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Jenkins LM, Heywood A, Gupta S, Kouchakidivkolaei M, Sridhar J, Rogalski E, Weintraub S, Popuri K, Rosen H, Wang L. Disinhibition in dementia related to reduced morphometric similarity of cognitive control network. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae124. [PMID: 38665960 PMCID: PMC11044061 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Disinhibition is one of the most distressing and difficult to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. It involves socially inappropriate behaviours, such as hypersexual comments, inappropriate approaching of strangers and excessive jocularity. Disinhibition occurs in multiple dementia syndromes, including behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, and dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Morphometric similarity networks are a relatively new method for examining brain structure and can be used to calculate measures of network integrity on large scale brain networks and subnetworks such as the salience network and cognitive control network. In a cross-sectional study, we calculated morphometric similarity networks to determine whether disinhibition in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (n = 75) and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (n = 111) was associated with reduced integrity of these networks independent of diagnosis. We found that presence of disinhibition, measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, was associated with reduced global efficiency of the cognitive control network in both dementia of the Alzheimer's type and behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Future research should replicate this transdiagnostic finding in other dementia diagnoses and imaging modalities, and investigate the potential for intervention at the level of the cognitive control network to target disinhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisanne M Jenkins
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Ashley Heywood
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Sonya Gupta
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | | | - Jaiashre Sridhar
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Emily Rogalski
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Sandra Weintraub
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Karteek Popuri
- Computer Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Howard Rosen
- Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Lei Wang
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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2
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Zhang L, Wang L, Liu T, Zhu D. Disease2Vec: Encoding Alzheimer's progression via disease embedding tree. Pharmacol Res 2024; 199:107038. [PMID: 38072216 PMCID: PMC11334056 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.107038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
For decades, a variety of predictive approaches have been proposed and evaluated in terms of their prediction capability for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and its precursor - mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Most of them focused on prediction or identification of statistical differences among different clinical groups or phases, especially in the context of binary or multi-class classification. The continuous nature of AD development and transition states between successive AD related stages have been typically overlooked. Though a few progression models of AD have been studied recently, they were mainly designed to determine and compare the order of specific biomarkers. How to effectively predict the individual patient's status within a wide spectrum of continuous AD progression has been largely understudied. In this work, we developed a novel learning-based embedding framework to encode the intrinsic relations among AD related clinical stages by a set of meaningful embedding vectors in the latent space (Disease2Vec). We named this process as disease embedding. By Disease2Vec, our framework generates a disease embedding tree (DETree) which effectively represents different clinical stages as a tree trajectory reflecting AD progression and thus can be used to predict clinical status by projecting individuals onto this continuous trajectory. Through this model, DETree can not only perform efficient and accurate prediction for patients at any stages of AD development (across five fine-grained clinical groups instead of typical two groups), but also provide richer status information by examining the projecting locations within a wide and continuous AD progression process. (Code will be available: https://github.com/qidianzl/Disease2Vec.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Tianming Liu
- Department of Computer Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Dajiang Zhu
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
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3
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Chen X, Onur OA, Richter N, Fassbender R, Gramespacher H, Befahr Q, von Reutern B, Dillen K, Jacobs HIL, Kukolja J, Fink GR, Dronse J. Concordance of Intrinsic Brain Connectivity Measures Is Disrupted in Alzheimer's Disease. Brain Connect 2023; 13:344-355. [PMID: 34269605 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2020.0918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Recently, a new resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) measure to evaluate the concordance between different rs-fMRI metrics has been proposed and has not been investigated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: 3T rs-fMRI data were obtained from healthy young controls (YC, n = 26), healthy senior controls (SC, n = 29), and AD patients (n = 35). The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were analyzed, followed by the calculation of their concordance using Kendall's W for each brain voxel across time. Group differences in the concordance were compared globally, within seven intrinsic brain networks, and on a voxel-by-voxel basis with covariates of age, sex, head motion, and gray matter volume. Results: The global concordance was lowest in AD among the three groups, with similar differences for the single metrics. When comparing AD to SC, reductions of concordance were detected in each of the investigated networks apart from the limbic network. For SC in comparison to YC, lower global concordance without any network-level difference was observed. Voxel-wise analyses revealed lower concordance in the right middle temporal gyrus in AD compared to SC and lower concordance in the left middle frontal gyrus in SC compared to YC. Lower fALFF were observed in the right angular gyrus in AD in comparison to SC, but ReHo and DC showed no group differences. Conclusions: The concordance of resting-state measures differentiates AD from healthy aging and may represent a novel imaging marker in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangliang Chen
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Oezguer A Onur
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nils Richter
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Ronja Fassbender
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hannes Gramespacher
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Qumars Befahr
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Boris von Reutern
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Kim Dillen
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Heidi I L Jacobs
- Department of Radiology, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Alzheimer Centre, Limburg, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Juraj Kukolja
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Helios University Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | - Gereon R Fink
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Julian Dronse
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Li Y, An S, Zhou T, Su C, Zhang S, Li C, Jiang J, Mu Y, Yao N, Huang ZG. Triple-network analysis of Alzheimer's disease based on the energy landscape. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1171549. [PMID: 37287802 PMCID: PMC10242117 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1171549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Research on the brain activity during resting state has found that brain activation is centered around three networks, including the default mode network (DMN), the salient network (SN), and the central executive network (CEN), and switches between multiple modes. As a common disease in the elderly, Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects the state transitions of functional networks in the resting state. Methods Energy landscape, as a new method, can intuitively and quickly grasp the statistical distribution of system states and information related to state transition mechanisms. Therefore, this study mainly uses the energy landscape method to study the changes of the triple-network brain dynamics in AD patients in the resting state. Results AD brain activity patterns are in an abnormal state, and the dynamics of patients with AD tend to be unstable, with an unusually high flexibility in switching between states. Also , the subjects' dynamic features are correlated with clinical index. Discussion The atypical balance of large-scale brain systems in patients with AD is associated with abnormally active brain dynamics. Our study are helpful for further understanding the intrinsic dynamic characteristics and pathological mechanism of the resting-state brain in AD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youjun Li
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Simeng An
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Tianlin Zhou
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chunwang Su
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Siping Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chenxi Li
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Junjie Jiang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yunfeng Mu
- Department of Gynecological Oncology, Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Nan Yao
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Department of Applied Physics, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Zi-Gang Huang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Congnitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Blanton H, Reddy PH, Benamar K. Chronic pain in Alzheimer's disease: Endocannabinoid system. Exp Neurol 2023; 360:114287. [PMID: 36455638 PMCID: PMC9789196 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Chronic pain, one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care, has been linked to restrictions in mobility and daily activities, dependence on opioids, anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, and reduced quality of life. Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder (characterized by a progressive impairment of cognitive functions) in the elderly, is often co-morbid with chronic pain. AD is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in the aged population. The reported prevalence of chronic pain is 45.8% of the 50 million people with AD. As the population ages, the number of older people who experience AD and chronic pain will also increase. The current treatment options for chronic pain are limited, often ineffective, and have associated side effects. This review summarizes the role of the endocannabinoid system in pain, its potential role in chronic pain in AD, and addresses gaps and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry Blanton
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - P Hemachandra Reddy
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA; Internal Medicine Department, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - Khalid Benamar
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA.
