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Olivito G, Siciliano L, Leggio M, Van Overwalle F. Effective connectivity analysis of resting-state mentalizing brain networks in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2: A dynamic causal modeling study. Neuroimage Clin 2024; 43:103627. [PMID: 38843759 PMCID: PMC11190556 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/24/2024]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies on healthy subjects described the causal effective connectivity of cerebellar-cerebral social mentalizing networks, revealing the presence of closed-loops. These studies estimated effective connectivity by applying Dynamic Causal Modeling on task-related fMRI data of healthy subjects performing mentalizing tasks. Thus far, few studies have applied Dynamic Causal Modeling to resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) data to test the effective connectivity within the cerebellar-cerebral mentalizing network in the absence of experimental manipulations, and no study applied Dynamic Causal Modeling on fMRI data of patients with cerebellar disorders typically showing social cognition deficits. Thus, in this research we applied spectral Dynamic Causal Modeling, to rsfMRI data of 13 patients affected by spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) and of 23 matched healthy subjects. Specifically, effective connectivity was tested between acknowledged mentalizing regions of interest: bilateral cerebellar Crus II, dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral temporo-parietal junctions and precuneus. SCA2 and healthy subjects shared some similarities in cerebellar-cerebral mentalizing effective connectivity at rest, confirming the presence of closed-loops between cerebellar and cerebral mentalizing regions in both groups. However, relative to healthy subjects, SCA2 patients showed effective connectivity variations mostly in cerebellar-cerebral closed loops, namely weakened inhibitory connectivity from the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex, but stronger inhibitory connectivity from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. The present study demonstrated that effective connectivity changes affect a function-specific mentalizing network in SCA2 patients, allowing to deepen the direction and strength of the causal effective connectivity mechanisms driven by the cerebellar damage associated with SCA2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giusy Olivito
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Libera Siciliano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Leggio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
| | - Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
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2
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Klaus J, Stoodley CJ, Schutter DJLG. Neurodevelopmental trajectories of cerebellar grey matter associated with verbal abilities in males with autism spectrum disorder. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 67:101379. [PMID: 38615557 PMCID: PMC11026694 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition frequently associated with structural cerebellar abnormalities. Whether cerebellar grey matter volumes (GMV) are linked to verbal impairments remains controversial. Here, the association between cerebellar GMV and verbal abilities in ASD was examined across the lifespan. Lobular segmentation of the cerebellum was performed on structural MRI scans from the ABIDE I dataset in male individuals with ASD (N=144, age: 8.5-64.0 years) and neurotypical controls (N=188; age: 8.0-56.2 years). Stepwise linear mixed effects modeling including group (ASD vs. neurotypical controls), lobule-wise GMV, and age was performed to identify cerebellar lobules which best predicted verbal abilities as measured by verbal IQ (VIQ). An age-specific association between VIQ and GMV of bilateral Crus II was found in ASD relative to neurotypical controls. In children with ASD, higher VIQ was associated with larger GMV of left Crus II but smaller GMV of right Crus II. By contrast, in adults with ASD, higher VIQ was associated with smaller GMV of left Crus II and larger GMV of right Crus II. These findings indicate that relative to the contralateral hemisphere, an initial reliance on the language-nonspecific left cerebellar hemisphere is offset by more typical right-lateralization in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Klaus
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Dennis J L G Schutter
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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3
