WorldWideScience

Sample records for abnormal brain processing

  1. Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by positron emission tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raine, A; Buchsbaum, M; LaCasse, L

    1997-09-15

    Murderers pleading not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) are thought to have brain dysfunction, but there have been no previous studies reporting direct measures of both cortical and subcortical brain functioning in this specific group. Positron emission tomography brain imaging using a continuous performance challenge task was conducted on 41 murderers pleading not guilty by reason of insanity and 41 age- and sex-matched controls. Murderers were characterized by reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus, left angular gyrus, and the corpus callosum, while abnormal asymmetries of activity (left hemisphere lower than right) were also found in the amygdala, thalamus, and medial temporal lobe. These preliminary findings provide initial indications of a network of abnormal cortical and subcortical brain processes that may predispose to violence in murderers pleading NGRI.

  2. Brain and bone abnormalities of thanatophoric dwarfism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Elka; Blaser, Susan; Shannon, Patrick; Widjaja, Elysa

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to present the imaging findings of skeletal and brain abnormalities in thanatophoric dwarfism, a lethal form of dysplastic dwarfism. The bony abnormalities associated with thanatophoric dwarfism include marked shortening of the tubular bones and ribs. Abnormal temporal lobe development is a common associated feature and can be visualized as early as the second trimester. It is important to assess the brains of fetuses with suspected thanatophoric dwarfism because the presence of associated brain malformations can assist in the antenatal diagnosis of thanatophoric dwarfism.

  3. Cognition and brain abnormalities on MRI in pituitary patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brummelman, Pauline; Sattler, Margriet G.A.; Meiners, Linda C.; Berg, Gerrit van den; Klauw, Melanie M. van der; Elderson, Martin F.; Dullaart, Robin P.F.; Koerts, Janneke; Werumeus Buning, Jorien; Tucha, Oliver; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H.R.; Bergh, Alfons C.M. van den; Beek, André P. van

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Cognitive impairments are frequently observed in treated NFA patients. • NFA patients with cognitive impairments do not show brain abnormalities on MRI more frequently than patients without cognitive impairments. • The absence of brain abnormalities on brain MRI does not exclude impairments of cognition. - Abstract: Purpose: The extent to which cognitive dysfunction is related to specific brain abnormalities in patients treated for pituitary macroadenoma is unclear. Therefore, we compared brain abnormalities seen on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in patients treated for nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma (NFA) with or without impairments in cognitive functioning. Methods: In this cross-sectional design, a cohort of 43 NFA patients was studied at the University Medical Center Groningen. White matter lesions (WMLs), cerebral atrophy, (silent) brain infarcts and abnormalities of the temporal lobes and hippocampi were assessed on pre-treatment and post-treatment MRI scans. Post-treatment cognitive examinations were performed using a verbal memory and executive functioning test. We compared our patient cohort with large reference populations representative of the Dutch population. Results: One or more impairments on both cognitive tests were frequently observed in treated NFA patients. No treatment effects were found with regard to the comparison between patients with and without impairments in executive functioning. Interestingly, in patients with one or more impairments on verbal memory function, treatment with radiotherapy had been given more frequently (74% in the impaired group versus 40% in the unimpaired group, P = 0.025). Patients with or without any brain abnormality on MRI did not differ in verbal memory or executive functioning. Conclusions: Brain abnormalities on MRI are not observed more frequently in treated NFA patients with impairments compared to NFA patients without impairments in verbal memory or executive functioning

  4. Cognition and brain abnormalities on MRI in pituitary patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brummelman, Pauline [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Sattler, Margriet G.A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Department of Radiation Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Meiners, Linda C. [Department of Radiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Berg, Gerrit van den; Klauw, Melanie M. van der [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Elderson, Martin F. [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); LifeLines Cohort Study and Biobank, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Dullaart, Robin P.F. [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Koerts, Janneke [Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Werumeus Buning, Jorien, E-mail: j.werumeus.buning@umcg.nl [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Tucha, Oliver [Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H.R. [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); LifeLines Cohort Study and Biobank, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Bergh, Alfons C.M. van den [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Beek, André P. van, E-mail: a.p.van.beek@umcg.nl [Department of Endocrinology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands)

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • Cognitive impairments are frequently observed in treated NFA patients. • NFA patients with cognitive impairments do not show brain abnormalities on MRI more frequently than patients without cognitive impairments. • The absence of brain abnormalities on brain MRI does not exclude impairments of cognition. - Abstract: Purpose: The extent to which cognitive dysfunction is related to specific brain abnormalities in patients treated for pituitary macroadenoma is unclear. Therefore, we compared brain abnormalities seen on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in patients treated for nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma (NFA) with or without impairments in cognitive functioning. Methods: In this cross-sectional design, a cohort of 43 NFA patients was studied at the University Medical Center Groningen. White matter lesions (WMLs), cerebral atrophy, (silent) brain infarcts and abnormalities of the temporal lobes and hippocampi were assessed on pre-treatment and post-treatment MRI scans. Post-treatment cognitive examinations were performed using a verbal memory and executive functioning test. We compared our patient cohort with large reference populations representative of the Dutch population. Results: One or more impairments on both cognitive tests were frequently observed in treated NFA patients. No treatment effects were found with regard to the comparison between patients with and without impairments in executive functioning. Interestingly, in patients with one or more impairments on verbal memory function, treatment with radiotherapy had been given more frequently (74% in the impaired group versus 40% in the unimpaired group, P = 0.025). Patients with or without any brain abnormality on MRI did not differ in verbal memory or executive functioning. Conclusions: Brain abnormalities on MRI are not observed more frequently in treated NFA patients with impairments compared to NFA patients without impairments in verbal memory or executive functioning

  5. Connectivity and functional profiling of abnormal brain structures in pedophilia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poeppl, Timm B; Eickhoff, Simon B; Fox, Peter T; Laird, Angela R; Rupprecht, Rainer; Langguth, Berthold; Bzdok, Danilo

    2015-06-01

    Despite its 0.5-1% lifetime prevalence in men and its general societal relevance, neuroimaging investigations in pedophilia are scarce. Preliminary findings indicate abnormal brain structure and function. However, no study has yet linked structural alterations in pedophiles to both connectional and functional properties of the aberrant hotspots. The relationship between morphological alterations and brain function in pedophilia as well as their contribution to its psychopathology thus remain unclear. First, we assessed bimodal connectivity of structurally altered candidate regions using meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) and resting-state correlations employing openly accessible data. We compared the ensuing connectivity maps to the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) maps of a recent quantitative meta-analysis of brain activity during processing of sexual stimuli. Second, we functionally characterized the structurally altered regions employing meta-data of a large-scale neuroimaging database. Candidate regions were functionally connected to key areas for processing of sexual stimuli. Moreover, we found that the functional role of structurally altered brain regions in pedophilia relates to nonsexual emotional as well as neurocognitive and executive functions, previously reported to be impaired in pedophiles. Our results suggest that structural brain alterations affect neural networks for sexual processing by way of disrupted functional connectivity, which may entail abnormal sexual arousal patterns. The findings moreover indicate that structural alterations account for common affective and neurocognitive impairments in pedophilia. The present multimodal integration of brain structure and function analyses links sexual and nonsexual psychopathology in pedophilia. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Hypomelanosis of Ito and brain abnormalities: MRI findings and literature review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steiner, J.; Adamsbaum, C.; Desguerres, I.; Lalande, G.; Raynaud, F.; Ponsot, G.; Kalifa, G.

    1996-01-01

    We report the results of a 14-year retrospective study of brain MRI abnormalities in 12 pediatric patients presenting with hypomelanosis of Ito (HI). Miscellaneous brain abnormalities were found: one patient had a medulloblastoma, three had cortical malformations, and five demonstrated ''minor'' abnormalities such as dilated Virchow-Robin spaces or brain atrophy. We emphasize the polymorphism of brain abnormalities associated with HI. (orig.). With 5 figs., 1 tab

  7. Abnormal Brain Responses to Action Observation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotta, Jaakko; Saari, Jukka; Koskinen, Miika; Hlushchuk, Yevhen; Forss, Nina; Hari, Riitta

    2017-03-01

    Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central motor function, and their pain is intensified when they perform or just observe motor actions. In this study, we examined the abnormalities of brain responses to action observation in CRPS. We analyzed 3-T functional magnetic resonance images from 13 upper limb CRPS patients (all female, ages 31-58 years) and 13 healthy, age- and sex-matched control subjects. The functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while the subjects viewed brief videos of hand actions shown in the first-person perspective. A pattern-classification analysis was applied to characterize brain areas where the activation pattern differed between CRPS patients and healthy subjects. Brain areas with statistically significant group differences (q frontal gyrus, secondary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal lobule, orbitofrontal cortex, and thalamus. Our findings indicate that CRPS impairs action observation by affecting brain areas related to pain processing and motor control. This article shows that in CRPS, the observation of others' motor actions induces abnormal neural activity in brain areas essential for sensorimotor functions and pain. These results build the cerebral basis for action-observation impairments in CRPS. Copyright © 2016 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Brain Abnormalities in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woojun Kim

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Neuromyelitis optica (NMO is an idiopathic inflammatory syndrome of the central nervous system that is characterized by severe attacks of optic neuritis (ON and myelitis. Until recently, NMO was considered a disease without brain involvement. However, since the discovery of NMO-IgG/antiaqaporin-4 antibody, the concept of NMO was broadened to NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD, and brain lesions are commonly recognized. Furthermore, some patients present with brain symptoms as their first manifestation and develop recurrent brain symptoms without ON or myelitis. Brain lesions with characteristic locations and configurations can be helpful in the diagnosis of NMOSD. Due to the growing recognition of brain abnormalities in NMOSD, these have been included in the NMO and NMOSD diagnostic criteria or guidelines. Recent technical developments such as diffusion tensor imaging, MR spectroscopy, and voxel-based morphometry reveal new findings related to brain abnormalities in NMOSD that were not identified using conventional MRI. This paper focuses on the incidence and characteristics of the brain lesions found in NMOSD and the symptoms that they cause. Recent studies using advanced imaging techniques are also introduced.

  9. Migraine and structural abnormalities in the brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard, Anders; Amin, Faisal Mohammad; Ashina, Messoud

    2014-01-01

    PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim is to provide an overview of recent studies of structural brain abnormalities in migraine and to discuss the potential clinical significance of their findings. RECENT FINDINGS: Brain structure continues to be a topic of extensive research in migraine. Despite advances...... in neuroimaging techniques, it is not yet clear if migraine is associated with grey matter changes. Recent large population-based studies sustain the notion of increased prevalence of white matter abnormalities in migraine, and possibly of silent infarct-like lesions. The clinical relevance of this association...

  10. SPECT brain perfusion abnormalities in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Dayem, H M; Abu-Judeh, H; Kumar, M; Atay, S; Naddaf, S; El-Zeftawy, H; Luo, J Q

    1998-05-01

    The purpose of this atlas is to present a review of the literature showing the advantages of SPECT brain perfusion imaging (BPI) in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) over other morphologic imaging modalities such as x-ray CT or MRI. The authors also present the technical recommendations for SPECT brain perfusion currently practiced at their center. For the radiopharmaceutical of choice, a comparison between early and delayed images using Tc-99m HMPAO and Tc-99m ECD showed that Tc-99m HMPAO is more stable in the brain with no washout over time. Therefore, the authors feel that Tc-99m HMPAO is preferable to Tc-99m ECD. Recommendations regarding standardizing intravenous injection, the acquisition, processing parameters, and interpretation of scans using a ten grade color scale, and use of the cerebellum as the reference organ are presented. SPECT images of 228 patients (age range, 11 to 88; mean, 40.8 years) with mild or moderate TBI and no significant medical history that interfered with the results of the SPECT BP were reviewed. The etiology of the trauma was in the following order of frequency: motor vehicle accidents (45%) followed by blow to the head (36%) and a fall (19%). Frequency of the symptoms was headache (60.9%), memory problems (27.6%), dizziness (26.7%), and sleep disorders (8.7%). Comparison between patients imaged early (3 months) from the time of the accident, showed that early imaging detected more lesions (4.2 abnormal lesions per study compared to 2.7 in those imaged more than 3 months after the accident). Of 41 patients who had mild traumatic injury without loss of consciousness and had normal CT, 28 studies were abnormal. Focal areas of hypoperfusion were seen in 77% (176 patients, 612 lesions) of the group of 228 patients. The sites of abnormalities were in the following order: basal ganglia and thalami, 55.2%, frontal lobes, 23.8%, temporal lobes, 13%, parietal, 3.7%, insular and occipital lobes together, 4.6%.

  11. Abnormal brain activation during threatening face processing in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Debo; Wang, Yulin; Jia, Xiaoyan; Li, Yingjia; Chang, Xuebin; Vandekerckhove, Marie; Luo, Cheng; Yao, Dezhong

    2017-11-15

    Impairment of face perception in schizophrenia is a core aspect of social cognitive dysfunction. This impairment is particularly marked in threatening face processing. Identifying reliable neural correlates of the impairment of threatening face processing is crucial for targeting more effective treatments. However, neuroimaging studies have not yet obtained robust conclusions. Through comprehensive literature search, twenty-one whole brain datasets were included in this meta-analysis. Using seed-based d-Mapping, in this voxel-based meta-analysis, we aimed to: 1) establish the most consistent brain dysfunctions related to threating face processing in schizophrenia; 2) address task-type heterogeneity in this impairment; 3) explore the effect of potential demographic or clinical moderator variables on this impairment. Main meta-analysis indicated that patients with chronic schizophrenia demonstrated attenuated activations in limbic emotional system along with compensatory over-activation in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) during threatening faces processing. Sub-task analyses revealed under-activations in right amygdala and left fusiform gyrus in both implicit and explicit tasks. The remaining clusters were found to be differently involved in different types of tasks. Moreover, meta-regression analyses showed brain abnormalities in schizophrenia were partly modulated by age, gender, medication and severity of symptoms. Our results highlighted breakdowns in limbic-MPFC circuit in schizophrenia, suggesting general inability to coordinate and contextualize salient threat stimuli. These findings provide potential targets for neurotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions for schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. MRI abnormalities and related risk factors of the brain in patients with neuromyelitis optica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao Hui; Ma Lin; Lou Xin; Cai Youquan; Wang Yulin; Wang Yan; Wu Lei; Wu Weiping

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the MRI features of the brain in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), and to evaluate the correlation between the brain abnormalities and related risk factors. Methods: Fifty-four patients with definite NMO according to 2006 Wingerchuk diagnosis criteria were enrolled in this study. MRI scanning of the brain was performed in these patients. Distribution and signal features of all the lesions were analyzed. A Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors of brain abnormalities. Results: Twenty-four NMO patients (44.4%) showed unremarkable findings and thirty (55.6%) showed abnormalities on brain MRI. Multiple and non-specific small lesions in the subcortical white matter and grey-white matter junction were the most frequent abnormalities on brain MRI (13/30, 43.3%). Typical lesion locations included corpus callosum, subependyma of ventricles, hypothalamus and brain stem. The lesions showed punctate, patchy and linear abnormal signals. Post-contrast MRI showed no abnormal enhancement in 16 cases. Logistic regression analysis showed that coexisting autoimmune disease or infection. history had correlations with abnormalities of the brain on MRI (OR=3.519, P<0.05). Conclusions: There was a high incidence of brain abnormalities in NMO. Subependymal white matter, corpus callosum, hypothalamus and brain stem were often involved in NMO. NMO patients with coexisting autoimmune disease and infection history had higher risk of brain abnormalities. (authors)

  13. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and abnormal brain aging: The AGES-Reykjavik Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabayan, Behnam; van Buchem, Mark A; de Craen, Anton J M; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Zhang, Qian; Harris, Tamara B; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Arai, Andrew E; Launer, Lenore J

    2015-09-01

    To investigate the independent association of serum N-terminal fragment of the prohormone natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with structural and functional features of abnormal brain aging in older individuals. In this cross-sectional study based on the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES)-Reykjavik Study, we included 4,029 older community-dwelling individuals (born 1907 to 1935) with a measured serum level of NT-proBNP. Outcomes included parenchymal brain volumes estimated from brain MRI, cognitive function measured by tests of memory, processing speed, and executive functioning, and presence of depressive symptoms measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale. In a substudy, cardiac output of 857 participants was assessed using cardiac MRI. In multivariate analyses, adjusted for sociodemographic and cardiovascular factors, higher levels of NT-proBNP were independently associated with lower total (p brain volumes. Likewise, in multivariate analyses, higher levels of NT-proBNP were associated with worse scores in memory (p = 0.005), processing speed (p = 0.001), executive functioning (p brain parenchymal volumes, impaired executive function and processing speed, and higher depressive symptoms were independent of the level of cardiac output. Higher serum levels of NT-proBNP, independent of cardiovascular risk factors and a measure of cardiac function, are linked with alterations in brain structure and function. Roles of natriuretic peptides in the process of brain aging need to be further elucidated. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

  14. Basic abnormalities in visual processing affect face processing at an early age in autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlamings, Petra Hendrika Johanna Maria; Jonkman, Lisa Marthe; van Daalen, Emma; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan; Kemner, Chantal

    2010-12-15

    A detailed visual processing style has been noted in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); this contributes to problems in face processing and has been directly related to abnormal processing of spatial frequencies (SFs). Little is known about the early development of face processing in ASD and the relation with abnormal SF processing. We investigated whether young ASD children show abnormalities in low spatial frequency (LSF, global) and high spatial frequency (HSF, detailed) processing and explored whether these are crucially involved in the early development of face processing. Three- to 4-year-old children with ASD (n = 22) were compared with developmentally delayed children without ASD (n = 17). Spatial frequency processing was studied by recording visual evoked potentials from visual brain areas while children passively viewed gratings (HSF/LSF). In addition, children watched face stimuli with different expressions, filtered to include only HSF or LSF. Enhanced activity in visual brain areas was found in response to HSF versus LSF information in children with ASD, in contrast to control subjects. Furthermore, facial-expression processing was also primarily driven by detail in ASD. Enhanced visual processing of detailed (HSF) information is present early in ASD and occurs for neutral (gratings), as well as for socially relevant stimuli (facial expressions). These data indicate that there is a general abnormality in visual SF processing in early ASD and are in agreement with suggestions that a fast LSF subcortical face processing route might be affected in ASD. This could suggest that abnormal visual processing is causative in the development of social problems in ASD. Copyright © 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Magnetic resonance imaging of neonatal brain. Assessment of normal and abnormal findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Koh; Kadono, Naoko; Kawase, Shohji; Kihara, Minako; Matsuo, Yasutaka; Yoshioka, Hiroshi; Kinugasa, Akihiko; Sawada, Tadashi

    1994-01-01

    To establish the normal MRI appearance of the neonatal brain, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 124 neonates who admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit. Degree of myelination, ventricular size, width of the extracerebral space and focal lesion in the brain were evaluated to investigate the relationship between MRI findings of neonatal brain and the neurological prognosis. 85 neonates underwent MRI both at neonatal period and at the corrected age of one year. The change of abnormal MRI findings was evaluated. 19 neonates had abnormal neurological outcome on subsequent examinations. Delayed myelination, ventriculomegaly and large extracerebral space were seen in 13, 7 and 9 neonates respectively. 4, 3 and 5 neonates out of them showed abnormal neurological prognosis respectively. Of the 19 neonates with focal lesion in MRI, 2 had parenchymal hematoma in the brain, 2 had subdural hematoma, 5 had chronic hematoma following subependymal hemorrhage, 6 had cystic formation following subependymal hemorrhage, 2 had subcortical leukomalacia, one had periventricular leukomalacia and one had cyst in the parenchyma of cerebellum. 4 neonates of 19 with focal lesion in MRI showed abnormal development. Of the neonates who had abnormal neurological prognosis, 7 neonates showed no abnormal finding in MRI at neonatal period. 3 of them had mild mental retardation. MRI shows promise in the neonatal period. It facilitates recognition of abnormalities of neonatal brain and may be used to predict abnormal neurologic outcome. However physiological change in the brain of neonates, especially of premature neonates, should be considered on interpreting these findings. Awareness of developmental features should help to minimize misinterpretation of normal changes in the neonatal brain. (author)

  16. Magnetic resonance imaging of neonatal brain. Assessment of normal and abnormal findings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasegawa, Koh; Kadono, Naoko; Kawase, Shohji; Kihara, Minako; Matsuo, Yasutaka; Yoshioka, Hiroshi; Kinugasa, Akihiko; Sawada, Tadashi (Kyoto Prefectural Univ. of Medicine (Japan))

    1994-11-01

    To establish the normal MRI appearance of the neonatal brain, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 124 neonates who admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit. Degree of myelination, ventricular size, width of the extracerebral space and focal lesion in the brain were evaluated to investigate the relationship between MRI findings of neonatal brain and the neurological prognosis. 85 neonates underwent MRI both at neonatal period and at the corrected age of one year. The change of abnormal MRI findings was evaluated. 19 neonates had abnormal neurological outcome on subsequent examinations. Delayed myelination, ventriculomegaly and large extracerebral space were seen in 13, 7 and 9 neonates respectively. 4, 3 and 5 neonates out of them showed abnormal neurological prognosis respectively. Of the 19 neonates with focal lesion in MRI, 2 had parenchymal hematoma in the brain, 2 had subdural hematoma, 5 had chronic hematoma following subependymal hemorrhage, 6 had cystic formation following subependymal hemorrhage, 2 had subcortical leukomalacia, one had periventricular leukomalacia and one had cyst in the parenchyma of cerebellum. 4 neonates of 19 with focal lesion in MRI showed abnormal development. Of the neonates who had abnormal neurological prognosis, 7 neonates showed no abnormal finding in MRI at neonatal period. 3 of them had mild mental retardation. MRI shows promise in the neonatal period. It facilitates recognition of abnormalities of neonatal brain and may be used to predict abnormal neurologic outcome. However physiological change in the brain of neonates, especially of premature neonates, should be considered on interpreting these findings. Awareness of developmental features should help to minimize misinterpretation of normal changes in the neonatal brain. (author).

  17. Structural brain abnormalities in Cushing's syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauduin, Stephanie E E C; van der Wee, Nic J A; van der Werff, Steven J A

    2018-05-08

    Alongside various physical symptoms, patients with Cushing's disease and Cushing's syndrome display a wide variety of neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms, which are indicative of involvement of the central nervous system. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the structural brain abnormalities that are associated with Cushing's disease and Cushing's syndrome and their relation to behavioral and cognitive symptomatology. In this review, we discuss the gray matter structural abnormalities found in patients with active Cushing's disease and Cushing's syndrome, the reversibility and persistence of these changes and the white matter structural changes related to Cushing's syndrome. Recent findings are of particular interest because they provide more detailed information on localization of the structural changes as well as possible insights into the underlying biological processes. Active Cushing's disease and Cushing's syndrome is related to volume reductions of the hippocampus and in a prefrontal region involving the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial frontal gyrus (MFG). Whilst there are indications that the reductions in hippocampal volume are partially reversible, the changes in the ACC and MFG appear to be more persistent. In contrast to the volumetric findings, changes in white matter connectivity are typically widespread involving multiple tracts.

  18. Large-Scale Functional Brain Network Abnormalities in Alzheimer’s Disease: Insights from Functional Neuroimaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradford C. Dickerson

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Functional MRI (fMRI studies of mild cognitive impairment (MCI and Alzheimer’s disease (AD have begun to reveal abnormalities in large-scale memory and cognitive brain networks. Since the medial temporal lobe (MTL memory system is a site of very early pathology in AD, a number of studies have focused on this region of the brain. Yet it is clear that other regions of the large-scale episodic memory network are affected early in the disease as well, and fMRI has begun to illuminate functional abnormalities in frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices as well in MCI and AD. Besides predictable hypoactivation of brain regions as they accrue pathology and undergo atrophy, there are also areas of hyperactivation in brain memory and cognitive circuits, possibly representing attempted compensatory activity. Recent fMRI data in MCI and AD are beginning to reveal relationships between abnormalities of functional activity in the MTL memory system and in functionally connected brain regions, such as the precuneus. Additional work with “resting state” fMRI data is illuminating functional-anatomic brain circuits and their disruption by disease. As this work continues to mature, it will likely contribute to our understanding of fundamental memory processes in the human brain and how these are perturbed in memory disorders. We hope these insights will translate into the incorporation of measures of task-related brain function into diagnostic assessment or therapeutic monitoring, which will hopefully one day be useful for demonstrating beneficial effects of treatments being tested in clinical trials.

  19. Brain MRI abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Fei, E-mail: feiwang1973@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, 45 Chang-Chun St, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053 (China); Liu Yaou, E-mail: asiaeurope80@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, 45 Chang-Chun St, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053 (China); Duan Yunyun, E-mail: duanyun2003@sohu.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, 45 Chang-Chun St, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053 (China); Li Kuncheng, E-mail: kunchengli@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, 45 Chang-Chun St, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053 (China); Education Ministry Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disease, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, 45 Chang-Chun St, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053 (China)

    2011-11-15

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore brain MRI findings in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and to investigate specific brain lesions with respect to the localization of aquaporin-4 (AQP-4). Materials and methods: Forty admitted patients (36 women) who satisfied the 2006 criteria of Wingerchuk et al. for NMO were included in this study. All patients received a neurological examination and MRI scanning including brain and spinal cord. MRIs were classified as normal, nonspecific, multiple sclerosis-like, typical abnormalities. MS-like lesions were too few to satisfy the Barkhof et al. criteria for MS. Confluent lesions involving high AQP-4 regions were considered typical. Non-enhancing deep white matter lesions other than MS-like lesions or typical lesions were classified as nonspecific. Results: Brain MRI lesions were delineated in 12 patients (25%). Four patients (10%) had hypothalamus, brainstem or periventricle lesions. Six (15%) patients were nonspecific, and 2 (5%) patients had multiple sclerosis-like lesions. Conclusion: Brain MRIs are negative in most NMO, and brain lesions do not exclude the diagnosis of NMO. Hypothalamus, brainstem or periventricle lesions, corresponding to high sites of AQP-4 in the brain, are indicative of lesions of NMO.

  20. Brain MRI abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fei; Liu Yaou; Duan Yunyun; Li Kuncheng

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore brain MRI findings in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and to investigate specific brain lesions with respect to the localization of aquaporin-4 (AQP-4). Materials and methods: Forty admitted patients (36 women) who satisfied the 2006 criteria of Wingerchuk et al. for NMO were included in this study. All patients received a neurological examination and MRI scanning including brain and spinal cord. MRIs were classified as normal, nonspecific, multiple sclerosis-like, typical abnormalities. MS-like lesions were too few to satisfy the Barkhof et al. criteria for MS. Confluent lesions involving high AQP-4 regions were considered typical. Non-enhancing deep white matter lesions other than MS-like lesions or typical lesions were classified as nonspecific. Results: Brain MRI lesions were delineated in 12 patients (25%). Four patients (10%) had hypothalamus, brainstem or periventricle lesions. Six (15%) patients were nonspecific, and 2 (5%) patients had multiple sclerosis-like lesions. Conclusion: Brain MRIs are negative in most NMO, and brain lesions do not exclude the diagnosis of NMO. Hypothalamus, brainstem or periventricle lesions, corresponding to high sites of AQP-4 in the brain, are indicative of lesions of NMO.

  1. Abnormal fear conditioning and amygdala processing in an animal model of autism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markram, Kamila; Rinaldi, Tania; La Mendola, Deborah

    2008-01-01

    A core feature of autism spectrum disorders is the impairment in social interactions. Among other brain regions, a deficit in amygdala processing has been suggested to underlie this impairment, but whether the amygdala is processing fear abnormally in autism, is yet not clear. We used the valproic......-treated animals displayed several symptoms common to autism, among them impaired social interactions and increased repetitive behaviors. Furthermore, VPA-treated rats were more anxious and exhibited abnormally high and longer lasting fear memories, which were overgeneralized and harder to extinguish...

  2. Abnormalities of Object Visual Processing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feusner, Jamie D.; Hembacher, Emily; Moller, Hayley; Moody, Teena D.