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Filippi M, Spinelli EG, Cividini C, Ghirelli A, Basaia S, Agosta F. The human functional connectome in neurodegenerative diseases: relationship to pathology and clinical progression. Expert Rev Neurother 2023; 23:59-73. [PMID: 36710600 DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2023.2174016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neurodegenerative diseases can be considered as 'disconnection syndromes,' in which a communication breakdown prompts cognitive or motor dysfunction. Mathematical models applied to functional resting-state MRI allow for the organization of the brain into nodes and edges, which interact to form the functional brain connectome. AREAS COVERED The authors discuss the recent applications of functional connectomics to neurodegenerative diseases, from preclinical diagnosis, to follow up along with the progressive changes in network organization, to the prediction of the progressive spread of neurodegeneration, to stratification of patients into prognostic groups, and to record responses to treatment. The authors searched PubMed using the terms 'neurodegenerative diseases' AND 'fMRI' AND 'functional connectome' OR 'functional connectivity' AND 'connectomics' OR 'graph metrics' OR 'graph analysis.' The time range covered the past 20 years. EXPERT OPINION Considering the great pathological and phenotypical heterogeneity of neurodegenerative diseases, identifying a common framework to diagnose, monitor and elaborate prognostic models is challenging. Graph analysis can describe the complexity of brain architectural rearrangements supporting the network-based hypothesis as unifying pathogenetic mechanism. Although a multidisciplinary team is needed to overcome the limit of methodologic complexity in clinical application, advanced methodologies are valuable tools to better characterize functional disconnection in neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Filippi
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neurophysiology Service, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Edoardo Gioele Spinelli
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Camilla Cividini
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Alma Ghirelli
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Basaia
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Agosta
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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Mirza-Davies A, Foley S, Caseras X, Baker E, Holmans P, Escott-Price V, Jones DK, Harrison JR, Messaritaki E. The impact of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease on the structural brain networks of young adults. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:987677. [PMID: 36532292 PMCID: PMC9748570 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.987677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction We investigated the structural brain networks of 562 young adults in relation to polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genotype data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Methods Diffusion MRI data were used to perform whole-brain tractography and generate structural brain networks for the whole-brain connectome, and for the default mode, limbic and visual subnetworks. The mean clustering coefficient, mean betweenness centrality, characteristic path length, global efficiency and mean nodal strength were calculated for these networks, for each participant. The connectivity of the rich-club, feeder and local connections was also calculated. Polygenic risk scores (PRS), estimating each participant's genetic risk, were calculated at genome-wide level and for nine specific disease pathways. Correlations were calculated between the PRS and (a) the graph theoretical metrics of the structural networks and (b) the rich-club, feeder and local connectivity of the whole-brain networks. Results In the visual subnetwork, the mean nodal strength was negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.19, p = 1.4 × 10-3), the mean betweenness centrality was positively correlated with the plasma lipoprotein particle assembly PRS (r = 0.16, p = 5.5 × 10-3), and the mean clustering coefficient was negatively correlated with the tau-protein binding PRS (r = -0.16, p = 0.016). In the default mode network, the mean nodal strength was negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.14, p = 0.044). The rich-club and feeder connectivities were negatively correlated with the genome-wide PRS (r = -0.16, p = 0.035; r = -0.15, p = 0.036). Discussion We identified small reductions in brain connectivity in young adults at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Mirza-Davies
- School of Medicine, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Sonya Foley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Xavier Caseras
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Baker
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Holmans
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Valentina Escott-Price
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Derek K. Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Judith R. Harrison
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational and Clinical Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Eirini Messaritaki
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- BRAIN Biomedical Research Unit, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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Zhu Y, Ruan G, Cheng Z, Zou S, Zhu X. Lateralization of the crossed cerebellar diaschisis-associated metabolic connectivities in cortico-ponto-cerebellar and cortico-rubral pathways. Neuroimage 2022; 260:119487. [PMID: 35850160 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the glucose metabolic profile of extrapyramidal system in patients with crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD). Furthermore, the metabolic connectivities in cortico-ponto-cerebellar and cortico-rubral pathways associated with CCD were also investigated. A total of 130 CCD positive (CCD+) and 424 CCD negative (CCD-) patients with unilateral cerebral hemisphere hypometabolism on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) were enrolled. Besides, the control group consisted of 56 subjects without any brain structural and metabolic abnormalities. Apart from the "autocorrelation", metabolic connectivity pattern of right or left affected cerebellar hemisphere involved unilateral (left or right, respectively) caudate, pallidum, putamen, thalamus and red nucleus, in CCD+ patients with left or right supratentorial lesions, respectively (Puncorrected < 0.001, cluster size > 200). CCD+ group had significantly lower asymmetry index (AI) in cortico-ponto-cerebellar pathway (including ipsilateral cerebral white matter, ipsilateral pons, contralateral cerebellum white matter and contralateral cerebellum exterior cortex) and cortico-rubral pathway (including ipsilateral caudate, thalamus proper, pallidum, putamen, ventral diencephalon and red nucleus) than those of both CCD- and control groups (all P < 0.05). AI in contralateral cerebellum exterior cortex was significantly positively correlated with that in ipsilateral caudate, putamen, pallidum, thalamus proper, ventral diencephalon, red nucleus and pons among CCD+ group (all P < 0.01), but only with that in ipsilateral caudate and putamen among CCD- group (both P < 0.001). These results provide additional insight into the involvement of both cortico-ponto-cerebellar and cortico-rubral pathways in the presence of CCD, underlining the need for further investigation about the role of their aberrant metabolic connectivities in the associated symptoms of CCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuankai Zhu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Ge Ruan
- Department of Radiology, Hospital, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Zhaoting Cheng
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Sijuan Zou
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xiaohua Zhu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan 430030, China.
