cells. The up-regulation of CD45(high)/CD11b(+) cell populations and matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels was also noted in the cortexes of the ethanol-treated WT mice. Notably, elimination of the TLR4 function abolished most ethanol-induced neuroinflammatory effects. Thus, our results demonstrate that ethanol triggers TLR4-mediated NLRP3-inflammasome activation in glial cells, and suggest that microglia stimulation may compromise the permeability of blood-brain barrier events to contribute to ethanol-induced neuroinflammation and brain damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Alfonso-Loeches
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Alcohol, Prince Felipe Research Center, Eduardo Primo Yúfera 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - Juan Ureña-Peralta
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Alcohol, Prince Felipe Research Center, Eduardo Primo Yúfera 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - M José Morillo-Bargues
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Alcohol, Prince Felipe Research Center, Eduardo Primo Yúfera 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - Ulises Gómez-Pinedo
- Department of Regenerative Medicine/Neurology and Neurosurgery, Neuroscience Institute, Clinic San Carlos Hospital, IdISSC, Profesor Martín Lagos, S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Consuelo Guerri
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Alcohol, Prince Felipe Research Center, Eduardo Primo Yúfera 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain.
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Abstract
Chronic alcohol consumption affects multiple cognitive processes supported by far-reaching cerebral networks. To identify neurofunctional mechanisms underlying selective deficits, 27 sober alcoholics and 26 age-matched controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological testing. Functional connectivity analysis assessed the default mode network (DMN); integrative executive control (EC), salience (SA), and attention (AT) networks; primary somatosensory, auditory, and visual (VI) input networks; and subcortical reward (RW) and emotion (EM) networks. The groups showed an extensive overlap of intrinsic connectivity in all brain networks examined, suggesting overall integrity of large-scale functional networks. Despite these similar patterns, connectivity analyses identified network-specific differences of weaker within-network connectivity and expanded connectivity to regions outside the main networks in alcoholics compared with controls. For AT and VI networks, better task performance was related to expanded connectivity in alcoholism, supporting the concept of network expansion as a neural mechanism for functional compensation. For default mode, SA, RW, and EC networks, both weaker within-network and expanded outside-network connectivity correlated with poorer performance and mood. Current smoking contributed to some of these abnormalities in connectivity. The observed pattern of resting-state connectivity might reflect neural vulnerability of intrinsic networking in alcoholics and suggests a mechanism to explain signature impairments in EM, RW evaluation, and EC ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva M. Müller-Oehring
- Neurosci Program, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Young-Chul Jung
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Adolf Pfefferbaum
- Neurosci Program, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Edith V. Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Tilman Schulte
- Neurosci Program, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
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Cross-hemispheric collaboration and segregation associated with task difficulty as revealed by structural and functional connectivity. J Neurosci 2015; 35:8191-200. [PMID: 26019335 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0464-15.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is known that brain regions in one hemisphere may interact very closely with their corresponding contralateral regions (collaboration) or operate relatively independent of them (segregation), the specific brain regions (where) and conditions (how) associated with collaboration or segregation are largely unknown. We investigated these issues using a split field-matching task in which participants matched the meaning of words or the visual features of faces presented to the same (unilateral) or to different (bilateral) visual fields. Matching difficulty was manipulated by varying the semantic similarity of words or the visual similarity of faces. We assessed the white matter using the fractional anisotropy (FA) measure provided by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and cross-hemispheric communication in terms of fMRI-based connectivity between homotopic pairs of cortical regions. For both perceptual and semantic matching, bilateral trials became faster than unilateral trials as difficulty increased (bilateral processing advantage, BPA). The study yielded three novel findings. First, whereas FA in anterior corpus callosum (genu) correlated with word-matching BPA, FA in posterior corpus callosum (splenium-occipital) correlated with face-matching BPA. Second, as matching difficulty intensified, cross-hemispheric functional connectivity (CFC) increased in domain-general frontopolar cortex (for both word and face matching) but decreased in domain-specific ventral temporal lobe regions (temporal pole for word matching and fusiform gyrus for face matching). Last, a mediation analysis linking DTI and fMRI data showed that CFC mediated the effect of callosal FA on BPA. These findings clarify the mechanisms by which the hemispheres interact to perform complex cognitive tasks.