    2013-01-01

    Background Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder may have perceptual distortions for their appearance. Previous studies suggest imbalances in detailed relative to configural/holistic visual processing when viewing faces. No study has investigated the neural correlates of processing non-symptom-related stimuli. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal patterns of brain activation when viewing non-face/non-body object stimuli. Methods Fourteen medication-free participants with DSM-IV body dysmorphic disorder and 14 healthy controls participated. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants matched photographs of houses that were unaltered, contained only high spatial frequency (high detail) information, or only low spatial frequency (low detail) information. The primary outcome was group differences in blood oxygen level-dependent signal changes. Results The body dysmorphic disorder group showed lesser activity in the parahippocampal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and precuneus for low spatial frequency images. There were greater activations in medial prefrontal regions for high spatial frequency images, although no significant differences when compared to a low-level baseline. Greater symptom severity was associated with lesser activity in dorsal occipital cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for normal and high spatial frequency images. Conclusions Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal brain activation patterns when viewing objects. Hypoactivity in visual association areas for configural and holistic (low detail) elements and abnormal allocation of prefrontal systems for details is consistent with a model of imbalances in global vs. local processing. This may occur not only for appearance but also for general stimuli unrelated to their symptoms. PMID:21557897

  3. Imaging findings of the brain abnormalities in acute lymphoblastic leukemia of children during and after treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kyung Joo; Lee, Seung Rho; Park, Dong Woo; Joo, Kyung Bin; Kim, Jang Wook; Hahm, Chang Kok; Kim, Ki Joong; Lee, Hahng

    2001-01-01

    We evaluated the imaging abnormalities of the brain observed during and after treatment of acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia. The study group consisted of 30 patients (male : female=19 : 11 ; mean age, 64 months) with acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia during the previous ten-year period who had undergone prophylaxis of the central nervous system. Irrespective of the CNS symptoms, base-line study of the brain involving CT and follow-up CT or MRI was undertaken more than once. We retrospectively evaluated the imaging findings, methods of treatment, associated CNS symptoms, and the interval between diagnosis and the time at which brain abnormalities were revealed by imaging studies. In 15 (50% ; male : female=9 : 6 ; mean age, 77 months) of 30 patients, brain abnormalities that included brain atrophy (n=9), cerebral infarctions (n=4), intracranial hemorrhage (n=1), mineralizing microangiopathy (n=2), and periventricular leukomalacia (n=3) were seen on follow-up CT or MR images. In four of nine patients with brain atrophy, imaging abnormalities such as periventricular leukomalacia (n=2), infarction (n=1) and microangiopathy (n=1) were demonstrated. Fourteen of the 15 patients underwent similar treatment ; the one excluded had leukemic cells in the CSF. Six patients had CNS symptoms. In the 15 patients with abnormal brain imaging findings, the interval between diagnosis and the demonstration of brain abnormalities was between one month and four years. After the cessation of treatment, imaging abnormalities remained in all patients except one with brain atrophy. Various imaging abnormalities of the brain may be seen during and after the treatment of acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia and persist for a long time. In children with this condition, the assessment of brain abnormalities requires follow-up study of the brain

  4. Imaging findings of the brain abnormalities in acute lymphoblastic leukemia of children during and after treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Kyung Joo; Lee, Seung Rho; Park, Dong Woo; Joo, Kyung Bin; Kim, Jang Wook; Hahm, Chang Kok; Kim, Ki Joong; Lee, Hahng [College of Medicine, Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2001-09-01

    We evaluated the imaging abnormalities of the brain observed during and after treatment of acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia. The study group consisted of 30 patients (male : female=19 : 11 ; mean age, 64 months) with acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia during the previous ten-year period who had undergone prophylaxis of the central nervous system. Irrespective of the CNS symptoms, base-line study of the brain involving CT and follow-up CT or MRI was undertaken more than once. We retrospectively evaluated the imaging findings, methods of treatment, associated CNS symptoms, and the interval between diagnosis and the time at which brain abnormalities were revealed by imaging studies. In 15 (50% ; male : female=9 : 6 ; mean age, 77 months) of 30 patients, brain abnormalities that included brain atrophy (n=9), cerebral infarctions (n=4), intracranial hemorrhage (n=1), mineralizing microangiopathy (n=2), and periventricular leukomalacia (n=3) were seen on follow-up CT or MR images. In four of nine patients with brain atrophy, imaging abnormalities such as periventricular leukomalacia (n=2), infarction (n=1) and microangiopathy (n=1) were demonstrated. Fourteen of the 15 patients underwent similar treatment ; the one excluded had leukemic cells in the CSF. Six patients had CNS symptoms. In the 15 patients with abnormal brain imaging findings, the interval between diagnosis and the demonstration of brain abnormalities was between one month and four years. After the cessation of treatment, imaging abnormalities remained in all patients except one with brain atrophy. Various imaging abnormalities of the brain may be seen during and after the treatment of acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia and persist for a long time. In children with this condition, the assessment of brain abnormalities requires follow-up study of the brain.

  5. Seizure-induced brain lesions: A wide spectrum of variably reversible MRI abnormalities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cianfoni, A.; Caulo, M.; Cerase, A.; Della Marca, G.; Falcone, C.; Di Lella, G.M.; Gaudino, S.; Edwards, J.; Colosimo, C.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction MRI abnormalities in the postictal period might represent the effect of the seizure activity, rather than its structural cause. Material and Methods Retrospective review of clinical and neuroimaging charts of 26 patients diagnosed with seizure-related MR-signal changes. All patients underwent brain-MRI (1.5-Tesla, standard pre- and post-contrast brain imaging, including DWI-ADC in 19/26) within 7 days from a seizure and at least one follow-up MRI, showing partial or complete reversibility of the MR-signal changes. Extensive clinical work-up and follow-up, ranging from 3 months to 5 years, ruled out infection or other possible causes of brain damage. Seizure-induced brain-MRI abnormalities remained a diagnosis of exclusion. Site, characteristics and reversibility of MRI changes, and association with characteristics of seizures were determined. Results MRI showed unilateral (13/26) and bilateral abnormalities, with high (24/26) and low (2/26) T2-signal, leptomeningeal contrast-enhancement (2/26), restricted diffusion (9/19). Location of abnormality was cortical/subcortical, basal ganglia, white matter, corpus callosum, cerebellum. Hippocampus was involved in 10/26 patients. Reversibility of MRI changes was complete in 15, and with residual gliosis or focal atrophy in 11 patients. Reversibility was noted between 15 and 150 days (average, 62 days). Partial simple and complex seizures were associated with hippocampal involvement (p = 0.015), status epilepticus with incomplete reversibility of MRI abnormalities (p = 0.041). Conclusions Seizure or epileptic status can induce transient, variably reversible MRI brain abnormalities. Partial seizures are frequently associated with hippocampal involvement and status epilepticus with incompletely reversible lesions. These seizure-induced MRI abnormalities pose a broad differential diagnosis; increased awareness may reduce the risk of misdiagnosis and unnecessary intervention

  6. Seizure-induced brain lesions: A wide spectrum of variably reversible MRI abnormalities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cianfoni, A., E-mail: acianfoni@hotmail.com [Neuroradiology, Neurocenter of Italian Switzerland–Ospedale regionale Lugano, Via Tesserete 46, Lugano, 6900, CH (Switzerland); Caulo, M., E-mail: caulo@unich.it [Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University of Chieti, Via dei Vestini 33, 6610 Chieti. Italy (Italy); Cerase, A., E-mail: alfonsocerase@gmail.com [Unit of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention NINT, Department of Neurological and Sensorineural Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Policlinico “Santa Maria alle Scotte”, V.le Bracci 16, Siena (Italy); Della Marca, G., E-mail: dellamarca@rm.unicatt.it [Neurology Dept., Catholic University of Rome, L.go F Vito 1, 00100, Rome (Italy); Falcone, C., E-mail: carlo_falc@libero.it [Radiology Dept., Catholic University of Rome, L.go F Vito 1, 00100, Rome (Italy); Di Lella, G.M., E-mail: gdilella@rm.unicatt.it [Radiology Dept., Catholic University of Rome, L.go F Vito 1, 00100, Rome (Italy); Gaudino, S., E-mail: sgaudino@sirm.org [Radiology Dept., Catholic University of Rome, L.go F Vito 1, 00100, Rome (Italy); Edwards, J., E-mail: edwardjc@musc.edu [Neuroscience Dept., Medical University of South Carolina, 96J Lucas st, 29425, Charleston, SC (United States); Colosimo, C., E-mail: colosimo@rm.unicatt.it [Radiology Dept., Catholic University of Rome, L.go F Vito 1, 00100, Rome (Italy)

    2013-11-01

    Introduction MRI abnormalities in the postictal period might represent the effect of the seizure activity, rather than its structural cause. Material and Methods Retrospective review of clinical and neuroimaging charts of 26 patients diagnosed with seizure-related MR-signal changes. All patients underwent brain-MRI (1.5-Tesla, standard pre- and post-contrast brain imaging, including DWI-ADC in 19/26) within 7 days from a seizure and at least one follow-up MRI, showing partial or complete reversibility of the MR-signal changes. Extensive clinical work-up and follow-up, ranging from 3 months to 5 years, ruled out infection or other possible causes of brain damage. Seizure-induced brain-MRI abnormalities remained a diagnosis of exclusion. Site, characteristics and reversibility of MRI changes, and association with characteristics of seizures were determined. Results MRI showed unilateral (13/26) and bilateral abnormalities, with high (24/26) and low (2/26) T2-signal, leptomeningeal contrast-enhancement (2/26), restricted diffusion (9/19). Location of abnormality was cortical/subcortical, basal ganglia, white matter, corpus callosum, cerebellum. Hippocampus was involved in 10/26 patients. Reversibility of MRI changes was complete in 15, and with residual gliosis or focal atrophy in 11 patients. Reversibility was noted between 15 and 150 days (average, 62 days). Partial simple and complex seizures were associated with hippocampal involvement (p = 0.015), status epilepticus with incomplete reversibility of MRI abnormalities (p = 0.041). Conclusions Seizure or epileptic status can induce transient, variably reversible MRI brain abnormalities. Partial seizures are frequently associated with hippocampal involvement and status epilepticus with incompletely reversible lesions. These seizure-induced MRI abnormalities pose a broad differential diagnosis; increased awareness may reduce the risk of misdiagnosis and unnecessary intervention.

  7. The influence of brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briken, Peer; Habermann, Niels; Berner, Wolfgang; Hill, Andreas

    2005-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the number and type of brain abnormalities and their influence on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers. We analyzed psychiatric court reports of 166 sexual murderers and compared a group with notable signs of brain abnormalities (N = 50) with those without any signs (N = 116). Sexual murderers with brain abnormalities suffered more from early behavior problems. They were less likely to cohabitate with the victim at the time of the homicide and had more victims at the age of six years or younger. Psychiatric diagnoses revealed a higher total number of paraphilias: Transvestic fetishism and paraphilias not otherwise specified were more frequent in offenders with brain abnormalities. A binary logistic regression identified five predictors that accounted for 46.8% of the variance explaining the presence of brain abnormalities. Our results suggest the importance of a comprehensive neurological and psychological examination of this special offender group.

  8. Quantitative Folding Pattern Analysis of Early Primary Sulci in Human Fetuses with Brain Abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Im, K; Guimaraes, A; Kim, Y; Cottrill, E; Gagoski, B; Rollins, C; Ortinau, C; Yang, E; Grant, P E

    2017-07-01

    Aberrant gyral folding is a key feature in the diagnosis of many cerebral malformations. However, in fetal life, it is particularly challenging to confidently diagnose aberrant folding because of the rapid spatiotemporal changes of gyral development. Currently, there is no resource to measure how an individual fetal brain compares with normal spatiotemporal variations. In this study, we assessed the potential for automatic analysis of early sulcal patterns to detect individual fetal brains with cerebral abnormalities. Triplane MR images were aligned to create a motion-corrected volume for each individual fetal brain, and cortical plate surfaces were extracted. Sulcal basins were automatically identified on the cortical plate surface and compared with a combined set generated from 9 normal fetal brain templates. Sulcal pattern similarities to the templates were quantified by using multivariate geometric features and intersulcal relationships for 14 normal fetal brains and 5 fetal brains that were proved to be abnormal on postnatal MR imaging. Results were compared with the gyrification index. Significantly reduced sulcal pattern similarities to normal templates were found in all abnormal individual fetuses compared with normal fetuses (mean similarity [normal, abnormal], left: 0.818, 0.752; P the primary distinguishing features. The gyrification index was not significantly different between the normal and abnormal groups. Automated analysis of interrelated patterning of early primary sulci could outperform the traditional gyrification index and has the potential to quantitatively detect individual fetuses with emerging abnormal sulcal patterns. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

  9. Brain perfusion abnormalities in patients with euthyroid autoimmune thyroiditis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piga, M.; Serra, A.; Loi, G.L.; Satta, L. [University of Cagliari, Nuclear Medicine - Department of Medical Sciences ' ' M. Aresu' ' , Cagliari (Italy); Deiana, L.; Liberto, M. Di; Mariotti, S. [University of Cagliari, Endocrinology - Department of Medical Sciences ' ' M. Aresu' ' , Cagliari (Italy)

    2004-12-01

    Brain perfusion abnormalities have recently been demonstrated by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in rare cases of severe Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) encephalopathy; moreover, some degree of subtle central nervous system (CNS) involvement has been hypothesised in HT, but no direct evidence has been provided so far. The aim of this study was to assess cortical brain perfusion in patients with euthyroid HT without any clinical evidence of CNS involvement by means of {sup 99m}Tc-ECD brain SPECT. Sixteen adult patients with HT entered this study following informed consent. The diagnosis was based on the coexistence of high titres of anti-thyroid auto-antibodies and diffuse hypoechogenicity of the thyroid on ultrasound in association with normal circulating thyroid hormone and TSH concentrations. Nine consecutive adult patients with non-toxic nodular goitre (NTNG) and ten healthy subjects matched for age and sex were included as control groups. All patients underwent {sup 99m}Tc-ECD brain SPECT. Image assessment was both qualitative and semiquantitative. Semiquantitative analysis was performed by generation of four regions of interest (ROI) for each cerebral hemisphere - frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital - and one for each cerebellar hemisphere in order to evaluate cortical perfusion asymmetry. The Asymmetry Index (AI) was calculated to provide a measurement of both magnitude and direction of perfusion asymmetry. As assessed by visual examination, {sup 99m}Tc-ECD cerebral distribution was irregular and patchy in HT patients, hypoperfusion being more frequently found in frontal lobes. AI revealed abnormalities in 12/16 HT patients, in three of the nine NTNG patients and in none of the normal controls. A significant difference in the mean AI was found between patients with HT and both patients with NTNG (p<0.003) and normal controls (p<0.001), when only frontal lobes were considered. These results show the high prevalence of brain perfusion

  10. Periventricular Nodular Heterotopia: Detection of Abnormal Microanatomic Fiber Structures with Whole-Brain Diffusion MR Imaging Tractography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farquharson, Shawna; Tournier, J-Donald; Calamante, Fernando; Mandelstam, Simone; Burgess, Rosemary; Schneider, Michal E; Berkovic, Samuel F; Scheffer, Ingrid E; Jackson, Graeme D; Connelly, Alan

    2016-12-01

    Purpose To investigate whether it is possible in patients with periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH) to detect abnormal fiber projections that have only previously been reported in the histopathology literature. Materials and Methods Whole-brain diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging data from 14 patients with bilateral PVNH and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were prospectively acquired by using 3.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging between August 1, 2008, and December 5, 2012. All participants provided written informed consent. The DW imaging data were processed to generate whole-brain constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD)-based tractography data and super-resolution track-density imaging (TDI) maps. The tractography data were overlaid on coregistered three-dimensional T1-weighted images to visually assess regions of heterotopia. A panel of MR imaging researchers independently assessed each case and indicated numerically (no = 1, yes = 2) as to the presence of abnormal fiber tracks in nodular tissue. The Fleiss κ statistical measure was applied to assess the reader agreement. Results Abnormal fiber tracks emanating from one or more regions of heterotopia were reported by all four readers in all 14 patients with PVNH (Fleiss κ = 1). These abnormal structures were not visible on the tractography data from any of the control subjects and were not discernable on the conventional T1-weighted images of the patients with PVNH. Conclusion Whole-brain CSD-based fiber tractography and super-resolution TDI mapping reveals abnormal fiber projections in nodular tissue suggestive of abnormal organization of white matter (with abnormal fibers both within nodules and projecting to the surrounding white matter) in patients with bilateral PVNH. © RSNA, 2016.

  11. Multidimensional analysis of the abnormal neural oscillations associated with lexical processing in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tingting; Stephane, Massoud; Parhi, Keshab K

    2013-04-01

    The neural mechanisms of language abnormalities, the core symptoms in schizophrenia, remain unclear. In this study, a new experimental paradigm, combining magnetoencephalography (MEG) techniques and machine intelligence methodologies, was designed to gain knowledge about the frequency, brain location, and time of occurrence of the neural oscillations that are associated with lexical processing in schizophrenia. The 248-channel MEG recordings were obtained from 12 patients with schizophrenia and 10 healthy controls, during a lexical processing task, where the patients discriminated correct from incorrect lexical stimuli that were visually presented. Event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) was computed along the frequency, time, and space dimensions combined, that resulted in a large spectral-spatial-temporal ERD/ERS feature set. Machine intelligence techniques were then applied to select a small subset of oscillation patterns that are abnormal in patients with schizophrenia, according to their discriminating power in patient and control classification. Patients with schizophrenia showed abnormal ERD/ERS patterns during both lexical encoding and post-encoding periods. The top-ranked features were located at the occipital and left frontal-temporal areas, and covered a wide frequency range, including δ (1-4 Hz), α (8-12 Hz), β (12-32 Hz), and γ (32-48 Hz) bands. These top features could discriminate the patient group from the control group with 90.91% high accuracy, which demonstrates significant brain oscillation abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia at the specific frequency, time, and brain location indicated by these top features. As neural oscillation abnormality may be due to the mechanisms of the disease, the spectral, spatial, and temporal content of the discriminating features can offer useful information for helping understand the physiological basis of the language disorder in schizophrenia, as well as the pathology of the

  12. Morphometric Brain Abnormalities in Boys with Conduct Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huebner, Thomas; Vloet, Timo D.; Marx, Ivo; Konrad, Kerstin; Fink, Gereon R.; Herpertz, Sabine C.; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate

    2008-01-01

    Conduct disorder (CD) is associated with antisocial personality behavior that violates the basic rights of others. Results, on examining the structural brain aberrations in boys' CD, show that boys with CD and cormobid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder showed abnormalities in frontolimbic areas that could contribute to antisocial…

  13. A family affair: brain abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke; Gogtay, Nitin

    2013-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that has a strong genetic basis. Converging evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, with earlier onset cases resulting in more profound brain abnormalities. Siblings of patients with schizophrenia provide an invaluable resource for differentiating between trait and state markers, thus highlighting possible endophenotypes for ongoing research. However, findings from sibling studies have not been systematically put together in a coherent story across the broader age span. We review here the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia from childhood to adulthood, by reviewing sibling studies from both childhood-onset schizophrenia, and the more common adult-onset schizophrenia. When reviewed together, studies suggest that siblings of patients with schizophrenia display significant brain abnormalities that highlight both similarities and differences between the adult and childhood populations, with shared developmental risk patterns, and segregating trajectories. Based on current research it appears that the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings are likely to be an age-dependent endophenotype, which normalize by the typical age of onset of schizophrenia unless there has been more genetic or symptom burdening. With increased genetic burdening (e.g. discordant twins of patients) the grey matter abnormalities in (twin) siblings are progressive in adulthood. This synthesis of the literature clarifies the importance of brain plasticity in the pathophysiology of the illness, indicating that probands may lack protective factors critical for healthy development. PMID:23698280

  14. Comparison of brain volume abnormalities between ADHD and conduct disorder in adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Michael C.; Haney-Caron, Emily

    2012-01-01

    Background Previous studies of brain structure abnormalities in conduct disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) samples have been limited owing to cross-comorbidity, preventing clear understanding of which structural brain abnormalities might be specific to or shared by each disorder. To our knowledge, this study was the first direct comparison of grey and white matter volumes in diagnostically “pure” (i.e., no comorbidities) conduct disorder and ADHD samples. Methods Groups of adolescents with noncormobid conduct disorder and with noncomorbid, combined-subtype ADHD were compared with age- and sex-matched controls using DARTEL voxel-based analysis of T1-weighted brain structure images. Analysis of variance with post hoc analyses compared whole brain grey and white matter volumes among the groups. Results We included 24 adolescents in each study group. There was an overall 13% reduction in grey matter volume in adolescents with conduct disorder, reflecting numerous frontal, temporal, parietal and subcortical deficits. The same grey matter regions typically were not abnormal in those with ADHD. Deficits in frontal lobe regions previously identified in studies of patients with ADHD either were not detected, or group differences from controls were not as strong as those between the conduct disorder and control groups. White matter volume measurements did not differentiate conduct disorder and ADHD. Limitations Our modest sample sizes prevented meaningful examination of individual features of ADHD or conduct disorder, such as aggression, callousness, or hyperactive versus inattentive symptom subtypes. Conclusion The evidence supports theories of frontotemporal abnormalities in adolescents with conduct disorder, but raises questions about the prominence of frontal lobe and striatal structural abnormalities in those with noncomorbid, combined-subtype ADHD. The latter point is clinically important, given the widely held belief that ADHD is

  15. Regional homogeneity of resting-state brain abnormalities in bipolar and unipolar depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chun-Hong; Ma, Xin; Wu, Xia; Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Fu-Chun; Li, Feng; Tie, Chang-Le; Dong, Jie; Wang, Yong-Jun; Yang, Zhi; Wang, Chuan-Yue

    2013-03-05

    Bipolar disorder patients experiencing a depressive episode (BD-dep) without an observed history of mania are often misdiagnosed and are consequently treated as having unipolar depression (UD), leading to inadequate treatment and poor outcomes. An essential solution to this problem is to identify objective biological markers that distinguish BD-dep and UD patients at an early stage. However, studies directly comparing the brain dysfunctions associated with BD-dep and UD are rare. More importantly, the specificity of the differences in brain activity between these mental disorders has not been examined. With whole-brain regional homogeneity analysis and region-of-interest (ROI) based receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, we aimed to compare the resting-state brain activity of BD-dep and UD patients. Furthermore, we examined the specific differences and whether these differences were attributed to the brain abnormality caused by BD-dep, UD, or both. Twenty-one bipolar and 21 unipolar depressed patients, as well as 26 healthy subjects matched for gender, age, and educational levels, participated in the study. We compared the differences in the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of the BD-dep and UD groups and further identified their pathophysiological abnormality. In the brain regions showing a difference between the BD-dep and UD groups, we further conducted receptive operation characteristic (ROC) analyses to confirm the effectiveness of the identified difference in classifying the patients. We observed ReHo differences between the BD-dep and UD groups in the right ventrolateral middle frontal gyrus, right dorsal anterior insular, right ventral anterior insular, right cerebellum posterior gyrus, right posterior cingulate cortex, right parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum anterior gyrus. Further ROI comparisons and ROC analysis on these ROIs showed that the right parahippocampal gyrus reflected abnormality specific to the BD-dep group, while the right

  16. Neurochemical abnormalities in brains of renal failure patients treated by repeated hemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, T L; Yong, V W; Kish, S J; Ito, M; Foulks, J G; Godolphin, W J; Sweeney, V P

    1985-10-01

    We examined autopsied brain from 10 patients with end-stage renal failure who had undergone repeated hemodialysis. Eight had classic symptoms, and two had suggestive symptoms of dialysis encephalopathy. Findings were compared with those in autopsied brain from control adults who had never been hemodialyzed. Mean gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) contents were significantly reduced in frontal and occipital cortex, cerebellar cortex, dentate nucleus, caudate nucleus, and medial-dorsal thalamus of the hemodialyzed patients, the reduction being greater than 40% in cerebral cortex and thalamus. Choline acetyltransferase activity was reduced by 25-35% in three cortical regions in the hemodialyzed patients. These two abnormalities were observed in the brain of each hemodialyzed patient, regardless of whether or not the patient died with unequivocal dialysis encephalopathy. Pyridoxal phosphate contents were substantially reduced in brains of the hemodialyzed patients, but metabolites of noradrenaline, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) were present in normal amounts. Aluminum levels were abnormally high in frontal cortical gray matter in the hemodialyzed patients. Although this study does not clarify the role played by aluminum toxicity in the pathogenesis of dialysis encephalopathy, the abnormalities we found suggest the need for further neurochemical investigations in this disorder.

  17. Machine learning classifier using abnormal brain network topological metrics in major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Hao; Cao, Xiaohua; Liu, Zhifen; Li, Haifang; Chen, Junjie; Zhang, Kerang

    2012-12-05

    Resting state functional brain networks have been widely studied in brain disease research. However, it is currently unclear whether abnormal resting state functional brain network metrics can be used with machine learning for the classification of brain diseases. Resting state functional brain networks were constructed for 28 healthy controls and 38 major depressive disorder patients by thresholding partial correlation matrices of 90 regions. Three nodal metrics were calculated using graph theory-based approaches. Nonparametric permutation tests were then used for group comparisons of topological metrics, which were used as classified features in six different algorithms. We used statistical significance as the threshold for selecting features and measured the accuracies of six classifiers with different number of features. A sensitivity analysis method was used to evaluate the importance of different features. The result indicated that some of the regions exhibited significantly abnormal nodal centralities, including the limbic system, basal ganglia, medial temporal, and prefrontal regions. Support vector machine with radial basis kernel function algorithm and neural network algorithm exhibited the highest average accuracy (79.27 and 78.22%, respectively) with 28 features (Pdisorder is associated with abnormal functional brain network topological metrics and statistically significant nodal metrics can be successfully used for feature selection in classification algorithms.

  18. Abnormal rich club organization and functional brain dynamics in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Heuvel, Martijn P; Sporns, Olaf; Collin, Guusje; Scheewe, Thomas; Mandl, René C W; Cahn, Wiepke; Goñi, Joaquín; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Kahn, René S

    2013-08-01

    The human brain forms a large-scale structural network of regions and interregional pathways. Recent studies have reported the existence of a selective set of highly central and interconnected hub regions that may play a crucial role in the brain's integrative processes, together forming a central backbone for global brain communication. Abnormal brain connectivity may have a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To examine the structure of the rich club in schizophrenia and its role in global functional brain dynamics. Structural diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed in patients with schizophrenia and matched healthy controls. Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Forty-eight patients and 45 healthy controls participated in the study. An independent replication data set of 41 patients and 51 healthy controls was included to replicate and validate significant findings. MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURES: Measures of rich club organization, connectivity density of rich club connections and connections linking peripheral regions to brain hubs, measures of global brain network efficiency, and measures of coupling between brain structure and functional dynamics. Rich club organization between high-degree hub nodes was significantly affected in patients, together with a reduced density of rich club connections predominantly comprising the white matter pathways that link the midline frontal, parietal, and insular hub regions. This reduction in rich club density was found to be associated with lower levels of global communication capacity, a relationship that was absent for other white matter pathways. In addition, patients had an increase in the strength of structural connectivity-functional connectivity coupling. Our findings provide novel biological evidence that schizophrenia is characterized by a selective

  19. Fluorescent nanodiamond tracking reveals intraneuronal transport abnormalities induced by brain-disease-related genetic risk factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haziza, Simon; Mohan, Nitin; Loe-Mie, Yann; Lepagnol-Bestel, Aude-Marie; Massou, Sophie; Adam, Marie-Pierre; Le, Xuan Loc; Viard, Julia; Plancon, Christine; Daudin, Rachel; Koebel, Pascale; Dorard, Emilie; Rose, Christiane; Hsieh, Feng-Jen; Wu, Chih-Che; Potier, Brigitte; Herault, Yann; Sala, Carlo; Corvin, Aiden; Allinquant, Bernadette; Chang, Huan-Cheng; Treussart, François; Simonneau, Michel

    2017-05-01

    Brain diseases such as autism and Alzheimer's disease (each inflicting >1% of the world population) involve a large network of genes displaying subtle changes in their expression. Abnormalities in intraneuronal transport have been linked to genetic risk factors found in patients, suggesting the relevance of measuring this key biological process. However, current techniques are not sensitive enough to detect minor abnormalities. Here we report a sensitive method to measure the changes in intraneuronal transport induced by brain-disease-related genetic risk factors using fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs). We show that the high brightness, photostability and absence of cytotoxicity allow FNDs to be tracked inside the branches of dissociated neurons with a spatial resolution of 12 nm and a temporal resolution of 50 ms. As proof of principle, we applied the FND tracking assay on two transgenic mouse lines that mimic the slight changes in protein concentration (∼30%) found in the brains of patients. In both cases, we show that the FND assay is sufficiently sensitive to detect these changes.

  20. Structural brain abnormalities in early onset first-episode psychosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pagsberg, A K; Baaré, W F C; Raabjerg Christensen, A M

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Brain morphometry in children and adolescents with first-episode psychosis offer a unique opportunity for pathogenetic investigations. METHODS: We compared high-resolution 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of the brain in 29 patients (schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder......, delusional disorder or other non-organic psychosis), aged 10-18 to those of 29 matched controls, using optimized voxel-based morphometry. RESULTS: Psychotic patients had frontal white matter abnormalities, but expected (regional) gray matter reductions were not observed. Post hoc analyses revealed...

