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Wei B, Huang X, Ji Y, Fu WW, Cheng Q, Shu BL, Huang QY, Chai H, Zhou L, Yuan HY, Wu XR. Analyzing the topological properties of resting-state brain function network connectivity based on graph theoretical methods in patients with high myopia. BMC Ophthalmol 2024; 24:315. [PMID: 39075405 PMCID: PMC11287926 DOI: 10.1186/s12886-024-03592-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024] Open
Abstract
AIM Recent imaging studies have found significant abnormalities in the brain's functional or structural connectivity among patients with high myopia (HM), indicating a heightened risk of cognitive impairment and other behavioral changes. However, there is a lack of research on the topological characteristics and connectivity changes of the functional networks in HM patients. In this study, we employed graph theoretical analysis to investigate the topological structure and regional connectivity of the brain function network in HM patients. METHODS We conducted rs-fMRI scans on 82 individuals with HM and 59 healthy controls (HC), ensuring that the two groups were matched for age and education level. Through graph theoretical analysis, we studied the topological structure of whole-brain functional networks among participants, exploring the topological properties and differences between the two groups. RESULTS In the range of 0.05 to 0.50 of sparsity, both groups demonstrated a small-world architecture of the brain network. Compared to the control group, HM patients showed significantly lower values of normalized clustering coefficient (γ) (P = 0.0101) and small-worldness (σ) (P = 0.0168). Additionally, the HM group showed lower nodal centrality in the right Amygdala (P < 0.001, Bonferroni-corrected). Notably, there is an increase in functional connectivity (FC) between the saliency network (SN) and Sensorimotor Network (SMN) in the HM group, while the strength of FC between the basal ganglia is relatively weaker (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION HM Patients exhibit reduced small-world characteristics in their brain networks, with significant drops in γ and σ values indicating weakened global interregional information transfer ability. Not only that, the topological properties of the amygdala nodes in HM patients significantly decline, indicating dysfunction within the brain network. In addition, there are abnormalities in the FC between the SN, SMN, and basal ganglia networks in HM patients, which is related to attention regulation, motor impairment, emotions, and cognitive performance. These findings may provide a new mechanism for central pathology in HM patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Wei
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yu Ji
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Wen-Wen Fu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi Cheng
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Ben-Liang Shu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Qin-Yi Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Chai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Zhou
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Hao-Yu Yuan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Rong Wu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China.
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Feng S, Dong L, Yan B, Zheng S, Feng Z, Li X, Li J, Sun N, Ning Y, Jia H. Altered Functional Connectivity of Large-Scale Brain Networks in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Associated with Cognitive Impairments. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2023; 19:1925-1933. [PMID: 37693091 PMCID: PMC10492568 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s426213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Several studies have demonstrated that psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) patients potentially suffer from cognitive dysfunction. Despite that previous neuroimaging studies have reported abnormal functional connections of brain areas associated with cognitive function in pED, the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in pED remain elusive. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction by analyzing large-scale brain networks. Patients and Methods A total of 30 patients with pED and 30 matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study and scanned by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The Dosenbach Atlas was used to define large-scale networks across the brain. The resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within and between large-scale brain networks was calculated to compare pED patients with HCs. The relationship among cognitive performances and altered FC of large-scale brain networks was further explored in pED patients. Results Our results showed that the decreased FC within visual network, and between visual network and default mode network, visual network and frontoparietal network, and ventral attention and default mode network were found in pED patients. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between immediate memory score and FC within visual network. The visuospatial score was negatively correlated with decreased FC between ventral attention network and default mode network. Conclusion Taken together, our findings revealed the relationship between cognitive impairments and altered FC between large-scale brain networks in pED patients, providing the new evidence about the neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in pED patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sitong Feng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Linrui Dong
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bin Yan
- Department of Andrology, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Sisi Zheng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhengtian Feng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xue Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiajia Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ning Sun
- Department of Andrology, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanzhe Ning
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongxiao Jia
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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Franco I. Anatomy, physiology, and evaluation: Bowel, bladder, and sexual disorders. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 196:403-423. [PMID: 37620081 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-98817-9.00009-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Our present understanding of bowel and bladder control has changed dramatically with the introduction of functional imagining technologies such as PET, SPECT, fMRI scanning, and near-infrared spectroscopy of the brain. Urologists tend to see control of urination and defecation as processes that occurred at or below the level of the pons for the most part. In this chapter, we examine the control of storing and emptying of urine and stool from what will be a more neurocentric perspective, integrating the frontal lobes into the process and moving beyond the pons on which most of the literature has focused in the past. Utilizing this approach gives us a better understanding of why there is an overlapping of neuropsychiatric problems in many patients with voiding dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Israel Franco
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale-New Haven Children's Bladder and Continence Program, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, New Haven, CT, United States.