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Wu H, Wang D, Shi L, Wen Z, Ming Z. Midsagittal plane extraction from brain images based on 3D SIFT. Phys Med Biol 2014; 59:1367-87. [PMID: 24583964 DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/59/6/1367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Midsagittal plane (MSP) extraction from 3D brain images is considered as a promising technique for human brain symmetry analysis. In this paper, we present a fast and robust MSP extraction method based on 3D scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). Unlike the existing brain MSP extraction methods, which mainly rely on the gray similarity, 3D edge registration or parameterized surface matching to determine the fissure plane, our proposed method is based on distinctive 3D SIFT features, in which the fissure plane is determined by parallel 3D SIFT matching and iterative least-median of squares plane regression. By considering the relative scales, orientations and flipped descriptors between two 3D SIFT features, we propose a novel metric to measure the symmetry magnitude for 3D SIFT features. By clustering and indexing the extracted SIFT features using a k-dimensional tree (KD-tree) implemented on graphics processing units, we can match multiple pairs of 3D SIFT features in parallel and solve the optimal MSP on-the-fly. The proposed method is evaluated by synthetic and in vivo datasets, of normal and pathological cases, and validated by comparisons with the state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results demonstrated that our method has achieved a real-time performance with better accuracy yielding an average yaw angle error below 0.91° and an average roll angle error no more than 0.89°.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huisi Wu
- College of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
Deficits of attention, emotion, and cognition occur in individuals with alcohol abuse and addiction. This review elucidates the concepts of attention, emotion, and cognition and references research on the underlying neural networks and their compromise in alcohol use disorder. Neuroimaging research on adolescents with family history of alcoholism contributes to the understanding of pre-existing brain structural conditions and characterization of cognition and attention processes in high-risk individuals. Attention and cognition interact with other brain functions, including perceptual selection, salience, emotion, reward, and memory, through interconnected neural networks. Recent research reports compromised microstructural and functional network connectivity in alcoholism, which can have an effect on the dynamic tuning between brain systems, e.g., the frontally based executive control system, the limbic emotion system, and the midbrain-striatal reward system, thereby impeding cognitive flexibility and behavioral adaptation to changing environments. Finally, we introduce concepts of functional compensation, the capacity to generate attentional resources for performance enhancement, and brain structure recovery with abstinence. An understanding of the neural mechanisms of attention, emotion, and cognition will likely provide the basis for better treatment strategies for developing skills that enhance alcoholism therapy adherence and quality of life, and reduce the propensity for relapse.
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de la Monte SM, Kril JJ. Human alcohol-related neuropathology. Acta Neuropathol 2014; 127:71-90. [PMID: 24370929 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-013-1233-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 250] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2013] [Revised: 12/12/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol-related diseases of the nervous system are caused by excessive exposures to alcohol, with or without co-existing nutritional or vitamin deficiencies. Toxic and metabolic effects of alcohol (ethanol) vary with brain region, age/developmental stage, dose, and duration of exposures. In the mature brain, heavy chronic or binge alcohol exposures can cause severe debilitating diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and skeletal muscle. Most commonly, long-standing heavy alcohol abuse leads to disproportionate loss of cerebral white matter and impairments in executive function. The cerebellum (especially the vermis), cortical-limbic circuits, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves are also important targets of chronic alcohol-related metabolic injury and degeneration. Although all cell types within the nervous system are vulnerable to the toxic, metabolic, and degenerative effects of alcohol, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and synaptic terminals are major targets, accounting for the white matter atrophy, neural inflammation and toxicity, and impairments in synaptogenesis. Besides chronic degenerative neuropathology, alcoholics are predisposed to develop severe potentially life-threatening acute or subacute symmetrical hemorrhagic injury in the diencephalon and brainstem due to thiamine deficiency, which exerts toxic/metabolic effects on glia, myelin, and the microvasculature. Alcohol also has devastating neurotoxic and teratogenic effects on the developing brain in association with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder/fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol impairs function of neurons and glia, disrupting a broad array of functions including neuronal survival, cell migration, and glial cell (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) differentiation. Further progress is needed to better understand the pathophysiology of this exposure-related constellation of nervous system diseases and better correlate the underlying pathology with in vivo imaging and biochemical lesions.