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Manto M, Adamaszek M, Apps R, Carlson E, Guarque-Chabrera J, Heleven E, Kakei S, Khodakhah K, Kuo SH, Lin CYR, Joshua M, Miquel M, Mitoma H, Larry N, Péron JA, Pickford J, Schutter DJLG, Singh MK, Tan T, Tanaka H, Tsai P, Van Overwalle F, Yamashiro K. Consensus Paper: Cerebellum and Reward. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024:10.1007/s12311-024-01702-0. [PMID: 38769243 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-024-01702-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Cerebellum is a key-structure for the modulation of motor, cognitive, social and affective functions, contributing to automatic behaviours through interactions with the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord. The predictive mechanisms used by the cerebellum cover not only sensorimotor functions but also reward-related tasks. Cerebellar circuits appear to encode temporal difference error and reward prediction error. From a chemical standpoint, cerebellar catecholamines modulate the rate of cerebellar-based cognitive learning, and mediate cerebellar contributions during complex behaviours. Reward processing and its associated emotions are tuned by the cerebellum which operates as a controller of adaptive homeostatic processes based on interoceptive and exteroceptive inputs. Lobules VI-VII/areas of the vermis are candidate regions for the cortico-subcortical signaling pathways associated with loss aversion and reward sensitivity, together with other nodes of the limbic circuitry. There is growing evidence that the cerebellum works as a hub of regional dysconnectivity across all mood states and that mental disorders involve the cerebellar circuitry, including mood and addiction disorders, and impaired eating behaviors where the cerebellum might be involved in longer time scales of prediction as compared to motor operations. Cerebellar patients exhibit aberrant social behaviour, showing aberrant impulsivity/compulsivity. The cerebellum is a master-piece of reward mechanisms, together with the striatum, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Critically, studies on reward processing reinforce our view that a fundamental role of the cerebellum is to construct internal models, perform predictions on the impact of future behaviour and compare what is predicted and what actually occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Manto
- Service de Neurologie, Médiathèque Jean Jacquy, CHU-Charleroi, 6000, Charleroi, Belgium.
- Service Des Neurosciences, Université de Mons, 7000, Mons, Belgium.
- Unité Des Ataxies Cérébelleuses, CHU-Charleroi, Service Des Neurosciences, University of Mons, 7000, Mons, Belgium.
| | - Michael Adamaszek
- Department of Clinical and Cognitive Neurorehabilitation, Klinik Bavaria Kreischa, 01731, Kreischa, Germany
| | - Richard Apps
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Erik Carlson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA
- Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA
| | - Julian Guarque-Chabrera
- Área de Psicobiología, Facultat de Ciències de La Salut, Universitat Jaume I, 12071, Castellón de La Plana, Spain
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 10461, USA
| | - Elien Heleven
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Shinji Kakei
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Jissen Women's University, Tokyo, 191-8510, Japan
| | - Kamran Khodakhah
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 10461, USA
| | - Sheng-Han Kuo
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Initiative of Columbia Ataxia and Tremor, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Chi-Ying R Lin
- Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030 TX, USA
- Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030 TX, USA
| | - Mati Joshua
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marta Miquel
- Área de Psicobiología, Facultat de Ciències de La Salut, Universitat Jaume I, 12071, Castellón de La Plana, Spain
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 10461, USA
| | - Hiroshi Mitoma
- Department of Medical Education, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, 160-8402, Japan
| | - Noga Larry
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Julie Anne Péron
- Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jasmine Pickford
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Dennis J L G Schutter
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Manpreet K Singh
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis, 2230 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Tommy Tan
- Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA
| | - Hirokazu Tanaka
- Faculty of Information Technology, Tokyo City University, Tokyo, 158-8557, Japan
| | - Peter Tsai
- Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA
- Departments of Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA
| | - Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Kunihiko Yamashiro
- Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA
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Pallarès-Sastre M, García M, Rouco-Axpe I, Amayra I. A systematic review of social cognition in hereditary ataxia patients: Evidence from neuroimaging studies. Brain Res 2024; 1827:148765. [PMID: 38219813 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.148765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Mercè Pallarès-Sastre
- Neuro-e-Motion Research Team, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain.