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Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique to treat brain disorders by using a constant, low current to stimulate targeted cortex regions. Compared to the conventional tDCS that uses two large pad electrodes, multiple electrode tDCS has recently received more attention. It is able to achieve better stimulation performance in terms of stimulation intensity and focality. In this paper, we first establish a computational model of tDCS, and then propose a novel optimization algorithm using a regularization matrix λ to explore the balance between stimulation intensity and focality. The simulation study is designed such that the performance of state-of-the-art algorithms and the proposed algorithm can be compared via quantitative evaluation. The results show that the proposed algorithm not only achieves desired intensity, but also smaller target error and better focality. Robustness analysis indicates that the results are stable within the ranges of scalp and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) conductivities, while the skull conductivity is most sensitive and should be carefully considered in real clinical applications.
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Ren F, Ma Z, Shen Y, Li G, You Y, Yu X, Li Z, Chang D, Zhang P. Effects of Chaihu-Shugan-San capsule for psychogenic erectile dysfunction: Study protocol of a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Medicine (Baltimore) 2019; 98:e17925. [PMID: 31725644 PMCID: PMC6867737 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000017925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects many adult men worldwide. Many studies on the brain of psychogenic ED have shown significant cerebral functional changes and reduced volume of gray matter and white matter microstructural alterations in widespread brain regions. Chaihu-Shugan-San (CHSGS) capsule has been used to treat ED from the 20th century in China. However, clinical research of CHSGS capsule in the treatment of ED was lack. We design this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHSGS capsule in the treatment of patients suffering from psychogenic ED. Furthermore, we also aim to provide a new evidence as well as an innovation of the clinical treatment in psychogenic ED. METHODS This study is designed as a multi-center, 3-arms, randomized trial. From the perspective of psychogenic ED, we will divide patients into 3 groups, which are placebo group, tadalafil group and CHSGS group. One hundred thirty-five patients will be randomly allocated to receive placebo, CHSGS capsule or tadalafil oral pharmacotherapy. After the period of 4-week treatment, the outcome of primary assessment changes in the brain MRI, IIEF-5, EHS, and QEQ total scores from baseline. Secondary assessments include the SEAR, HAMA-14, HAMD-17 scores, response rate of the patients and their partners. DISCUSSION We designed this study based on previous research about psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED). This study will provide objective evidences to evaluate the effects of CHSGS capsule as an adjuvant treatment for psychogenic ED. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR-IOR-1800018301.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feiqiang Ren
- Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Ziyang Ma
- Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Yifeng Shen
- Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Guangsen Li
- The Urology and Andrology Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Yaodong You
- The Urology and Andrology Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Xujun Yu
- The Andrology Department, The School of Medical and Life Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Zhengjie Li
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, PR China
| | - Degui Chang
- The Urology and Andrology Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
| | - Peihai Zhang
- The Urology and Andrology Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Franke R, Ivanova G. A Critical Comparison of Pipelines for Structural Brain Network Analysis. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2019; 2019:150-153. [PMID: 31945866 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2019.8857032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The human brain could be understood as a vast network composed of interconnected regions forming hierarchical and overlapping subnetworks. Cortical thickness (CT) correlations, as measure of structural connectedness, can be transformed into structural networks. Those can be analyzed via cluster detection algorithms to investigate their organization. An analysis pipeline from CT to links, networks, clusters and beyond is composed of a lot of consecutive reasoned or just arbitrary steps. How much can different pipeline components alter the result? Which step is to be considered most influential? In order to give a sufficient answer, we critically compare 96 different pipelines. The results of this study are to some extent surprising as the choice of a specific CT correlation and correction procedure can lead to more diverse results than the decision between taking only absolute CT correlations or ignoring all negative ones. Even more crucial, exemplary cluster detectors were found to pair-wisely correlate from r = 0.98 to even r = -0.20 on the same data. Thus, a summary of multiple detector results with different but suited properties is highly advisable until a theory based neuroscientific recommendation for the best approach will be found.