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Abstract
Alcohol-related diseases of the nervous system are caused by excessive exposures to alcohol, with or without co-existing nutritional or vitamin deficiencies. Toxic and metabolic effects of alcohol (ethanol) vary with brain region, age/developmental stage, dose, and duration of exposures. In the mature brain, heavy chronic or binge alcohol exposures can cause severe debilitating diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and skeletal muscle. Most commonly, long-standing heavy alcohol abuse leads to disproportionate loss of cerebral white matter and impairments in executive function. The cerebellum (especially the vermis), cortical-limbic circuits, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves are also important targets of chronic alcohol-related metabolic injury and degeneration. Although all cell types within the nervous system are vulnerable to the toxic, metabolic, and degenerative effects of alcohol, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and synaptic terminals are major targets, accounting for the white matter atrophy, neural inflammation and toxicity, and impairments in synaptogenesis. Besides chronic degenerative neuropathology, alcoholics are predisposed to develop severe potentially life-threatening acute or subacute symmetrical hemorrhagic injury in the diencephalon and brainstem due to thiamine deficiency, which exerts toxic/metabolic effects on glia, myelin, and the microvasculature. Alcohol also has devastating neurotoxic and teratogenic effects on the developing brain in association with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder/fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol impairs function of neurons and glia, disrupting a broad array of functions including neuronal survival, cell migration, and glial cell (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) differentiation. Further progress is needed to better understand the pathophysiology of this exposure-related constellation of nervous system diseases and better correlate the underlying pathology with in vivo imaging and biochemical lesions.
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Schulte T, Maddah M, Müller-Oehring EM, Rohlfing T, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Fiber tract-driven topographical mapping (FTTM) reveals microstructural relevance for interhemispheric visuomotor function in the aging brain. Neuroimage 2013; 77:195-206. [PMID: 23567886 PMCID: PMC3762255 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.03.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2012] [Revised: 03/06/2013] [Accepted: 03/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a novel approach - DTI-based fiber tract-driven topographical mapping (FTTM) - to map and measure the influence of age on the integrity of interhemispheric fibers and challenge their selective functions with measures of interhemispheric integration of lateralized information. This approach enabled identification of spatially specific topographical maps of scalar diffusion measures and their relation to measures of visuomotor performance. Relative to younger adults, older adults showed lower fiber integrity indices in anterior than posterior callosal fibers. FTTM analysis identified a dissociation in the microstructural-function associates between age groups: in younger adults, genu fiber integrity correlated with interhemispheric transfer time, whereas in older adults, body fiber integrity was correlated with interhemispheric transfer time with topographical specificity along left-lateralized callosal fiber trajectories. Neural co-activation from redundant targets was evidenced by fMRI-derived bilateral extrastriate cortex activation in both groups, and a group difference emerged for a pontine activation cluster that was differently modulated by response hand in older than younger adults. Bilateral processing advantages in older but not younger adults further correlated with fiber integrity in transverse pontine fibers that branch into the right cerebellar cortex, thereby supporting a role for the pons in interhemispheric facilitation. In conclusion, in the face of compromised anterior callosal fibers, older adults appear to use alternative pathways to accomplish visuomotor interhemispheric information transfer and integration for lateralized processing. This shift from youthful associations may indicate recruitment of compensatory mechanisms involving medial corpus callosum fibers and subcortical pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tilman Schulte
- SRI International, Neuroscience Program, 333 Ravenswood Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