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Alm KH, Soldan A, Pettigrew C, Faria AV, Hou X, Lu H, Moghekar A, Mori S, Albert M, Bakker A. Structural and Functional Brain Connectivity Uniquely Contribute to Episodic Memory Performance in Older Adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:951076. [PMID: 35903538 PMCID: PMC9315224 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.951076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we examined the independent contributions of structural and functional connectivity markers to individual differences in episodic memory performance in 107 cognitively normal older adults from the BIOCARD study. Structural connectivity, defined by the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measure of radial diffusivity (RD), was obtained from two medial temporal lobe white matter tracts: the fornix and hippocampal cingulum, while functional connectivity markers were derived from network-based resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) of five large-scale brain networks: the control, default, limbic, dorsal attention, and salience/ventral attention networks. Hierarchical and stepwise linear regression methods were utilized to directly compare the relative contributions of the connectivity modalities to individual variability in a composite delayed episodic memory score, while also accounting for age, sex, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of amyloid and tau pathology (i.e., Aβ42/Aβ40 and p-tau181), and gray matter volumes of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. Results revealed that fornix RD, hippocampal cingulum RD, and salience network functional connectivity were each significant independent predictors of memory performance, while CSF markers and gray matter volumes were not. Moreover, in the stepwise model, the addition of sex, fornix RD, hippocampal cingulum RD, and salience network functional connectivity each significantly improved the overall predictive value of the model. These findings demonstrate that both DTI and rsfMRI connectivity measures uniquely contributed to the model and that the combination of structural and functional connectivity markers best accounted for individual variability in episodic memory function in cognitively normal older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kylie H. Alm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Anja Soldan
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Corinne Pettigrew
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Andreia V. Faria
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Xirui Hou
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Hanzhang Lu
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Abhay Moghekar
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Susumu Mori
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Marilyn Albert
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Arnold Bakker
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States,*Correspondence: Arnold Bakker,
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10
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Kotlarz P, Nino JC, Febo M. Connectomic analysis of Alzheimer's disease using percolation theory. Netw Neurosci 2022; 6:213-233. [PMID: 36605889 PMCID: PMC9810282 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that affects a growing worldwide elderly population. Identification of brain functional biomarkers is expected to help determine preclinical stages for targeted mechanistic studies and development of therapeutic interventions to deter disease progression. Connectomic analysis, a graph theory-based methodology used in the analysis of brain-derived connectivity matrices was used in conjunction with percolation theory targeted attack model to investigate the network effects of AD-related amyloid deposition. We used matrices derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging collected on mice with extracellular amyloidosis (TgCRND8 mice, n = 17) and control littermates (n = 17). Global, nodal, spatial, and percolation-based analysis was performed comparing AD and control mice. These data indicate a short-term compensatory response to neurodegeneration in the AD brain via a strongly connected core network with highly vulnerable or disconnected hubs. Targeted attacks demonstrated a greater vulnerability of AD brains to all types of attacks and identified progression models to mimic AD brain functional connectivity through betweenness centrality and collective influence metrics. Furthermore, both spatial analysis and percolation theory identified a key disconnect between the anterior brain of the AD mice to the rest of the brain network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker Kotlarz
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA,* Corresponding Author:
| | - Juan C. Nino
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Marcelo Febo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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11
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A methodological scoping review of the integration of fMRI to guide dMRI tractography. What has been done and what can be improved: A 20-year perspective. J Neurosci Methods 2022; 367:109435. [PMID: 34915047 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Combining MRI modalities is a growing trend in neurosciences. It provides opportunities to investigate the brain architecture supporting cognitive functions. Integrating fMRI activation to guide dMRI tractography offers potential advantages over standard tractography methods. A quick glimpse of the literature on this topic reveals that this technique is challenging, and no consensus or "best practices" currently exist, at least not within a single document. We present the first attempt to systematically analyze and summarize the literature of 80 studies that integrated task-based fMRI results to guide tractography, over the last two decades. We report 19 findings that cover challenges related to sample size, microstructure modelling, seeding methods, multimodal space registration, false negatives/positives, specificity/validity, gray/white matter interface and more. These findings will help the scientific community (1) understand the strengths and limitations of the approaches, (2) design studies using this integrative framework, and (3) motivate researchers to fill the gaps identified. We provide references toward best practices, in order to improve the overall result's replicability, sensitivity, specificity, and validity.