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Xu Z, Yang X, Gao M, Liu L, Sun J, Liu P, Qin W. Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in the Whole Brain in Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Patients Based on Machine Learning Approach. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:448. [PMID: 31139043 PMCID: PMC6519512 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies have indicated that abnormalities in brain structure and function may play an important role in the etiology of lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE). LPE patients have exhibited aberrant cortical structure, altered brain network function and abnormal brain activation in response to erotic pictures. However, it remains unclear whether resting-state whole brain functional connectivity (FC) is altered in LPE patients. Machine learning analysis has the advantage of screening the best classification features from high-throughput data (such as FC), which has the potential to identify the pathophysiological targets of disease by establishing classification indicators for patients and healthy controls (HCs). Therefore, the supported vector machine based classification model using FC as features was used in the present study to confirm the most specific FCs that distinguish LPE patients from healthy controls. After feature selection, the remained features were used to build the classification model, with an accuracy 0.85 ± 0.14, sensitivity of 0.92 ± 0.18, specificity of 0.72 ± 0.30, and recall index of 0.85 ± 0.17 across 1000 testing groups (100 times 10-folds cross validation). After that, two-sample t-tests with family-wise error correction were used to compare these features that occur more than 500 times during training steps between LPE patients and HCs. Four FCs, (1) between left medial part of orbital frontal cortex (mOFC) and right mOFC, (2) between the left rectus and right postcentral gyrus, (3) between the right insula and left pallidum, and (4) between the right middle part of temporal pole and right inferior part of temporal gyrus showed significant group difference. These results demonstrate that resting-state brain FC might be a discriminating feature to distinguish LPE patients from HCs. These classification features, especially the FC between bilateral mOFC, provide underlying abnormal central functional targets in LPE etiology, which offers a novel alternative target for future intervention in LPE treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziliang Xu
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xuejuan Yang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ming Gao
- Assisted Reproduction Center, Northwest Women's and Children's Hospital, Xi'an, China.,Department of Urology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Andrology, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Liu
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jinbo Sun
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Peng Liu
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Qin
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
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Zou Z, Lin H, Zhang Y, Wang R. The Role of Nocturnal Penile Tumescence and Rigidity (NPTR) Monitoring in the Diagnosis of Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction: A Review. Sex Med Rev 2019; 7:442-454. [PMID: 30612976 DOI: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 10/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity (NPTR) monitoring with RigiScan was considered one of the most reliable methods to differentiate psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) from organic ED. However, its reliability has been questioned because of some limitations in the practice. AIM To present contemporary views on the role of NPTR monitoring in the diagnosis of pED. METHOD We performed a comprehensive review of English-language literature on NPTR and pED by a PubMed search. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Studies were included if the mechanisms of pED and nocturnal erection and the practice of NPTR monitoring in ED were the main research contents. RESULTS The pED results from not only psychosocial factors but also physiological changes containing central nervous abnormality. NPTR monitoring with RigiScan is still considered a useful method for the diagnosis of pED. A normal NPTR recording in a man with ED complaints probably suggests pED, whereas an abnormal recording may represent organic ED. Radial rigidity of no more than 60% is correlated well with axial rigidity, but, when it is more than 60%, the correlation between them is questioned. The consistency between NPTR and sex-stimulated erection is questionable, and the correlation of NPTR with different patient-reported outcome scoring systems is different. A normal NPTR recording in patients with ED does not necessarily mean pED, especially in patients with spinal cord injury. NPTR recordings can be influenced by depression, smoking, aging, negative dream content, and sleep disorders. CONCLUSION NPTR monitoring with the RigiScan is still considered a useful diagnostic tool for pED at the present stage. However, there are some disputes regarding the correlation between penile radial rigidity and axial rigidity and between NPTR and sex-related erection, as well as normative evaluation criteria for ED and the possibility of a false NPTR result, that need to be further studied. Zou Z, Lin H, Zhang Y, et al. The Role of Nocturnal Penile Tumescence and Rigidity (NPTR) Monitoring in the Diagnosis of Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction: A Review. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:442-454.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijun Zou
- Department of Infertility and Sexual Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Haocheng Lin
- Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Infertility and Sexual Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Run Wang
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA; University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
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Jin C, Guan M, Dong M, Wu J, He Z, Chen X, Shi D, Ren J, Shi G, Zhang X. Aberrant baseline brain activity in psychogenic erectile dysfunction patients: a resting state fMRI study. Brain Imaging Behav 2018; 12:1393-1404. [PMID: 29243122 PMCID: PMC6290711 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-017-9805-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies have elucidated many interesting and promising findings on sexuality regarding the neural underpinnings of both normal and abnormal sexual processes. Psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) consists of a major part of male sexual dysfunction in China, but the understanding of the central mechanism of pED is still in its infancy. It is commonly appreciated that pED is a functional disorder, which can be attributed predominantly or exclusively to psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, loss of self-esteem, and psychosocial stresses. Most previous studies probed the central response in the brain of pED patients using sexual-related stimuli. However, little concern has been given to a more fundamental issue whether the baseline brain activity is altered in pED or not. With rs-fMRI data, the current study aimed to explain the central mechanism behind pED by investigating the alterations in baseline brain activity in patients with pED, as indexed by the amplitude of low-frequency (0.01-0.08 Hz) fluctuation (ALFF). After the psychological screening and urological examination procedure, 26 pED patients and 26 healthy matched controls were enrolled. Our results explicated significantly lower baseline brain activity in the right anterior insula and right orbitofrontal cortex for pED patients (multiple comparison corrected). Additionally, the voxel-wise correlation analysis showed that ALFF of the right anterior insula was correlated with the outcomes of erectile function (multiple comparison corrected). Our results implied there was impaired cognitive and motivational processing of sexual stimuli in pED patients. Our current findings may shed light on the neural pathology underlying pED. We hope that our study has provided a new angle looking into pED research by investigating resting state brain activity. Furthermore, we suggest that the current study may put forward a more subtle conception of insular influence on pED, which may help foster new specific, mechanistic insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenwang Jin
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Min Guan
- Department of Interventional Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China
| | - Minghao Dong
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China.