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Müller-Oehring EM, Schulte T, Rohlfing T, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Visual search and the aging brain: discerning the effects of age-related brain volume shrinkage on alertness, feature binding, and attentional control. Neuropsychology 2013; 27:48-59. [PMID: 23356596 PMCID: PMC3718286 DOI: 10.1037/a0030921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Decline in visuospatial abilities with advancing age has been attributed to a demise of bottom-up and top-down functions involving sensory processing, selective attention, and executive control. These functions may be differentially affected by age-related volume shrinkage of subcortical and cortical nodes subserving the dorsal and ventral processing streams and the corpus callosum mediating interhemispheric information exchange. METHOD Fifty-five healthy adults (25-84 years) underwent structural MRI and performed a visual search task to test perceptual and attentional demands by combining feature-conjunction searches with "gestalt" grouping and attentional cueing paradigms. RESULTS Poorer conjunction, but not feature, search performance was related to older age and volume shrinkage of nodes in the dorsolateral processing stream. When displays allowed perceptual grouping through distractor homogeneity, poorer conjunction-search performance correlated with smaller ventrolateral prefrontal cortical and callosal volumes. An alerting cue attenuated age effects on conjunction search, and the alertness benefit was associated with thalamic, callosal, and temporal cortex volumes. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that older adults can capitalize on early parallel stages of visual information processing, whereas age-related limitations arise at later serial processing stages requiring self-guided selective attention and executive control. These limitations are explained in part by age-related brain volume shrinkage and can be mitigated by external cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva M Müller-Oehring
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, California 94305-5723, USA.
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Schulte T, Müller-Oehring EM, Sullivan EV, Pfefferbaum A. White matter fiber compromise contributes differentially to attention and emotion processing impairment in alcoholism, HIV-infection, and their comorbidity. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:2812-2822. [PMID: 22960416 PMCID: PMC3473169 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2012] [Revised: 07/14/2012] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Alcoholism (ALC) and HIV-1 infection (HIV) each affects emotional and attentional processes and integrity of brain white matter fibers likely contributing to functional compromise. The highly prevalent ALC+HIV comorbidity may exacerbate compromise. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and an emotional Stroop Match-to-Sample task in 19 ALC, 16 HIV, 15 ALC+HIV, and 15 control participants to investigate whether disruption of fiber system integrity accounts for compromised attentional and emotional processing. The task required matching a cue color to that of an emotional word with faces appearing between the color cue and the Stroop word in half of the trials. Nonmatched cue-word color pairs assessed selective attention, and face-word pairs assessed emotion. Relative to controls, DTI-based fiber tracking revealed lower inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ilf) integrity in HIV and ALC+HIV and lower uncinate fasciculus (uf) integrity in all three patient groups. Controls exhibited Stroop effects to positive face-word emotion, and greater interference was related to greater callosal, cingulum and ilf integrity. By contrast, HIV showed greater interference from negative Stroop words during color-nonmatch trials, correlating with greater uf compromise. For face trials, ALC and ALC+HIV showed greater Stroop-word interference, correlating with lower cingulate and callosal integrity. Thus, in HIV, conflict resolution was diminished when challenging conditions usurped resources needed to manage interference from negative emotion and to disengage attention from wrongly cued colors (nonmatch). In ALC and ALC+HIV, poorer callosal integrity was related to enhanced emotional interference suggesting curtailed interhemispheric exchange needed between preferentially right-hemispheric emotion and left-hemispheric Stroop-word functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Schulte
- SRI International, Neuroscience Program, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493, United States.
| | - E M Müller-Oehring
- SRI International, Neuroscience Program, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - E V Sullivan
- SRI International, Neuroscience Program, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493, United States
| | - A Pfefferbaum
- SRI International, Neuroscience Program, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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Abstract
During the past few years, The Journal of Neuroscience has published more than 30 articles that describe investigations that used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and related techniques as a primary observation method. This illustrates a growing interest in DTI within the basic and clinical neuroscience communities. This article summarizes DTI methodology in terms that can be immediately understood by the neuroscientist who has little previous exposure to DTI. It describes the fundamentals of water molecular diffusion coefficient measurement in brain tissue and illustrates how these fundamentals can be used to form vivid and useful depictions of white matter macroscopic and microscopic anatomy. It also describes current research applications and the technique's attributes and limitations. It is hoped that this article will help the readers of this Journal to more effectively evaluate neuroscience studies that use DTI.