  1. Congenital brain abnormalities: an update on malformations of cortical development and infratentorial malformations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poretti, Andrea; Boltshauser, Eugen; Huisman, Thierry A G M

    2014-07-01

    In the past two decades, significant progress in neuroimaging and genetic techniques has allowed for advances in the correct definition/classification of congenital brain abnormalities, which have resulted in a better understanding of their pathogenesis. In addition, new groups of diseases, such as axonal guidance disorders or tubulinopathies, are increasingly reported. Well-defined neuroimaging diagnostic criteria have been suggested for the majority of congenital brain abnormalities. Accurate diagnoses of these complex abnormalities, including distinction between malformations and disruptions, are of paramount significance for management, prognosis, and family counseling. In the next decade, these advances will hopefully be translated into deeper understanding of these disorders and more specific treatments. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  2. Neonatal Brain Pathology Predicts Adverse Attention and Processing Speed Outcomes in Very Preterm and/or Very Low Birth Weight Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Andrea L; Scratch, Shannon E; Thompson, Deanne K; Inder, Terrie E; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Jacqueline F. I.; Anderson, Peter J

    2014-01-01

    Objective This study aimed to examine attention and processing speed outcomes in very preterm (VPT; deep gray matter, and cerebellar abnormalities. Attention and processing speed were assessed at 7 years using standardized neuropsychological tests. Group differences were tested in attention and processing speed, and the relationships between these cognitive domains and brain abnormalities at birth were investigated. Results At 7 years of age, the VPT/VLBW group performed significantly poorer than term controls on all attention and processing speed outcomes. Associations between adverse attention and processing speed performances at 7 years and higher neonatal brain abnormality scores were found; in particular, white matter and deep gray matter abnormalities were reasonable predictors of long-term cognitive outcomes. Conclusion Attention and processing speed are significant areas of concern in VPT/VLBW children. This is the first study to show that adverse attention and processing speed outcomes at 7 years are associated with neonatal brain pathology. PMID:24708047

  3. A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study of neurohemodynamic abnormalities during emotion processing in subjects at high risk for schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan; Puthumana, Dawn Thomas K.; Jayakumar, Peruvumba N.; Gangadhar, B. N.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Emotion processing abnormalities are considered among the core deficits in schizophrenia. Subjects at high risk (HR) for schizophrenia also show these deficits. Structural neuroimaging studies examining unaffected relatives at high risk for schizophrenia have demonstrated neuroanatomical abnormalities involving neo-cortical and sub-cortical brain regions related to emotion processing. The brain functional correlates of emotion processing in these HR subjects in the context of ecologically valid, real-life dynamic images using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has not been examined previously. Aim: To examine the neurohemodynamic abnormalities during emotion processing in unaffected subjects at high risk for schizophrenia in comparison with age-, sex-, handedness- and education-matched healthy controls, using fMRI. Materials and Methods: HR subjects for schizophrenia (n=17) and matched healthy controls (n=16) were examined. The emotion processing of fearful facial expression was examined using a culturally appropriate and valid tool for Indian subjects. The fMRI was performed in a 1.5-T scanner during an implicit emotion processing paradigm. The fMRI analyses were performed using the Statistical Parametric Mapping 2 (SPM2) software. Results: HR subjects had significantly reduced brain activations in left insula, left medial frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, right cingulate gyrus, right precentral gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule. Hypothesis-driven region-of-interest analysis revealed hypoactivation of right amygdala in HR subjects. Conclusions: Study findings suggest that neurohemodynamic abnormalities involving limbic and frontal cortices could be potential indicators for increased vulnerability toward schizophrenia. The clinical utility of these novel findings in predicting the development of psychosis needs to be evaluated. PMID:21267363

  4. Structural brain abnormalities in the frontostriatal system and cerebellum in pedophilia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiffer, Boris; Peschel, Thomas; Paul, Thomas; Gizewski, Elke; Forsting, Michael; Leygraf, Norbert; Schedlowski, Manfred; Krueger, Tillmann H C

    2007-11-01

    Even though previous neuropsychological studies and clinical case reports have suggested an association between pedophilia and frontocortical dysfunction, our knowledge about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying pedophilia is still fragmentary. Specifically, the brain morphology of such disorders has not yet been investigated using MR imaging techniques. Whole brain structural T1-weighted MR images from 18 pedophile patients (9 attracted to males, 9 attracted to females) and 24 healthy age-matched control subjects (12 hetero- and 12 homosexual) from a comparable socioeconomic stratum were processed by using optimized automated voxel-based morphometry within multiple linear regression analyses. Compared to the homosexual and heterosexual control subjects, pedophiles showed decreased gray matter volume in the ventral striatum (also extending into the nucl. accumbens), the orbitofrontal cortex and the cerebellum. These observations further indicate an association between frontostriatal morphometric abnormalities and pedophilia. In this respect these findings may support the hypothesis that there is a shared etiopathological mechanism in all obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

  5. MR imaging of abnormal synovial processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinn, S.F.; Sanchez, R.; Murray, W.T.; Silbiger, M.L.; Ogden, J.; Cochran, C.

    1987-01-01

    MR imaging can directly image abnormal synovium. The authors reviewed over 50 cases with abnormal synovial processes. The abnormalities include Baker cysts, semimembranous bursitis, chronic shoulder bursitis, peroneal tendon ganglion cyst, periarticular abscesses, thickened synovium from rheumatoid and septic arthritis, and synovial hypertrophy secondary to Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. MR imaging has proved invaluable in identifying abnormal synovium, defining the extent and, to a limited degree, characterizing its makeup

  6. Statistical distribution of blood serotonin as a predictor of early autistic brain abnormalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janušonis Skirmantas

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A wide range of abnormalities has been reported in autistic brains, but these abnormalities may be the result of an earlier underlying developmental alteration that may no longer be evident by the time autism is diagnosed. The most consistent biological finding in autistic individuals has been their statistically elevated levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin in blood platelets (platelet hyperserotonemia. The early developmental alteration of the autistic brain and the autistic platelet hyperserotonemia may be caused by the same biological factor expressed in the brain and outside the brain, respectively. Unlike the brain, blood platelets are short-lived and continue to be produced throughout the life span, suggesting that this factor may continue to operate outside the brain years after the brain is formed. The statistical distributions of the platelet 5-HT levels in normal and autistic groups have characteristic features and may contain information about the nature of this yet unidentified factor. Results The identity of this factor was studied by using a novel, quantitative approach that was applied to published distributions of the platelet 5-HT levels in normal and autistic groups. It was shown that the published data are consistent with the hypothesis that a factor that interferes with brain development in autism may also regulate the release of 5-HT from gut enterochromaffin cells. Numerical analysis revealed that this factor may be non-functional in autistic individuals. Conclusion At least some biological factors, the abnormal function of which leads to the development of the autistic brain, may regulate the release of 5-HT from the gut years after birth. If the present model is correct, it will allow future efforts to be focused on a limited number of gene candidates, some of which have not been suspected to be involved in autism (such as the 5-HT4 receptor gene based on currently available clinical and

  7. Dysplasia and overgrowth. Magnetic resonance imaging of pediatric brain abnormalities secondary to alterations in the mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrot, Shai; Hwang, Misun; Huisman, Thierry A.G.M.; Soares, Bruno P.; Stafstrom, Carl E.

    2018-01-01

    The current classification of malformations of cortical development is based on the type of disrupted embryological process (cell proliferation, migration, or cortical organization/post-migrational development) and the resulting morphological anomalous pattern of findings. An ideal classification would include knowledge of biological pathways. It has recently been demonstrated that alterations affecting the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway result in diverse abnormalities such as dysplastic megalencephaly, hemimegalencephaly, ganglioglioma, dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma, focal cortical dysplasia type IIb, and brain lesions associated with tuberous sclerosis. We review the neuroimaging findings in brain abnormalities related to alterations in the mTOR pathway, following the emerging trend from morphology towards genetics in the classification of malformations of cortical development. This approach improves the understanding of anomalous brain development and allows precise diagnosis and potentially targeted therapies that may regulate mTOR pathway function. (orig.)

  8. Dysplasia and overgrowth. Magnetic resonance imaging of pediatric brain abnormalities secondary to alterations in the mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shrot, Shai [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Radiology and Pediatric Neuroradiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Baltimore, MD (United States); Sheba Medical Center, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Ramat-Gan (Israel); Hwang, Misun; Huisman, Thierry A.G.M.; Soares, Bruno P. [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Radiology and Pediatric Neuroradiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Baltimore, MD (United States); Stafstrom, Carl E. [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2018-02-15

    The current classification of malformations of cortical development is based on the type of disrupted embryological process (cell proliferation, migration, or cortical organization/post-migrational development) and the resulting morphological anomalous pattern of findings. An ideal classification would include knowledge of biological pathways. It has recently been demonstrated that alterations affecting the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway result in diverse abnormalities such as dysplastic megalencephaly, hemimegalencephaly, ganglioglioma, dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma, focal cortical dysplasia type IIb, and brain lesions associated with tuberous sclerosis. We review the neuroimaging findings in brain abnormalities related to alterations in the mTOR pathway, following the emerging trend from morphology towards genetics in the classification of malformations of cortical development. This approach improves the understanding of anomalous brain development and allows precise diagnosis and potentially targeted therapies that may regulate mTOR pathway function. (orig.)

  9. Brain perfusion abnormalities associated to drug abuse in recent abstinent patients using SPECT 99m Tc-ethylen-cysteinate-dimer (ECD)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Massardo, Teresa [University of Chile Clinical Hospital Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Santiago (Chile); Pallavicini, Julio [Addiction Unit, Psychiatric Clinic. University of Chile Clinical Hospital (Chile); Gonzalez, Patricio; Jaimovich, Rodrigo [University of Chile Clinical Hospital Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Santiago (Chile); Servat, Monica [Addiction Unit, Psychiatric Clinic. University of Chile Clinical Hospital (Chile); Lavados, Hugo [University of Chile Clinical Hospital Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Santiago (Chile); Arancibia, Pablo [Addiction Unit, Psychiatric Clinic. University of Chile Clinical Hospital (Chile); Padilla, Pamela [University of Chile Clinical Hospital Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Santiago (Chile)

    2009-04-15

    Several substances may produce brain perfusion abnormalities in drug-dependent patients. Their mechanism is unclear and several causes might be involved, especially vasospasm in cocaine consumption. Goal: To characterize residual brain perfusion abnormalities in substance-dependent population. We analyzed brain perfusion in 100 dependant patients (DSM-IV criteria) following a month of strict in-hospital abstinence (age:35{+-}12 y.o.; 86% men); 55% corresponded to poly-drug dependents, mainly to cocaine, alcohol and cannabis; 44% mono-drug users, mostly to alcohol. Results: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc-ethylen-cysteinate-dimer (ECD) was abnormal in 54% of the cases, with bilateral cortical hypo-perfusion in 89%, focal in 54% and diffuse in 46% of them, with moderate or severe intensity in 61%. The abnormal perfusion group's age was 38{+-}12 versus 31{+-}10 years in the normal SPECT group (P=0.005) with a consumption period of 16{+-}11 versus 11{+-}8 years, respectively (P=0.043). Only 29% of women had abnormal perfusion versus 58% of men (P=0.047). Abnormal brain perfusion in 64% of mono and 45% in poly-drug dependents (P=0.07). Psychometric tests performed in 25 patients demonstrated association between perfusion defects and cognitive abnormalities. Relative risk for abnormal psychometric test was 2.5 [95%;CI=1.1-5.6] for abnormal SPECT. Conclusion: Dependent population after a month of abstinence persists with cortical brain perfusion abnormalities, associated to age, sex and type of drug consumption.

  10. Abnormal Brain Activation During Theory of Mind Tasks in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronbichler, Lisa; Tschernegg, Melanie; Martin, Anna Isabel; Schurz, Matthias; Kronbichler, Martin

    2017-10-21

    Social cognition abilities are severely impaired in schizophrenia (SZ). The current meta-analysis used foci of 21 individual studies on functional abnormalities in the schizophrenic brain in order to identify regions that reveal convergent under- or over-activation during theory of mind (TOM) tasks. Studies were included in the analyses when contrasting tasks that require the processing of mental states with tasks which did not. Only studies that investigated patients with an ICD or DSM diagnosis were included. Quantitative voxel-based meta-analyses were done using Seed-based d Mapping software. Common TOM regions like medial-prefrontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction revealed abnormal activation in schizophrenic patients: Under-activation was identified in the medial prefrontal cortex, left orbito-frontal cortex, and in a small section of the left posterior temporo-parietal junction. Remarkably, robust over-activation was identified in a more dorsal, bilateral section of the temporo-parietal junction. Further abnormal activation was identified in medial occipito-parietal cortex, right premotor areas, left cingulate gyrus, and lingual gyrus. The findings of this study suggest that SZ patients simultaneously show over- and under-activation in TOM-related regions. Especially interesting, temporo-parietal junction reveals diverging activation patterns with an under-activating left posterior and an over-activating bilateral dorsal section. In conclusion, SZ patients show less specialized brain activation in regions linked to TOM and increased activation in attention-related networks suggesting compensatory effects. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

  11. Abnormalities of functional brain networks in pathological gambling: a graph-theoretical approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschernegg, Melanie; Crone, Julia S.; Eigenberger, Tina; Schwartenbeck, Philipp; Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Lemènager, Tagrid; Mann, Karl; Thon, Natasha; Wurst, Friedrich M.; Kronbichler, Martin

    2013-01-01

    Functional neuroimaging studies of pathological gambling (PG) demonstrate alterations in frontal and subcortical regions of the mesolimbic reward system. However, most investigations were performed using tasks involving reward processing or executive functions. Little is known about brain network abnormalities during task-free resting state in PG. In the present study, graph-theoretical methods were used to investigate network properties of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in PG. We compared 19 patients with PG to 19 healthy controls (HCs) using the Graph Analysis Toolbox (GAT). None of the examined global metrics differed between groups. At the nodal level, pathological gambler showed a reduced clustering coefficient in the left paracingulate cortex and the left juxtapositional lobe (supplementary motor area, SMA), reduced local efficiency in the left SMA, as well as an increased node betweenness for the left and right paracingulate cortex and the left SMA. At an uncorrected threshold level, the node betweenness in the left inferior frontal gyrus was decreased and increased in the caudate. Additionally, increased functional connectivity between fronto-striatal regions and within frontal regions has also been found for the gambling patients. These findings suggest that regions associated with the reward system demonstrate reduced segregation but enhanced integration while regions associated with executive functions demonstrate reduced integration. The present study makes evident that PG is also associated with abnormalities in the topological network structure of the brain during rest. Since alterations in PG cannot be explained by direct effects of abused substances on the brain, these findings will be of relevance for understanding functional connectivity in other addictive disorders. PMID:24098282

  12. Abnormalities of Functional Brain Networks in Pathological Gambling: A Graph-Theoretical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie eTschernegg

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Functional neuroimaging studies of pathological gambling demonstrate alterations in frontal and subcortical regions of the mesolimbic reward system. However, most investigations were performed using tasks involving reward processing or executive functions. Little is known about brain network abnormalities during task-free resting state in pathological gambling. In the present study, graph-theoretical methods were used to investigate network properties of resting state functional MRI data in pathological gambling. We compared 19 patients with pathological gambling to 19 healthy controls using the Graph Analysis Toolbox (GAT. None of the examined global metrics differed between groups. At the nodal level, pathological gambler showed a reduced clustering coefficient in the left paracingulate cortex and the left juxtapositional lobe (SMA, reduced local efficiency in the left SMA, as well as an increased node betweenness for the left and right paracingulate cortex and the left SMA. At an uncorrected threshold level, the node betweenness in the left inferior frontal gyrus was decreased and increased in the caudate. Additionally, increased functional connectivity between fronto-striatal regions and within frontal regions has also been found for the gambling patients.These findings suggest that regions associated with the reward system demonstrate reduced segregation but enhanced integration while regions associated with executive functions demonstrate reduced integration. The present study makes evident that pathological gambling is also associated with abnormalities in the topological network structure of the brain during rest. Since alterations in pathological gambling cannot be explained by direct effects of abused substances on the brain, these findings will be of relevance for understanding functional connectivity in other addictive disorders.

  13. Abnormal brain functional connectivity leads to impaired mood and cognition in hyperthyroidism: a resting-state functional MRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ling; Zhi, Mengmeng; Hou, Zhenghua; Zhang, Yuqun; Yue, Yingying; Yuan, Yonggui

    2017-01-24

    Patients with hyperthyroidism frequently have neuropsychiatric complaints such as lack of concentration, poor memory, depression, anxiety, nervousness, and irritability, suggesting brain dysfunction. However, the underlying process of these symptoms remains unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), we depicted the altered graph theoretical metric degree centrality (DC) and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in 33 hyperthyroid patients relative to 33 healthy controls. The peak points of significantly altered DC between the two groups were defined as the seed regions to calculate FC to the whole brain. Then, partial correlation analyses were performed between abnormal DC, FC and neuropsychological performances, as well as some clinical indexes. The decreased intrinsic functional connectivity in the posterior lobe of cerebellum (PLC) and medial frontal gyrus (MeFG), as well as the abnormal seed-based FC anchored in default mode network (DMN), attention network, visual network and cognitive network in this study, possibly constitutes the latent mechanism for emotional and cognitive changes in hyperthyroidism, including anxiety and impaired processing speed.

  14. Abnormal brain functional connectivity leads to impaired mood and cognition in hyperthyroidism: a resting-state functional MRI study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ling; Zhi, Mengmeng; Hou, Zhenghua; Zhang, Yuqun; Yue, Yingying; Yuan, Yonggui

    2017-01-01

    Patients with hyperthyroidism frequently have neuropsychiatric complaints such as lack of concentration, poor memory, depression, anxiety, nervousness, and irritability, suggesting brain dysfunction. However, the underlying process of these symptoms remains unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), we depicted the altered graph theoretical metric degree centrality (DC) and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in 33 hyperthyroid patients relative to 33 healthy controls. The peak points of significantly altered DC between the two groups were defined as the seed regions to calculate FC to the whole brain. Then, partial correlation analyses were performed between abnormal DC, FC and neuropsychological performances, as well as some clinical indexes. The decreased intrinsic functional connectivity in the posterior lobe of cerebellum (PLC) and medial frontal gyrus (MeFG), as well as the abnormal seed-based FC anchored in default mode network (DMN), attention network, visual network and cognitive network in this study, possibly constitutes the latent mechanism for emotional and cognitive changes in hyperthyroidism, including anxiety and impaired processing speed. PMID:28009983

  15. Frontal and superior temporal auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Han; Edgar, J Christopher; Huang, Mingxiong; Hunter, Michael A; Epstein, Emerson; Howell, Breannan; Lu, Brett Y; Bustillo, Juan; Miller, Gregory A; Cañive, José M

    2013-01-01

    Although magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies show superior temporal gyrus (STG) auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia at 50 and 100 ms, EEG and corticography studies suggest involvement of additional brain areas (e.g., frontal areas) during this interval. Study goals were to identify 30 to 130 ms auditory encoding processes in schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) and group differences throughout the cortex. The standard paired-click task was administered to 19 SZ and 21 HC subjects during MEG recording. Vector-based Spatial-temporal Analysis using L1-minimum-norm (VESTAL) provided 4D maps of activity from 30 to 130 ms. Within-group t-tests compared post-stimulus 50 ms and 100 ms activity to baseline. Between-group t-tests examined 50 and 100 ms group differences. Bilateral 50 and 100 ms STG activity was observed in both groups. HC had stronger bilateral 50 and 100 ms STG activity than SZ. In addition to the STG group difference, non-STG activity was also observed in both groups. For example, whereas HC had stronger left and right inferior frontal gyrus activity than SZ, SZ had stronger right superior frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus activity than HC. Less STG activity was observed in SZ than HC, indicating encoding problems in SZ. Yet auditory encoding abnormalities are not specific to STG, as group differences were observed in frontal and SMG areas. Thus, present findings indicate that individuals with SZ show abnormalities in multiple nodes of a concurrently activated auditory network.

  16. Abnormal resting-state brain activities in patients with first-episode obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Qihui; Yang, Lei; Song, Xueqin; Chu, Congying; Liu, Hao; Zhang, Lifang; Li, Yan; Zhang, Xiang; Cheng, Jingliang; Li, Youhui

    2017-01-01

    This paper attempts to explore the brain activity of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its correlation with the disease at resting duration in patients with first-episode OCD, providing a forceful imaging basis for clinic diagnosis and pathogenesis of OCD. Twenty-six patients with first-episode OCD and 25 healthy controls (HC group; matched for age, sex, and education level) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning at resting state. Statistical parametric mapping 8, data processing assistant for resting-state fMRI analysis toolkit, and resting state fMRI data analysis toolkit packages were used to process the fMRI data on Matlab 2012a platform, and the difference of regional homogeneity (ReHo) values between the OCD group and HC group was detected with independent two-sample t -test. With age as a concomitant variable, the Pearson correlation analysis was adopted to study the correlation between the disease duration and ReHo value of whole brain. Compared with HC group, the ReHo values in OCD group were decreased in brain regions, including left thalamus, right thalamus, right paracentral lobule, right postcentral gyrus, and the ReHo value was increased in the left angular gyrus region. There was a negative correlation between disease duration and ReHo value in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). OCD is a multifactorial disease generally caused by abnormal activities of many brain regions at resting state. Worse brain activity of the OFC is related to the OCD duration, which provides a new insight to the pathogenesis of OCD.

  17. Structural Brain Abnormalities in Successfully Treated HIV Infection: Associations With Disease and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Zoest, Rosan A.; Underwood, Jonathan; de Francesco, Davide; Sabin, Caroline A.; Cole, James H.; Wit, Ferdinand W.; Caan, Matthan W. A.; Kootstra, Neeltje A.; Fuchs, Dietmar; Zetterberg, Henrik; Majoie, Charles B. L. M.; Portegies, Peter; Winston, Alan; Sharp, David J.; Gisslén, Magnus; Reiss, Peter; Winston, A.; Prins, M.; Schim van der Loeff, M. F.; Schouten, J.; Schmand, B.; Geurtsen, G. J.; Sharp, D. J.; Villaudy, J.; Berkhout, B.; Gisslén, M.; Pasternak, A.; Sabin, C. A.; Guaraldi, G.; Bürkle, A.; Libert, C.; Franceschi, C.; Kalsbeek, A.; Fliers, E.; Hoeijmakers, J.; Pothof, J.; van der Valk, M.; Bisschop, P. H.; Zaheri, S.; Burger, D.; Cole, J. H.; Zikkenheiner, W.; Janssen, F. R.; Underwood, J.; Kooij, K. W.; Doyle, N.; Verbraak, F.; Demirkaya, N.; Weijer, K.; Boeser-Nunnink, B.

    2018-01-01

    Background. Brain structural abnormalities have been reported in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) who are receiving suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), but their pathophysiology remains unclear. Methods. We investigated factors associated with brain

  18. Ontogeny and reversal of brain circuit abnormalities in a preclinical model of PCOS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Mauro Sb; Prescott, Melanie; Campbell, Rebecca E

    2018-04-05

    Androgen excess is a hallmark of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a prevalent yet poorly understood endocrine disorder. Evidence from women and preclinical animal models suggests that elevated perinatal androgens can elicit PCOS onset in adulthood, implying androgen actions in both PCOS ontogeny and adult pathophysiology. Prenatally androgenized (PNA) mice exhibit a robust increase of progesterone-sensitive GABAergic inputs to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons implicated in the pathogenesis of PCOS. It is unclear when altered GABAergic wiring develops in the brain, and whether these central abnormalities are dependent upon adult androgen excess. Using GnRH-GFP-transgenic mice, we determined that increased GABA input to GnRH neurons occurs prior to androgen excess and the manifestation of reproductive impairments in PNA mice. These data suggest that brain circuit abnormalities precede the postpubertal development of PCOS traits. Despite the apparent developmental programming of circuit abnormalities, long-term blockade of androgen receptor signaling from early adulthood rescued normal GABAergic wiring onto GnRH neurons, improved ovarian morphology, and restored reproductive cycles in PNA mice. Therefore, androgen excess maintains changes in female brain wiring linked to PCOS features and the blockade of androgen receptor signaling reverses both the central and peripheral PNA-induced PCOS phenotype.

  19. Diffusion tensor MR imaging in neurofibromatosis type 1: expanding the knowledge of microstructural brain abnormalities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferraz-Filho, Jose R.L.; Muniz, Marcos P.; Souza, Antonio S.; Rocha, Antonio J. da; Goloni-Bertollo, Eny M.; Pavarino-Bertelli, Erika C.

    2012-01-01

    Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a hereditary disease with a dominant autosomal pattern. In children and adolescents, it is frequently associated with the appearance of T2-weighted hyperintensities in the brain's white matter. MRI with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used to detect white matter abnormalities by measuring fractional anisotropy (FA). This study employed DTI to evaluate the relationship between FA patterns and the findings of T2 sequences, with the aim of improving our understanding of anatomical changes and microstructural brain abnormalities in individuals with NF1. Forty-four individuals with NF1 and 20 control subjects were evaluated. The comparative analysis of FA between NF1 and control groups was based on four predetermined anatomical regions of the brain hemispheres (basal ganglia, cerebellum, pons, thalamus) and related the presence or absence of T2-weighted hyperintensities in the brain, which are called unidentified bright objects (UBOs). The FA values between the groups demonstrated statistically significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) for the cerebellum and thalamus in patients with NF1, independent of the occurrence of UBOs. Diffusion tensor MR imaging confirms the influence of UBOs in the decrease of FA values in this series of patients with NF1. Additionally, this technique allows the characterization of microstructural abnormalities even in some brain regions that appear normal in conventional MR sequences. (orig.)

  20. Neonatal Brain Abnormalities and Memory and Learning Outcomes at 7 Years in Children Born Very Preterm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omizzolo, Cristina; Scratch, Shannon E; Stargatt, Robyn; Kidokoro, Hiroyuki; Thompson, Deanne K; Lee, Katherine J; Cheong, Jeanie; Neil, Jeffrey; Inder, Terrie E; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Peter J

    2014-01-01

    Using prospective longitudinal data from 198 very preterm and 70 full term children, this study characterised the memory and learning abilities of very preterm children at 7 years of age in both verbal and visual domains. The relationship between the extent of brain abnormalities on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years of age in very preterm children was also investigated. Neonatal MRI scans were qualitatively assessed for global, white-matter, cortical grey-matter, deep grey-matter, and cerebellar abnormalities. Very preterm children performed less well on measures of immediate memory, working memory, long-term memory, and learning compared with term born controls. Neonatal brain abnormalities, and in particular deep grey matter abnormality, were associated with poorer memory and learning performance at 7 years in very preterm children, especially global, white-matter, grey-matter and cerebellar abnormalities. Findings support the importance of cerebral neonatal pathology for predicting later memory and learning function. PMID:23805915

  1. Frequency of brain MRI abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder at presentation: A cohort of Latin American patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnero Contentti, Edgar; Daccach Marques, Vanessa; Soto de Castillo, Ibis; Tkachuk, Veronica; Antunes Barreira, Amilton; Armas, Elizabeth; Chiganer, Edson; de Aquino Cruz, Camila; Di Pace, José Luis; Hryb, Javier Pablo; Lavigne Moreira, Carolina; Lessa, Carmen; Molina, Omaira; Perassolo, Monica; Soto, Arnoldo; Caride, Alejandro

    2018-01-01

    Brain magnetic resonance imaging (BMRI) lesions were classically not reported in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). However, BMRI lesions are not uncommon in NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients. To report BMRI characteristic abnormalities (location and configuration) in NMOSD patients at presentation. Medical records and BMRI characteristics of 79 patients with NMOSD (during the first documented attack) in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela were reviewed retrospectively. BMRI abnormalities were observed in 81.02% of NMOSD patients at presentation. Forty-two patients (53.1%) showed typical-NMOSD abnormalities. We found BMRI abnormalities at presentation in the brainstem/cerebellum (n = 26; 32.9%), optic chiasm (n = 16; 20.2%), area postrema (n = 13; 16.4%), thalamus/hypothalamus (n = 11; 13.9%), corpus callosum (n = 11; 13.9%), periependymal-third ventricle (n = 9; 11.3%), corticospinal tract (n = 7; 8.8%), hemispheric white matter (n = 1; 1.2%) and nonspecific areas (n = 49; 62.03%). Asymptomatic BMRI lesions were more common. The frequency of brain MRI abnormalities did not differ between patients who were positive and negative for aquaporin 4 antibodies at presentation. Typical brain MRI abnormalities are frequent in NMOSD at disease onset. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder: Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Tol, Marie-José; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, André; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

    2013-01-01

    Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

  3. Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder : Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Tol, Marie-Jose; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, Andre; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

    2013-01-01

    Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

  4. Complement inhibition by hydroxychloroquine prevents placental and fetal brain abnormalities in antiphospholipid syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertolaccini, Maria Laura; Contento, Gregorio; Lennen, Ross; Sanna, Giovanni; Blower, Philip J; Ma, Michelle T; Sunassee, Kavitha; Girardi, Guillermina

    2016-12-01

    Placental ischemic disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes are frequently observed in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Despite the administration of conventional antithrombotic treatment a significant number of women continue to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, with uncertain prevention and management. Efforts to develop effective pharmacological strategies for refractory obstetric APS cases will be of significant clinical benefit for both mothers and fetuses. Although the antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is increasingly used to treat pregnant women with APS, little is known about its efficacy and mechanism of action of HCQ. Because complement activation plays a crucial and causative role in placental ischemia and abnormal fetal brain development in APS we hypothesised that HCQ prevents these pregnancy complications through inhibition of complement activation. Using a mouse model of obstetric APS that closely resembles the clinical condition, we found that HCQ prevented fetal death and the placental metabolic changes -measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in APS-mice. Using 111 In labelled antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) we identified the placenta and the fetal brain as the main organ targets in APS-mice. Using this same method, we found that HCQ does not inhibit aPL binding to tissues as was previously suggested from in vitro studies. While HCQ did not affect aPL binding to fetal brain it prevented fetal brain abnormal cortical development. HCQ prevented complement activation in vivo and in vitro. Complement C5a levels in serum samples from APS patients and APS-mice were lower after treatment with HCQ while the antibodies titres remained unchanged. HCQ prevented not only placental insufficiency but also abnormal fetal brain development in APS. By inhibiting complement activation, HCQ might also be an effective antithrombotic therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Abnormal processing of deontological guilt in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basile, Barbara; Mancini, Francesco; Macaluso, Emiliano; Caltagirone, Carlo; Bozzali, Marco

    2014-07-01

    Guilt plays a significant role in the occurrence and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Two major types of guilt have been identified: one deriving from the transgression of a moral rule (deontological guilt DG), another (altruistic guilt AG), relying on the assumption of having compromised a personal altruistic goal. Clinical evidence suggests that OCD patients are particularly sensitive to DG, but not AG. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated brain response of OCD patients while processing DG and AG stimuli. A previously validated fMRI paradigm was used to selectively evoke DG and AG, and anger and sadness, as control emotions in 13 OCD patients and 19 healthy controls. Patients' behavioral results showed a prominent attitude to experience guilt, compared to controls, while accomplishing task. fMRI results revealed that patients have reduced activation in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and frontal gyrus when experiencing guilt, regardless of its specific type (DG or AG). When separately considering each type of guilt (against each of its control), patients showed decreased activation in the ACC, the insula and the precuneus, for DG. No significant differences were observed between groups when processing AG, anger or sad stimuli. This study provides evidence for an abnormal processing of guilt, and specifically DG, in OCD patients. We suggest that decreased activation may reflect patients' cerebral efficiency, which derives from their frequent exposure to guilty feelings ("neural efficiency hypothesis"). In conclusion, our study confirms a selective abnormal processing of guilt, and specifically DG, in OCD.