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
| | - Jia Wu
- School of Foreign Languages, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhen He
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Xin Chen
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China
- Department of Urology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China
| | - Dapeng Shi
- Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China
| | - Junchan Ren
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Guangming Shi
- School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, China
| | - Xiangsheng Zhang
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
- Department of Urology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
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Abnormal White Matter Microstructure in Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Patients Identified by Tract–Based Spatial Statistical Analysis. J Sex Med 2018; 15:1272-1279. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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11
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Chen J, Chen Y, Gao Q, Chen G, Dai Y, Yao Z, Lu Q. Impaired Prefrontal-Amygdala Pathway, Self-Reported Emotion, and Erection in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients With Normal Nocturnal Erection. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:157. [PMID: 29740301 PMCID: PMC5928255 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the prefrontal cortex and amygdala play an important role in sexual arousal (SA). However, little is known about the interactions between the prefrontal and cortex amygdala, which mediate the cognitive regulation of emotion and SA. Objective: We seek to determine whether nocturnal erection of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) patients are normal and whether there are changes of topological organization in the prefrontal-amygdala pathway of brain network in pED. In addition, whether there are correlations between network property changes and self-reported emotion and erection. Design, setting, and participants: We used the RigiScan device to evaluate erectile function of patients and employed diffusion MRI and graph theory to construct brain networks of 21 pED patients and 24 healthy controls. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: We considered four nodal metrics and their asymmetry scores, and nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) parameters, to evaluate the topological properties of brain networks of pED and their relationships with the impaired self-reported emotion and erection. Results and limitations: All the pED patients showed normal nocturnal penile erection, however impaired self-reported erection and negative emotion. In addition, patients showed lower connectivity degree and strength in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway. We also found that pED exhibited lower leftward asymmetry in the inferior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, patients showed more hub regions and fewer pivotal connections. Moreover, the degree of the left amygdala of pED showed significantly negative correlation with the self-reported erection and positive correlation with the self-reported negative emotion. Conclusions: Together, these results suggest normal nocturnal erection in pED. However, abnormalities of brain network organization in pED, particularly in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway, are associated with the impaired self-reported erection and negative emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Qingqiang Gao
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Guotao Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Yutian Dai
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhijian Yao
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanjing Brain Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qing Lu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science, Research Centre for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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Li L, Fan W, Li J, Li Q, Wang J, Fan Y, Ye T, Guo J, Li S, Zhang Y, Cheng Y, Tang Y, Zeng H, Yang L, Zhu Z. Abnormal brain structure as a potential biomarker for venous erectile dysfunction: evidence from multimodal MRI and machine learning. Eur Radiol 2018; 28:3789-3800. [PMID: 29600478 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-018-5365-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the cerebral structural changes related to venous erectile dysfunction (VED) and the relationship of these changes to clinical symptoms and disorder duration and distinguish patients with VED from healthy controls using a machine learning classification. METHODS 45 VED patients and 50 healthy controls were included. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM), tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and correlation analyses of VED patients and clinical variables were performed. The machine learning classification method was adopted to confirm its effectiveness in distinguishing VED patients from healthy controls. RESULTS Compared to healthy control subjects, VED patients showed significantly decreased cortical volumes in the left postcentral gyrus and precentral gyrus, while only the right middle temporal gyrus showed a significant increase in cortical volume. Increased axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD) and mean diffusivity (MD) values were observed in widespread brain regions. Certain regions of these alterations related to VED patients showed significant correlations with clinical symptoms and disorder durations. Machine learning analyses discriminated patients from controls with overall accuracy 96.7%, sensitivity 93.3% and specificity 99.0%. CONCLUSIONS Cortical volume and white matter (WM) microstructural changes were observed in VED patients, and showed significant correlations with clinical symptoms and dysfunction durations. Various DTI-derived indices of some brain regions could be regarded as reliable discriminating features between VED patients and healthy control subjects, as shown by machine learning analyses. KEY POINTS • Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging helps clinicians to assess patients with VED. • VED patients show cerebral structural alterations related to their clinical symptoms. • Machine learning analyses discriminated VED patients from controls with an excellent performance. • Machine learning classification provided a preliminary demonstration of DTI's clinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingli Li
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.,Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Wenliang Fan
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.,Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.,Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Quanlin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Jin Wang
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Yang Fan
- Advanced Application China, GE Healthcare, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Tianhe Ye
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.,Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Jialun Guo
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Sen Li
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Youpeng Zhang
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Yongbiao Cheng
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Yong Tang
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Hanqing Zeng
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Lian Yang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China. .,Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China.