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12
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Wei C, Gong S, Zou Q, Zhang W, Kang X, Lu X, Chen Y, Yang Y, Wang W, Jia L, Lyu J, Shan B. A Comparative Study of Structural and Metabolic Brain Networks in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:774607. [PMID: 34938173 PMCID: PMC8687449 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.774607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Changes in the metabolic and structural brain networks in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have been widely researched. However, few studies have compared the differences in the topological properties of the metabolic and structural brain networks in patients with MCI. Methods: We analyzedmagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) data of 137 patients with MCI and 80 healthy controls (HCs). The HC group data comes from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. The permutation test was used to compare the network parameters (characteristic path length, clustering coefficient, local efficiency, and global efficiency) between the two groups. Partial Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to calculate the correlations of the changes in gray matter volume and glucose intake in the key brain regions in MCI with the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-cog) sub-item scores. Results: Significant changes in the brain network parameters (longer characteristic path length, larger clustering coefficient, and lower local efficiency and global efficiency) were greater in the structural network than in the metabolic network (longer characteristic path length) in MCI patients than in HCs. We obtained the key brain regions (left globus pallidus, right calcarine fissure and its surrounding cortex, left lingual gyrus) by scanning the hubs. The volume of gray matter atrophy in the left globus pallidus was significantly positively correlated with comprehension of spoken language (p = 0.024) and word-finding difficulty in spontaneous speech item scores (p = 0.007) in the ADAS-cog. Glucose intake in the three key brain regions was significantly negatively correlated with remembering test instructions items in ADAS-cog (p = 0.020, p = 0.014, and p = 0.008, respectively). Conclusion: Structural brain networks showed more changes than metabolic brain networks in patients with MCI. Some brain regions with significant changes in betweenness centrality in both structural and metabolic networks were associated with MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuibai Wei
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,Center of Alzheimer's Disease, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing Key Laboratory of Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, Neurodegenerative Laboratory of Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China
| | - Shuting Gong
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Qi Zou
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,College of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Neurodegenerative Laboratory of Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China
| | - Xuechun Kang
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinliang Lu
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Yufei Chen
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Yuting Yang
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China.,School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Longfei Jia
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Jihui Lyu
- Center for Cognitive Disorders, Beijing Geriatric Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Baoci Shan
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Neurodegenerative Laboratory of Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China
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13
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Cejnek M, Vysata O, Valis M, Bukovsky I. Novelty detection-based approach for Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis from EEG. Med Biol Eng Comput 2021; 59:2287-2296. [PMID: 34535856 PMCID: PMC8558189 DOI: 10.1007/s11517-021-02427-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed via means of daily activity assessment. The EEG recording evaluation is a supporting tool that can assist the practitioner to recognize the illness, especially in the early stages. This paper presents a new approach for detecting Alzheimer’s disease and potentially mild cognitive impairment according to the measured EEG records. The proposed method evaluates the amount of novelty in the EEG signal as a feature for EEG record classification. The novelty is measured from the parameters of EEG signal adaptive filtration. A linear neuron with gradient descent adaptation was used as the filter in predictive settings. The extracted feature (novelty measure) is later classified to obtain Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. The proposed approach was cross-validated on a dataset containing EEG records of 59 patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease; seven patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 102 controls. The results of cross-validation yield 90.73% specificity and 89.51% sensitivity. The proposed method of feature extraction from EEG is completely new and can be used with any classifier for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease from EEG records. ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Matous Cejnek
- Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technicka Street 4, 16607, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
| | - Oldrich Vysata
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine in University Hospital Hradec Králové, Charles University in Prague, Sokolská 581, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Valis
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine in University Hospital Hradec Králové, Charles University in Prague, Sokolská 581, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Ivo Bukovsky
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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14
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Courtney SM, Hinault T. When the time is right: Temporal dynamics of brain activity in healthy aging and dementia. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 203:102076. [PMID: 34015374 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Brain activity and communications are complex phenomena that dynamically unfold over time. However, in contrast with the large number of studies reporting neuroanatomical differences in activation relative to young adults, changes of temporal dynamics of neural activity during normal and pathological aging have been grossly understudied and are still poorly known. Here, we synthesize the current state of knowledge from MEG and EEG studies that aimed at specifying the effects of healthy and pathological aging on local and network dynamics, and discuss the clinical and theoretical implications of these findings. We argue that considering the temporal dynamics of brain activations and networks could provide a better understanding of changes associated with healthy aging, and the progression of neurodegenerative disease. Recent research has also begun to shed light on the association of these dynamics with other imaging modalities and with individual differences in cognitive performance. These insights hold great potential for driving new theoretical frameworks and development of biomarkers to aid in identifying and treating age-related cognitive changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Courtney
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, MD 21205, USA
| | - T Hinault
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; U1077 INSERM-EPHE-UNICAEN, Caen, France.
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15
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Ruiz-Gómez SJ, Hornero R, Poza J, Santamaría-Vázquez E, Rodríguez-González V, Maturana-Candelas A, Gomez C. A new method to build multiplex networks using Canonical Correlation Analysis for the characterization of the Alzheimer's disease continuum. J Neural Eng 2021; 18. [PMID: 33395667 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/abd82c] [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: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to solve one of the current limitations for the characterization of the brain network in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. Nowadays, frequency-dependent approaches have reached contradictory results depending on the frequency band under study, tangling the possible clinical interpretations. APPROACH To overcome this issue, we proposed a new method to build multiplex networks based on canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Our method determines two basis vectors using the source and electrodelevel frequency-specific network parameters for a reference group, and then project the results for the rest of the groups into these hyperplanes to make them comparable. It was applied to: (i) synthetic signals generated with a Kuramoto-based model; and (ii) a resting-state EEG database formed by recordings from 51 cognitively healthy controls, 51 mild cognitive impairment subjects, 51 mild AD patients, 50 moderate AD patients, and 50 severe AD patients. MAIN RESULTS Our results using synthetic signals showed that the interpretation of the proposed CCA-based multiplex parameters (multiplex average node degree, multiplex characteristic path length and multiplex clustering coefficient) can be analogous to their frequency-specific counterparts, as they displayed similar behaviors in terms of average connectivity, integration, and segregation. Findings using real EEG recordings revealed that dementia due to AD is characterized by a significant increase in average connectivity, and by a loss of integration and segregation. SIGNIFICANCE We can conclude that CCA can be used to build multiplex networks based from frequency-specific results, summarizing all the available information and avoiding the limitations of possible frequency-specific conflicts. Additionally, our method supposes a novel approach for the construction and analysis of multiplex networks during AD continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saúl J Ruiz-Gómez