| | - Maitane García
- Neuro-e-Motion Research Team, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Idoia Rouco-Axpe
- Neurology Service. Cruces University Hospital. BioCruces Health Research Institute, Barakaldo-Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Imanol Amayra
- Neuro-e-Motion Research Team, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
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Ciricugno A, Oldrati V, Cattaneo Z, Leggio M, Urgesi C, Olivito G. Cerebellar Neurostimulation for Boosting Social and Affective Functions: Implications for the Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxia Patients. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024:10.1007/s12311-023-01652-z. [PMID: 38270782 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01652-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Beyond motor deficits, spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) patients also suffer cognitive decline and show socio-affective difficulties, negatively impacting on their social functioning. The possibility to modulate cerebello-cerebral networks involved in social cognition through cerebellar neurostimulation has opened up potential therapeutic applications for ameliorating social and affective difficulties. The present review offers an overview of the research on cerebellar neurostimulation for the modulation of socio-affective functions in both healthy individuals and different clinical populations, published in the time period 2000-2022. A total of 25 records reporting either transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) studies were found. The investigated clinical populations comprised different pathological conditions, including but not limited to SCA syndromes. The reviewed evidence supports that cerebellar neurostimulation is effective in improving social abilities in healthy individuals and reducing social and affective symptoms in different neurological and psychiatric populations associated with cerebellar damage or with impairments in functions that involve the cerebellum. These findings encourage to further explore the rehabilitative effects of cerebellar neurostimulation on socio-affective deficits experienced by patients with cerebellar abnormalities, as SCA patients. Nevertheless, conclusions remain tentative at this stage due to the heterogeneity characterizing stimulation protocols, study methodologies and patients' samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ciricugno
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Science, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Viola Oldrati
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Maria Leggio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842, Bosisio Parini, Italy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy
| | - Giusy Olivito
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179, Rome, Italy
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Urbini N, Siciliano L, Olivito G, Leggio M. Unveiling the role of cerebellar alterations in the autonomic nervous system: a systematic review of autonomic dysfunction in spinocerebellar ataxias. J Neurol 2023; 270:5756-5772. [PMID: 37749264 PMCID: PMC10632228 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-11993-8] [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: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autonomic dysfunctions are prevalent in several cerebellar disorders, but they have not been systematically investigated in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). Studies investigating autonomic deficits in SCAs are fragmented, with each one focusing on different autonomic dysfunctions and different SCA subtypes. METHODS Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to assess the presence of autonomic dysfunctions in various SCAs. PubMed served as the primary database, and the Rayyan web application was employed for study screening. RESULTS We identified 46 articles investigating at least one autonomic function in patients with SCA. The results were analyzed and categorized based on the genetic subtype of SCA, thereby characterizing the specific autonomic deficits associated with each subtype. CONCLUSION This review confirms the presence of autonomic dysfunctions in various genetic subtypes of SCA, underscoring the cerebellum's role in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It also emphasizes the importance of investigating these functions in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Urbini
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306-354, 00179, Rome, Italy.
| | - Libera Siciliano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306-354, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Giusy Olivito
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306-354, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Leggio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306-354, 00179, Rome, Italy
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Hu C, He T, Zou B, Li H, Zhao J, Hu C, Cui J, Huang Z, Shu S, Hao Y. Fecal microbiota transplantation in a child with severe ASD comorbidities of gastrointestinal dysfunctions-a case report. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1219104. [PMID: 37663603 PMCID: PMC10469809 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1219104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive behaviors. In addition to behavioral interventions and psychotherapies, and pharmacological interventions, in-depth studies of intestinal microbiota in ASD has obvious abnormalities which may effectively influenced in ASD. Several attempts have been made to indicate that microbiota can reduce the occurrence of ASD effectively. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a type of biological therapy that involves the transplant of intestinal microbiota from healthy donors into the patient's gastrointestinal tract to improve the gut microenvironment. In this case report, we describe a case of child ASD treated by FMT. The patient have poor response to long-term behavioral interventions. After five rounds of FMT, clinical core symptoms of ASD and gastrointestinal(GI) symptoms were significantly altered. Moreover, the multiple levels of functional development of child were also significantly ameliorated. We found that FMT changed the composition of the intestinal microbiota as well as the metabolites, intestinal inflammatory manifestations, and these changes were consistent with the patient's symptoms. This report suggests further FMT studies in ASD could be worth pursuing, and more studies are needed to validate the effectiveness of FMT in ASD and its mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Hu
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Tianyi He
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Biao Zou
- Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Heli Li
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jinzhu Zhao
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Chen Hu
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jinru Cui
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhihua Huang
- Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Sainan Shu
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yan Hao
- Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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