  6. Structural Brain Abnormalities in Successfully Treated HIV Infection: Associations With Disease and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Zoest, Rosan A; Underwood, Jonathan; De Francesco, Davide; Sabin, Caroline A; Cole, James H; Wit, Ferdinand W; Caan, Matthan W A; Kootstra, Neeltje A; Fuchs, Dietmar; Zetterberg, Henrik; Majoie, Charles B L M; Portegies, Peter; Winston, Alan; Sharp, David J; Gisslén, Magnus; Reiss, Peter

    2017-12-27

    Brain structural abnormalities have been reported in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) who are receiving suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), but their pathophysiology remains unclear. We investigated factors associated with brain tissue volumes and white matter microstructure (fractional anisotropy) in 134 PLWH receiving suppressive cART and 79 comparable HIV-negative controls, aged ≥45 years, from the Comorbidity in Relation to AIDS cohort, using multimodal neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. Compared with controls, PLWH had lower gray matter volumes (-13.7 mL; 95% confidence interval, -25.1 to -2.2) and fractional anisotropy (-0.0073; 95% confidence interval, -.012 to -.0024), with the largest differences observed in those with prior clinical AIDS. Hypertension and the soluble CD14 concentration in cerebrospinal fluid were associated with lower fractional anisotropy. These associations were independent of HIV serostatus (Pinteraction = .32 and Pinteraction = .59, respectively) and did not explain the greater abnormalities in brain structure in relation to HIV infection. The presence of lower gray matter volumes and more white matter microstructural abnormalities in well-treated PLWH partly reflect a combination of historical effects of AIDS, as well as the more general influence of systemic factors, such as hypertension and ongoing neuroinflammation. Additional mechanisms explaining the accentuation of brain structure abnormalities in treated HIV infection remain to be identified. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Evaluation of Brain and Cervical MRI Abnormality Rates in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus With or Without Neurological Manifestations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harirchian, Mohammad Hossein; Saberi, Hazhir; Najafizadeh, Seyed Reza; Hashemi, Seyed Ali

    2011-01-01

    Central nervous system (CNS) involvement has been observed in 14-80% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an appropriate method for evaluating CNS involvement in these patients. Clinical manifestations and MRI findings of CNS lupus should be differentiated from other mimicking diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and extent of brain and cervical cord MRI lesions of lupus patients. The relationship between neurological signs and symptoms and MRI findings were evaluated as well. Fifty SLE patients who had been referred to the rheumatology clinic of our hospital within 2009 were included in a cross sectional study. All patients fulfilled the revised 1981 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SLE. We evaluated the neurological signs and symptoms and brain and cervical MRI findings in these patients. Forty-one patients (82%) were female and nine (18%) were male. The mean age was 30.1 ± 9.3 years. Twenty eight (56%) patients had an abnormal brain MRI. No one showed any abnormality in the cervical MRI. The lesions in 20 patients were similar to demyelinative plaques. Seventeen patients with abnormal brain MRI were neurologically asymptomatic. There was only a significant relationship between neurological motor manifestations and brain MRI abnormal findings. Unlike the brain, cervical MRI abnormality and especially asymptomatic cord involvement in MRI is quite rare in SLE patients. This finding may be helpful to differentiate SLE from other CNS disorders such as MS

  8. Improvement of Brain Reward Abnormalities by Antipsychotic Monotherapy in Schizophrenia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mette Ødegaard; Rostrup, Egill; Wulff, Sanne

    2012-01-01

    CONTEXT Schizophrenic symptoms are linked to a dysfunction of dopamine neurotransmission and the brain reward system. However, it remains unclear whether antipsychotic treatment, which blocks dopamine transmission, improves, alters, or even worsens the reward-related abnormalities. OBJECTIVE....... Antipsychotic treatment tends to normalize the response of the reward system; this was especially seen in the patients with the most pronounced treatment effect on the positive symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01154829....... To investigate changes in reward-related brain activations in schizophrenia before and after antipsychotic monotherapy with a dopamine D2/D3 antagonist. DESIGN Longitudinal cohort study. SETTING Psychiatric inpatients and outpatients in the Capital Region of Denmark. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-three antipsychotic...

  9. Abnormal proactive and reactive cognitive control during conflict processing in major depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderhasselt, Marie-Anne; De Raedt, Rudi; De Paepe, Annick; Aarts, Kristien; Otte, Georges; Van Dorpe, Jan; Pourtois, Gilles

    2014-02-01

    According to the Dual Mechanisms of Control framework, cognitive control consists of two complementary components: proactive control refers to anticipatory maintenance of goal-relevant information, whereas reactive control acts as a correction mechanism that is activated when a conflict occurs. Possibly, the well-known diminished inhibitory control in response to negative stimuli in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients stems from a breakdown in proactive control, and/or anomalies in reactive cognitive control. In our study, MDD patients specifically showed increased response latencies when actively inhibiting a dominant response to a sad compared with a happy face. This condition was associated with a longer duration of a dominant ERP topography (800-900 ms poststimulus onset) and a stronger activity in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting abnormal reactive control when inhibiting attention to a negative stimulus. Moreover, MDD patients showed abnormalities in proactive cognitive control when preparing for the upcoming imperative stimulus (abnormal modulation of the contingent negative variation component), accompanied by more activity in brain regions belonging to the default mode network. All together, deficits to inhibit attention to negative information in MDD might originate from an abnormal use of both proactive resources and reactive control processes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Abnormal early brain responses during visual search are evident in schizophrenia but not bipolar affective disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanMeerten, Nicolaas J; Dubke, Rachel E; Stanwyck, John J; Kang, Seung Suk; Sponheim, Scott R

    2016-01-01

    People with schizophrenia show deficits in processing visual stimuli but neural abnormalities underlying the deficits are unclear and it is unknown whether such functional brain abnormalities are present in other severe mental disorders or in individuals who carry genetic liability for schizophrenia. To better characterize brain responses underlying visual search deficits and test their specificity to schizophrenia we gathered behavioral and electrophysiological responses during visual search (i.e., Span of Apprehension [SOA] task) from 38 people with schizophrenia, 31 people with bipolar disorder, 58 biological relatives of people with schizophrenia, 37 biological relatives of people with bipolar disorder, and 65 non-psychiatric control participants. Through subtracting neural responses associated with purely sensory aspects of the stimuli we found that people with schizophrenia exhibited reduced early posterior task-related neural responses (i.e., Span Endogenous Negativity [SEN]) while other groups showed normative responses. People with schizophrenia exhibited longer reaction times than controls during visual search but nearly identical accuracy. Those individuals with schizophrenia who had larger SENs performed more efficiently (i.e., shorter reaction times) on the SOA task suggesting that modulation of early visual cortical responses facilitated their visual search. People with schizophrenia also exhibited a diminished P300 response compared to other groups. Unaffected first-degree relatives of people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia showed an amplified N1 response over posterior brain regions in comparison to other groups. Diminished early posterior brain responses are associated with impaired visual search in schizophrenia and appear to be specifically associated with the neuropathology of schizophrenia. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Differential impact of thalamic versus subthalamic deep brain stimulation on lexical processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krugel, Lea K; Ehlen, Felicitas; Tiedt, Hannes O; Kühn, Andrea A; Klostermann, Fabian

    2014-10-01

    Roles of subcortical structures in language processing are vague, but, interestingly, basal ganglia and thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation can go along with reduced lexical capacities. To deepen the understanding of this impact, we assessed word processing as a function of thalamic versus subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. Ten essential tremor patients treated with thalamic and 14 Parkinson׳s disease patients with subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation performed an acoustic Lexical Decision Task ON and OFF stimulation. Combined analysis of task performance and event-related potentials allowed the determination of processing speed, priming effects, and N400 as neurophysiological correlate of lexical stimulus processing. 12 age-matched healthy participants acted as control subjects. Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation prolonged word decisions and reduced N400 potentials. No comparable ON-OFF effects were present in patients with subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. In the latter group of patients with Parkinson' disease, N400 amplitudes were, however, abnormally low, whether under active or inactive Deep Brain Stimulation. In conclusion, performance speed and N400 appear to be influenced by state functions, modulated by thalamic, but not subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation, compatible with concepts of thalamo-cortical engagement in word processing. Clinically, these findings specify cognitive sequels of Deep Brain Stimulation in a target-specific way. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. A foldable electrode array for 3D recording of deep-seated abnormal brain cavities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kil, Dries; De Vloo, Philippe; Fierens, Guy; Ceyssens, Frederik; Hunyadi, Borbála; Bertrand, Alexander; Nuttin, Bart; Puers, Robert

    2018-06-01

    Objective. This study describes the design and microfabrication of a foldable thin-film neural implant and investigates its suitability for electrical recording of deep-lying brain cavity walls. Approach. A new type of foldable neural electrode array is presented, which can be inserted through a cannula. The microfabricated electrode is specifically designed for electrical recording of the cavity wall of thalamic lesions resulting from stroke. The proof-of-concept is demonstrated by measurements in rat brain cavities. On implantation, the electrode array unfolds in the brain cavity, contacting the cavity walls and allowing recording at multiple anatomical locations. A three-layer microfabrication process based on UV-lithography and Reactive Ion Etching is described. Electrochemical characterization of the electrode is performed in addition to an in vivo experiment in which the implantation procedure and the unfolding of the electrode are tested and visualized. Main results. Electrochemical characterization validated the suitability of the electrode for in vivo use. CT imaging confirmed the unfolding of the electrode in the brain cavity and analysis of recorded local field potentials showed the ability to record neural signals of biological origin. Significance. The conducted research confirms that it is possible to record neural activity from the inside wall of brain cavities at various anatomical locations after a single implantation procedure. This opens up possibilities towards research of abnormal brain cavities and the clinical conditions associated with them, such as central post-stroke pain.

  13. mTOR signaling and its roles in normal and abnormal brain development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuyuki eTakei

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Target of rapamycin (TOR was first identified in yeast as a target molecule of rapamycin, an anti-fugal and immunosuppressant macrolide compound. In mammals, its orthologue is called mTOR (mammalian TOR. mTOR is a serine/threonine kinase that converges different extracellular stimuli, such as nutrients and growth factors, and diverges into several biochemical reactions, including translation, autophagy, transcription, and lipid synthesis among others. These biochemical reactions govern cell growth and cause cells to attain an anabolic state. Thus, the disruption of mTOR signaling is implicated in a wide array of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity. In the central nervous system (CNS, the mTOR signaling cascade is activated by nutrients, neurotrophic factors, and neurotransmitters that enhances protein (and possibly lipid synthesis and suppresses autophagy. These processes contribute to normal neuronal growth by promoting their differentiation, neurite elongation and branching, and synaptic formation during development. Therefore, disruption of mTOR signaling may cause neuronal degeneration and abnormal neural development. While reduced mTOR signaling is associated with neurodegeneration, excess activation of mTOR signaling causes abnormal development of neurons and glia, leading to brain malformation. In this review, we first introduce the current state of molecular knowledge of mTOR complexes and signaling in general. We then describe mTOR activation in neurons, which leads to translational enhancement, and finally discuss the link between mTOR and normal/abnormal neuronal growth during development.

  14. Differing patterns of brain structural abnormalities between black and white patients with their first episode of psychosis.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Morgan, K D

    2010-07-01

    African-Caribbean and black African people living in the UK are reported to have a higher incidence of diagnosed psychosis compared with white British people. It has been argued that this may be a consequence of misdiagnosis. If this is true they might be less likely to show the patterns of structural brain abnormalities reported in white British patients. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate whether there are differences in the prevalence of structural brain abnormalities in white and black first-episode psychosis patients.

  15. Volumetric abnormalities of the brain in a rat model of recurrent headache.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Zhihua; Tang, Wenjing; Zhao, Dengfa; Hu, Guanqun; Li, Ruisheng; Yu, Shengyuan

    2018-01-01

    Voxel-based morphometry is used to detect structural brain changes in patients with migraine. However, the relevance of migraine and structural changes is not clear. This study investigated structural brain abnormalities based on voxel-based morphometry using a rat model of recurrent headache. The rat model was established by infusing an inflammatory soup through supradural catheters in conscious male rats. Rats were subgrouped according to the frequency and duration of the inflammatory soup infusion. Tactile sensory testing was conducted prior to infusion of the inflammatory soup or saline. The periorbital tactile thresholds in the high-frequency inflammatory soup stimulation group declined persistently from day 5. Increased white matter volume was observed in the rats three weeks after inflammatory soup stimulation, brainstem in the in the low-frequency inflammatory soup-infusion group and cortex in the high-frequency inflammatory soup-infusion group. After six weeks' stimulation, rats showed gray matter volume changes. The brain structural abnormalities recovered after the stimulation was stopped in the low-frequency inflammatory soup-infused rats and persisted even after the high-frequency inflammatory soup stimulus stopped. The changes of voxel-based morphometry in migraineurs may be the result of recurrent headache. Cognition, memory, and learning may play an important role in the chronification of migraines. Reducing migraine attacks has the promise of preventing chronicity of migraine.

  16. Single-subject-based whole-brain MEG slow-wave imaging approach for detecting abnormality in patients with mild traumatic brain injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Xiong Huang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Traumatic brain injury (TBI is a leading cause of sustained impairment in military and civilian populations. However, mild TBI (mTBI can be difficult to detect using conventional MRI or CT. Injured brain tissues in mTBI patients generate abnormal slow-waves (1–4 Hz that can be measured and localized by resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG. In this study, we develop a voxel-based whole-brain MEG slow-wave imaging approach for detecting abnormality in patients with mTBI on a single-subject basis. A normative database of resting-state MEG source magnitude images (1–4 Hz from 79 healthy control subjects was established for all brain voxels. The high-resolution MEG source magnitude images were obtained by our recent Fast-VESTAL method. In 84 mTBI patients with persistent post-concussive symptoms (36 from blasts, and 48 from non-blast causes, our method detected abnormalities at the positive detection rates of 84.5%, 86.1%, and 83.3% for the combined (blast-induced plus with non-blast causes, blast, and non-blast mTBI groups, respectively. We found that prefrontal, posterior parietal, inferior temporal, hippocampus, and cerebella areas were particularly vulnerable to head trauma. The result also showed that MEG slow-wave generation in prefrontal areas positively correlated with personality change, trouble concentrating, affective lability, and depression symptoms. Discussion is provided regarding the neuronal mechanisms of MEG slow-wave generation due to deafferentation caused by axonal injury and/or blockages/limitations of cholinergic transmission in TBI. This study provides an effective way for using MEG slow-wave source imaging to localize affected areas and supports MEG as a tool for assisting the diagnosis of mTBI.

  17. Brain tissue- and region-specific abnormalities on volumetric MRI scans in 21 patients with Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johnston Jennifer

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS is a heterogeneous human disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, and characterized by the primary findings of obesity, polydactyly, hypogonadism, and learning and behavioural problems. BBS mouse models have a neuroanatomical phenotype consisting of third and lateral ventriculomegaly, thinning of the cerebral cortex, and reduction in the size of the corpus striatum and hippocampus. These abnormalities raise the question of whether humans with BBS have a characteristic morphologic brain phenotype. Further, although behavioral, developmental, neurological and motor defects have been noted in patients with BBS, to date, there are limited reports of brain findings in BBS. The present study represents the largest systematic evaluation for the presence of structural brain malformations and/or progressive changes, which may contribute to these functional problems. Methods A case-control study of 21 patients, most aged 13-35 years, except for 2 patients aged 4 and 8 years, who were diagnosed with BBS by clinical criteria and genetic analysis of known BBS genes, and were evaluated by qualitative and volumetric brain MRI scans. Healthy controls were matched 3:1 by age, sex and race. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS language with SAS STAT procedures. Results All 21 patients with BBS were found to have statistically significant region- and tissue-specific patterns of brain abnormalities. There was 1 normal intracranial volume; 2 reduced white matter in all regions of the brain, but most in the occipital region; 3 preserved gray matter volume, with increased cerebral cortex volume in only the occipital lobe; 4 reduced gray matter in the subcortical regions of the brain, including the caudate, putamen and thalamus, but not in the cerebellum; and 5 increased cerebrospinal fluid volume. Conclusions There are distinct and characteristic abnormalities in tissue- and region- specific volumes

  18. Paediatrics brain imaging in epilepsy: common presenting symptoms and spectrum of abnormalities detected on MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, A.; Akram, F.; Khan, G.; Hussain, S.

    2017-01-01

    Epilepsy, a common neurological disorder can present at any age and has a number of aetiologies with underlying brain disease being the most common aetiology. Brain imaging becomes important and mandatory in the work up for epilepsy in localization and lateralization of the seizure focus. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of Radiology Ayub Medical Teaching Institution Abbottabad from 1st March 2015 to 31st March 2016. A total of 209 children aged 28 days to 14 years were included in the study who presented with seizures to clinicians. Information obtained from history, clinical examination and investigations especially MRI brains were recorded in a prescribed pro forma. The data was analysed in SPSS 20. Results: MRI examination was unremarkable in 44.01% (n=92) and mild generalized brain atrophy was noted in 12.91% (n=27). Arachnoid cysts, mild unilateral brain atrophy and hydrocephalous due to aqueduct stenosis were recorded in 3.82% (n=8) of each group. Neoplastic lesions were the second most common abnormal MRI finding and constituted 5.74% (n=12). Leukodystrophy was diagnosed in 4.78% (n=10). MRI examination showed ring enhancing lesions (tuberculomas) and AVM in 1.43% (n=3) of each group. Perinatal ischemia and intracranial infection, (focal or generalized) were recorded in 2.87% (n=6) of each group. A 0.95 % (n=2) of children in each group had agenesis of corpus callosum and cavernoma. The radiological MRI diagnosis of Raussmussen encephalitis was made in 3.34% (n=7). Single case, each of mesial temporal sclerosis, subdural haemorrhage, infarct and craniopharyngioma was recorded making 0.47 % of the total patients in each case. Conclusion: MRI examination was abnormal in significant number of patients (55.86%), so therefore if properly utilized, in a good clinical context, this can identify most of the structural brain abnormalities in paediatric patients presenting with seizures. (author)

  19. Loss of neuronal integrity: a cause of hypometabolism in patients with traumatic brain injury without MRI abnormality in the chronic stage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiga, Tohru; Matsuyama, Tetsuaki; Kageyama, Hiroyuki; Kohno, Tomoya; Tamaki, Nagara; Ikoma, Katsunori; Isoyama, Hirotaka; Katoh, Chietsugu; Kuge, Yuji; Terae, Satoshi

    2006-01-01

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes brain dysfunction in many patients. However, some patients have severe brain dysfunction but display no abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). There have been some reports of hypometabolism even in such patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic abnormality and loss of neuronal integrity in TBI patients with some symptoms but without MRI abnormalities. The study population comprised ten patients with TBI and ten normal volunteers. All of the patients were examined at least 1 year after the injury. 15 O-labelled gas PET and [ 11 C]flumazenil (FMZ) positron emission tomography (PET) were carried out. The cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO 2 ) and binding potential (BP) images of FMZ were calculated. Axial T2WI, T2*WI and FLAIR images were obtained. Coronal images were added in some cases. All of the patients had normal MRI findings, and all showed areas with abnormally low CMRO 2 . Low uptake on BP images was observed in six patients (60%). No lesions that showed low uptake on BP images were without low CMRO 2 . On the other hand, there were 14 lesions with low CMRO 2 but without BP abnormalities. These results indicate that there are metabolic abnormalities in TBI patients with some symptoms after brain injury but without abnormalities on MRI. Some of the hypometabolic lesions showed low BP, indicating a loss of neuronal integrity. Thus, FMZ PET may have potential to distinguish hypometabolism caused by neuronal loss from that caused by other factors. (orig.)

  20. Autosomal dominant inheritance of brain cardiolipin fatty acid abnormality in VM/DK mice: association with hypoxic-induced cognitive insensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ta, Nathan L; Jia, Xibei; Kiebish, Michael; Seyfried, Thomas N

    2014-01-01

    Cardiolipin is a complex polyglycerol phospholipid found almost exclusively in the inner mitochondrial membrane and regulates numerous enzyme activities especially those related to oxidative phosphorylation and coupled respiration. Abnormalities in cardiolipin can impair mitochondrial function and bioenergetics. We recently demonstrated that the ratio of shorter chain saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (C16:0; C18:0; C18:1) to longer chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:2; C20:4; C22:6) was significantly greater in the brains of adult VM/DK (VM) inbred mice than in the brains of C57BL/6 J (B6) mice. The cardiolipin fatty acid abnormalities in VM mice are also associated with alterations in the activity of mitochondrial respiratory complexes. In this study we found that the abnormal brain fatty acid ratio in the VM strain was inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in reciprocal B6 × VM F1 hybrids. To evaluate the potential influence of brain cardiolipin fatty acid composition on cognitive sensitivity, we placed the parental B6 and VM mice and their reciprocal male and female B6VMF1 hybrid mice (3-month-old) in a hypoxic chamber (5 % O2). Cognitive awareness (conscientiousness) under hypoxia was significantly lower in the VM parental mice and F1 hybrid mice (11.4 ± 0.4  and 11.0 ± 0.4 min, respectively) than in the parental B6 mice (15.3 ± 1.4 min), indicating an autosomal dominant inheritance like that of the brain cardiolipin abnormalities. These findings suggest that impaired cognitive awareness under hypoxia is associated with abnormalities in neural lipid composition.

  1. Brain abnormalities detected on magnetic resonance imaging of amphetamine users presenting to an emergency department: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatovich, Daniel M; McCoubrie, David L; Song, Swithin J; Rosen, David M; Lawn, Nick D; Daly, Frank F

    2010-09-06

    To determine the prevalence of occult brain abnormalities in magnetic resonance imaging of active amphetamine users. Prospective convenience study in a tertiary hospital emergency department (ED). Patients presenting to the ED for an amphetamine-related reason were eligible for inclusion. We collected demographic data, drug use data, and performed a mini-mental state examination (MMSE). The proportion of patients with an abnormality on their MRI scan. Of 38 patients enrolled, 30 had MRI scans. Nineteen were male and their mean age was 26.7 +/- 5.4 years (range 19-41 years). The mean age of first amphetamine use was 18 years (range 13-26 years). Sixteen patients used crystal methamphetamine (mean amount 2.5 g/week), nine used amphetamine ("speed") (mean amount 2.9 g/week), and 23 used ecstasy (mean amount 2.3 tablets/week). Marijuana was smoked by 26 (mean amount 5.9 g/week), and 28 drank alcohol (mean amount 207 g/week). The median MMSE score was 27/30 (interquartile range, 26-29). Abnormalities on brain MRI scans were identified in six patients, most commonly an unidentified bright object (n = 4). In this pilot study of brain MRI of young people attending the ED with an amphetamine-related presentation, one in five had an occult brain lesion. While the significance of this is uncertain, it is congruent with evidence that amphetamines cause brain injury.

  2. Motor-related brain abnormalities in HIV-infected patients. A multimodal MRI study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Yawen; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Miao, Hui; Wei, Yarui; Ali, Rizwan [University of Science and Technology of China, Centers for Biomedical Engineering, Hefei, Anhui (China); Li, Ruili; Li, Hongjun [Capital Medical University, Department of Radiology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Beijing (China); Qiu, Bensheng [University of Science and Technology of China, Centers for Biomedical Engineering, Hefei, Anhui (China); Anhui Computer Application Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui (China)

    2017-11-15

    It is generally believed that HIV infection could cause HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) across a broad range of functional domains. Some of the most common findings are deficits in motor control. However, to date no neuroimaging studies have evaluated basic motor control in HIV-infected patients using a multimodal approach. In this study, we utilized high-resolution structural imaging and task-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain structure and motor function in a homogeneous cohort of HIV-infected patients. We found that HIV-infected patients had significantly reduced gray matter (GM) volume in cortical regions, which are involved in motor control, including the bilateral posterior insula cortex, premotor cortex, and supramarginal gyrus. Increased activation in bilateral posterior insula cortices was also demonstrated by patients during hand movement tasks compared with healthy controls. More importantly, the reduced GM in bilateral posterior insula cortices was spatially coincident with abnormal brain activation in HIV-infected patients. In addition, the results of partial correlation analysis indicated that GM reduction in bilateral posterior insula cortices and premotor cortices was significantly correlated with immune system deterioration. This study is the first to demonstrate spatially coincident GM reduction and abnormal activation during motor performance in HIV-infected patients. Although it remains unknown whether the brain deficits can be recovered, our findings may yield new insights into neurologic injury underlying motor dysfunction in HAND. (orig.)

  3. Motor-related brain abnormalities in HIV-infected patients. A multimodal MRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Yawen; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Miao, Hui; Wei, Yarui; Ali, Rizwan; Li, Ruili; Li, Hongjun; Qiu, Bensheng

    2017-01-01

    It is generally believed that HIV infection could cause HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) across a broad range of functional domains. Some of the most common findings are deficits in motor control. However, to date no neuroimaging studies have evaluated basic motor control in HIV-infected patients using a multimodal approach. In this study, we utilized high-resolution structural imaging and task-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain structure and motor function in a homogeneous cohort of HIV-infected patients. We found that HIV-infected patients had significantly reduced gray matter (GM) volume in cortical regions, which are involved in motor control, including the bilateral posterior insula cortex, premotor cortex, and supramarginal gyrus. Increased activation in bilateral posterior insula cortices was also demonstrated by patients during hand movement tasks compared with healthy controls. More importantly, the reduced GM in bilateral posterior insula cortices was spatially coincident with abnormal brain activation in HIV-infected patients. In addition, the results of partial correlation analysis indicated that GM reduction in bilateral posterior insula cortices and premotor cortices was significantly correlated with immune system deterioration. This study is the first to demonstrate spatially coincident GM reduction and abnormal activation during motor performance in HIV-infected patients. Although it remains unknown whether the brain deficits can be recovered, our findings may yield new insights into neurologic injury underlying motor dysfunction in HAND. (orig.)

