Fetal brain MRI atlases and datasets: A review

Fetal brain development is a complex process involving different stages of growth and organization which are crucial for the development of brain circuits and neural connections. Fetal atlases and labeled datasets are promising tools to investigate prenatal brain development. They support the identification of atypical brain patterns, providing insights into potential early signs of clinical conditions. In a nutshell, prenatal brain imaging and post-processing via modern tools are a cutting-edge field that will significantly contribute to the advancement of our understanding of fetal development. In this work, we first provide terminological clarification for specific terms (i.e., "brain template" and "brain atlas"), highlighting potentially misleading interpretations related to inconsistent use of terms in the literature. We discuss the major structures and neurodevelopmental milestones characterizing fetal brain ontogenesis. Our main contribution is the systematic review of 18 prenatal brain atlases and 3 datasets. We also tangentially focus on clinical, research, and ethical implications of prenatal neuroimaging.

Neural discrimination of facial cues associated with trustworthiness in adults and 6-month-old infants as revealed by fast periodic visual stimulation

Adults and children easily distinguish between fine-grained variations in trustworthiness intensity based on facial appearance, but the developmental origins of this fundamental social skill are still debated. Using a fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) oddball paradigm coupled with electroencephalographic (EEG) recording, we investigated neural discrimination of morphed faces that adults perceive as low- and high-trustworthy in a sample of 6-month-old infants (N = 29; 56% male; Mage = 196.8 days; all White) and young adults (N = 21; 40% male; Mage = 24.61 years; all White) recruited in Italy. Stimulus sequences were presented at 6 Hz with deviant faces interleaved every fifth stimulus (i.e., 1.2 Hz); oddball category (high/low trustworthiness) was varied within subjects. FPVS responses were analyzed at both frequencies of interest and their harmonics as a function of deviant type (high- vs. low-trustworthy) over occipital and occipitolateral electrode clusters. For both infants and adults, the baseline response did not differ between trustworthiness conditions. Significant responses were centered on the right parietal electrodes in infants, and on the occipital and left occipitotemporal clusters in adults. Oddball responses were significant for both infants and adults, with cross-age differences in the topographical localization of the response on the scalp. Overall, results suggest that, by the age of 6 months, infants discriminate between faces that adults rate as high and low in trustworthiness, extending prior evidence of early sensitivity to this face dimension in humans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Multimodal study of the neural sources of error monitoring in adolescents and adults

The ability to monitor performance during a goal-directed behavior differs among children and adults in ways that can be measured with several tasks and techniques. As well, recent work has shown that individual differences in error monitoring moderate temperamental risk for anxiety and that this moderation changes with age. We investigated age differences in neural responses linked to performance monitoring using a multimodal approach. The approach combined functional MRI and source localization of event-related potentials (ERPs) in 12-year-old, 15-year-old, and adult participants. Neural generators of two components related to performance and error monitoring, the N2 and ERN, lay within specific areas of fMRI clusters. Whereas correlates of the N2 component appeared similar across age groups, age-related differences manifested in the location of the generators of the ERN component. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) was the predominant source location for the 12-year-old group; this area manifested posteriorly for the 15-year-old and adult groups. A fMRI-based ROI analysis confirmed this pattern of activity. These results suggest that changes in the underlying neural mechanisms are related to developmental changes in performance monitoring.

Face race and sex impact visual fixation strategies for upright and inverted faces in 3- to 6-year-old children

Everyday face experience tends to be biased, such that infants and young children interact more often with own-race and female faces leading to differential processing of faces within these groups relative to others. In the present study, visual fixation strategies were recorded using eye tracking to determine the extent to which face race and sex/gender impact a key index of face processing in 3- to 6-year-old children (n = 47). Children viewed male and female upright and inverted White and Asian faces while visual fixations were recorded. Face orientation was found to have robust effects on children's visual fixations, such that children exhibited shorter first fixation and average fixation durations and a greater number of fixations for inverted compared to upright face trials. First fixations to the eye region were also greater for upright compared to inverted faces. Fewer fixations and longer duration fixations were found for trials with male compared to female faces and for upright compared to inverted unfamiliar-race faces, but not familiar-race faces. These findings demonstrate evidence of differential fixation strategies toward different types of faces in 3- to 6-year-old children, illustrating the importance of experience in the development of visual attention to faces.