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Skuja S, Groma V, Smane L. Alcoholism and cellular vulnerability in different brain regions. Ultrastruct Pathol 2012; 36:40-7. [PMID: 22292736 DOI: 10.3109/01913123.2011.629770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol-induced damage causes dysfunction of selected brain regions. Multidisciplinary studies have provided an extensive description of changes observed in neurons and glia following alcohol consumption. In this study the authors have elucidated preferential cellular vulnerability in three different brain regions. Autopsy material of the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and substantia nigra obtained from the brain tissue of alcoholic subjects was used in this study. We found that dendritic tree and astroglial damage is irreversible, while neuronal somata and most axons do not display irreversible changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Skuja
- Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
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Schulte T, Oberlin BG, Kareken DA, Marinkovic K, Müller-Oehring EM, Meyerhoff DJ, Tapert S. How acute and chronic alcohol consumption affects brain networks: insights from multimodal neuroimaging. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2012; 36:2017-27. [PMID: 22577873 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01831.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2012] [Accepted: 03/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multimodal imaging combining 2 or more techniques is becoming increasingly important because no single imaging approach has the capacity to elucidate all clinically relevant characteristics of a network. METHODS This review highlights recent advances in multimodal neuroimaging (i.e., combined use and interpretation of data collected through magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, positron emission tomography, magnetoencephalography, MR perfusion, and MR spectroscopy methods) that leads to a more comprehensive understanding of how acute and chronic alcohol consumption affect neural networks underlying cognition, emotion, reward processing, and drinking behavior. RESULTS Several innovative investigators have started utilizing multiple imaging approaches within the same individual to better understand how alcohol influences brain systems, both during intoxication and after years of chronic heavy use. CONCLUSIONS Their findings can help identify mechanism-based therapeutic and pharmacological treatment options, and they may increase the efficacy and cost effectiveness of such treatments by predicting those at greatest risk for relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tilman Schulte
- Neuroscience Program, Center of Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
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Hampson E, Sankar JS. Hand preference in humans is associated with testosterone levels and androgen receptor gene polymorphism. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:2018-25. [PMID: 22579704 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2011] [Revised: 03/23/2012] [Accepted: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Exposure of the central nervous system to androgens during the early developmental period has been proposed to play a role in the establishment of hand preference in males. Existing data, however, are inconclusive. In the present investigation, handedness was assessed in a large sample of left-, mixed-, and right-handed men (N=180) using a standardized handedness inventory. Saliva sampling was used to assay levels of bioavailable testosterone and DNA genotyping was carried out to quantify AR-CAG repeat length, a genetic marker of the capacity of the androgen receptor to respond to testosterone. Strongly left-handed males were found to have lower levels of bioavailable testosterone than right-handed males, while males with mixed handedness exhibited a weaker androgen receptor, but no significant difference from right-handers in circulating testosterone levels. These findings support the view that testosterone could play a role in the development of hand preference in males. Furthermore, because the AR gene lies on the X chromosome, it provides a potential theoretical bridge to genetic theories of handedness that postulate the existence of an X-linked locus important in the establishment of hand preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Hampson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 5C2.