  4. Structural Brain Abnormalities in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy Patients: Volumetry and Voxel-Based Morphometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tae, Woo Suk; Hong, Seung Bong; Joo, Eun Yun

    2006-01-01

    We aimed to find structural brain abnormalities in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) patients. The volumes of the cerebrum, hippocampus and frontal lobe and the area of the corpus callosum's subdivisions were all semiautomatically measured, and then optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed in 19 JME patients and 19 age/gender matched normal controls. The rostrum and rostral body of the corpus callosum and the left hippocampus were significantly smaller than those of the normal controls, whereas the volume of the JME's left frontal lobe was significantly larger than that of the controls. The area of the rostral body had a significant positive correlation with the age of seizure onset (r=0.56, p=0.012), and the volume of the right frontal lobe had a significant negative correlation with the duration of disease (r=-0.51, p=0.025). On the VBM, the gray matter concentration of the prefrontal lobe (bilateral gyri rectus, anterior orbital gyri, left anterior middle frontal gyrus and right anterior superior frontal gyrus) was decreased in the JME group (corrected p<0.05). The JME patients showed complex structural abnormalities in the corpus callosum, frontal lobe and hippocampus, and also a decreased gray matter concentration of the prefrontal region, which all suggests there is an abnormal neural network in the JME brain

  5. Structural Brain Abnormalities in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy Patients: Volumetry and Voxel-Based Morphometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tae, Woo Suk; Hong, Seung Bong [Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Joo, Eun Yun [Ewha Womans University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-09-15

    We aimed to find structural brain abnormalities in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) patients. The volumes of the cerebrum, hippocampus and frontal lobe and the area of the corpus callosum's subdivisions were all semiautomatically measured, and then optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed in 19 JME patients and 19 age/gender matched normal controls. The rostrum and rostral body of the corpus callosum and the left hippocampus were significantly smaller than those of the normal controls, whereas the volume of the JME's left frontal lobe was significantly larger than that of the controls. The area of the rostral body had a significant positive correlation with the age of seizure onset (r=0.56, p=0.012), and the volume of the right frontal lobe had a significant negative correlation with the duration of disease (r=-0.51, p=0.025). On the VBM, the gray matter concentration of the prefrontal lobe (bilateral gyri rectus, anterior orbital gyri, left anterior middle frontal gyrus and right anterior superior frontal gyrus) was decreased in the JME group (corrected p<0.05). The JME patients showed complex structural abnormalities in the corpus callosum, frontal lobe and hippocampus, and also a decreased gray matter concentration of the prefrontal region, which all suggests there is an abnormal neural network in the JME brain.

  6. Normal and abnormal fetal brain development during the third trimester as demonstrated by neurosonography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinger, G.; Lev, D.; Lerman-Sagie, T.

    2006-01-01

    The multiplanar neurosonographic examination of the fetus enables superb visualization of brain anatomy during pregnancy. The examination may be performed using a transvaginal or a transfundal approach and it is indicated in patients at high risk for CNS anomalies or in those with a suspicious finding during a routine examination. The purpose of this paper is to present a description of the normal brain and of abnormal findings usually diagnosed late in pregnancy, including malformations of cortical development, infratentorial anomalies, and prenatal insults

  7. Positron emission tomography studies in the normal and abnormal ageing of human brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comar, D.; Baron, J.C.

    1987-01-01

    Until recently, the investigation of the neurophysiological correlates of normal and abnormal ageing of the human brain was limited by methodological constraints, as the technics available provided only a few parameters (e.g. electroencephalograms, cerebral blood flow) monitored in superficial brain structures in a grossly regional and poorly quantitative way. Lately several non invasive techniques have been developed which allow to investigate in vivo both quantitatively and on local basis a number of previously inaccessible important aspects of brain function. Among these techniques, such as single photon emission tomography imaging of computerized electric events, nuclear magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography stands out as the most powerful and promising method since it allows the in vivo measurement of biochemical and pharmacological parameters

  8. Abnormalities in Human Brain Creatine Metabolism in Gulf War Illness Probed with MRS

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-01

    TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED 30 Sep 2012 - 29 Sep 2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Abnormalities in Human Brain Creatine Metabolism in...levels of total creatine (tCr) in veterans with Gulf War Illness have been observed in prior studies. The goal of this research is to estimate amounts and

  9. Zika Virus Infection as a Cause of Congenital Brain Abnormalities and Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Systematic Review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabienne Krauer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The World Health Organization (WHO stated in March 2016 that there was scientific consensus that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was a cause of the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS and of microcephaly and other congenital brain abnormalities based on rapid evidence assessments. Decisions about causality require systematic assessment to guide public health actions. The objectives of this study were to update and reassess the evidence for causality through a rapid and systematic review about links between Zika virus infection and (a congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, in the foetuses and offspring of pregnant women and (b GBS in any population, and to describe the process and outcomes of an expert assessment of the evidence about causality.The study had three linked components. First, in February 2016, we developed a causality framework that defined questions about the relationship between Zika virus infection and each of the two clinical outcomes in ten dimensions: temporality, biological plausibility, strength of association, alternative explanations, cessation, dose-response relationship, animal experiments, analogy, specificity, and consistency. Second, we did a systematic review (protocol number CRD42016036693. We searched multiple online sources up to May 30, 2016 to find studies that directly addressed either outcome and any causality dimension, used methods to expedite study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment, and summarised evidence descriptively. Third, WHO convened a multidisciplinary panel of experts who assessed the review findings and reached consensus statements to update the WHO position on causality. We found 1,091 unique items up to May 30, 2016. For congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, we included 72 items; for eight of ten causality dimensions (all except dose-response relationship and specificity, we found that more than half the relevant studies supported

  10. Zika Virus Infection as a Cause of Congenital Brain Abnormalities and Guillain–Barré Syndrome: Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reveiz, Ludovic; Oladapo, Olufemi T.; Martínez-Vega, Ruth; Haefliger, Anina

    2017-01-01

    Background The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in March 2016 that there was scientific consensus that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was a cause of the neurological disorder Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) and of microcephaly and other congenital brain abnormalities based on rapid evidence assessments. Decisions about causality require systematic assessment to guide public health actions. The objectives of this study were to update and reassess the evidence for causality through a rapid and systematic review about links between Zika virus infection and (a) congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, in the foetuses and offspring of pregnant women and (b) GBS in any population, and to describe the process and outcomes of an expert assessment of the evidence about causality. Methods and Findings The study had three linked components. First, in February 2016, we developed a causality framework that defined questions about the relationship between Zika virus infection and each of the two clinical outcomes in ten dimensions: temporality, biological plausibility, strength of association, alternative explanations, cessation, dose–response relationship, animal experiments, analogy, specificity, and consistency. Second, we did a systematic review (protocol number CRD42016036693). We searched multiple online sources up to May 30, 2016 to find studies that directly addressed either outcome and any causality dimension, used methods to expedite study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment, and summarised evidence descriptively. Third, WHO convened a multidisciplinary panel of experts who assessed the review findings and reached consensus statements to update the WHO position on causality. We found 1,091 unique items up to May 30, 2016. For congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, we included 72 items; for eight of ten causality dimensions (all except dose–response relationship and specificity), we found that more than half the

  11. Zika Virus Infection as a Cause of Congenital Brain Abnormalities and Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krauer, Fabienne; Riesen, Maurane; Reveiz, Ludovic; Oladapo, Olufemi T; Martínez-Vega, Ruth; Porgo, Teegwendé V; Haefliger, Anina; Broutet, Nathalie J; Low, Nicola

    2017-01-01

    The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in March 2016 that there was scientific consensus that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was a cause of the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and of microcephaly and other congenital brain abnormalities based on rapid evidence assessments. Decisions about causality require systematic assessment to guide public health actions. The objectives of this study were to update and reassess the evidence for causality through a rapid and systematic review about links between Zika virus infection and (a) congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, in the foetuses and offspring of pregnant women and (b) GBS in any population, and to describe the process and outcomes of an expert assessment of the evidence about causality. The study had three linked components. First, in February 2016, we developed a causality framework that defined questions about the relationship between Zika virus infection and each of the two clinical outcomes in ten dimensions: temporality, biological plausibility, strength of association, alternative explanations, cessation, dose-response relationship, animal experiments, analogy, specificity, and consistency. Second, we did a systematic review (protocol number CRD42016036693). We searched multiple online sources up to May 30, 2016 to find studies that directly addressed either outcome and any causality dimension, used methods to expedite study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment, and summarised evidence descriptively. Third, WHO convened a multidisciplinary panel of experts who assessed the review findings and reached consensus statements to update the WHO position on causality. We found 1,091 unique items up to May 30, 2016. For congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, we included 72 items; for eight of ten causality dimensions (all except dose-response relationship and specificity), we found that more than half the relevant studies supported a causal

  12. Superior Pattern Processing is the Essence of the Evolved Human Brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark eMattson

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Humans have long pondered the nature of their mind/brain and, particularly why its capacities for reasoning, communication and abstract thought are far superior to other species, including closely related anthropoids. This article considers superior pattern processing (SPP as the fundamental basis of most, if not all, unique features of the human brain including intelligence, language, imagination, invention, and the belief in imaginary entities such as ghosts and gods. SPP involves the electrochemical, neuronal network-based, encoding, integration, and transfer to other individuals of perceived or mentally-fabricated patterns. During human evolution, pattern processing capabilities became increasingly sophisticated as the result of expansion of the cerebral cortex, particularly the prefrontal cortex and regions involved in processing of images. Specific patterns, real or imagined, are reinforced by emotional experiences, indoctrination and even psychedelic drugs. Impaired or dysregulated SPP is fundamental to cognitive and psychiatric disorders. A broader understanding of SPP mechanisms, and their roles in normal and abnormal function of the human brain, may enable the development of interventions that reduce irrational decisions and destructive behaviors.

  13. Craniofacial and brain abnormalities in Laron syndrome (primary growth hormone insensitivity).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornreich, L; Horev, G; Schwarz, M; Karmazyn, B; Laron, Z

    2002-04-01

    To investigate abnormalities in the craniofacial structures and in the brain in patients with Laron syndrome. Eleven patients with classical Laron syndrome, nine untreated adults aged 36-68 years and two children aged 4 and 9 years (the latter treated by IGF-I), were studied. Magnetic resonance images of the brain were obtained in all the patients. One patient also underwent computed tomography. The maximal diameter of the maxillary and frontal sinuses was measured and compared with reference values, the size of the sphenoid sinus was evaluated in relation to the sella, and the mastoids were evaluated qualitatively (small or normal). The brain was evaluated for congenital anomalies and parenchymal lesions. In the adult untreated patients, the paranasal sinuses and mastoids were small; in six patients, the bone marrow in the base of the skull was not mature. The diploe of the calvaria was thin. On computed tomography in one adult patient, the sutures were still open. A minimal or mild degree of diffuse brain parenchymal loss was seen in ten patients. One patient demonstrated a lacunar infarct and another periventricular high signals on T2-weighted images. Two patients had cerebellar atrophy. The present study has demonstrated the important role IGF-I plays in the development of the brain and bony structures of the cranium.

  14. Abnormal Brain Connectivity Spectrum Disorders Following Thimerosal Administration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A. Geier

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD, tic disorder (TD, and hyperkinetic syndrome of childhood (attention deficit disorder [ADD]/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] are disorders recently defined as abnormal connectivity spectrum disorders (ACSDs because they show a similar pattern of abnormal brain connectivity. This study examines whether these disorders are associated with exposure to thimerosal, a mercury (Hg-based preservative. Methods: A hypothesis testing case-control study evaluated the Vaccine Safety Datalink for the potential dose-dependent odds ratios (ORs for diagnoses of ASD, TD, and ADD/ADHD compared to controls, following exposure to Hg from thimerosal-containing Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines administrated within the first 15 months of life. Febrile seizures, cerebral degeneration, and unspecified disorders of metabolism, which are not biologically plausibly linked to thimerosal, were examined as control outcomes. Results: On a per 25 μg Hg basis, cases diagnosed with ASD (OR = 1.493, TD (OR = 1.428, or ADD/ADHD (OR = 1.503 were significantly (P < .001 more likely than controls to have received increased Hg exposure. Similar relationships were observed when separated by gender. Cases diagnosed with control outcomes were no more likely than controls to have received increased Hg exposure. Conclusion: The results suggest that Hg exposure from thimerosal is significantly associated with the ACSDs of ASD, TD, and ADD/ADHD.

  15. Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities and Congenital Heart Disease: Insights into Altered Brain Maturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Paul D.; Ishibashi, Nobuyuki; Jonas, Richard A.

    2017-01-01

    In the past two decades it has become evident that individuals born with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of developing life-long neurological deficits. Multifactorial risk factors contributing to neurodevelopmental abnormalities associated with CHD have been identified; however the underlying etiologies remain largely unknown and efforts to address this issue have only recently begun. There has been a dramatic shift in focus from newly acquired brain injuries associated with corrective and palliative heart surgery to antenatal and preoperative factors governing altered brain maturation in CHD. In this review, we describe key time windows of development during which the immature brain is vulnerable to injury. Special emphasis is placed on the dynamic nature of cellular events and how CHD may adversely impact the cellular units and networks necessary for proper cognitive and motor function. In addition, we describe current gaps in knowledge and offer perspectives about what can be done to improve our understanding of neurological deficits in CHD. Ultimately, a multidisciplinary approach will be essential in order to prevent or improve adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in individuals surviving CHD. PMID:28302742

  16. Structural abnormalities and altered regional brain activity in multiple sclerosis with simple spinal cord involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Ping; Liu, Yi; Xiong, Hua; Han, Yongliang; Sah, Shambhu Kumar; Zeng, Chun; Wang, Jingjie; Li, Yongmei

    2018-02-01

    To assess the changes of the structural and functional abnormalities in multiple sclerosis with simple spinal cord involvement (MS-SSCI) by using resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI), voxel based morphology (VBM) and diffusion tensor tractography. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of 22 patients with MS-SSCI and 22 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, gender and education were compared by using RS-fMRI. We also compared the volume, fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient of the brain regions in baseline brain activity by using VBM and diffusion tensor imaging. The relationships between the expanded disability states scale (EDSS) scores, changed parameters of structure and function were further explored. (1) Compared with HCs, the ALFF of the bilateral hippocampus and right middle temporal gyrus in MS-SSCI decreased significantly. However, patients exhibited increased ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus, left posterior cingulate gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus ( two-sample t-test, after AlphaSim correction, p 40). The volume of right middle frontal gyrus reduced significantly (p right hippocampus, the FA of left hippocampus and right middle temporal gyrus were significantly different. (2) A significant correlation between EDSS scores and ALFF was noted only in the left posterior cingulate gyrus. Our results detected structural and functional abnormalities in MS-SSCI and functional parameters were associated with clinical abnormalities. Multimodal imaging plays an important role in detecting structural and functional abnormalities in MS-SSCI. Advances in knowledge: This is the first time to apply RS-fMRI, VBM and diffusion tensor tractography to study the structural and functional abnormalities in MS-SSCI, and to explore its correlation with EDSS score.

  17. Cerebral perfusion abnormalities in therapy-resistant epilepsy in childhood: comparison between EEG, MRI and 99Tcm-ECD brain SPET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vattimo, A; Burroni, L; Bertelli, P; Volterrani, D; Vella, A

    1996-01-01

    We performed 99Tcm-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) interictal single photon emission tomography (SPET) in 26 children with severe therapy-resistant epilepsy. All the children underwent a detailed clinical examination, an electroencephalogram (EEG) investigation and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In 21 of the 26 children, SPET demonstrated brain blood flow abnormalities, in 13 cases in the same territories that showed EEG alterations. MRI showed structural lesions in 6 of the 26 children, while SPET imaging confirmed these abnormalities in only 5 children. The lesion not detected on SPET was shown to be 3 mm thick on MRI. Five symptomatic patients had normal SPET. In one of these patients, the EEG findings were normal and MRI revealed a small calcific nodule (4 mm thick); in the others, the EEG showed non-focal but diffuse abnormalities. These data confirm that brain SPET is sensitive in detecting and localizing hypoperfused areas that could be associated with epileptic foci in this group of patients, even when the MRI image is normal.

  18. THE TIME COURSE OF ABNORMALITIES IN THE BRAIN SUBCORTICAL VISUAL CENTRE FOLLOWING EARLY IMPAIRMENT OF BINOCULAR EXPERIENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Alekseenko

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Amblyopia related to congenital strabismus belongs to neurological disorders since it is caused by structural and functional remodeling of the visual parts of the brain without any baseline retinal pathology. Although a large number of animal studies on experimentally induced strabismus, as well as clinical cases have been published, the mechanisms and time course of the processes within the brain structures are not fully understood. Aim: To study the time course of abnormalities in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd in animals with surgically induced convergent strabismus. LGNd is the structure through which the information from the retina goes to the visual cortex separately for each eye. Materials and methods: 14 strabismic and 17 intact kittens of four age groups were studied. Histochemical method was used to identify cytochrome oxidase which is a  mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme whose activity correlates with neuronal functional activity. Optical density in eye-specific layers  A  and A1 was measured on the images of stained LGNd sections, with calculation of the contrast difference between them. Results: In strabismic kittens, there were changes in activity of A and A1 layers in the projection of the central part of visual field in LGNd of both hemispheres. At early stages of their formation, a relative decrease in activity was found in both hemispheres in the LGNd layers innervated through non-crossed pathways from both retinae. Thereafter, the time course of abnormalities in LGNd of both hemispheres was different. In the hemisphere ipsilateral to the squinting eye, the difference in layer activity was highest at the age from 3 to 5 months. However, in the opposite hemisphere the same difference indicating a decreased activity in the layer of the squinting eye were observed only at the age of 5 months. Conclusion: The process of amblyopia development during congenital convergent strabismus is

  19. Abnormal metabolic brain networks in Parkinson's disease from blackboard to bedside.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Chris C; Eidelberg, David

    2010-01-01

    Metabolic imaging in the rest state has provided valuable information concerning the abnormalities of regional brain function that underlie idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, network modeling procedures, such as spatial covariance analysis, have further allowed for the quantification of these changes at the systems level. In recent years, we have utilized this strategy to identify and validate three discrete metabolic networks in PD associated with the motor and cognitive manifestations of the disease. In this chapter, we will review and compare the specific functional topographies underlying parkinsonian akinesia/rigidity, tremor, and cognitive disturbance. While network activity progressed over time, the rate of change for each pattern was distinctive and paralleled the development of the corresponding clinical symptoms in early-stage patients. This approach is already showing great promise in identifying individuals with prodromal manifestations of PD and in assessing the rate of progression before clinical onset. Network modulation was found to correlate with the clinical effects of dopaminergic treatment and surgical interventions, such as subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) and gene therapy. Abnormal metabolic networks have also been identified for atypical parkinsonian syndromes, such as multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Using multiple disease-related networks for PD, MSA, and PSP, we have developed a novel, fully automated algorithm for accurate classification at the single-patient level, even at early disease stages. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Altered structure of cortical sulci in gilles de la Tourette syndrome: Further support for abnormal brain development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muellner, Julia; Delmaire, Christine; Valabrégue, Romain; Schüpbach, Michael; Mangin, Jean-François; Vidailhet, Marie; Lehéricy, Stéphane; Hartmann, Andreas; Worbe, Yulia

    2015-04-15

    Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the presence of motor and vocal tics. We hypothesized that patients with this syndrome would present an aberrant pattern of cortical formation, which could potentially reflect global alterations of brain development. Using 3 Tesla structural neuroimaging, we compared sulcal depth, opening, and length and thickness of sulcal gray matter in 52 adult patients and 52 matched controls. Cortical sulci were automatically reconstructed and identified over the whole brain, using BrainVisa software. We focused on frontal, parietal, and temporal cortical regions, in which abnormal structure and functional activity were identified in previous neuroimaging studies. Partial correlation analysis with age, sex, and treatment as covariables of noninterest was performed amongst relevant clinical and neuroimaging variables in patients. Patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome showed lower depth and reduced thickness of gray matter in the pre- and post-central as well as superior, inferior, and internal frontal sulci. In patients with associated obsessive-compulsive disorder, additional structural changes were found in temporal, insular, and olfactory sulci. Crucially, severity of tics and of obsessive-compulsive disorder measured by Yale Global Tic severity scale and Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale, respectively, correlated with structural sulcal changes in sensorimotor, temporal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and middle cingulate cortical areas. Patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome displayed an abnormal structural pattern of cortical sulci, which correlated with severity of clinical symptoms. Our results provide further evidence of abnormal brain development in GTS. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  1. The nature of white matter abnormalities in blast-related mild traumatic brain injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasmeet P. Hayes

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Blast-related traumatic brain injury (TBI has been a common injury among returning troops due to the widespread use of improvised explosive devices in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. As most of the TBIs sustained are in the mild range, brain changes may not be detected by standard clinical imaging techniques such as CT. Furthermore, the functional significance of these types of injuries is currently being debated. However, accumulating evidence suggests that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI is sensitive to subtle white matter abnormalities and may be especially useful in detecting mild TBI (mTBI. The primary aim of this study was to use DTI to characterize the nature of white matter abnormalities following blast-related mTBI, and in particular, examine the extent to which mTBI-related white matter abnormalities are region-specific or spatially heterogeneous. In addition, we examined whether mTBI with loss of consciousness (LOC was associated with more extensive white matter abnormality than mTBI without LOC, as well as the potential moderating effect of number of blast exposures. A second aim was to examine the relationship between white matter integrity and neurocognitive function. Finally, a third aim was to examine the contribution of PTSD symptom severity to observed white matter alterations. One hundred fourteen OEF/OIF veterans underwent DTI and neuropsychological examination and were divided into three groups including a control group, blast-related mTBI without LOC (mTBI - LOC group, and blast-related mTBI with LOC (mTBI + LOC group. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine the extent to which mTBI and PTSD predicted white matter abnormalities using two approaches: 1 a region-specific analysis and 2 a measure of spatial heterogeneity. Neurocognitive composite scores were calculated for executive functions, attention, memory, and psychomotor speed. Results showed that blast-related mTBI + LOC was associated with greater odds of

  2. Structural Brain Abnormalities of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder With Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noordermeer, Siri D S; Luman, Marjolein; Greven, Corina U; Veroude, Kim; Faraone, Stephen V; Hartman, Catharina A; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Franke, Barbara; Buitelaar, Jan K; Heslenfeld, Dirk J; Oosterlaan, Jaap

    2017-11-01

    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with structural abnormalities in total gray matter, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Findings of structural abnormalities in frontal and temporal lobes, amygdala, and insula are less consistent. Remarkably, the impact of comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) (comorbidity rates up to 60%) on these neuroanatomical differences is scarcely studied, while ODD (in combination with conduct disorder) has been associated with structural abnormalities of the frontal lobe, amygdala, and insula. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of comorbid ODD on cerebral volume and cortical thickness in ADHD. Three groups, 16 ± 3.5 years of age (mean ± SD; range 7-29 years), were studied on volumetric and cortical thickness characteristics using structural magnetic resonance imaging (surface-based morphometry): ADHD+ODD (n = 67), ADHD-only (n = 243), and control subjects (n = 233). Analyses included the moderators age, gender, IQ, and scan site. ADHD+ODD and ADHD-only showed volumetric reductions in total gray matter and (mainly) frontal brain areas. Stepwise volumetric reductions (ADHD+ODD attention, (working) memory, and decision-making. Volumetric reductions of frontal lobes were largest in the ADHD+ODD group, possibly underlying observed larger impairments in neurocognitive functions. Previously reported striatal abnormalities in ADHD may be caused by comorbid conduct disorder rather than ODD. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Social anhedonia is associated with neural abnormalities during face emotion processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germine, Laura T; Garrido, Lucia; Bruce, Lori; Hooker, Christine

    2011-10-01

    Human beings are social organisms with an intrinsic desire to seek and participate in social interactions. Social anhedonia is a personality trait characterized by a reduced desire for social affiliation and reduced pleasure derived from interpersonal interactions. Abnormally high levels of social anhedonia prospectively predict the development of schizophrenia and contribute to poorer outcomes for schizophrenia patients. Despite the strong association between social anhedonia and schizophrenia, the neural mechanisms that underlie individual differences in social anhedonia have not been studied and are thus poorly understood. Deficits in face emotion recognition are related to poorer social outcomes in schizophrenia, and it has been suggested that face emotion recognition deficits may be a behavioral marker for schizophrenia liability. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see whether there are differences in the brain networks underlying basic face emotion processing in a community sample of individuals low vs. high in social anhedonia. We isolated the neural mechanisms related to face emotion processing by comparing face emotion discrimination with four other baseline conditions (identity discrimination of emotional faces, identity discrimination of neutral faces, object discrimination, and pattern discrimination). Results showed a group (high/low social anhedonia) × condition (emotion discrimination/control condition) interaction in the anterior portion of the rostral medial prefrontal cortex, right superior temporal gyrus, and left somatosensory cortex. As predicted, high (relative to low) social anhedonia participants showed less neural activity in face emotion processing regions during emotion discrimination as compared to each control condition. The findings suggest that social anhedonia is associated with abnormalities in networks responsible for basic processes associated with social cognition, and provide a

  4. Abnormal functional brain connectivity and personality traits in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serra, Laura; Silvestri, Gabriella; Petrucci, Antonio; Basile, Barbara; Masciullo, Marcella; Makovac, Elena; Torso, Mario; Spanò, Barbara; Mastropasqua, Chiara; Harrison, Neil A; Bianchi, Maria L E; Giacanelli, Manlio; Caltagirone, Carlo; Cercignani, Mara; Bozzali, Marco

    2014-05-01

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), the most common muscular dystrophy observed in adults, is a genetic multisystem disorder affecting several other organs besides skeletal muscle, including the brain. Cognitive and personality abnormalities have been reported; however, no studies have investigated brain functional networks and their relationship with personality traits/disorders in patients with DM1. To use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the potential relationship between personality traits/disorders and changes to functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) in patients with DM1. We enrolled 27 patients with genetically confirmed DM1 and 16 matched healthy control individuals. Patients underwent personality assessment using clinical interview and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 administration; all participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Investigations were conducted at the Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Santa Lucia Foundation, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, and Azienda Ospedaliera San Camillo Forlanini. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Measures of personality traits in patients and changes in functional connectivity within the DMN in patients and controls. Changes in functional connectivity and atypical personality traits in patients were correlated. We combined results obtained from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and clinical interview to identify a continuum of atypical personality profiles ranging from schizotypal personality traits to paranoid personality disorder within our DM1 patients. We also demonstrated an increase in functional connectivity in the bilateral posterior cingulate and left parietal DMN nodes in DM1 patients compared with controls. Moreover, patients with DM1 showed strong associations between DMN functional connectivity and schizotypal-paranoid traits. Our findings provide novel

  5. Brain abnormalities on MRI in non-functioning pituitary adenoma patients treated with or without postoperative radiotherapy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sattler, Margriet G. A.; Meiners, Linda C.; Sluiter, Wim J.; van den Berg, Gerrit; Langendijk, Johannes A.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; van den Bergh, Alphons C. M.; van Beek, Andre P.

    Background and purpose: To assess and compare brain abnormalities on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in non-functioning pituitary macro-adenoma (NFA) patients treated with or without postoperative radiotherapy (RT). Material and methods: In 86 NFA patients, treated between 1987 and 2008 at the

  6. Positron Emission Tomography Reveals Abnormal Topological Organization in Functional Brain Network in Diabetic Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Xiangzhe; Zhang, Yanjun; Feng, Hongbo; Jiang, Donglang

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated alterations in the topological organization of structural brain networks in diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the DM-related changes in the topological properties in functional brain networks are unexplored so far. We therefore used fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) data to construct functional brain networks of 73 DM patients and 91 sex- and age-matched normal controls (NCs), followed by a graph theoretical analysis. We found that both DM patients and NCs had a small-world topology in functional brain network. In comparison to the NC group, the DM group was found to have significantly lower small-world index, lower normalized clustering coefficients and higher normalized characteristic path length. Moreover, for diabetic patients, the nodal centrality was significantly reduced in the right rectus, the right cuneus, the left middle occipital gyrus, and the left postcentral gyrus, and it was significantly increased in the orbitofrontal region of the left middle frontal gyrus, the left olfactory region, and the right paracentral lobule. Our results demonstrated that the diabetic brain was associated with disrupted topological organization in the functional PET network, thus providing functional evidence for the abnormalities of brain networks in DM.

  7. Specificity of abnormal brain volume in major depressive disorder: a comparison with borderline personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depping, Malte S; Wolf, Nadine D; Vasic, Nenad; Sambataro, Fabio; Thomann, Philipp A; Christian Wolf, R

    2015-03-15

    Abnormal brain volume has been frequently demonstrated in major depressive disorder (MDD). It is unclear if these findings are specific for MDD since aberrant brain structure is also present in disorders with depressive comorbidity and affective dysregulation, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this transdiagnostic study, we aimed to investigate if regional brain volume loss differentiates between MDD and BPD. Further, we tested for associations between brain volume and clinical variables within and between diagnostic groups. 22 Females with a DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD, 17 females with a DSM-IV diagnosis of BPD and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder, and 22 age-matched female healthy controls (HC) were investigated using magnetic resonance imaging. High-resolution structural data were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. A significant (pdisorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. How study of respiratory physiology aided our understanding of abnormal brain function in panic disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, S; Papp, L A; Gorman, J M

    2000-12-01

    There is a substantial body of literature demonstrating that stimulation of respiration (hyperventilation) is a common event in panic disorder patients during panic attack episodes. Further, a number of abnormalities in respiration, such as enhanced CO2 sensitivity, have been detected in panic patients. This led some to posit that there is a fundamental abnormality in the physiological mechanisms that control breathing in panic disorder and that this abnormality is central to illness etiology. More recently, however, evidence has accumulated suggesting that respiratory physiology is normal in panic patients and that their tendency to hyperventilate and to react with panic to respiratory stimulants like CO2 represents the triggering of a hypersensitive fear network. The fear network anatomy is taken from preclinical studies that have identified the brain pathways that subserve the acquisition and maintenance of conditioned fear. Included are the amygdala and its brain stem projections, the hippocampus, and the medial prefrontal cortex. Although attempts to image this system in patients during panic attacks have been difficult, the theory that the fear network is operative and hyperactive in panic patients explains why both medication and psychosocial therapies are clearly effective. Studies of respiration in panic disorder are an excellent example of the way in which peripheral markers have guided researchers in developing a more complete picture of the neural events that occur in psychopathological states.