Neural correlates of inhibitory control and associations with cognitive outcomes in Bangladeshi children exposed to early adversities

There is strong support for the view that children growing up in low-income homes typically evince poorer performance on tests of inhibitory control compared to those growing up in higher income homes. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the work documenting this association has been conducted in high-income countries. It is not yet known whether the mechanisms found to mediate this association would generalize to children in low- and middle-income countries, where the risks of exposure to extreme poverty and a wide range of both biological and psychosocial hazards may be greater. We examined relations among early adversity, neural correlates of inhibitory control, and cognitive outcomes in 154 5-year-old children living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, an area with a high prevalence of poverty. Participants completed a go/no-go task assessing inhibitory control and their behavioral and event-related potential responses were assessed. Cortical source analysis was performed. We collected measures of poverty, malnutrition, maternal mental health, psychosocial adversity, and cognitive skills. Supporting studies in high-income countries, children in this sample exhibited a longer N2 latency and higher P3 amplitude to the no-go versus go condition. Unexpectedly, children had a more pronounced N2 amplitude during go trials than no-go trials. The N2 latency was related to their behavioral accuracy on the go/no-go task. The P3 mean amplitude, behavioral accuracy, and reaction time during the task were all associated with intelligence-quotient (IQ) scores. Children who experienced higher levels of psychosocial adversity had lower accuracy on the task and lower IQ scores.

Cortical Source Analysis of Event-Related Potentials: A Developmental Approach

Cortical source analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals has become an important tool in the analysis of brain activity. The aim of source analysis is to reconstruct the cortical generators (sources) of the EEG signal recorded on the scalp. The quality of the source reconstruction relies on the accuracy of the forward problem, and consequently the inverse problem. An accurate forward solution is obtained when an appropriate imaging modality (i.e., structural magnetic resonance imaging - MRI) is used to describe the head geometry, precise electrode locations are identified with 3D maps of the sensor positions on the scalp, and realistic conductivity values are determined for each tissue type of the head model. Together these parameters contribute to the definition of realistic head models. Here, we describe the steps necessary to reconstruct the cortical generators of the EEG signal recorded on the scalp. We provide an example of source reconstruction of event-related potentials (ERPs) during a face-processing task performed by a 6-month-old infant. We discuss the adjustments necessary to perform source analysis with measures different from the ERPs. The proposed pipeline can be applied to the investigation of different cognitive tasks in both younger and older participants.

Infants' visual exploration strategies for adult and child faces

By the end of the first year of life, infants' discrimination abilities tune to frequently experienced face groups. Little is known about the exploration strategies adopted to efficiently discriminate frequent, familiar face types. The present eye-tracking study examined the distribution of visual fixations produced by 10-month-old and 4-month-old singletons while learning adult (i.e., familiar) and child (i.e., unfamiliar) White faces. Infants were tested in an infant-controlled visual habituation task, in which post-habituation preference measured successful discrimination. Results confirmed earlier evidence that, without sibling experience, 10-month-olds discriminate only among adult faces. Analyses of gaze movements during habituation showed that infants' fixations were centered in the upper part of the stimuli. The mouth was sampled longer in adult faces than in child faces, while the child eyes were sampled longer and more frequently than the adult eyes. At 10 months, but not at 4 months, global measures of scanning behavior on the whole face also varied according to face age, as the spatiotemporal distribution of scan paths showed larger within- and between-participants similarity for adult faces than for child faces. Results are discussed with reference to the perceptual narrowing literature, and the influence of age-appropriate developmental tasks on infants' face processing abilities.