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Schulte T, Müller-Oehring E, Sullivan E, Pfefferbaum A. Synchrony of corticostriatal-midbrain activation enables normal inhibitory control and conflict processing in recovering alcoholic men. Biol Psychiatry 2012; 71:269-78. [PMID: 22137506 PMCID: PMC3253929 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2011] [Revised: 09/28/2011] [Accepted: 10/18/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol dependence is associated with inhibitory control deficits, possibly related to abnormalities in frontoparietal cortical and midbrain function and connectivity. METHODS We examined functional connectivity and microstructural fiber integrity between frontoparietal and midbrain structures using a Stroop Match-to-Sample task with functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging in 18 alcoholic and 17 control subjects. Manipulation of color cues and response repetition sequences modulated cognitive demands during Stroop conflict. RESULTS Despite similar lateral frontoparietal activity and functional connectivity in alcoholic and control subjects when processing conflict, control subjects deactivated the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), whereas alcoholic subjects did not. Posterior cingulum fiber integrity predicted the degree of PCC deactivation in control but not alcoholic subjects. Also, PCC activity was modulated by executive control demands: activated during response switching and deactivated during response repetition. Alcoholics showed the opposite pattern: activation during repetition and deactivation during switching. Here, in alcoholic subjects, greater deviations from the normal PCC activity correlated with higher amounts of lifetime alcohol consumption. A functional dissociation of brain network connectivity between the groups further showed that control subjects exhibited greater corticocortical connectivity among middle cingulate, posterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortices than alcoholic subjects. In contrast, alcoholic subjects exhibited greater midbrain-orbitofrontal cortical network connectivity than control subjects. Degree of microstructural fiber integrity predicted robustness of functional connectivity. CONCLUSIONS Thus, even subtle compromise of microstructural connectivity in alcoholism can influence modulation of functional connectivity and underlie alcohol-related cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Schulte
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - E.M. Müller-Oehring
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - E.V. Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - A. Pfefferbaum
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Ocklenburg S, Güntürkün O. Hemispheric asymmetries: the comparative view. Front Psychol 2012; 3:5. [PMID: 22303295 PMCID: PMC3266613 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2011] [Accepted: 01/05/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Hemispheric asymmetries play an important role in almost all cognitive functions. For more than a century, they were considered to be uniquely human but now an increasing number of findings in all vertebrate classes make it likely that we inherited our asymmetries from common ancestors. Thus, studying animal models could provide unique insights into the mechanisms of lateralization. We outline three such avenues of research by providing an overview of experiments on left-right differences in the connectivity of sensory systems, the embryonic determinants of brain asymmetries, and the genetics of lateralization. All these lines of studies could provide a wealth of insights into our own asymmetries that should and will be exploited by future analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University BochumBochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University BochumBochum, Germany
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Yin X, Han Y, Ge H, Xu W, Huang R, Zhang D, Xu J, Fan L, Pang Z, Liu S. Inferior frontal white matter asymmetry correlates with executive control of attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 34:796-813. [PMID: 22110013 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2011] [Revised: 08/11/2011] [Accepted: 09/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) asymmetries of the human brain have been well documented using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However, the relationship between WM asymmetry pattern and cognitive performance is poorly understood. By means of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-based analyses of whole brain, this study examined the WM asymmetries and the correlations between WM integrity/asymmetries and three distinct components of attention, namely alerting, orienting, and executive control (EC), which were assessed by attention network test (ANT). We revealed a number of WM anisotropy asymmetries, including leftward asymmetry of cingulum, corticospinal tract and cerebral peduncle, rightward asymmetry of internal capsule, superior longitudinal fasciculus and posterior corona radiata, as well as heterogeneous asymmetries in anterior corpus callosum and anterior corona radiata (ACR). Moreover, specific correlation was found between asymmetric pattern of inferior frontal ACR and EC performance. Additionally, this study also proposed that there were no significant relationships of WM anisotropy asymmetries to alerting and orienting functions. Further clusters of interest analyses and probabilistic fiber tracking validated our findings. In conclusion, there are a number of differences in WM integrity between human brain hemispheres. Specially, the anisotropy asymmetry in inferior frontal ACR plays a crucial role in EC function. Our finding is supportive of the functional studies of inferior frontal regions and in keeping with the theory of the brain lateralization on human ventral attention system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuntao Yin