  9. Assessment of abnormal brain structures and networks in major depressive disorder using morphometric and connectome analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Vincent Chin-Hung; Shen, Chao-Yu; Liang, Sophie Hsin-Yi; Li, Zhen-Hui; Tyan, Yeu-Sheng; Liao, Yin-To; Huang, Yin-Chen; Lee, Yena; McIntyre, Roger S; Weng, Jun-Cheng

    2016-11-15

    It is hypothesized that the phenomenology of major depressive disorder (MDD) is subserved by disturbances in the structure and function of brain circuits; however, findings of structural abnormalities using MRI have been inconsistent. Generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI) methodology provides an opportunity to assess the functional integrity of white matter tracts in implicated circuits. The study population was comprised of 16 outpatients with MDD (mean age 44.81±2.2 years) and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (mean age 45.03±1.88 years). We excluded participants with any other primary mental disorder, substance use disorder, or any neurological illnesses. We used T1-weighted 3D MRI with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and vertex-wise shape analysis, and GQI with voxel-based statistical analysis (VBA), graph theoretical analysis (GTA) and network-based statistical (NBS) analysis to evaluate brain structure and connectivity abnormalities in MDD compared to healthy controls correlates with clinical measures of depressive symptom severity, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17-item (HAMD) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Using VBM and vertex-wise shape analyses, we found significant volumetric decreases in the hippocampus and amygdala among subjects with MDD (pdisorder with abnormal circuit structure and connectivity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Positron Emission Tomography Reveals Abnormal Topological Organization in Functional Brain Network in Diabetic Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiu eXiangzhe

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies have demonstrated alterations in the topological organization of structural brain networks in diabetes mellitus (DM. However, the DM-related changes in the topological properties in functional brain networks are almost unexplored so far. We therefore used fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET data to construct functional brain networks of 73 DM patients and 91 sex- and age-matched normal controls (NCs, followed by a graph theoretical analysis. We found that both DM patients and NCs had a small-world topology in functional brain network. In comparison to the NC group, the DM group was found to have significantly lower small-world index, lower normalized clustering coefficients and higher normalized shortest path length. Moreover, for diabetic patients, the nodal centrality was significantly reduced in the right rectus, the right cuneus, the left middle occipital gyrus, and the left postcentral gyrus, and it was significantly increased in the orbitofrontal region of the left middle frontal gyrus, the left olfactory region, and the right paracentral lobule. Our results demonstrated that the diabetic brain was associated with disrupted topological organization in the functional PET network, thus providing the functional evidence for the abnormalities of brain networks in DM.

  11. Abnormal neural hierarchy in processing of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerner, Yulia; Bleich-Cohen, Maya; Solnik-Knirsh, Shimrit; Yogev-Seligmann, Galit; Eisenstein, Tamir; Madah, Waheed; Shamir, Alon; Hendler, Talma; Kremer, Ilana

    2018-01-01

    Previous research indicates abnormal comprehension of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia. Yet the neural mechanism underlying the breakdown of verbal information processing in schizophrenia is poorly understood. Imaging studies in healthy populations have shown a network of brain areas involved in hierarchical processing of verbal information over time. Here, we identified critical aspects of this hierarchy, examining patients with schizophrenia. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined various levels of information comprehension elicited by naturally presented verbal stimuli; from a set of randomly shuffled words to an intact story. Specifically, patients with first episode schizophrenia ( N  = 15), their non-manifesting siblings ( N  = 14) and healthy controls ( N  = 15) listened to a narrated story and randomly scrambled versions of it. To quantify the degree of dissimilarity between the groups, we adopted an inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) approach, which estimates differences in synchronization of neural responses within and between groups. The temporal topography found in healthy and siblings groups were consistent with our previous findings - high synchronization in responses from early sensory toward high order perceptual and cognitive areas. In patients with schizophrenia, stimuli with short and intermediate temporal scales evoked a typical pattern of reliable responses, whereas story condition (long temporal scale) revealed robust and widespread disruption of the inter-SCs. In addition, the more similar the neural activity of patients with schizophrenia was to the average response in the healthy group, the less severe the positive symptoms of the patients. Our findings suggest that system-level neural indication of abnormal verbal information processing in schizophrenia reflects disease manifestations.

  12. Abnormal neural hierarchy in processing of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulia Lerner

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous research indicates abnormal comprehension of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia. Yet the neural mechanism underlying the breakdown of verbal information processing in schizophrenia is poorly understood. Imaging studies in healthy populations have shown a network of brain areas involved in hierarchical processing of verbal information over time. Here, we identified critical aspects of this hierarchy, examining patients with schizophrenia. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined various levels of information comprehension elicited by naturally presented verbal stimuli; from a set of randomly shuffled words to an intact story. Specifically, patients with first episode schizophrenia (N = 15, their non-manifesting siblings (N = 14 and healthy controls (N = 15 listened to a narrated story and randomly scrambled versions of it. To quantify the degree of dissimilarity between the groups, we adopted an inter-subject correlation (inter-SC approach, which estimates differences in synchronization of neural responses within and between groups. The temporal topography found in healthy and siblings groups were consistent with our previous findings – high synchronization in responses from early sensory toward high order perceptual and cognitive areas. In patients with schizophrenia, stimuli with short and intermediate temporal scales evoked a typical pattern of reliable responses, whereas story condition (long temporal scale revealed robust and widespread disruption of the inter-SCs. In addition, the more similar the neural activity of patients with schizophrenia was to the average response in the healthy group, the less severe the positive symptoms of the patients. Our findings suggest that system-level neural indication of abnormal verbal information processing in schizophrenia reflects disease manifestations.

  13. Motor network plasticity and low-frequency oscillations abnormalities in patients with brain gliomas: a functional MRI study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Niu

    Full Text Available Brain plasticity is often associated with the process of slow-growing tumor formation, which remodels neural organization and optimizes brain network function. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether motor function plasticity would display deficits in patients with slow-growing brain tumors located in or near motor areas, but who were without motor neurological deficits. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to probe motor networks in 15 patients with histopathologically confirmed brain gliomas and 15 age-matched healthy controls. All subjects performed a motor task to help identify individual motor activity in the bilateral primary motor cortex (PMC and supplementary motor area (SMA. Frequency-based analysis at three different frequencies was then used to investigate possible alterations in the power spectral density (PSD of low-frequency oscillations. For each group, the average PSD was determined for each brain region and a nonparametric test was performed to determine the difference in power between the two groups. Significantly reduced inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between the left and right PMC was observed in patients compared with controls (P<0.05. We also found significantly decreased PSD in patients compared to that in controls, in all three frequency bands (low: 0.01-0.02 Hz; middle: 0.02-0.06 Hz; and high: 0.06-0.1 Hz, at three key motor regions. These findings suggest that in asymptomatic patients with brain tumors located in eloquent regions, inter-hemispheric connection may be more vulnerable. A comparison of the two approaches indicated that power spectral analysis is more sensitive than functional connectivity analysis for identifying the neurological abnormalities underlying motor function plasticity induced by slow-growing tumors.

  14. Comparing CAT12 and VBM8 for Detecting Brain Morphological Abnormalities in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farnaz Farokhian

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The identification of the brain morphological alterations that play important roles in neurodegenerative/neurological diseases will contribute to our understanding of the causes of these diseases. Various automated software programs are designed to provide an automatic framework to detect brain morphological changes in structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data. A voxel-based morphometry (VBM analysis can also be used for the detection of brain volumetric abnormalities. Here, we compared gray matter (GM and white matter (WM abnormality results obtained by a VBM analysis using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12 via the current version of Statistical Parametric Mapping software (SPM12 with the results obtained by a VBM analysis using the VBM8 toolbox implemented in the older software SPM8, in adult temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE patients with (n = 51 and without (n = 57 hippocampus sclerosis (HS, compared to healthy adult controls (n = 28. The VBM analysis using CAT12 showed that compared to the healthy controls, significant GM and WM reductions were located in ipsilateral mesial temporal lobes in the TLE-HS patients, and slight GM amygdala swelling was present in the right TLE-no patients (n = 27. In contrast, the VBM analysis via the VBM8 toolbox showed significant GM and WM reductions only in the left TLE-HS patients (n = 25 compared to the healthy controls. Our findings thus demonstrate that compared to VBM8, a VBM analysis using CAT12 provides a more accurate volumetric analysis of the brain regions in TLE. Our results further indicate that a VBM analysis using CAT12 is more robust and accurate against volumetric alterations than the VBM8 toolbox.

  15. Effect of contrast leakage on the detection of abnormal brain tumor vasculature in high-grade glioma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaViolette, Peter S; Daun, Mitchell K; Paulson, Eric S; Schmainda, Kathleen M

    2014-02-01

    Abnormal brain tumor vasculature has recently been highlighted by a dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI processing technique. The technique uses independent component analysis (ICA) to separate arterial and venous perfusion. The overlap of the two, i.e. arterio-venous overlap or AVOL, preferentially occurs in brain tumors and predicts response to anti-angiogenic therapy. The effects of contrast agent leakage on the AVOL biomarker have yet to be established. DSC was acquired during two separate contrast boluses in ten patients undergoing clinical imaging for brain tumor diagnosis. Three components were modeled with ICA, which included the arterial and venous components. The percentage of each component as well as a third component were determined within contrast enhancing tumor and compared. AVOL within enhancing tumor was also compared between doses. The percentage of enhancing tumor classified as not arterial or venous and instead into a third component with contrast agent leakage apparent in the time-series was significantly greater for the first contrast dose compared to the second. The amount of AVOL detected within enhancing tumor was also significantly greater with the second dose compared to the first. Contrast leakage results in large signal variance classified as a separate component by the ICA algorithm. The use of a second dose mitigates the effect and allows measurement of AVOL within enhancement.

  16. Three-dimensional brain growth abnormalities in childhood-onset schizophrenia visualized by using tensor-based morphometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gogtay, Nitin; Lu, Allen; Leow, Alex D; Klunder, Andrea D; Lee, Agatha D; Chavez, Alex; Greenstein, Deanna; Giedd, Jay N; Toga, Arthur W; Rapoport, Judith L; Thompson, Paul M

    2008-10-14

    Earlier studies revealed progressive cortical gray matter (GM) loss in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) across both lateral and medial surfaces of the developing brain. Here, we use tensor-based morphometry to visualize white matter (WM) growth abnormalities in COS throughout the brain. Using high-dimensional elastic image registration, we compared 3D maps of local WM growth rates in COS patients and healthy children over a 5-year period, based on analyzing longitudinal brain MRIs from 12 COS patients and 12 healthy controls matched for age, gender, and scan interval. COS patients showed up to 2.2% slower growth rates per year than healthy controls in WM (P = 0.02, all P values corrected). The greatest differences were in the right hemisphere (P = 0.006). This asymmetry was attributable to a right slower than left hemisphere growth rate mapped in COS patients (P = 0.037) but not in healthy controls. WM growth rates reached 2.6% per year in healthy controls (P = 0.0002). COS patients showed only a 1.3% per year trend for growth in the left hemisphere (P = 0.066). In COS, WM growth rates were associated with improvement in the Children's Global Assessment Scale (R = 0.64, P = 0.029). Growth rates were reduced throughout the brain in COS, but this process appeared to progress in a front-to-back (frontal-parietal) fashion, and this effect was not attributable to lower IQ. Growth rates were correlated with functional prognosis and were visualized as detailed 3D maps. Finally, these findings also confirm that the progressive GM deficits seen in schizophrenia are not the result of WM overgrowth.

  17. Abnormal neural activities of directional brain networks in patients with long-term bilateral hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Long-Chun; Zhang, Gang; Zou, Yue; Zhang, Min-Feng; Zhang, Dong-Sheng; Ma, Hua; Zhao, Wen-Bo; Zhang, Guang-Yu

    2017-10-13

    The objective of the study is to provide some implications for rehabilitation of hearing impairment by investigating changes of neural activities of directional brain networks in patients with long-term bilateral hearing loss. Firstly, we implemented neuropsychological tests of 21 subjects (11 patients with long-term bilateral hearing loss, and 10 subjects with normal hearing), and these tests revealed significant differences between the deaf group and the controls. Then we constructed the individual specific virtual brain based on functional magnetic resonance data of participants by utilizing effective connectivity and multivariate regression methods. We exerted the stimulating signal to the primary auditory cortices of the virtual brain and observed the brain region activations. We found that patients with long-term bilateral hearing loss presented weaker brain region activations in the auditory and language networks, but enhanced neural activities in the default mode network as compared with normally hearing subjects. Especially, the right cerebral hemisphere presented more changes than the left. Additionally, weaker neural activities in the primary auditor cortices were also strongly associated with poorer cognitive performance. Finally, causal analysis revealed several interactional circuits among activated brain regions, and these interregional causal interactions implied that abnormal neural activities of the directional brain networks in the deaf patients impacted cognitive function.

  18. Regional brain structural abnormality in ischemic stroke patients: a voxel-based morphometry study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Wu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Our previous study used regional homogeneity analysis and found that activity in some brain areas of patients with ischemic stroke changed significantly. In the current study, we examined structural changes in these brain regions by taking structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 11 ischemic stroke patients and 15 healthy participants, and analyzing the data using voxel-based morphometry. Compared with healthy participants, patients exhibited higher gray matter density in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right anterior white matter tract. In contrast, gray matter density in the right cerebellum, left precentral gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus was less in ischemic stroke patients. The changes of gray matter density in the middle frontal gyrus were negatively associated with the clinical rating scales of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (r = -0.609, P = 0.047 and the left middle temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with the clinical rating scales of the nervous functional deficiency scale (r = -0.737, P = 0.010. Our findings can objectively identify the functional abnormality in some brain regions of ischemic stroke patients.

  19. Neurologic abnormalities in murderers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, P Y; Pincus, J H; Buckner, C

    1995-09-01

    Thirty-one individuals awaiting trial or sentencing for murder or undergoing an appeal process requested a neurologic examination through legal counsel. We attempted in each instance to obtain EEG, MRI or CT, and neuropsychological testing. Neurologic examination revealed evidence of "frontal" dysfunction in 20 (64.5%). There were symptoms or some other evidence of temporal lobe abnormality in nine (29%). We made a specific neurologic diagnosis in 20 individuals (64.5%), including borderline or full mental retardation (9) and cerebral palsy (2), among others. Neuropsychological testing revealed abnormalities in all subjects tested. There were EEG abnormalities in eight of the 20 subjects tested, consisting mainly of bilateral sharp waves with slowing. There were MRI or CT abnormalities in nine of the 19 subjects tested, consisting primarily of atrophy and white matter changes. Psychiatric diagnoses included paranoid schizophrenia (8), dissociative disorder (4), and depression (9). Virtually all subjects had paranoid ideas and misunderstood social situations. There was a documented history of profound, protracted physical abuse in 26 (83.8%) and of sexual abuse in 10 (32.3%). It is likely that prolonged, severe physical abuse, paranoia, and neurologic brain dysfunction interact to form the matrix of violent behavior.

  20. TECHNOLOGIES OF BRAIN IMAGES PROCESSING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.M. Klyuchko

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of present research was to analyze modern methods of processing biological images implemented before storage in databases for biotechnological purposes. The databases further were incorporated into web-based digital systems. Examples of such information systems were described in the work for two levels of biological material organization; databases for storing data of histological analysis and of whole brain were described. Methods of neuroimaging processing for electronic brain atlas were considered. It was shown that certain pathological features can be revealed in histological image processing. Several medical diagnostic techniques (for certain brain pathologies, etc. as well as a few biotechnological methods are based on such effects. Algorithms of image processing were suggested. Electronic brain atlas was conveniently for professionals in different fields described in details. Approaches of brain atlas elaboration, “composite” scheme for large deformations as well as several methods of mathematic images processing were described as well.

  1. Brain Abnormalities in Congenital Fibrosis of the Extraocular Muscles Type 1: A Multimodal MRI Imaging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Wen; Man, Fengyuan; Wu, Shaoqin; Lv, Bin; Wang, Zhenchang; Xian, Junfang; Sabel, Bernhard A; He, Huiguang; Jiao, Yonghong

    2015-01-01

    To explore the possible brain structural and functional alterations in congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1) patients using multimodal MRI imaging. T1-weighted, diffusion tensor images and functional MRI data were obtained from 9 KIF21A positive patients and 19 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Voxel based morphometry and tract based spatial statistics were applied to the T1-weighted and diffusion tensor images, respectively. Amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity were used to process the functional MRI data. We then compared these multimodal characteristics between CFEOM1 patients and healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, CFEOM1 patients demonstrated increased grey matter volume in bilateral frontal orbital cortex and in the right temporal pole. No diffusion indices changes were detected, indicating unaffected white matter microstructure. In addition, from resting state functional MRI data, trend of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations increases were noted in the right inferior parietal lobe and in the right frontal cortex, and a trend of ReHo increase (pleft precentral gyrus, left orbital frontal cortex, temporal pole and cingulate gyrus. CFEOM1 patients had structural and functional changes in grey matter, but the white matter was unaffected. These alterations in the brain may be due to the abnormality of extraocular muscles and their innervating nerves. Future studies should consider the possible correlations between brain morphological/functional findings and clinical data, especially pertaining to eye movements, to obtain more precise answers about the role of brain area changes and their functional consequence in CFEOM1.

  2. Brain Abnormalities in Congenital Fibrosis of the Extraocular Muscles Type 1: A Multimodal MRI Imaging Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shaoqin; Lv, Bin; Wang, Zhenchang; Xian, Junfang; Sabel, Bernhard A.; He, Huiguang; Jiao, Yonghong

    2015-01-01

    Purpose To explore the possible brain structural and functional alterations in congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1) patients using multimodal MRI imaging. Methods T1-weighted, diffusion tensor images and functional MRI data were obtained from 9 KIF21A positive patients and 19 age- and gender- matched healthy controls. Voxel based morphometry and tract based spatial statistics were applied to the T1-weighted and diffusion tensor images, respectively. Amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity were used to process the functional MRI data. We then compared these multimodal characteristics between CFEOM1 patients and healthy controls. Results Compared with healthy controls, CFEOM1 patients demonstrated increased grey matter volume in bilateral frontal orbital cortex and in the right temporal pole. No diffusion indices changes were detected, indicating unaffected white matter microstructure. In addition, from resting state functional MRI data, trend of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations increases were noted in the right inferior parietal lobe and in the right frontal cortex, and a trend of ReHo increase (pleft precentral gyrus, left orbital frontal cortex, temporal pole and cingulate gyrus. Conclusions CFEOM1 patients had structural and functional changes in grey matter, but the white matter was unaffected. These alterations in the brain may be due to the abnormality of extraocular muscles and their innervating nerves. Future studies should consider the possible correlations between brain morphological/functional findings and clinical data, especially pertaining to eye movements, to obtain more precise answers about the role of brain area changes and their functional consequence in CFEOM1. PMID:26186732

  3. Abnormal functional brain asymmetry in depression: evidence of biologic commonality between major depression and dysthymia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruder, Gerard E; Stewart, Jonathan W; Hellerstein, David; Alvarenga, Jorge E; Alschuler, Daniel; McGrath, Patrick J

    2012-04-30

    Prior studies have found abnormalities of functional brain asymmetry in patients having a major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to replicate findings of reduced right hemisphere advantage for perceiving dichotic complex tones in depressed patients, and to determine whether patients having "pure" dysthymia show the same abnormality of perceptual asymmetry as MDD. It also examined gender differences in lateralization, and the extent to which abnormalities of perceptual asymmetry in depressed patients are dependent on gender. Unmedicated patients having either a MDD (n=96) or "pure" dysthymic disorder (n=42) and healthy controls (n=114) were tested on dichotic fused-words and complex-tone tests. Patient and control groups differed in right hemisphere advantage for complex tones, but not left hemisphere advantage for words. Reduced right hemisphere advantage for tones was equally present in MDD and dysthymia, but was more evident among depressed men than depressed women. Also, healthy men had greater hemispheric asymmetry than healthy women for both words and tones, whereas this gender difference was not seen for depressed patients. Dysthymia and MDD share a common abnormality of hemispheric asymmetry for dichotic listening. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Abnormal brain MRI in a case of acute ataxia as the only sign of abdominal neuroblastoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molla Mohammadi, M.; Karimzadeh, P.; Khatami, A.; Jadali, F.

    2010-01-01

    Ataxia is a movement disorder that may manifest an acute, intermittent, non progressive or chronic progressive course. Ataxia alone is rare as a para neoplastic sign, especially if it is due to neuroblastoma (abdominal or chest). We report an abdominal neuroblastoma in a two-year-old girl presenting with only acute ataxia and abnormal neuroimaging. Brain MRI showed abnormal signal finding in the medulla, pons, cortico spinal tract and the periventricular space. In the abdominal CT, a mass was detected in the right adrenal gland with calcification and the histopathologic examination re-vealed neuroblastoma. We suggest in children with acute ataxia, with or without opalescence-myoclonus, neuroblastoma should be considered.

  5. Abnormal error monitoring in math-anxious individuals: evidence from error-related brain potentials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni

    Full Text Available This study used event-related brain potentials to investigate whether math anxiety is related to abnormal error monitoring processing. Seventeen high math-anxious (HMA and seventeen low math-anxious (LMA individuals were presented with a numerical and a classical Stroop task. Groups did not differ in terms of trait or state anxiety. We found enhanced error-related negativity (ERN in the HMA group when subjects committed an error on the numerical Stroop task, but not on the classical Stroop task. Groups did not differ in terms of the correct-related negativity component (CRN, the error positivity component (Pe, classical behavioral measures or post-error measures. The amplitude of the ERN was negatively related to participants' math anxiety scores, showing a more negative amplitude as the score increased. Moreover, using standardized low resolution electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA we found greater activation of the insula in errors on a numerical task as compared to errors in a non-numerical task only for the HMA group. The results were interpreted according to the motivational significance theory of the ERN.

  6. A two-stage model for in vivo assessment of brain tumor perfusion and abnormal vascular structure using arterial spin labeling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick W Hales

    Full Text Available The ability to assess brain tumor perfusion and abnormalities in the vascular structure in vivo could provide significant benefits in terms of lesion diagnosis and assessment of treatment response. Arterial spin labeling (ASL has emerged as an increasingly viable methodology for non-invasive assessment of perfusion. Although kinetic models have been developed to describe perfusion in healthy tissue, the dynamic behaviour of the ASL signal in the brain tumor environment has not been extensively studied. We show here that dynamic ASL data acquired in brain tumors displays an increased level of 'biphasic' behaviour, compared to that seen in healthy tissue. A new two-stage model is presented which more accurately describes this behaviour, and provides measurements of perfusion, pre-capillary blood volume fraction and transit time, and capillary bolus arrival time. These biomarkers offer a novel contrast in the tumor and surrounding tissue, and provide a means for measuring tumor perfusion and vascular structural abnormalities in a fully non-invasive manner.

  7. Developmental vitamin D deficiency causes abnormal brain development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyles, D W; Feron, F; Cui, X; Kesby, J P; Harms, L H; Ko, P; McGrath, J J; Burne, T H J

    2009-12-01

    There is now clear evidence that vitamin D is involved in brain development. Our group is interested in environmental factors that shape brain development and how this may be relevant to neuropsychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. The origins of schizophrenia are considered developmental. We hypothesised that developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency may be the plausible neurobiological explanation for several important epidemiological correlates of schizophrenia namely: (1) the excess winter/spring birth rate, (2) increased incidence of the disease in 2nd generation Afro-Caribbean migrants and (3) increased urban birth rate. Moreover we have published two pieces of direct epidemiological support for this hypothesis in patients. In order to establish the "Biological Plausibility" of this hypothesis we have developed an animal model to study the effect of DVD deficiency on brain development. We do this by removing vitamin D from the diet of female rats prior to breeding. At birth we return all dams to a vitamin D containing diet. Using this procedure we impose a transient, gestational vitamin D deficiency, while maintaining normal calcium levels throughout. The brains of offspring from DVD-deficient dams are characterised by (1) a mild distortion in brain shape, (2) increased lateral ventricle volumes, (3) reduced differentiation and (4) diminished expression of neurotrophic factors. As adults, the alterations in ventricular volume persist and alterations in brain gene and protein expression emerge. Adult DVD-deficient rats also display behavioural sensitivity to agents that induce psychosis (the NMDA antagonist MK-801) and have impairments in attentional processing. In this review we summarise the literature addressing the function of vitamin D on neuronal and non-neuronal cells as well as in vivo results from DVD-deficient animals. Our conclusions from these data are that vitamin D is a plausible biological risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders and that

  8. Neonatal erythropoietin mitigates impaired gait, social interaction and diffusion tensor imaging abnormalities in a rat model of prenatal brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Shenandoah; Corbett, Christopher J; Winer, Jesse L; Chan, Lindsay A S; Maxwell, Jessie R; Anstine, Christopher V; Yellowhair, Tracylyn R; Andrews, Nicholas A; Yang, Yirong; Sillerud, Laurel O; Jantzie, Lauren L

    2018-04-01

    Children who are born preterm are at risk for encephalopathy of prematurity, a leading cause of cerebral palsy, cognitive delay and behavioral disorders. Current interventions are limited and none have been shown to reverse cognitive and behavioral impairments, a primary determinant of poor quality of life for these children. Moreover, the mechanisms of perinatal brain injury that result in functional deficits and imaging abnormalities in the mature brain are poorly defined, limiting the potential to target interventions to those who may benefit most. To determine whether impairments are reversible after a prenatal insult, we investigated a spectrum of functional deficits and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) abnormalities in young adult animals. We hypothesized that prenatal transient systemic hypoxia-ischemia (TSHI) would induce multiple functional deficits concomitant with reduced microstructural white and gray matter integrity, and tested whether these abnormalities could be ameliorated using postnatal erythropoietin (EPO), an emerging neurorestorative intervention. On embryonic day 18 uterine arteries were transiently occluded for 60min via laparotomy. Shams underwent anesthesia and laparotomy for 60min. Pups were born and TSHI pups were randomized to receive EPO or vehicle via intraperitoneal injection on postnatal days 1 to 5. Gait, social interaction, olfaction and open field testing was performed from postnatal day 25-35 before brains underwent ex vivo DTI to measure fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity. Prenatal TSHI injury causes hyperactivity, impaired gait and poor social interaction in young adult rats that mimic the spectrum of deficits observed in children born preterm. Collectively, these data show for the first time in a model of encephalopathy of prematurity that postnatal EPO treatment mitigates impairments in social interaction, in addition to gait deficits. EPO also normalizes TSHI-induced microstructural abnormalities

  9. Brain magnetic resonance imaging of infants exposed prenatally to buprenorphine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kahila, H.; Kivitie-Kallio, S.; Halmesmaki, E.; Valanne, L.; Autti, T.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the brains of newborns exposed to buprenorphine prenatally. Material and Methods: Seven neonates followed up antenatally in connection with their mothers' buprenorphine replacement therapy underwent 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain before the age of 2 months. The infants were born to heavy drug abusers. Four mothers were hepatitis C positive, and all were HIV negative. All mothers smoked tobacco and used benzodiazepines. All pregnancies were full term, and no perinatal asphyxia occurred. All but one neonate had abstinence syndrome and needed morphine replacement therapy. Results: Neither structural abnormalities nor abnormalities in signal intensity were recorded. Conclusion: Buprenorphine replacement therapy does not seem to cause any major structural abnormalities of the brain, and it may prevent known hypoxic-ischemic brain changes resulting from uncontrolled drug abuse. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess possible abnormalities in the brain maturation process

  10. Brain magnetic resonance imaging of infants exposed prenatally to buprenorphine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kahila, H.; Kivitie-Kallio, S.; Halmesmaki, E.; Valanne, L.; Autti, T. [Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dept. of Pediatrics, and Helsinki Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki Univ. Central Hospital (Finland)

    2007-02-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the brains of newborns exposed to buprenorphine prenatally. Material and Methods: Seven neonates followed up antenatally in connection with their mothers' buprenorphine replacement therapy underwent 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain before the age of 2 months. The infants were born to heavy drug abusers. Four mothers were hepatitis C positive, and all were HIV negative. All mothers smoked tobacco and used benzodiazepines. All pregnancies were full term, and no perinatal asphyxia occurred. All but one neonate had abstinence syndrome and needed morphine replacement therapy. Results: Neither structural abnormalities nor abnormalities in signal intensity were recorded. Conclusion: Buprenorphine replacement therapy does not seem to cause any major structural abnormalities of the brain, and it may prevent known hypoxic-ischemic brain changes resulting from uncontrolled drug abuse. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess possible abnormalities in the brain maturation process.

  11. Agrin in Alzheimer's Disease: Altered Solubility and Abnormal Distribution within Microvasculature and Brain Parenchyma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donahue, John E.; Berzin, Tyler M.; Rafii, Michael S.; Glass, David J.; Yancopoulos, George D.; Fallon, Justin R.; Stopa, Edward G.