| | - Zhaohui Zhu
- Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
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Chen G, Yang B, Chen J, Zhu L, Jiang H, Yu W, Zang F, Chen Y, Dai Y. Changes in Male Rat Sexual Behavior and Brain Activity Revealed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Response to Chronic Mild Stress. J Sex Med 2018; 15:136-147. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.11.221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Revised: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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14
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Chen J, Chen Y, Gao Q, Chen G, Dai Y, Yao Z, Lu Q. Brain structural network topological alterations of the left prefrontal and limbic cortex in psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Int J Neurosci 2017; 128:393-403. [PMID: 28969487 DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2017.1387116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Qingqiang Gao
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Guotao Chen
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Yutian Dai
- Department of Andrology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhijian Yao
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanjing Brain Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qing Lu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science, Research Centre For Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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15
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Chen J, Chen Y, Chen G, Dai Y, Yao Z, Lu Q. Altered brain networks in psychogenic erectile dysfunction: a resting-state fMRI study. Andrology 2017; 5:1073-1081. [PMID: 29073337 DOI: 10.1111/andr.12411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Revised: 06/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Chen
- Department of Andrology; Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital; The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School; Nanjing China
| | - Y. Chen
- Department of Andrology; Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital; The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School; Nanjing China
| | - G. Chen
- Department of Andrology; Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital; The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School; Nanjing China
| | - Y. Dai
- Department of Andrology; Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital; The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School; Nanjing China
| | - Z. Yao
- Department of Psychiatry; Nanjing Brain Hospital; The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing China
| | - Q. Lu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science; Research Centre for Learning Science; Southeast University; Nanjing China
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16
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Wang Y, Dong M, Guan M, Wu J, He Z, Zou Z, Chen X, Shi D, Liang J, Zhang X. Aberrant Insula-Centered Functional Connectivity in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients: A Resting-State fMRI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:221. [PMID: 28559803 PMCID: PMC5433384 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Most previous studies exploring the neural mechanism of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) focused on brain activity under tasks. We suggest that the resting brain activity is equally important in pED studies, in that the patterns of spontaneous neural activities is independent of modalities of sensory input, therefore providing substantial information regarding the central mechanism of pED. Our previous study reported the altered baseline activity in right anterior insula (aINS) in pED patients. Also, the insula is a pivotal region in sexual behavior, which is suggested to be able to directly mediate erection. Therefore, the current study employed resting-state fMRI to examine alterations in functional connectivity (FC) of the aINS comparing pED patients with matched control subjects. After rigorous participant inclusion procedure, 27 pED patients and 27 healthy male controls were enrolled. Our results elucidated the disrupted homogeneity within the right aINS and aberrant connection patterns between the right aINS and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), as well as the right aINS and the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) respectively in pED group, as compared with the healthy controls. In conclusion, our results demonstrated the aberrant insula-centered FC in pED, which may be related to the abnormal representation of internal bodily state or needs in pED patients and thus further affect the inhibitory control in the sexual context. We hope that these findings may shed new light on the understanding of the central mechanism of pED.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian UniversityXi'an, China
| | - Minghao Dong
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian UniversityXi'an, China.,Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
| | - Min Guan
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China.,Department of Interventional Radiology, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
| | - Jia Wu
- School of Foreign Languages, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi'an, China
| | - Zhen He
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian UniversityXi'an, China
| | - Zhi Zou
- Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
| | - Xin Chen
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China.,Department of Uro-Andrology, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
| | - Dapeng Shi
- Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
| | - Jimin Liang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian UniversityXi'an, China
| | - Xiangsheng Zhang
- Henan Andrological Academician Workstation of Basic and Clinical Research, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China.,Department of Uro-Andrology, Henan Provincial People's HospitalZhengzhou, China
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