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China
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Colby JB, Soderberg L, Lebel C, Dinov ID, Thompson PM, Sowell ER. Along-tract statistics allow for enhanced tractography analysis. Neuroimage 2011; 59:3227-42. [PMID: 22094644 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2011] [Revised: 10/19/2011] [Accepted: 11/02/2011] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Diffusion imaging tractography is a valuable tool for neuroscience researchers because it allows the generation of individualized virtual dissections of major white matter tracts in the human brain. It facilitates between-subject statistical analyses tailored to the specific anatomy of each participant. There is prominent variation in diffusion imaging metrics (e.g., fractional anisotropy, FA) within tracts, but most tractography studies use a "tract-averaged" approach to analysis by averaging the scalar values from the many streamline vertices in a tract dissection into a single point-spread estimate for each tract. Here we describe a complete workflow needed to conduct an along-tract analysis of white matter streamline tract groups. This consists of 1) A flexible MATLAB toolkit for generating along-tract data based on B-spline resampling and compilation of scalar data at different collections of vertices along the curving tract spines, and 2) Statistical analysis and rich data visualization by leveraging tools available through the R platform for statistical computing. We demonstrate the effectiveness of such an along-tract approach over the tract-averaged approach in an example analysis of 10 major white matter tracts in a single subject. We also show that these techniques easily extend to between-group analyses typically used in neuroscience applications, by conducting an along-tract analysis of differences in FA between 9 individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and 11 typically-developing controls. This analysis reveals localized differences between FASD and control groups that were not apparent using a tract-averaged method. Finally, to validate our approach and highlight the strength of this extensible software framework, we implement 2 other methods from the literature and leverage the existing workflow tools to conduct a comparison study.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B Colby
- Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Walther S, Federspiel A, Horn H, Razavi N, Wiest R, Dierks T, Strik W, Müller TJ. Alterations of white matter integrity related to motor activity in schizophrenia. Neurobiol Dis 2011; 42:276-83. [PMID: 21296665 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2011.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2010] [Revised: 01/03/2011] [Accepted: 01/27/2011] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Altered structural connectivity is a key finding in schizophrenia, but the meaning of white matter alterations for behavior is rarely studied. In healthy subjects, motor activity correlated with white matter integrity in motor tracts. To explore the relation of motor activity and fractional anisotropy (FA) in schizophrenia, we investigated 19 schizophrenia patients and 24 healthy control subjects using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and actigraphy on the same day. Schizophrenia patients had lower activity levels (AL). In both groups linear relations of AL and FA were detected in several brain regions. Schizophrenia patients had lower FA values in prefrontal and left temporal clusters. Furthermore, using a general linear model, we found linear negative associations of FA and AL underneath the right supplemental motor area (SMA), the right precentral gyrus and posterior cingulum in patients. This effect within the SMA was not seen in controls. This association in schizophrenia patients may contribute to the well known dysfunctions of motor control. Thus, structural disconnectivity could lead to disturbed motor behavior in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Walther
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
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Zahr NM, Pitel AL, Chanraud S, Sullivan EV. Contributions of studies on alcohol use disorders to understanding cerebellar function. Neuropsychol Rev 2010; 20:280-9. [PMID: 20809198 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-010-9141-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2010] [Accepted: 08/18/2010] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Neuropathological, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging studies of human alcoholism provide evidence for degradation of frontal, pontine, thalamic, and cerebellar brain sites and disturbed associated functions. Current studies using neuroimaging combined with examination of executive functions, traditionally considered the sole purview of the frontal lobes, have identified a role for the cerebellum serving as a compensatory processing adjunct to enable normal performance on challenging tasks tapping executive functions. This overview proposes that disruption of an executive frontocerebellar network is a major contributor to characteristic behaviors of alcoholism that, on the one hand, enable alcohol use disorders, and on the other hand, lead to compensation for dysfunctions in alcoholism traditionally considered frontally-based.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Zahr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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