- Teoría de la señal y comunicaciones e Ingeniería telemática, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo de Belén 15, Valladolid, Valladolid, 47011, SPAIN
| | - Roberto Hornero
- Biomedical Engineering Group, Universidad de Valladolid, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Paseo Belen 15, Valladolid, 47011, SPAIN
| | - Jesus Poza
- Communications and Signal Theory, Universidad de Valladolid, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicacion, Paseo de Belen 15, 47011 - Valladolid, Valladolid, Valladolid, 47011, SPAIN
| | - Eduardo Santamaría-Vázquez
- Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería Telemática, Universidad de Valladolid, Plaza de Santa Cruz, 8, Valladolid, Valladolid, 47002, SPAIN
| | - Víctor Rodríguez-González
- Teoría de la señal y comunicaciones e ingeniería telemática, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo Belen 15, Valladolid, 47011, SPAIN
| | | | - Carlos Gomez
- Grupo de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Valladolid, E. T. S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo Belén, 15, Valladolid, Valladolid, 47011, SPAIN
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16
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Effects of Rivastigmine on Brain Functional Networks in Patients With Alzheimer Disease Based on the Graph Theory. Clin Neuropharmacol 2020; 44:9-16. [PMID: 33337622 PMCID: PMC7813447 DOI: 10.1097/wnf.0000000000000427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the effect of rivastigmine on brain function in Alzheimer disease (AD) by analyzing brain functional network based on the graph theory. METHODS We enrolled 9 patients with mild to moderate AD who received rivastigmine treatment and 9 healthy controls (HC). Subsequently, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to establish the whole-brain functional network using a graph theory-based analysis. Furthermore, we compared systemic and local network indicators between pre- and posttreatment. RESULTS Patients with AD exhibited a posttreatment increase in the Mini-Mental State Examination scores and a decrease in the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale scores and activities of daily living. The systemic network for HC and patients with AD had good pre- and posttreatment clustering coefficients. There was no change in the Cp, Lp, Gamma, Lambda, and Sigma in patients with AD. There were no significant between-group differences in the pre- and posttreatment systemic network measures. Regarding the regional network, patients with AD showed increased betweenness centrality in the bilateral caudate nucleus and right superior temporal pole after treatment with rivastigmine. However, there was no between-group difference in the pre- and posttreatment betweenness centrality of these regions. There were no significant correlations between regional network measure changes and clinical score alterations in patients with AD. CONCLUSIONS There are similar systemic network properties between patients with AD and HC. Rivastigmine cannot alter systemic network attributes in patients with AD. However, it improves the topological properties of regional networks and between-node information transmission in patients with AD.
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17
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Bansal R, Peterson BS. Use of random matrix theory in the discovery of resting state brain networks. Magn Reson Imaging 2020; 77:69-87. [PMID: 33326838 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Connectomics identifies brain networks in vivo in resting state functional MRI. However, the presence of noise produces spurious identification of brain networks, which have low test-retest reliability. A Network Based Statistics approach to network identification has been previously proposed that affords much better statistical power relative to Bonferroni method but nevertheless provides a sufficiently conservative, family-wise control for false positives. We propose the use of Random Matrix Theory (RMT) to discover brain networks and to associate those networks with demographic and clinical variables. We parcellated the brain into cortical and subcortical regions using either an anatomical or a functional brain atlas. We applied RMT to study functional connectivity across brain regions by first computing the correlation matrix for time courses in those brain regions and then identifying eigenvalues that deviate from the theoretical random distribution that RMT predicts, on the assumption that real brain networks would produce eigenvalues that differ significantly from the random distribution. We assessed the specificity and test-retest reliability of identified networks through application of this RMT-based approach to (1) synthetic data generated under the null-hypothesis, (2) resting state functional MRI data from 4 real-world cohorts of patients and healthy controls, and (3) synthetic data generated by the addition of increasing amounts of noise to real-world datasets. Our findings showed that RMT method was robust to the atlas used for parcellating the brain and did not discover a brain network in synthetic data when in fact a network was not present (i.e., specificity was high); RMT-identified networks in the real-world dataset had high test-retest reliability; and RMT-based method consistently discovered the same network in the presence of increasing noise in the real-world dataset.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Bansal
- Institute for the Developing Mind, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
| | - Bradley S Peterson
- Institute for the Developing Mind, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
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18
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Stepanichev M. Gene Editing and Alzheimer's Disease: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel? Front Genome Ed 2020; 2:4. [PMID: 34713213 PMCID: PMC8525398 DOI: 10.3389/fgeed.2020.00004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease continues to be a fatal, incurable neurodegenerative disease, despite many years of efforts to find approaches to its treatment. Here we review recent studies on Alzheimer's disease as a target for gene therapy and specifically, gene editing technology. We also review the opportunities and limitations of modern methods of gene therapy based on the CRISPR editing system. The opportunities of using this approach for modeling, including cellular and animal models, studying on pathogenesis and disease correction mechanisms, as well as limitations for its therapeutic use are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail Stepanichev
- Laboratory of Functional Biochemistry of the Nervous System, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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19
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Tang S, Xu S, Zhu W, Gullapalli RP, Mooney SM. Alterations in the whole brain network organization after prenatal ethanol exposure. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 51:2110-2118. [PMID: 31855302 PMCID: PMC7211128 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 10/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) often have structural or functional alterations of the central nervous system, including changes in brain network organization. These have been associated with neuropsychological deficits, but outcomes are not consistent across studies. We used a rat model of FASD to assess brain network alterations in males and females following ethanol exposure during a prenatal period similar to the first half of gestation in humans. METHODS Pregnant Long Evans rats were given an ethanol-containing or isocaloric non-ethanol diet from gestation day 6 to 20. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on offspring in young adulthood. Graph theoretical analysis was used to assess properties associated with the whole brain network organization, with a focus on segregation, integration, and small-world organization-a feature which allows specialized local information processing (segregation) and simultaneously efficient global information sharing (integration). RESULTS Ethanol-exposed females showed a significant decrease in small-worldness compared with control females or with ethanol-exposed males. Compared to control females, the proportion of animals with atypically high path length (1 standard deviation higher than the grand average) was significantly higher in ethanol-exposed females, indicating that the alteration in small-world organization is driven by decreased network integration. No significant effects were seen in males. CONCLUSION The results revealed that prenatal ethanol exposure disrupts the balance between network segregation and integration in young adult female rats. The whole brain network is less integrated after ethanol exposure in the females, suggesting wide-spread reduction of long-range regional communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyu Tang
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 21201
- Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR), University of
Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Su Xu
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 21201
- Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR), University of
Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Wenjun Zhu
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 21201
- Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR), University of
Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Rao P. Gullapalli
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 21201
- Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR), University of
Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Sandra M. Mooney
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of
Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, now at UNC Nutrition Research Institute, Department
of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC 28081
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20
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Muñoz-Moreno E, Tudela R, López-Gil X, Soria G. Brain connectivity during Alzheimer's disease progression and its cognitive impact in a transgenic rat model. Netw Neurosci 2020; 4:397-415. [PMID: 32537533 PMCID: PMC7286303 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The research of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in its early stages and its progression till symptomatic onset is essential to understand the pathology and investigate new treatments. Animal models provide a helpful approach to this research, since they allow for controlled follow-up during the disease evolution. In this work, transgenic TgF344-AD rats were longitudinally evaluated starting at 6 months of age. Every 3 months, cognitive abilities were assessed by a memory-related task and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was acquired. Structural and functional brain networks were estimated and characterized by graph metrics to identify differences between the groups in connectivity, its evolution with age, and its influence on cognition. Structural networks of transgenic animals were altered since the earliest stage. Likewise, aging significantly affected network metrics in TgF344-AD, but not in the control group. In addition, while the structural brain network influenced cognitive outcome in transgenic animals, functional network impacted how control subjects performed. TgF344-AD brain network alterations were present from very early stages, difficult to identify in clinical research. Likewise, the characterization of aging in these animals, involving structural network reorganization and its effects on cognition, opens a window to evaluate new treatments for the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Muñoz-Moreno
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Bimediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raúl Tudela
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Bimediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier López-Gil
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Bimediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guadalupe Soria
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Bimediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
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21
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Cai L, Wei X, Liu J, Zhu L, Wang J, Deng B, Yu H, Wang R. Functional Integration and Segregation in Multiplex Brain Networks for Alzheimer's Disease. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:51. [PMID: 32132892 PMCID: PMC7040198 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence links impairment of brain functions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with disruptions of brain functional connectivity. However, whether the AD brain shows similar changes from a dynamic or cross-frequency view remains poorly explored. This paper provides an effective framework to investigate the properties of multiplex brain networks in AD considering inter-frequency and temporal dynamics. Using resting-state EEG signals, two types of multiplex networks were reconstructed separately considering the network interactions between different frequency bands or time points. We further applied multiplex network features to characterize functional integration and segregation of the cross-frequency or time-varying networks. Finally, machine learning methods were employed to evaluate the performance of multiplex-network-based indexes for detection of AD. Results revealed that the brain networks of AD patients are disrupted with reduced segregation particularly in the left occipital area for both cross-frequency and time-varying networks. However, the alteration of integration differs among brain regions and may show an increasing trend in the frontal area of AD brain. By combining the features of integration and segregation in time-varying networks, the best classification performance was achieved with an accuracy of 92.5%. These findings suggest that our multiplex framework can be applied to explore functional integration and segregation of brain networks and characterize the abnormalities of brain function. This may shed new light on the brain network analysis and extend our understanding of brain function in patients with neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihui Cai
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xile Wei
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jing Liu
- Department of Neurology, Tangshan Gongren Hospital, Tangshan, Hebei, China
| | - Lin Zhu
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiang Wang
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Bin Deng
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Haitao Yu
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Ruofan Wang
- School of Information Technology Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin, China
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22
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Xue C, Yuan B, Yue Y, Xu J, Wang S, Wu M, Ji N, Zhou X, Zhao Y, Rao J, Yang W, Xiao C, Chen J. Distinct Disruptive Patterns of Default Mode Subnetwork Connectivity Across the Spectrum of Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2019; 11:307. [PMID: 31798440 PMCID: PMC6863958 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The early progression continuum of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been considered to advance through subjective cognitive decline (SCD), non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI), and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Altered functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN) is regarded as a hallmark of AD. Furthermore, the DMN can be divided into two subnetworks, the anterior and posterior subnetworks. However, little is known about distinct disruptive patterns in the subsystems of the DMN across the preclinical AD spectrum. This study investigated the connectivity patterns of anterior DMN (aDMN) and posterior DMN (pDMN) across the preclinical AD spectrum. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was used to investigate the FC in the DMN subnetworks in 20 healthy controls (HC), eight SCD, 11 naMCI, and 28 aMCI patients. Moreover, a correlation analysis was used to examine associations between the altered connectivity of the DMN subnetworks and the neurocognitive performance. Results: Compared to the HC, SCD patients showed increased FC in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG), naMCI patients showed increased FC in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and aMCI patients showed increased FC in the bilateral IPL in the aDMN; while SCD patients showed decreased FC in the precuneus, naMCI patients showed increased FC in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and aMCI patients also showed increased FC in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in the pDMN. Notably, the FC between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the left MFG and the IPL in the aDMN was associated with episodic memory in the SCD and aMCI groups. Interestingly, the FC between the posterior cingulated cortex (PCC) and several regions in the pDMN was associated with other cognitive functions in the SCD and naMCI groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the three preclinical stages of AD exhibit distinct FC alternations in the DMN subnetworks. Furthermore, the patient group data showed that the altered FC involves cognitive function. These findings can provide novel insights for tailored clinical intervention across the preclinical AD spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Xue
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Baoyu Yuan
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yingying Yue
- Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiani Xu
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Siyu Wang
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Meilin Wu
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Nanxi Ji
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xingzhi Zhou
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yilin Zhao
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiang Rao
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenjie Yang
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chaoyong Xiao
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiu Chen
- Institute of Neuropsychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Institute of Brain Functional Imaging, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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23