The Influence of the Head Model Conductor on the Source Localization of Auditory Evoked Potentials

The accuracy of EEG source analysis reconstruction improves when a realistic head volume conductor is modeled. In this study we investigated how the progressively more complex head representations influence the spatial localization of auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs). Fourteen young-adult participants with normal hearing performed the AEP task. Individualized head models were obtained from structural MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging scans collected in a separate session. AEPs were elicited by 1 k Hz and 4 k Hz tone bursts during a passive-listening tetanizing paradigm. We compared the amplitude of the N1 and P2 components before and after 4 min of tetanic-stimulation with 1 k Hz sounds. Current density reconstruction values of both components were investigated in the primary auditory cortex and adjacent areas. Furthermore, we compared the signal topography and magnitude obtained with 10 different head models on the EEG forward solution. Starting from the simplest model (scalp, skull, brain), we investigated the influence of modeling the CSF, distinguishing between GM and WM conductors, and including anisotropic WM values. We localized the activity of AEPs within the primary auditory cortex, but not in adjacent areas. The inclusion of the CSF compartment had the strongest influence on the source reconstruction, whereas white matter anisotropy led to a smaller improvement. We conclude that individualized realistic head models provide the best solution for the forward solution when modeling the CSF conductor.

Peak selection and latency jitter correction in developmental event-related potentials

Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide great insight into neural responses, yet developmental ERP work is plagued with inconsistent approaches to identifying and quantifying component latency. In this analytical review, we describe popular conventions for the selection of time windows for ERP analysis and assert that a data-driven strategy should be applied to the identification of component latency within individual participants' data. This may overcome weaknesses of more general approaches to peak selection; however, it does not account for trial-by-trial variability within a participant. This issue, known as ERP latency jitter, may blur the average ERP, misleading the interpretation of neural mechanisms. Recently, the ReSync MATLAB toolbox has been made available for correction of latency jitter. Although not created specifically for pediatric ERP data, this approach can be adapted for developmental researchers. We have demonstrated the use of the ReSync toolbox with individual infant and child datasets to illustrate its utility. Details about our peak detection script and the ReSync toolbox are provided. The adoption of data processing procedures that allow for accurate, study-specific component selection and reduce trial-by-trial asynchrony strengthens developmental ERP research by decreasing noise included in ERP analyses and improving the representation of the neural response.

Face-sensitive brain responses in the first year of life

Cortical areas in the ventral visual pathway become selectively tuned towards the processing of faces compared to non-face stimuli beginning around 3 months of age and continuing over the first year. Studies using event-related potentials in the EEG (ERPs) have found an ERP component, the N290, that displays specificity for human faces. Other components, such as the P1, P400, and Nc have been studied to a lesser degree in their responsiveness to human faces. However, little is known about the systematic changes in the neural responses to faces during the first year of life, and the localization of these responses in infants' brain. We examined ERP responses to pictures of faces and objects in infants from 4.5 months through 12 months in a cross-sectional study. We investigated the activity of all the components reported to be involved in infant face processing, with particular interest to their amplitude variation and cortical localization. We identified neural regions responsible for the component through the application of cortical source localization methods. We found larger P1 and N290 responses to faces than objects, and these components were localized in the lingual and middle/posterior fusiform gyri, respectively. The amplitude of the P400 was not differentially sensitive to faces over objects. The Nc component was different for faces and objects, was influenced by the infant's attentional state, and localized in medial-anterior brain areas. The implications of these results are discussed in the identification of developmental ERP precursors to face processing.

Quantifying Sources of Variability in Infancy Research Using the Infant-Directed-Speech Preference

Psychological scientists have become increasingly concerned with issues related to methodology and replicability, and infancy researchers in particular face specific challenges related to replicability: For example, high-powered studies are difficult to conduct, testing conditions vary across labs, and different labs have access to different infant populations. Addressing these concerns, we report on a large-scale, multisite study aimed at (a) assessing the overall replicability of a single theoretically important phenomenon and (b) examining methodological, cultural, and developmental moderators. We focus on infants’ preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). Stimuli of mothers speaking to their infants and to an adult in North American English were created using seminaturalistic laboratory-based audio recordings. Infants’ relative preference for IDS and ADS was assessed across 67 laboratories in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia using the three common methods for measuring infants’ discrimination (head-turn preference, central fixation, and eye tracking). The overall meta-analytic effect size (Cohen’s d) was 0.35, 95% confidence interval = [0.29, 0.42], which was reliably above zero but smaller than the meta-analytic mean computed from previous literature (0.67). The IDS preference was significantly stronger in older children, in those children for whom the stimuli matched their native language and dialect, and in data from labs using the head-turn preference procedure. Together, these findings replicate the IDS preference but suggest that its magnitude is modulated by development, native-language experience, and testing procedure.