    1999-05-01

    Agrin is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that is widely expressed in neurons and microvascular basal lamina in the rodent and avian central nervous system. Agrin induces the differentiation of nerve-muscle synapses, but its function in either normal or diseased brains is not known. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by loss of synapses, changes in microvascular architecture, and formation of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Here we have asked whether AD causes changes in the distribution and biochemical properties of agrin. Immunostaining of normal, aged human central nervous system revealed that agrin is expressed in neurons in multiple brain areas. Robust agrin immunoreactivity was observed uniformly in the microvascular basal lamina. In AD brains, agrin is highly concentrated in both diffuse and neuritic plaques as well as neurofibrillary tangles; neuronal expression of agrin also was observed. Furthermore, patients with AD had microvascular alterations characterized by thinning and fragmentation of the basal lamina. Detergent extraction and Western blotting showed that virtually all the agrin in normal brain is soluble in 1% SDS. In contrast, a large fraction of the agrin in AD brains is insoluble under these conditions, suggesting that it is tightly associated with β -amyloid. Together, these data indicate that the agrin abnormalities observed in AD are closely linked to β -amyloid deposition. These observations suggest that altered agrin expression in the microvasculature and the brain parenchyma contribute to the pathogenesis of AD.

  12. A systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the contribution of mr imaging to the diagnosis of foetal brain abnormalities In Utero

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jarvis, Debbie; Griffiths, Paul D. [University of Sheffield, Academic Unit of Radiology, Sheffield (United Kingdom); Mooney, Cara; Cohen, Judith; Papaioannou, Diana; Bradburn, Mike; Sutton, Anthea [School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) University of Sheffield, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

    2017-06-15

    This systematic review was undertaken to define the diagnostic performance of in utero MR (iuMR) imaging when attempting to confirm, exclude or provide additional information compared with the information provided by prenatal ultrasound scans (USS) when there is a suspicion of foetal brain abnormality. Electronic databases were searched as well as relevant journals and conference proceedings. Reference lists of applicable studies were also explored. Data extraction was conducted by two reviewers independently to identify relevant studies for inclusion in the review. Inclusion criteria were original research that reported the findings of prenatal USS and iuMR imaging and findings in terms of accuracy as judged by an outcome reference diagnosis for foetal brain abnormalities. 34 studies met the inclusion criteria which allowed diagnostic accuracy to be calculated in 959 cases, all of which had an outcome reference diagnosis determined by postnatal imaging, surgery or autopsy. iuMR imaging gave the correct diagnosis in 91 % which was an increase of 16 % above that achieved by USS alone. iuMR imaging makes a significant contribution to the diagnosis of foetal brain abnormalities, increasing the diagnostic accuracy achievable by USS alone. (orig.)

  13. Brain Abnormalities in Congenital Fibrosis of the Extraocular Muscles Type 1: A Multimodal MRI Imaging Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen Miao

    Full Text Available To explore the possible brain structural and functional alterations in congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1 patients using multimodal MRI imaging.T1-weighted, diffusion tensor images and functional MRI data were obtained from 9 KIF21A positive patients and 19 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Voxel based morphometry and tract based spatial statistics were applied to the T1-weighted and diffusion tensor images, respectively. Amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity were used to process the functional MRI data. We then compared these multimodal characteristics between CFEOM1 patients and healthy controls.Compared with healthy controls, CFEOM1 patients demonstrated increased grey matter volume in bilateral frontal orbital cortex and in the right temporal pole. No diffusion indices changes were detected, indicating unaffected white matter microstructure. In addition, from resting state functional MRI data, trend of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations increases were noted in the right inferior parietal lobe and in the right frontal cortex, and a trend of ReHo increase (p<0.001 uncorrected in the left precentral gyrus, left orbital frontal cortex, temporal pole and cingulate gyrus.CFEOM1 patients had structural and functional changes in grey matter, but the white matter was unaffected. These alterations in the brain may be due to the abnormality of extraocular muscles and their innervating nerves. Future studies should consider the possible correlations between brain morphological/functional findings and clinical data, especially pertaining to eye movements, to obtain more precise answers about the role of brain area changes and their functional consequence in CFEOM1.

  14. Brain Microstructural Abnormalities Are Related to Physiological Alterations in End-Stage Renal Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhigang Bai

    Full Text Available To study whole-brain microstructural alterations in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD and examine the relationship between brain microstructure and physiological indictors in the disease.Diffusion tensor imaging data were collected from 35 patients with ESRD (28 men, 18-61 years and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs, 32 men, 22-58 years. A voxel-wise analysis was then used to identify microstructural alterations over the whole brain in the ESRD patients compared with the HCs. Multiple biochemical measures of renal metabolin, vascular risk factors, general cognitive ability and dialysis duration were correlated with microstructural integrity for the patients.Compared to the HCs, the ESRD patients exhibited disrupted microstructural integrity in not only white matter (WM but also gray matter (GM regions, as characterized by decreased fractional anisotropy (FA and increased mean diffusivity (MD, axial diffusivity (AD and radial diffusivity (RD. Further correlation analyses revealed that the in MD, AD and RD values showed significantly positive correlations with the blood urea nitrogen in the left superior temporal gyrus and significantly negative correlations with the calcium levels in the left superior frontal gyrus (orbital part in the patients.Our findings suggest that ESRD is associated with widespread diffusion abnormalities in both WM and GM regions in the brain, and microstructural integrity of several GM regions are related to biochemical alterations in the disease.

  15. Structural brain abnormalities in the common epilepsies assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altmann, Andre; Botía, Juan A; Jahanshad, Neda; Hibar, Derrek P; Absil, Julie; Alhusaini, Saud; Alvim, Marina K M; Auvinen, Pia; Bartolini, Emanuele; Bergo, Felipe P G; Bernardes, Tauana; Blackmon, Karen; Braga, Barbara; Caligiuri, Maria Eugenia; Calvo, Anna; Carr, Sarah J; Chen, Jian; Chen, Shuai; Cherubini, Andrea; David, Philippe; Domin, Martin; Foley, Sonya; França, Wendy; Haaker, Gerrit; Isaev, Dmitry; Keller, Simon S; Kotikalapudi, Raviteja; Kowalczyk, Magdalena A; Kuzniecky, Ruben; Langner, Soenke; Lenge, Matteo; Leyden, Kelly M; Liu, Min; Loi, Richard Q; Martin, Pascal; Mascalchi, Mario; Morita, Marcia E; Pariente, Jose C; Rodríguez-Cruces, Raul; Rummel, Christian; Saavalainen, Taavi; Semmelroch, Mira K; Severino, Mariasavina; Thomas, Rhys H; Tondelli, Manuela; Tortora, Domenico; Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta; Vivash, Lucy; von Podewils, Felix; Wagner, Jan; Weber, Bernd; Yao, Yi; Yasuda, Clarissa L; Zhang, Guohao; Bargalló, Nuria; Bender, Benjamin; Bernasconi, Neda; Bernasconi, Andrea; Bernhardt, Boris C; Blümcke, Ingmar; Carlson, Chad; Cavalleri, Gianpiero L; Cendes, Fernando; Concha, Luis; Delanty, Norman; Depondt, Chantal; Devinsky, Orrin; Doherty, Colin P; Focke, Niels K; Gambardella, Antonio; Guerrini, Renzo; Hamandi, Khalid; Jackson, Graeme D; Kälviäinen, Reetta; Kochunov, Peter; Kwan, Patrick; Labate, Angelo; McDonald, Carrie R; Meletti, Stefano; O'Brien, Terence J; Ourselin, Sebastien; Richardson, Mark P; Striano, Pasquale; Thesen, Thomas; Wiest, Roland; Zhang, Junsong; Vezzani, Annamaria; Ryten, Mina; Thompson, Paul M

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Progressive functional decline in the epilepsies is largely unexplained. We formed the ENIGMA-Epilepsy consortium to understand factors that influence brain measures in epilepsy, pooling data from 24 research centres in 14 countries across Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia. Structural brain measures were extracted from MRI brain scans across 2149 individuals with epilepsy, divided into four epilepsy subgroups including idiopathic generalized epilepsies (n =367), mesial temporal lobe epilepsies with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE; left, n = 415; right, n = 339), and all other epilepsies in aggregate (n = 1026), and compared to 1727 matched healthy controls. We ranked brain structures in order of greatest differences between patients and controls, by meta-analysing effect sizes across 16 subcortical and 68 cortical brain regions. We also tested effects of duration of disease, age at onset, and age-by-diagnosis interactions on structural measures. We observed widespread patterns of altered subcortical volume and reduced cortical grey matter thickness. Compared to controls, all epilepsy groups showed lower volume in the right thalamus (Cohen’s d = −0.24 to −0.73; P left, but not right, MTLE (d = −0.29 to −0.54; P right, but not left, MTLE (d = −0.27 to −0.51; P right MTLE groups (beta, b brain measures that can be further targeted for study in genetic and neuropathological studies. This worldwide initiative identifies patterns of shared grey matter reduction across epilepsy syndromes, and distinctive abnormalities between epilepsy syndromes, which inform our understanding of epilepsy as a network disorder, and indicate that certain epilepsy syndromes involve more widespread structural compromise than previously assumed. PMID:29365066

  16. Development of diagnostic process for abnormal conditions of Ulchin units 1 and 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Hyun Soo; Kwak, Jeong Keun; Yun, Jung Hyun; Kim, Jong Hyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-10-15

    Diagnosis of abnormal conditions during operation is one of difficult tasks to nuclear power plant operators. Operators may have trouble in handling abnormal conditions due to various reasons such as 1) many alarms (around 2,000 alarms in the Ulchin units 1 and 2 each) and multi alarms occurrences, 2) the same alarms occurrences in different abnormal conditions, and 3) a number of Abnormal Operating Procedures (AOPs). For these reasons, the first diagnosis on abnormal conditions largely relies on operator's experiences and pattern recognition. Then, this difficulty may be highlighted for inexperienced operators. This paper suggests an approach to develop the optimal diagnostic process for appropriate selection of AOPs by using the Elimination by Aspect (EBA) method. The EBA method uses a heuristic followed by decision makers during a process of sequential choice and which constitutes a good balance between the cost of a decision and its quality. At each stage of decision, the individuals eliminate all the options not having an expected given attribute, until only one option remains. This approach is applied to steam generator level control system abnormal procedure for Ulchin units 1 and 2. The result indicates that the EBA method is applicable to the development of optimal process on diagnosis of abnormal conditions.

  17. [Schizophrenia: neurodevelopmental disorder or degenerative brain process?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, G; Huber, G

    2008-05-01

    In the last two decades schizophrenia is viewed increasingly as a neurodevelopmental (ND) disorder; as indicators are discussed f.e. premorbid personality, behaviour anomalies, premorbid somatic signs, deviations shown by brain imaging methods, neuropathological findings or neuropsychological deficits. Premorbid personality and behaviour anomalies have to be distinguished from precursor syndromes (prodromes and outpost syndromes), preceding the first psychotic episode many years. Moreover, only a minority of patients, later developing schizophrenia, reveal abnormal premorbid personality traits. Explanations why clinical expression of the disorder is delayed until adult life or at least adolescence, remain speculative. Findings of neocortical and limbic maldevelopment, e.g. in parahippocampal cortex, are hitherto not yet conclusive. As an argument for the ND hypothesis is claimed that ventricular enlargement already is present at the onset of positive symptoms and does not progress on follow-ups. But, if a ND disorder would have caused the ventricular enlargement, cranial volume and head size must be decreased, what is not the case in schizophrenia. Furtheron, there are findings of progressive increase in ventricular size and also of gliosis, especially in subcortical and periventricular areas. Anomalies of cerebral asymmetry; also distinct ND brain anomalies such as cavum septi pellucidi or dysgenesis of corpus callosum do not occur more frequently than expected in schizophrenia. As to the rate of obstetric complications (OCs) and viral infections sufficiently reliable data are missing; the great majority of schizophrenics have no OCs. Altogether, attempts to correlate brain findings, regarded as expression of an aberrant brain development with clinical subgroups of schizophrenia, were not very successful. This is also valid for ND concepts confined to male, early onset or sporadic schizophrenias. Only a distinct psychopathological remission type with the component

  18. Early Environmental Enrichment Enhances Abnormal Brain Connectivity in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illa, Miriam; Brito, Verónica; Pla, Laura; Eixarch, Elisenda; Arbat-Plana, Ariadna; Batallé, Dafnis; Muñoz-Moreno, Emma; Crispi, Fatima; Udina, Esther; Figueras, Francesc; Ginés, Silvia; Gratacós, Eduard

    2017-10-12

    The structural correspondence of neurodevelopmental impairments related to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) that persists later in life remains elusive. Moreover, early postnatal stimulation strategies have been proposed to mitigate these effects. Long-term brain connectivity abnormalities in an IUGR rabbit model and the effects of early postnatal environmental enrichment (EE) were explored. IUGR was surgically induced in one horn, whereas the contralateral one produced the controls. Postnatally, a subgroup of IUGR animals was housed in an enriched environment. Functional assessment was performed at the neonatal and long-term periods. At the long-term period, structural brain connectivity was evaluated by means of diffusion-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging and by histological assessment focused on the hippocampus. IUGR animals displayed poorer functional results and presented altered whole-brain networks and decreased median fractional anisotropy in the hippocampus. Reduced density of dendritic spines and perineuronal nets from hippocampal neurons were also observed. Of note, IUGR animals exposed to enriched environment presented an improvement in terms of both function and structure. IUGR is associated with altered brain connectivity at the global and cellular level. A strategy based on early EE has the potential to restore the neurodevelopmental consequences of IUGR. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. BDNF val66met modulates the association between childhood trauma, cognitive and brain abnormalities in psychoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aas, Monica; Haukvik, Unn K; Djurovic, Srdjan; Bergmann, Ørjan; Athanasiu, Lavinia; Tesli, Martin S; Hellvin, Tone; Steen, Nils Eiel; Agartz, Ingrid; Lorentzen, Steinar; Sundet, Kjetil; Andreassen, Ole A; Melle, Ingrid

    2013-10-01

    Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is important for brain development and plasticity, and here we tested if the functional BDNF val66met variant modulates the association between high levels of childhood abuse, cognitive function, and brain abnormalities in psychoses. 249 patients with a broad DSM-IV schizophrenia spectrum disorder or bipolar disorder were consecutively recruited to the TOP research study (mean±age: 30.7±10.9; gender: 49% males). History of childhood trauma was obtained using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed through a standardized neuropsychological test battery. BDNF val66met was genotyped using standardized procedures. A sub-sample of n=106 Caucasians with a broad DSM-IV schizophrenia spectrum disorder or bipolar disorder (mean±age: 32.67±10.85; 49% males) had data on sMRI. Carriers of the Methionine (met) allele exposed to high level of childhood abuse demonstrated significantly poorer cognitive functioning compared to homozygotic Valine (val/val) carriers. Taking in consideration multiple testing, using a more conservative p value, this was still shown for physical abuse and emotional abuse, as well as a trend level for sexual abuse. Further, met carriers exposed to high level of childhood sexual abuse showed reduced right hippocampal volume (r(2)=0.43; p=0.008), and larger right and left lateral ventricles (r(2)=0.37; p=0.002, and r(2)=0.27; p=0.009, respectively). Our findings were independent of age, gender, diagnosis and intracranial volume. Our data demonstrate that in patients with psychoses, met carriers of the BDNF val66met with high level of childhood abuse have more cognitive and brain abnormalities than all other groups. © 2013.

  20. R6/2 Huntington's disease mice develop early and progressive abnormal brain metabolism and seizures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cepeda-Prado, Efrain; Popp, Susanna; Khan, Usman; Stefanov, Dimitre; Rodríguez, Jorge; Menalled, Liliana B; Dow-Edwards, Diana; Small, Scott A; Moreno, Herman

    2012-05-09

    A hallmark feature of Huntington's disease pathology is the atrophy of brain regions including, but not limited to, the striatum. Though MRI studies have identified structural CNS changes in several Huntington's disease (HD) mouse models, the functional consequences of HD pathology during the progression of the disease have yet to be investigated using in vivo functional MRI (fMRI). To address this issue, we first established the structural and functional MRI phenotype of juvenile HD mouse model R6/2 at early and advanced stages of disease. Significantly higher fMRI signals [relative cerebral blood volumes (rCBVs)] and atrophy were observed in both age groups in specific brain regions. Next, fMRI results were correlated with electrophysiological analysis, which showed abnormal increases in neuronal activity in affected brain regions, thus identifying a mechanism accounting for the abnormal fMRI findings. [(14)C] 2-deoxyglucose maps to investigate patterns of glucose utilization were also generated. An interesting mismatch between increases in rCBV and decreases in glucose uptake was observed. Finally, we evaluated the sensitivity of this mouse line to audiogenic seizures early in the disease course. We found that R6/2 mice had an increased susceptibility to develop seizures. Together, these findings identified seizure activity in R6/2 mice and show that neuroimaging measures sensitive to oxygen metabolism can be used as in vivo biomarkers, preceding the onset of an overt behavioral phenotype. Since fMRI-rCBV can also be obtained in patients, we propose that it may serve as a translational tool to evaluate therapeutic responses in humans and HD mouse models.

  1. Psychogenic stuttering and other acquired nonorganic speech and language abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binder, Laurence M; Spector, Jack; Youngjohn, James R

    2012-08-01

    Three cases are presented of peculiar speech and language abnormalities that were evaluated in the context of personal injury lawsuit or workers compensation claims of brain dysfunction after mild traumatic brain injuries. Neuropsychological measures of effort and motivation showed evidence of suboptimal motivation or outright malingering. The speech and language abnormalities of these cases probably were not consistent with neurogenic features of dysfluent speech including stuttering or aphasia. We propose that severe dysfluency or language abnormalities persisting after a single, uncomplicated, mild traumatic brain injury are unusual and should elicit suspicion of a psychogenic origin.

  2. Early brain vulnerability in Wolfram syndrome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamara Hershey

    Full Text Available Wolfram Syndrome (WFS is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, diabetes insipidus, deafness, and neurological dysfunction leading to death in mid-adulthood. WFS is caused by mutations in the WFS1 gene, which lead to endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress-mediated cell death. Case studies have found widespread brain atrophy in late stage WFS. However, it is not known when in the disease course these brain abnormalities arise, and whether there is differential vulnerability across brain regions and tissue classes. To address this limitation, we quantified regional brain abnormalities across multiple imaging modalities in a cohort of young patients in relatively early stages of WFS. Children and young adults with WFS were evaluated with neurological, cognitive and structural magnetic resonance imaging measures. Compared to normative data, the WFS group had intact cognition, significant anxiety and depression, and gait abnormalities. Compared to healthy and type 1 diabetic control groups, the WFS group had smaller intracranial volume and preferentially affected gray matter volume and white matter microstructural integrity in the brainstem, cerebellum and optic radiations. Abnormalities were detected in even the youngest patients with mildest symptoms, and some measures did not follow the typical age-dependent developmental trajectory. These results establish that WFS is associated with smaller intracranial volume with specific abnormalities in the brainstem and cerebellum, even at the earliest stage of clinical symptoms. This pattern of abnormalities suggests that WFS has a pronounced impact on early brain development in addition to later neurodegenerative effects, representing a significant new insight into the WFS disease process. Longitudinal studies will be critical for confirming and expanding our understanding of the impact of ER stress dysregulation on brain development.

  3. Early Brain Vulnerability in Wolfram Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershey, Tamara; Lugar, Heather M.; Shimony, Joshua S.; Rutlin, Jerrel; Koller, Jonathan M.; Perantie, Dana C.; Paciorkowski, Alex R.; Eisenstein, Sarah A.; Permutt, M. Alan

    2012-01-01

    Wolfram Syndrome (WFS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, diabetes insipidus, deafness, and neurological dysfunction leading to death in mid-adulthood. WFS is caused by mutations in the WFS1 gene, which lead to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated cell death. Case studies have found widespread brain atrophy in late stage WFS. However, it is not known when in the disease course these brain abnormalities arise, and whether there is differential vulnerability across brain regions and tissue classes. To address this limitation, we quantified regional brain abnormalities across multiple imaging modalities in a cohort of young patients in relatively early stages of WFS. Children and young adults with WFS were evaluated with neurological, cognitive and structural magnetic resonance imaging measures. Compared to normative data, the WFS group had intact cognition, significant anxiety and depression, and gait abnormalities. Compared to healthy and type 1 diabetic control groups, the WFS group had smaller intracranial volume and preferentially affected gray matter volume and white matter microstructural integrity in the brainstem, cerebellum and optic radiations. Abnormalities were detected in even the youngest patients with mildest symptoms, and some measures did not follow the typical age-dependent developmental trajectory. These results establish that WFS is associated with smaller intracranial volume with specific abnormalities in the brainstem and cerebellum, even at the earliest stage of clinical symptoms. This pattern of abnormalities suggests that WFS has a pronounced impact on early brain development in addition to later neurodegenerative effects, representing a significant new insight into the WFS disease process. Longitudinal studies will be critical for confirming and expanding our understanding of the impact of ER stress dysregulation on brain development. PMID:22792385

  4. Abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging seen acutely following mild traumatic brain injury: correlation with neuropsychological tests and delayed recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, David G.; Jackson, Alan; Mason, Damon L.; Berry, Elizabeth; Hollis, Sally; Yates, David W.

    2004-01-01

    Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a common reason for hospital attendance and is associated with significant delayed morbidity. We studied a series of 80 persons with MTBI. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological testing were used in the acute phase and a questionnaire for post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and return to work status at 6 months. In 26 subjects abnormalities were seen on MRI, of which 5 were definitely traumatic. There was weak correlation with abnormal neuropsychological tests for attention in the acute period. There was no significant correlation with a questionnaire for PCS and return to work status. Although non-specific abnormalities are frequently seen, standard MRI techniques are not helpful in identifying patients with MTBI who are likely to have delayed recovery. (orig.)

  5. Cerebral Correlates of Abnormal Emotion Conflict Processing in Euthymic Bipolar Patients: A Functional MRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Favre, Pauline; Polosan, Mircea; Pichat, Cédric; Bougerol, Thierry; Baciu, Monica

    2015-01-01

    Patients with bipolar disorder experience cognitive and emotional impairment that may persist even during the euthymic state of the disease. These persistent symptoms in bipolar patients (BP) may be characterized by disturbances of emotion regulation and related fronto-limbic brain circuitry. The present study aims to investigate the modulation of fronto-limbic activity and connectivity in BP by the processing of emotional conflict. Fourteen euthymic BP and 13 matched healthy subjects (HS) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a word-face emotional Stroop task designed to dissociate the monitoring/generation of emotional conflict from its resolution. Functional connectivity was determined by means of psychophysiological interaction (PPI) approach. Relative to HS, BP were slower to process incongruent stimuli, reflecting higher amount of behavioral interference during emotional Stroop. Furthermore, BP showed decreased activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the monitoring and a lack of bilateral amygdala deactivation during the resolution of the emotional conflict. In addition, during conflict monitoring, BP showed abnormal positive connectivity between the right DLPFC and several regions of the default mode network. Overall, our results highlighted dysfunctional processing of the emotion conflict in euthymic BP that may be subtended by abnormal activity and connectivity of the DLPFC during the conflict monitoring, which, in turn, leads to failure of amygdala deactivation during the resolution of the conflict. Emotional dysregulation in BP may be underpinned by a lack of top-down cognitive control and a difficulty to focus on the task due to persistent self-oriented attention.

  6. Abnormal functional global and local brain connectivity in female patients with anorexia nervosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geisler, Daniel; Borchardt, Viola; Lord, Anton R.; Boehm, Ilka; Ritschel, Franziska; Zwipp, Johannes; Clas, Sabine; King, Joseph A.; Wolff-Stephan, Silvia; Roessner, Veit; Walter, Martin; Ehrlich, Stefan

    2016-01-01

    Background Previous resting-state functional connectivity studies in patients with anorexia nervosa used independent component analysis or seed-based connectivity analysis to probe specific brain networks. Instead, modelling the entire brain as a complex network allows determination of graph-theoretical metrics, which describe global and local properties of how brain networks are organized and how they interact. Methods To determine differences in network properties between female patients with acute anorexia nervosa and pairwise matched healthy controls, we used resting-state fMRI and computed well-established global and local graph metrics across a range of network densities. Results Our analyses included 35 patients and 35 controls. We found that the global functional network structure in patients with anorexia nervosa is characterized by increases in both characteristic path length (longer average routes between nodes) and assortativity (more nodes with a similar connectedness link together). Accordingly, we found locally decreased connectivity strength and increased path length in the posterior insula and thalamus. Limitations The present results may be limited to the methods applied during preprocessing and network construction. Conclusion We demonstrated anorexia nervosa–related changes in the network configuration for, to our knowledge, the first time using resting-state fMRI and graph-theoretical measures. Our findings revealed an altered global brain network architecture accompanied by local degradations indicating wide-scale disturbance in information flow across brain networks in patients with acute anorexia nervosa. Reduced local network efficiency in the thalamus and posterior insula may reflect a mechanism that helps explain the impaired integration of visuospatial and homeostatic signals in patients with this disorder, which is thought to be linked to abnormal representations of body size and hunger. PMID:26252451

  7. Abnormal small-world brain functional networks in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients with poor insight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Hui; Cui, Yan; Fan, Jie; Zhang, Xiaocui; Zhong, Mingtian; Yi, Jinyao; Cai, Lin; Yao, Dezhong; Zhu, Xiongzhao

    2017-09-01

    There are limited data on neurobiological correlates of poor insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study explored whether specific changes occur in small-world network (SWN) properties in the brain functional network of OCD patients with poor insight. Resting-state electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded for 12 medication-free OCD patients with poor insight, 50 medication-free OCD patients with good insight, and 36 healthy controls. Both of the OCD groups exhibited topological alterations in the brain functional network characterized by abnormal small-world parameters at the beta band. However, the alterations at the theta band only existed in the OCD patients with poor insight. A relatively small sample size. Subjects were naïve to medications and those with Axis I comorbidity were excluded, perhaps limiting generalizability. Disrupted functional integrity at the beta bands of the brain functional network may be related to OCD, while disrupted functional integrity at the theta band may be associated with poor insight in OCD patients, thus this study might provide novel insight into our understanding of the pathophysiology of OCD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. The brain stem function in patients with brain bladder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Toshihiro

    1990-01-01

    A syndrome of detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) is occasionally found in patients with brain bladder. To evaluate the brain stem function in cases of brain bladder, urodynamic study, dynamic CT scan of the brain stem (DCT) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) were performed. The region of interest of DCT aimed at the posterolateral portion of the pons. The results were analysed in contrast with the presense of DSD in urodynamic study. DCT studies were performed in 13 cases with various brain diseases and 5 control cases without neurological diseases. Abnormal patterns of the time-density curve consisted of low peak value, prolongation of filling time and low rapid washout ratio (low clearance ratio) of the contrast medium. Four of 6 cases with DSD showed at least one of the abnormal patterns of the time-density curve bilaterally. In 7 cases without DSD none showed bilateral abnormality of the curve and in 2 of 7 cases only unilateral abnormality was found. ABR was performed in 8 patients with brain diseases. The interpeak latency of the wave I-V (I-V IPL) was considered to be prolonged in 2 cases with DSD compared to that of 4 without DSD. In 2 cases with DSD who had normal DCT findings, measurement of the I-V IPL was impossible due to abnormal pattern of the ABR wave. Above mentioned results suggests the presence of functional disturbance at the posterolateral portion of the pons in cases of brain bladder with DSD. (author)

  9. Three-dimensional textural analysis of brain images reveals distributed grey-matter abnormalities in schizophrenia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganeshan, Balaji; Miles, Kenneth A.; Critchley, Hugo D.; Young, Rupert C.D.; Chatwin, Christopher R.; Gurling, Hugh M.D.

    2010-01-01

    Three-dimensional (3-D) selective- and relative-scale texture analysis (TA) was applied to structural magnetic resonance (MR) brain images to quantify the presence of grey-matter (GM) and white-matter (WM) textural abnormalities associated with schizophrenia. Brain TA comprised volume filtration using the Laplacian of Gaussian filter to highlight fine, medium and coarse textures within GM and WM, followed by texture quantification. Relative TA (e.g. ratio of fine to medium) was also computed. T1-weighted MR whole-brain images from 32 participants with diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 22) were examined. Five patients possessed marker alleles (SZ8) associated with schizophrenia on chromosome 8 in the pericentriolar material 1 gene while the remaining five had not inherited any of the alleles (SZ0). Filtered fine GM texture (mean grey-level intensity; MGI) most significantly differentiated schizophrenic patients from controls (P = 0.0058; area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve = 0.809, sensitivity = 90%, specificity = 70%). WM measurements did not distinguish the two groups. Filtered GM and WM textures (MGI) correlated with total GM and WM volume respectively. Medium-to-coarse GM entropy distinguished SZ0 from controls (P = 0.0069) while measures from SZ8 were intermediate between the two. 3-D TA of brain MR enables detection of subtle distributed morphological features associated with schizophrenia, determined partly by susceptibility genes. (orig.)