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Bi XA, Cai R, Wang Y, Liu Y. Effective Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease via Multimodal Fusion Analysis Framework. Front Genet 2019; 10:976. [PMID: 31649738 PMCID: PMC6795747 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease involving a variety of pathogenic factors, and the etiology detection of this disease has been a major concern of researchers. Neuroimaging is a basic and important means to explore the problem. It is the main current scientific research direction for combining neuroimaging with other modal data to dig deep into the potential information of AD through the complementarities among multiple data points. Machine learning methods possess great potentiality and have reached some achievements in this research area. A few studies have proposed some solutions to the effects of multimodal data fusion, however, the overall analytical framework for data fusion and fusion result analysis has thus far been ignored. In this paper, we first put forward a novel multimodal data fusion method, and further present a new machine learning framework of data fusion, classification, feature selection, and disease-causing factor extraction. The real dataset of 37 AD patients and 35 normal controls (NC) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and genetic data was used to verify the effectiveness of the framework, which was more accurate in classification and optimal feature extraction than other methods. Furthermore, we revealed disease-causing brain regions and genes, such as the olfactory cortex, insula, posterior cingulate gyrus, lingual gyrus, CNTNAP2, LRP1B, FRMD4A, and DAB1. The results show that the machine learning framework could effectively perform multimodal data fusion analysis, providing new insights and perspectives for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia-An Bi
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Language Information Processing, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.,College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Ruipeng Cai
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Language Information Processing, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.,College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Language Information Processing, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.,College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Yingchao Liu
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Language Information Processing, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.,College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
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24
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Makovac E, Serra L, Di Domenico C, Marra C, Caltagirone C, Cercignani M, Bozzali M. Quantitative Magnetization Transfer of White Matter Tracts Correlates with Diffusion Tensor Imaging Indices in Predicting the Conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2019; 63:561-575. [PMID: 29689722 DOI: 10.3233/jad-170995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have higher probability to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) than elderly controls. The detection of subtle changes in brain structure associated with disease progression and the development of tools to identify patients at high risk for dementia in a short time is crucial. Here, we used probabilistic white matter (WM) tractography to explore microstructural alterations within the main association, limbic, and commissural pathways in aMCI patients who converted to AD after 1 year follow-up (MCIconverters) and those who remained stable (MCIstable). Both diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT) parameters have been considered for a comprehensive pathophysiological characterization of the WM damage. Overall, tract-specific parameters derived from qMT and DTI at baseline were able to differentiate aMCI patients who converted to AD from those who remained stable in time. In particular, the qMT exchange rate, RMB0, of the right uncinate fasciculus was significantly decreased in MCIconverters, whereas fractional anisotropy was significantly decreased in the bilateral superior cingulum in MCIconverters compared to MCIstable. These results confirm the involvement of WM and particularly of association fibers in the progression of AD, highlighting disconnection as a potential mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Makovac
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome
| | - Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome
| | | | | | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome.,Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome
| | - Mara Cercignani
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome.,Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome.,Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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25
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Cercignani M, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott C. From micro- to macro-structures in multiple sclerosis: what is the added value of diffusion imaging. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2019; 32:e3888. [PMID: 29350435 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.3888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 10/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/25/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Diffusion imaging has been instrumental in understanding damage to the central nervous system as a result of its sensitivity to microstructural changes. Clinical applications of diffusion imaging have grown exponentially over the past couple of decades in many neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). For several reasons, MS has been extensively researched using advanced neuroimaging techniques, which makes it an 'example disease' to illustrate the potential of diffusion imaging for clinical applications. In addition, MS pathology is characterized by several key processes competing with each other, such as inflammation, demyelination, remyelination, gliosis and axonal loss, enabling the specificity of diffusion to be challenged. In this review, we describe how diffusion imaging can be exploited to investigate micro-, meso- and macro-scale properties of the brain structure and discuss how they are affected by different pathological substrates. Conclusions from the literature are that larger studies are needed to confirm the exciting results from initial investigations before current trends in diffusion imaging can be translated to the neurology clinic. Also, for a comprehensive understanding of pathological processes, it is essential to take a multiple-level approach, in which information at the micro-, meso- and macroscopic scales is fully integrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Cercignani
- Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- NMR Research Unit, Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
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26
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Palesi F, De Rinaldis A, Vitali P, Castellazzi G, Casiraghi L, Germani G, Bernini S, Anzalone N, Ramusino MC, Denaro FM, Sinforiani E, Costa A, Magenes G, D'Angelo E, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott CAM, Micieli G. Specific Patterns of White Matter Alterations Help Distinguishing Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:274. [PMID: 29922120 PMCID: PMC5996902 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) together represent the majority of dementia cases. Since their neuropsychological profiles often overlap and white matter lesions are observed in elderly subjects including AD, differentiating between VaD and AD can be difficult. Characterization of these different forms of dementia would benefit by identification of quantitative imaging biomarkers specifically sensitive to AD or VaD. Parameters of microstructural abnormalities derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have been reported to be helpful in differentiating between dementias, but only few studies have used them to compare AD and VaD with a voxelwise approach. Therefore, in this study a whole brain statistical analysis was performed on DTI data of 93 subjects (31 AD, 27 VaD, and 35 healthy controls—HC) to identify specific white matter patterns of alteration in patients affected by VaD and AD with respect to HC. Parahippocampal tracts were found to be mainly affected in AD, while VaD showed more spread white matter damages associated with thalamic radiations involvement. The genu of the corpus callosum was predominantly affected in VaD, while the splenium was predominantly affected in AD revealing the existence of specific patterns of alteration useful in distinguishing between VaD and AD. Therefore, DTI parameters of these regions could be informative to understand the pathogenesis and support the etiological diagnosis of dementia. Further studies on larger cohorts of subjects, characterized for brain amyloidosis, will allow to confirm and to integrate the present findings and, furthermore, to elucidate the mechanisms of mixed dementia. These steps will be essential to translate these advances to clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulvia Palesi
- Department of Physics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrea De Rinaldis
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Paolo Vitali
- Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Gloria Castellazzi
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Letizia Casiraghi
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Germani
- Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sara Bernini
- Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Unit, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Cotta Ramusino
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Unit, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Federica M Denaro
- Department of Emergency Neurology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Elena Sinforiani
- Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Unit, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alfredo Costa