The neural sources of N170: Understanding timing of activation in face-selective areas

The N170 ERP component has been widely identified as a face-sensitive neural marker. Despite extensive investigations conducted to examine the neural sources of N170, there are two issues in prior literature: (a) few studies used individualized anatomy as head model for the cortical source analysis of the N170, and (b) the relationship between the N170 and face-selective regions from fMRI studies is unclear. Here, we addressed these questions by presenting pictures of faces and houses to the same group of healthy adults and recording structural MRI, fMRI, and high-density ERPs in separate sessions. Source analysis based on the participant's anatomy showed that the middle and posterior fusiform gyri were the primary neural sources for the face-sensitive aspects of the N170. Source analysis based on regions of interest from the fMRI revealed that the fMRI-defined fusiform face area was the major contributor to the N170. The current study suggests that the fusiform gyrus is a major neural contributor to the N170 ERP component and provides further insights about the spatiotemporal characteristics of face processing.

The nature and emotional valence of a prime influences the processing of emotional faces in adults and children

A large body of research has investigated both the emotional elaboration of facial stimuli in adults and the development of children’s recognition of emotional expressions. Yet, it is still not clear whether children’s ability to recognize an emotional face may be modulated by prior exposure to a different face, and whether an emotional expression may exert an effect on the processing of subsequently encountered facial emotional expressions. We tested in three experiments the recognition of happy and angry target faces preceded by neutral faces or objects (Experiment 1) and happy or angry faces (Experiment 2A and Experiment 2B) using an affective priming task in adults and 7- and 5-year-old children. Results showed a standard prime effect for neutral faces (Experiment 1) for all participants, and for happy faces in children (Experiment 2A) and adults (Experiment 2B). Otherwise, angry faces elicited negative priming effects in all participants (Experiment 2A). Overall, our findings showed that both prior exposure to a face per se and the emotional valence of the prime face have an impact on subsequent processing of facial emotional information. Implications for emotional processing are discussed.

Use of the spectrophotometric color method for the determination of the age of skin lesions on the pig carcass and its relationship with gene expression and histological and histochemical parameters

The presence of lesions on the pig carcass is an indicator of poor animal welfare and has economic impact as it downgrades the carcass value. The assessment of the age of lesions on the carcass may help identify risk factors and ultimately prevent their occurrence. The aim of this study was to assess the age of lesions on pig carcasses through spectrophotometric color evaluation and to relate the results with gene expression and histological and histochemical parameters. A total of 96 barrows were mixed 4 times over 3 d before slaughter and 80 lesions were selected after skin lesion observations to define 4 age categories: < 7 h (T1), 7-25 h (T2), 25-30 h (T3), and 49-54 h (T4). A nonlesioned skin area was used as a control. At slaughter, 3 biopsies per lesion and control skin were taken immediately after bleeding for analyses of gene expression (, , , , , , , , , ), skin histological characteristics (inflammation, erosion or ulceration, and necrosis), and enzyme activity (alkaline phosphatase and adenosine triphosphatase). The number of lesions was counted on each carcass, and the color was assessed visually by a pictorial chart and instrumentally through a spectrophotometer. Delta values (Δ) were calculated as the difference between the value of the lesion and the value of the control for all measures, except for the histological analysis. Results indicated that visual color observation was not sufficiently accurate to discriminate lesions by time of infliction ( > 0.10), while the spectrophotometer ΔL* and Δa* values variation allowed the identification of < 7 h or > 25 h old lesions ( < 0.05). Similarly, the expression of , , , , and genes was higher ( < 0.05) in < 7 h old lesions, while gene expression was higher ( < 0.05) in < 25 h old lesions. As for the histological analysis, the severity of inflammation was correlated with the age of the lesion (lower score in < 7 h old lesions and higher score in > 25 h old lesions; < 0.05). To conclude, the spectrophotometric color assessment of the carcass lesions at slaughter appears to be a reliable method to discriminate between fresh and older lesions on the carcass at the abattoir.

Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate homophobic attitudes in three European countries: Italy, Albania, and Ukraine. One thousand and forty-eight students were recruited in Italian (n = 766), Albanian (n = 180), and Ukrainian (n = 102) university centers.

METHODS

A socio-demographic questionnaire and Homophobia Scale (HS) were administered by our staff.

RESULTS

Cross-cultural and significant differences among Italian, Albanian, and Ukrainian students were found on the Homophobia Scale (HS; Italy: mean = 22.26 ± 16.73; Albania: mean = 38.15 ± 17.28; Ukraine: mean = 59.18 ± 16.23). The analysis of socio-demographic characteristics revealed that the male gender emerged as main predictor of homophobic attitude in all the three countries, although also a conservative political orientation and the religious belief predict higher homophobia levels in Italy and Albania, particularly.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that in these European countries assessed, attitudes toward homosexuality are different. Ukrainians display higher levels of homophobia than Albanians and Italians, confirming the central role of cultural differences in homophobic attitudes. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic aspects such as identification as male have a similar influence on homophobic attitudes in all assessed populations.

Latent classes of emotional and behavioural problems in epidemiological and referred samples and their relations to DSM-IV diagnoses

Researchers' interest have recently moved toward the identification of recurrent psychopathological profiles characterized by concurrent elevations on different behavioural and emotional traits. This new strategy turned to be useful in terms of diagnosis and outcome prediction. We used a person-centred statistical approach to examine whether different groups could be identified in a referred sample and in a general-population sample of children and adolescents, and we investigated their relation to DSM-IV diagnoses. A latent class analysis (LCA) was performed on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) syndrome scales of the referred sample (N = 1225), of the general-population sample (N = 3418), and of the total sample. Models estimating 1-class through 5-class solutions were compared and agreement in the classification of subjects was evaluated. Chi square analyses, a logistic regression, and a multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the relations between classes and diagnoses. In the two samples and in the total sample, the best-fitting models were 4-class solutions. The identified classes were Internalizing Problems (15.68%), Severe Dysregulated (7.82%), Attention/Hyperactivity (10.19%), and Low Problems (66.32%). Subsequent analyses indicated a significant relationship between diagnoses and classes as well as a main association between the severe dysregulated class and comorbidity. Our data suggested the presence of four different psychopathological profiles related to different outcomes in terms of psychopathological diagnoses. In particular, our results underline the presence of a profile characterized by severe emotional and behavioural dysregulation that is mostly associated with the presence of multiple diagnosis.

Visual scanning behavior is related to recognition performance for own- and other-age faces

It is well-established that our recognition ability is enhanced for faces belonging to familiar categories, such as own-race faces and own-age faces. Recent evidence suggests that, for race, the recognition bias is also accompanied by different visual scanning strategies for own- compared to other-race faces. Here, we tested the hypothesis that these differences in visual scanning patterns extend also to the comparison between own and other-age faces and contribute to the own-age recognition advantage. Participants (young adults with limited experience with infants) were tested in an old/new recognition memory task where they encoded and subsequently recognized a series of adult and infant faces while their eye movements were recorded. Consistent with findings on the other-race bias, we found evidence of an own-age bias in recognition which was accompanied by differential scanning patterns, and consequently differential encoding strategies, for own-compared to other-age faces. Gaze patterns for own-age faces involved a more dynamic sampling of the internal features and longer viewing time on the eye region compared to the other regions of the face. This latter strategy was extensively employed during learning (vs. recognition) and was positively correlated to discriminability. These results suggest that deeply encoding the eye region is functional for recognition and that the own-age bias is evident not only in differential recognition performance, but also in the employment of different sampling strategies found to be effective for accurate recognition.