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Unit, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giovanni Magenes
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Egidio D'Angelo
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Claudia A M Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Giuseppe Micieli
- Department of Emergency Neurology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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27
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Liu X, Chen X, Zheng W, Xia M, Han Y, Song H, Li K, He Y, Wang Z. Altered Functional Connectivity of Insular Subregions in Alzheimer's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2018; 10:107. [PMID: 29695961 PMCID: PMC5905235 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent researches have demonstrated that the insula is the crucial hub of the human brain networks and most vulnerable region of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, little is known about the changes of functional connectivity of insular subregions in the AD patients. In this study, we collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data including 32 AD patients and 38 healthy controls (HCs). By defining three subregions of insula, we mapped whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and identified several distinct RSFC patterns of the insular subregions: For positive connectivity, three cognitive-related RSFC patterns were identified within insula that suggest anterior-to-posterior functional subdivisions: (1) an dorsal anterior zone of the insula that exhibits RSFC with executive control network (ECN); (2) a ventral anterior zone of insula, exhibits functional connectivity with the salience network (SN); (3) a posterior zone along the insula exhibits functional connectivity with the sensorimotor network (SMN). In addition, we found significant negative connectivities between the each insular subregion and several special default mode network (DMN) regions. Compared with controls, the AD patients demonstrated distinct disruption of positive RSFCs in the different network (ECN and SMN), suggesting the impairment of the functional integrity. There were no differences of the positive RSFCs in the SN between the two groups. On the other hand, several DMN regions showed increased negative RSFCs to the sub-region of insula in the AD patients, indicating compensatory plasticity. Furthermore, these abnormal insular subregions RSFCs are closely correlated with cognitive performances in the AD patients. Our findings suggested that different insular subregions presented distinct RSFC patterns with various functional networks, which are differently affected in the AD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyun Liu
- Department of Radiology, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaodan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,International Data Group (IDG)/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Weimin Zheng
- Department of Radiology, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Mingrui Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,International Data Group (IDG)/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Han
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Haiqing Song
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Kuncheng Li
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
| | - Yong He
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,International Data Group (IDG)/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiqun Wang
- Department of Radiology, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.,Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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28
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Muñoz-Moreno E, Tudela R, López-Gil X, Soria G. Early brain connectivity alterations and cognitive impairment in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Res Ther 2018; 10:16. [PMID: 29415770 PMCID: PMC5803915 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-018-0346-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are essential to understanding the disease progression and to development of early biomarkers. Because AD has been described as a disconnection syndrome, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based connectomics provides a highly translational approach to characterizing the disruption in connectivity associated with the disease. In this study, a transgenic rat model of AD (TgF344-AD) was analyzed to describe both cognitive performance and brain connectivity at an early stage (5 months of age) before a significant concentration of β-amyloid plaques is present. METHODS Cognitive abilities were assessed by a delayed nonmatch-to-sample (DNMS) task preceded by a training phase where the animals learned the task. The number of training sessions required to achieve a learning criterion was recorded and evaluated. After DNMS, MRI acquisition was performed, including diffusion-weighted MRI and resting-state functional MRI, which were processed to obtain the structural and functional connectomes, respectively. Global and regional graph metrics were computed to evaluate network organization in both transgenic and control rats. RESULTS The results pointed to a delay in learning the working memory-related task in the AD rats, which also completed a lower number of trials in the DNMS task. Regarding connectivity properties, less efficient organization of the structural brain networks of the transgenic rats with respect to controls was observed. Specific regional differences in connectivity were identified in both structural and functional networks. In addition, a strong correlation was observed between cognitive performance and brain networks, including whole-brain structural connectivity as well as functional and structural network metrics of regions related to memory and reward processes. CONCLUSIONS In this study, connectivity and neurocognitive impairments were identified in TgF344-AD rats at a very early stage of the disease when most of the pathological hallmarks have not yet been detected. Structural and functional network metrics of regions related to reward, memory, and sensory performance were strongly correlated with the cognitive outcome. The use of animal models is essential for the early identification of these alterations and can contribute to the development of early biomarkers of the disease based on MRI connectomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Muñoz-Moreno
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d’Investigacions Biòmediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raúl Tudela
- Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER) de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Group of Biomedical Imaging, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier López-Gil
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d’Investigacions Biòmediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guadalupe Soria
- Experimental 7T MRI Unit, Institut d’Investigacions Biòmediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
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29
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Yang C, Zhong S, Zhou X, Wei L, Wang L, Nie S. The Abnormality of Topological Asymmetry between Hemispheric Brain White Matter Networks in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:261. [PMID: 28824422 PMCID: PMC5545578 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A large number of morphology-based studies have previously reported a variety of regional abnormalities in hemispheric asymmetry in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recently, neuroimaging studies have revealed changes in the topological organization of the structural network in AD. However, little is known about the alterations in topological asymmetries. In the present study, we used diffusion tensor image tractography to construct the hemispheric brain white matter networks of 25 AD patients, 95 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 48 normal control (NC) subjects. Graph theoretical approaches were then employed to estimate hemispheric topological properties. Rightward asymmetry in both global and local network efficiencies were observed between the two hemispheres only in AD patients. The brain regions/nodes exhibiting increased rightward asymmetry in both AD and MCI patients were primarily located in the parahippocampal gyrus and cuneus. The observed rightward asymmetry was attributed to changes in the topological properties of the left hemisphere in AD patients. Finally, we found that the abnormal hemispheric asymmetries of brain network properties were significantly correlated with memory performance (Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test). Our findings provide new insights into the lateralized nature of hemispheric disconnectivity and highlight the potential for using hemispheric asymmetry of brain network measures as biomarkers for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Yang
- Institute of Medical Imaging Engineering, School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyShanghai, China
| | - Suyu Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Xiaolong Zhou
- Institute of Medical Imaging Engineering, School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyShanghai, China
| | - Long Wei
- Institute of Medical Imaging Engineering, School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyShanghai, China.,Laiwu Vocational and Technical CollegeShandong, China
| | - Lijia Wang
- Institute of Medical Imaging Engineering, School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyShanghai, China
| | - Shengdong Nie
- Institute of Medical Imaging Engineering, School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyShanghai, China
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