Measure and characterization of lameness in gestating sows using force plate, kinematic, and accelerometer methods

The objective was to assess sows' lameness by measuring weight distribution on limbs using a force plate made up of 4 individual platforms each resting on 4 single-ended beam load cells. The weight was recorded at an average rate of 14 readings per s over a 15 min period. Ten sows (5 lame sows and 5 sound sows) were weighed twice on 2 different days to assess the repeatability of the measure. Sixty-one sows were then selected in 2 different sites and visually scored for lameness, using a 3-point scoring system (0=normal gait; 1=abnormal gait, and/or stiffness; and 2=shortened stride, and/or the sow puts less weight or avoids putting weight on 1 leg). Various measures were recorded from each sow using the force plate (percentage of weight, the ratio between the weights applied by contralateral legs, weight shifting, and amplitude of weight bearing and weight removing), kinematics (speed, stride length, swing time, stance time, foot height, and carpal and tarsal joints angle average and amplitude), and accelerometers (time spent standing during 24 h, frequency of stepping behavior during feeding, and latency to lie down after feed delivery). The within-sow CV for each measure taken from the force plate were lower than 15%, which reflects a good repeatability. Among force plate measures, only the weight shifting frequency and the ratio between the weights applied by contralateral legs differed between lameness scores. Sows that scored 2 had a higher frequency of weight shifting for fore legs (P=0.0003) and hind legs (P=0.0007) than sows scored 0 and 1. The ratio between the weights applied by contralateral legs decreased with the increase of lameness score for the hind limbs (P=0.014). However, these measures also differed between sites (P<0.01). These differences may be due to various reasons, including but not limited to genetics and housing systems. Nevertheless, the results suggest that force plate measures such as the asymmetry in the weight applied between a pair of legs and weight shifting are good indicators of lameness. Multivariate analysis on fore and hind legs showed independency between variables related to animals in movement (measures from kinematics) and variables related to static animals (measures from the force plate and accelerometers). Therefore, both static and dynamic methods need to be used to detect various lame sows.

[The possible uses of balneotherapy in treating chronic venous insufficiency of lower limbs]

The Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) of inferior limbs is a widespread disease, with an increasing incidence as a consequence of longer life expectance, life-style, obesity, smoking, use of drugs as oestrogens and progestins and working conditions. Medical therapy is still lacking for evidence of efficacy, and compression therapy is useful only in preventing a worsening of this condition. Surgical treatment is the only radical therapy effective for the advanced phases of the disease. In this context spa balneotherapy can be considered as a possible chance to improve some subjective and objective symptoms of CVI of inferior limbs, and to prevent worsening of this condition. The authors performed a review of the relevant scientific literature concerning the treatment of CVI of inferior limbs with mineral water balneotherapy, in order to evaluate its effects on objective and subjective symptoms and its effectiveness to prevent further worsening. We searched the PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science databases for articles published between 1990 and 2011 on this topic. To this end, the authors selected few clinical-controlled and case-controlled studies; patients affected from CVI of inferior limbs were treated with balneotherapy at health spas with sulphureous, sulphate, salsojodic or salsobromojodic mineral waters. Baths in mineral waters were often associated with idromassotherapy and vascular pathway. Effects of spa balneotherapy are related to some aspecific properties, like hydrostatic pressure, osmotic pressure and water temperature, partly related with specific chemico-physical properties of the adopted mineral water. The controlled clinical studies on spa therapy showed significant improvement of subjective (such as itch, paresthesias, pain, heaviness) and objective symptoms (namely edema and skin discromias). These studies suggest that spa balneotherapy may give a good chance of secondary prevention and effective therapy of CVI of inferior limbs, but also that it needs of other clinical controlled trials.

The APOL1 genotype of African American kidney transplant recipients does not impact 5-year allograft survival

Apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL1) gene variants are associated with end-stage renal disease in African Americans (AAs). Here we investigate the impact of recipient APOL1 gene distributions on kidney allograft outcomes. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 119 AA kidney transplant recipients, and found that 58 (48.7%) carried two APOL1 kidney disease risk variants. Contrary to the association seen in native kidney disease, there is no difference in allograft survival at 5-year posttransplant for recipients with high-risk APOL1 genotypes. Thus, we were able to conclude that APOL1 genotypes do not increase risk of allograft loss after kidney transplantations, and carrying 2 APOL1 risk alleles should not be an impediment to transplantation.