  10. Three-dimensional textural analysis of brain images reveals distributed grey-matter abnormalities in schizophrenia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ganeshan, Balaji [University of Sussex, Falmer, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton (United Kingdom); University of Sussex, Falmer, Department of Engineering and Design, Brighton (United Kingdom); Miles, Kenneth A.; Critchley, Hugo D. [University of Sussex, Falmer, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton (United Kingdom); Young, Rupert C.D.; Chatwin, Christopher R. [University of Sussex, Falmer, Department of Engineering and Design, Brighton (United Kingdom); Gurling, Hugh M.D. [University College London, Department of Mental Health Sciences, London (United Kingdom)

    2010-04-15

    Three-dimensional (3-D) selective- and relative-scale texture analysis (TA) was applied to structural magnetic resonance (MR) brain images to quantify the presence of grey-matter (GM) and white-matter (WM) textural abnormalities associated with schizophrenia. Brain TA comprised volume filtration using the Laplacian of Gaussian filter to highlight fine, medium and coarse textures within GM and WM, followed by texture quantification. Relative TA (e.g. ratio of fine to medium) was also computed. T1-weighted MR whole-brain images from 32 participants with diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 22) were examined. Five patients possessed marker alleles (SZ8) associated with schizophrenia on chromosome 8 in the pericentriolar material 1 gene while the remaining five had not inherited any of the alleles (SZ0). Filtered fine GM texture (mean grey-level intensity; MGI) most significantly differentiated schizophrenic patients from controls (P = 0.0058; area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve = 0.809, sensitivity = 90%, specificity = 70%). WM measurements did not distinguish the two groups. Filtered GM and WM textures (MGI) correlated with total GM and WM volume respectively. Medium-to-coarse GM entropy distinguished SZ0 from controls (P = 0.0069) while measures from SZ8 were intermediate between the two. 3-D TA of brain MR enables detection of subtle distributed morphological features associated with schizophrenia, determined partly by susceptibility genes. (orig.)

  11. Age-dependent brain gene expression and copy number anomalies in autism suggest distinct pathological processes at young versus mature ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Maggie L; Pramparo, Tiziano; Winn, Mary E; Barnes, Cynthia Carter; Li, Hai-Ri; Weiss, Lauren; Fan, Jian-Bing; Murray, Sarah; April, Craig; Belinson, Haim; Fu, Xiang-Dong; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony; Schork, Nicholas J; Courchesne, Eric

    2012-01-01

    Autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the genetic underpinnings of the disorder are largely unknown. Aberrant brain overgrowth is a well-replicated observation in the autism literature; but association, linkage, and expression studies have not identified genetic factors that explain this trajectory. Few studies have had sufficient statistical power to investigate whole-genome gene expression and genotypic variation in the autistic brain, especially in regions that display the greatest growth abnormality. Previous functional genomic studies have identified possible alterations in transcript levels of genes related to neurodevelopment and immune function. Thus, there is a need for genetic studies involving key brain regions to replicate these findings and solidify the role of particular functional pathways in autism pathogenesis. We therefore sought to identify abnormal brain gene expression patterns via whole-genome analysis of mRNA levels and copy number variations (CNVs) in autistic and control postmortem brain samples. We focused on prefrontal cortex tissue where excess neuron numbers and cortical overgrowth are pronounced in the majority of autism cases. We found evidence for dysregulation in pathways governing cell number, cortical patterning, and differentiation in young autistic prefrontal cortex. In contrast, adult autistic prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways. Genes regulating cell cycle also exhibited autism-specific CNVs in DNA derived from prefrontal cortex, and these genes were significantly associated with autism in genome-wide association study datasets. Our results suggest that CNVs and age-dependent gene expression changes in autism may reflect distinct pathological processes in the developing versus the mature autistic prefrontal cortex. Our results raise the hypothesis that genetic dysregulation in the developing brain leads to abnormal regional patterning, excess prefrontal neurons

  12. Age-dependent brain gene expression and copy number anomalies in autism suggest distinct pathological processes at young versus mature ages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maggie L Chow

    Full Text Available Autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the genetic underpinnings of the disorder are largely unknown. Aberrant brain overgrowth is a well-replicated observation in the autism literature; but association, linkage, and expression studies have not identified genetic factors that explain this trajectory. Few studies have had sufficient statistical power to investigate whole-genome gene expression and genotypic variation in the autistic brain, especially in regions that display the greatest growth abnormality. Previous functional genomic studies have identified possible alterations in transcript levels of genes related to neurodevelopment and immune function. Thus, there is a need for genetic studies involving key brain regions to replicate these findings and solidify the role of particular functional pathways in autism pathogenesis. We therefore sought to identify abnormal brain gene expression patterns via whole-genome analysis of mRNA levels and copy number variations (CNVs in autistic and control postmortem brain samples. We focused on prefrontal cortex tissue where excess neuron numbers and cortical overgrowth are pronounced in the majority of autism cases. We found evidence for dysregulation in pathways governing cell number, cortical patterning, and differentiation in young autistic prefrontal cortex. In contrast, adult autistic prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways. Genes regulating cell cycle also exhibited autism-specific CNVs in DNA derived from prefrontal cortex, and these genes were significantly associated with autism in genome-wide association study datasets. Our results suggest that CNVs and age-dependent gene expression changes in autism may reflect distinct pathological processes in the developing versus the mature autistic prefrontal cortex. Our results raise the hypothesis that genetic dysregulation in the developing brain leads to abnormal regional patterning, excess

  13. Age-Dependent Brain Gene Expression and Copy Number Anomalies in Autism Suggest Distinct Pathological Processes at Young Versus Mature Ages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winn, Mary E.; Barnes, Cynthia Carter; Li, Hai-Ri; Weiss, Lauren; Fan, Jian-Bing; Murray, Sarah; April, Craig; Belinson, Haim; Fu, Xiang-Dong; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony; Schork, Nicholas J.; Courchesne, Eric

    2012-01-01

    Autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the genetic underpinnings of the disorder are largely unknown. Aberrant brain overgrowth is a well-replicated observation in the autism literature; but association, linkage, and expression studies have not identified genetic factors that explain this trajectory. Few studies have had sufficient statistical power to investigate whole-genome gene expression and genotypic variation in the autistic brain, especially in regions that display the greatest growth abnormality. Previous functional genomic studies have identified possible alterations in transcript levels of genes related to neurodevelopment and immune function. Thus, there is a need for genetic studies involving key brain regions to replicate these findings and solidify the role of particular functional pathways in autism pathogenesis. We therefore sought to identify abnormal brain gene expression patterns via whole-genome analysis of mRNA levels and copy number variations (CNVs) in autistic and control postmortem brain samples. We focused on prefrontal cortex tissue where excess neuron numbers and cortical overgrowth are pronounced in the majority of autism cases. We found evidence for dysregulation in pathways governing cell number, cortical patterning, and differentiation in young autistic prefrontal cortex. In contrast, adult autistic prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways. Genes regulating cell cycle also exhibited autism-specific CNVs in DNA derived from prefrontal cortex, and these genes were significantly associated with autism in genome-wide association study datasets. Our results suggest that CNVs and age-dependent gene expression changes in autism may reflect distinct pathological processes in the developing versus the mature autistic prefrontal cortex. Our results raise the hypothesis that genetic dysregulation in the developing brain leads to abnormal regional patterning, excess prefrontal neurons

  14. The genetic and environmental determinants of the association between brain abnormalities and schizophrenia: the schizophrenia twins and relatives consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Haren, Neeltje E M; Rijsdijk, Fruhling; Schnack, Hugo G; Picchioni, Marco M; Toulopoulou, Timothea; Weisbrod, Matthias; Sauer, Heinrich; van Erp, Theo G; Cannon, Tyrone D; Huttunen, Matti O; Boomsma, Dorret I; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Murray, Robin M; Kahn, Rene S

    2012-05-15

    Structural brain abnormalities are consistently found in schizophrenia (Sz) and have been associated with the familial risk for the disorder. We aim to define the relative contributions of genetic and nongenetic factors to the association between structural brain abnormalities and Sz in a uniquely powered cohort (Schizophrenia Twins and Relatives consortium). An international multicenter magnetic resonance imaging collaboration was set up to pool magnetic resonance imaging scans from twin pairs in Utrecht (The Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland), London (United Kingdom), and Jena (Germany). A sample of 684 subjects took part, consisting of monozygotic twins (n = 410, with 51 patients from concordant and 52 from discordant pairs) and dizygotic twins (n = 274, with 39 patients from discordant pairs). The additive genetic, common, and unique environmental contributions to the association between brain volumes and risk for Sz were estimated by structural equation modeling. The heritabilities of most brain volumes were significant and ranged between 52% (temporal cortical gray matter) and 76% (cerebrum). Heritability of cerebral gray matter did not reach significance (34%). Significant phenotypic correlations were found between Sz and reduced volumes of the cerebrum (-.22 [-.30/-.14]) and white matter (-.17 [-.25/-.09]) and increased volume of the third ventricle (.18 [.08/.28]). These were predominantly due to overlapping genetic effects (77%, 94%, and 83%, respectively). Some of the genes that transmit the risk for Sz also influence cerebral (white matter) volume. Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Residual number processing in dyscalculia ?

    OpenAIRE

    Cappelletti, Marinella; Price, Cathy J.

    2013-01-01

    Developmental dyscalculia – a congenital learning disability in understanding numerical concepts – is typically associated with parietal lobe abnormality. However, people with dyscalculia often retain some residual numerical abilities, reported in studies that otherwise focused on abnormalities in the dyscalculic brain. Here we took a different perspective by focusing on brain regions that support residual number processing in dyscalculia. All participants accurately performed semantic and ca...

  16. Brain MRI signal abnormalities and right-to-left shunting in asymptomatic military divers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gempp, Emmanuel; Sbardella, Fabrice; Stephant, Eric; Constantin, Pascal; De Maistre, Sebastien; Louge, Pierre; Blatteau, Jean-Eric

    2010-11-01

    We conducted a controlled study to assess the prevalence of brain MRI hyperintense signals and their correlation with right-to-left shunting (RLS) in military divers. We prospectively enrolled 32 asymptomatic military divers under 41 yr of age and 32 non-diving healthy subjects matched with respect to age and vascular disease risk factors. We examined both groups with a 3-Tesla brain MRI; RLS was detected using transcranial pulsed Doppler in divers only. Hyperintense spots were observed in 43.7% of the divers and 21.8% of the control subjects. In particular, divers with significant shunting exhibited a higher prevalence of hyperintensities compared to those with slight or no RLS (75% vs. 25%, respectively). Linear trend analysis also revealed a positive correlation between focal white matter changes, determined using a validated visual rating scale and the RLS grade. Healthy military divers with a hemodynamically relevant RLS have an increased likelihood of cerebral hyperintense spots compared to age-matched normal subjects. The clinical relevance of these MRI signal abnormalities and their causal relationship with diving remain unclear.

  17. Abnormal Baseline Brain Activity in Patients with Pulsatile Tinnitus: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lv Han

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Numerous investigations studying the brain functional activity of the tinnitus patients have indicated that neurological changes are important findings of this kind of disease. However, the pulsatile tinnitus (PT patients were excluded in previous studies because of the totally different mechanisms of the two subtype tinnitus. The aim of this study is to investigate whether altered baseline brain activity presents in patients with PT using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI technique. The present study used unilateral PT patients (n=42 and age-, sex-, and education-matched normal control subjects (n=42 to investigate the changes in structural and amplitude of low-frequency (ALFF of the brain. Also, we analyzed the relationships between these changes with clinical data of the PT patients. Compared with normal controls, PT patients did not show any structural changes. PT patients showed significant increased ALFF in the bilateral precuneus, and bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG and decreased ALFF in multiple occipital areas. Moreover, the increased THI score and PT duration was correlated with increased ALFF in precuneus and bilateral IFG. The abnormalities of spontaneous brain activity reflected by ALFF measurements in the absence of structural changes may provide insights into the neural reorganization in PT patients.

  18. Cerebral abnormalities in cocaine abusers: Demonstration by SPECT perfusion brain scintigraphy. Work in progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tumeh, S.S.; Nagel, J.S.; English, R.J.; Moore, M.; Holman, B.L.

    1990-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) perfusion brain scans with iodine-123 isopropyl iodoamphetamine (IMP) were obtained in 12 subjects who acknowledged using cocaine on a sporadic to a daily basis. The route of cocaine administration varied from nasal to intravenous. Concurrent abuse of other drugs was also reported. None of the patients were positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Brain scans demonstrated focal defects in 11 subjects, including seven who were asymptomatic, and no abnormality in one. Among the findings were scattered focal cortical deficits, which were seen in several patients and which ranged in severity from small and few to multiple and large, with a special predilection for the frontal and temporal lobes. No perfusion deficits were seen on I-123 SPECT images in five healthy volunteers. Focal alterations in cerebral perfusion are seen commonly in asymptomatic drug users, and these focal deficits are readily depicted by I-123 IMP SPECT

  19. Gadolinium Deposition in Human Brain Tissues after Contrast-enhanced MR Imaging in Adult Patients without Intracranial Abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Robert J; McDonald, Jennifer S; Kallmes, David F; Jentoft, Mark E; Paolini, Michael A; Murray, David L; Williamson, Eric E; Eckel, Laurence J

    2017-11-01

    Purpose To determine whether gadolinium deposits in neural tissues of patients with intracranial abnormalities following intravenous gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) exposure might be related to blood-brain barrier integrity by studying adult patients with normal brain pathologic characteristics. Materials and Methods After obtaining antemortem consent and institutional review board approval, the authors compared postmortem neuronal tissue samples from five patients who had undergone four to 18 gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) examinations between 2005 and 2014 (contrast group) with samples from 10 gadolinium-naive patients who had undergone at least one MR examination during their lifetime (control group). All patients in the contrast group had received gadodiamide. Neuronal tissues from the dentate nuclei, pons, globus pallidus, and thalamus were harvested and analyzed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and light microscopy to quantify, localize, and assess the effects of gadolinium deposition. Results Tissues from the four neuroanatomic regions of gadodiamide-exposed patients contained 0.1-19.4 μg of gadolinium per gram of tissue in a statistically significant dose-dependent relationship (globus pallidus: ρ = 0.90, P = .04). In contradistinction, patients in the control group had undetectable levels of gadolinium with ICP-MS. All patients had normal brain pathologic characteristics at autopsy. Three patients in the contrast group had borderline renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate the contrast group was localized to the capillary endothelium and neuronal interstitium and, in two cases, within the nucleus of the cell. Conclusion Gadolinium deposition in neural tissues after GBCA administration occurs in the absence of intracranial abnormalities that might affect the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. These findings

  20. Brain perfusion abnormalities in Rett syndrome: a qualitative and quantitative SPET study with 99Tc(m)-ECD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burroni, L; Aucone, A M; Volterrani, D; Hayek, Y; Bertelli, P; Vella, A; Zappella, M; Vattimo, A

    1997-06-01

    Rett syndrome is a progressive neurological paediatric disorder associated with severe mental deficiency, which affects only girls. The aim of this study was to determine if brain blood flow abnormalities detected with 99Tc(m)-ethyl-cysteinate-dimer (99Tc[m]-ECD) single photon emission tomography (SPET) can explain the clinical manifestation and progression of the disease. Qualitative and quantitative global and regional brain blood flow was evaluated in 12 girls with Rett syndrome and compared with an aged-matched reference group of children. In comparison with the reference group, SPET revealed a considerable global reduction in cerebral perfusion in the groups of girls with Rett syndrome. A large statistical difference was noted, which was more evident when comparing the control group with girls with stage IV Rett syndrome than girls with stage III Rett syndrome. The reduction in cerebral perfusion reflects functional disturbance in the brain of children with Rett syndrome. These data confirm that 99Tc(m)-ECD brain SPET is sensitive in detecting hypoperfused areas in girls with Rett syndrome that may be associated with brain atrophy, even when magnetic resonance imaging appears normal.

  1. Structural brain abnormalities in early onset first-episode psychosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pagsberg, A K; Baaré, William Frans Christian; Raabjerg Christensen, A M

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Brain morphometry in children and adolescents with first-episode psychosis offer a unique opportunity for pathogenetic investigations. METHODS: We compared high-resolution 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of the brain in 29 patients (schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder...... that schizophrenia patients (n = 15) had significantly larger lateral ventricles as compared to controls. Duration and dose of antipsychotics correlated negatively with global gray matter volume in minimally medicated patients (n = 18). CONCLUSION: Findings of white matter changes and enlarged lateral ventricles...... already at illness onset in young schizophrenia spectrum patients, suggests aberrant neurodevelopmental processes in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Gray matter volume changes, however, appear not to be a key feature in early onset first-episode psychosis....

  2. Abnormal expression of ephrin-A5 affects brain development of congenital hypothyroidism rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suo, Guihai; Shen, Feifei; Sun, Baolan; Song, Honghua; Xu, Meiyu; Wu, Youjia

    2018-05-14

    EphA5 and its ligand ephrin-A5 interaction can trigger synaptogenesis during early hippocampus development. We have previously reported that abnormal EphA5 expression can result in synaptogenesis disorder in congenital hypothyroidism (CH) rats. To better understand its precise molecular mechanism, we further analyzed the characteristics of ephrin-A5 expression in the hippocampus of CH rats. Our study revealed that ephrin-A5 expression was downregulated by thyroid hormone deficiency in the developing hippocampus and hippocampal neurons in rats. Thyroxine treatment for hypothyroid hippocampus and triiodothyronine treatment for hypothyroid hippocampal neurons significantly improved ephrin-A5 expression but could not restore its expression to control levels. Hypothyroid hippocampal neurons in-vitro showed synaptogenesis disorder characterized by a reduction in the number and length of neurites. Furthermore, the synaptogenesis-associated molecular expressions of NMDAR-1 (NR1), PSD95 and CaMKII were all downregulated correspondingly. These results suggest that ephrin-A5 expression may be decreased in CH, and abnormal activation of ephrin-A5/EphA5 signaling affects synaptogenesis during brain development. Such findings provide an important basis for exploring the pathogenesis of CH genetically.

  3. Abnormalities in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in the brains of schizophrenia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubber, P; Hartounian, V; Gibson, G E; Blass, J P

    2011-03-01

    Images of brain metabolism and measurements of activities of components of the electron transport chain support earlier studies that suggest that brain glucose oxidation is inherently abnormal in a significant proportion of persons with schizophrenia. Therefore, we measured the activities of enzymes of the tricarboxylic (TCA) cycle in dorsolateral-prefrontal-cortex from schizophrenia patients (N=13) and non-psychiatric disease controls (N=13): the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), citrate synthase (CS), aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC), succinate thiokinase (STH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), fumarase and malate dehydrogenase (MDH). Activities of aconitase (18.4%, pTCA cycle, were lower, but SDH (18.3%, pTCA cycle and cognitive function, age or choline acetyl transferase activity, except for aconitase activity which decreased slightly with age (r=0.55, p=003). The increased activities of dehydrogenases in the second half of the TCA cycle may reflect a compensatory response to reduced activities of enzymes in the first half. Such alterations in the components of TCA cycle are adequate to alter the rate of brain metabolism. These results are consistent with the imaging studies of hypometabolism in schizophrenia. They suggest that deficiencies in mitochondrial enzymes can be associated with mental disease that takes the form of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  4. Abnormal baseline brain activity in patients with neuromyelitis optica: A resting-state fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yaou; Liang Peipeng; Duan Yunyun; Jia Xiuqin; Wang Fei; Yu Chunshui; Qin Wen; Dong Huiqing; Ye Jing; Li Kuncheng

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Recent immunopathologic and MRI findings suggest that tissue damage in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is not limited to spinal cord and optic nerve, but also in brain. Baseline brain activity can reveal the brain functional changes to the tissue damages and give clues to the pathophysiology of NMO, however, it has never been explored by resting-state functional MRI (fMRI). We used regional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as an index in resting-state fMRI to investigate how baseline brain activity changes in patients with NMO. Methods: Resting-state fMRIs collected from seventeen NMO patients and seventeen age- and sex-matched normal controls were compared to investigate the ALFF difference between the two groups. The relationships between ALFF in regions with significant group differences and the EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale), disease duration were further explored. Results: Our results showed that NMO patients had significantly decreased ALFF in precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and lingual gyrus; and increased ALFF in middle frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus and thalamus, compared to normal controls. Moderate negative correlations were found between the EDSS and ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus (r = -0.436, p = 0.040) and the left caudate (r = -0.542, p = 0.012). Conclusion: The abnormal baseline brain activity shown by resting-state fMRI in NMO is relevant to cognition, visual and motor systems. It implicates a complex baseline brain status of both functional impairments and adaptations caused by tissue damages in these systems, which gives clues to the pathophysiology of NMO.

  5. Abnormal baseline brain activity in patients with neuromyelitis optica: A resting-state fMRI study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Yaou [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Liang Peipeng [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); International WIC institute, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100024 (China); Duan Yunyun; Jia Xiuqin; Wang Fei; Yu Chunshui; Qin Wen [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Dong Huiqing; Ye Jing [Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Li Kuncheng, E-mail: likuncheng1955@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China)

    2011-11-15

    Purpose: Recent immunopathologic and MRI findings suggest that tissue damage in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is not limited to spinal cord and optic nerve, but also in brain. Baseline brain activity can reveal the brain functional changes to the tissue damages and give clues to the pathophysiology of NMO, however, it has never been explored by resting-state functional MRI (fMRI). We used regional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as an index in resting-state fMRI to investigate how baseline brain activity changes in patients with NMO. Methods: Resting-state fMRIs collected from seventeen NMO patients and seventeen age- and sex-matched normal controls were compared to investigate the ALFF difference between the two groups. The relationships between ALFF in regions with significant group differences and the EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale), disease duration were further explored. Results: Our results showed that NMO patients had significantly decreased ALFF in precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and lingual gyrus; and increased ALFF in middle frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus and thalamus, compared to normal controls. Moderate negative correlations were found between the EDSS and ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus (r = -0.436, p = 0.040) and the left caudate (r = -0.542, p = 0.012). Conclusion: The abnormal baseline brain activity shown by resting-state fMRI in NMO is relevant to cognition, visual and motor systems. It implicates a complex baseline brain status of both functional impairments and adaptations caused by tissue damages in these systems, which gives clues to the pathophysiology of NMO.

  6. Swimming attenuates d-galactose-induced brain aging via suppressing miR-34a-mediated autophagy impairment and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kou, Xianjuan; Li, Jie; Liu, Xingran; Chang, Jingru; Zhao, Qingxia; Jia, Shaohui; Fan, Jingjing; Chen, Ning

    2017-06-01

    microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be involved in many neurodegenerative diseases. To explore the regulatory role of miR-34a in aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) during exercise intervention, we constructed a rat model with d-galactose (d-gal)-induced oxidative stress and cognitive impairment coupled with dysfunctional autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics, determined the mitigation of cognitive impairment of d-gal-induced aging rats during swimming intervention, and evaluated miR-34a-mediated functional status of autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics. Meanwhile, whether the upregulation of miR-34a can lead to dysfunctional autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics was confirmed in human SH-SY5Y cells with silenced miR-34a by the transfection of a miR-34a inhibitor. Results indicated that swimming intervention could significantly attenuate cognitive impairment, prevent the upregulation of miR-34a, mitigate the dysfunctional autophagy, and inhibit the increase of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) in d-gal-induced aging model rats. In contrast, the miR-34a inhibitor in cell model not only attenuated D-gal-induced the impairment of autophagy but also decreased the expression of DRP1 and mitofusin 2 (MFN2). Therefore, swimming training can delay brain aging of d-gal-induced aging rats through attenuating the impairment of miR-34a-mediated autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics, and miR-34a could be the novel therapeutic target for aging-related diseases such as AD. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In the present study, we have found that the upregulation of miR-34a is the hallmark of aging or aging-related diseases, which can result in dysfunctional autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics. In contrast, swimming intervention can delay the aging process by rescuing the impaired functional status of autophagy and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics via the suppression of miR-34a. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  7. Abnormal Resting-State Quantitative Electroencephalogram in Children With Central Auditory Processing Disorder: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milner, Rafał; Lewandowska, Monika; Ganc, Małgorzata; Włodarczyk, Elżbieta; Grudzień, Diana; Skarżyński, Henryk

    2018-01-01

    In this study, we showed an abnormal resting-state quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) pattern in children with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Twenty-seven children (16 male, 11 female; mean age = 10.7 years) with CAPD and no symptoms of other developmental disorders, as well as 23 age- and sex-matched, typically developing children (TDC, 11 male, 13 female; mean age = 11.8 years) underwent examination of central auditory processes (CAPs) and QEEG evaluation consisting of two randomly presented blocks of "Eyes Open" (EO) or "Eyes Closed" (EC) recordings. Significant correlations between individual frequency band powers and CAP tests performance were found. The QEEG studies revealed that in CAPD relative to TDC there was no effect of decreased delta absolute power (1.5-4 Hz) in EO compared to the EC condition. Furthermore, children with CAPD showed increased theta power (4-8 Hz) in the frontal area, a tendency toward elevated theta power in EO block, and reduced low-frequency beta power (12-15 Hz) in the bilateral occipital and the left temporo-occipital regions for both EO and EC conditions. Decreased middle-frequency beta power (15-18 Hz) in children with CAPD was observed only in the EC block. The findings of the present study suggest that QEEG could be an adequate tool to discriminate children with CAPD from normally developing children. Correlation analysis shows relationship between the individual EEG resting frequency bands and the CAPs. Increased power of slow waves and decreased power of fast rhythms could indicate abnormal functioning (hypoarousal of the cortex and/or an immaturity) of brain areas not specialized in auditory information processing.

  8. Abnormal Resting-State Quantitative Electroencephalogram in Children With Central Auditory Processing Disorder: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milner, Rafał; Lewandowska, Monika; Ganc, Małgorzata; Włodarczyk, Elżbieta; Grudzień, Diana; Skarżyński, Henryk

    2018-01-01

    In this study, we showed an abnormal resting-state quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) pattern in children with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Twenty-seven children (16 male, 11 female; mean age = 10.7 years) with CAPD and no symptoms of other developmental disorders, as well as 23 age- and sex-matched, typically developing children (TDC, 11 male, 13 female; mean age = 11.8 years) underwent examination of central auditory processes (CAPs) and QEEG evaluation consisting of two randomly presented blocks of “Eyes Open” (EO) or “Eyes Closed” (EC) recordings. Significant correlations between individual frequency band powers and CAP tests performance were found. The QEEG studies revealed that in CAPD relative to TDC there was no effect of decreased delta absolute power (1.5–4 Hz) in EO compared to the EC condition. Furthermore, children with CAPD showed increased theta power (4–8 Hz) in the frontal area, a tendency toward elevated theta power in EO block, and reduced low-frequency beta power (12–15 Hz) in the bilateral occipital and the left temporo-occipital regions for both EO and EC conditions. Decreased middle-frequency beta power (15–18 Hz) in children with CAPD was observed only in the EC block. The findings of the present study suggest that QEEG could be an adequate tool to discriminate children with CAPD from normally developing children. Correlation analysis shows relationship between the individual EEG resting frequency bands and the CAPs. Increased power of slow waves and decreased power of fast rhythms could indicate abnormal functioning (hypoarousal of the cortex and/or an immaturity) of brain areas not specialized in auditory information processing.

  9. Abnormal radionuclide cerebral angiograms and scans due to seizures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, J.S.; Mishkin, F.S.

    1975-01-01

    The effect of recent seizures on the brain scan was determined in a retrospective study of patients who had had seizures. All patients who underwent brain scanning within eight days of seizures and who did not have a specific intracranial lesion were included. The /sup 99m/Tc-pertechnetate cerebral angiogram and/or delayed scan was abnormal in 73 percent of 22 patients. The data suggest that if seizures occur within six days of the brain imaging, the image is likely to be abnormal. (auth)

  10. Multicenter Study of Brain Volume Abnormalities in Children and Adolescent-Onset Psychosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reig, Santiago; Parellada, Mara; Castro-Fornieles, Josefina; Janssen, Joost; Moreno, Dolores; Baeza, Inmaculada; Bargalló, Nuria; González-Pinto, Ana; Graell, Montserrat; Ortuño, Felipe; Otero, Soraya; Arango, Celso; Desco, Manuel

    2011-01-01

    The goal of the study is to determine the extent of structural brain abnormalities in a multicenter sample of children and adolescents with a recent-onset first episode of psychosis (FEP), compared with a sample of healthy controls. Total brain and lobar volumes and those of gray matter (GM), white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured in 92 patients with a FEP and in 94 controls, matched for age, gender, and years of education. Male patients (n = 64) showed several significant differences when compared with controls (n = 61). GM volume in male patients was reduced in the whole brain and in frontal and parietal lobes compared with controls. Total CSF volume and frontal, temporal, and right parietal CSF volumes were also increased in male patients. Within patients, those with a further diagnosis of “schizophrenia” or “other psychosis” showed a pattern similar to the group of all patients relative to controls. However, bipolar patients showed fewer differences relative to controls. In female patients, only the schizophrenia group showed differences relative to controls, in frontal CSF. GM deficit in male patients with a first episode correlated with negative symptoms. Our study suggests that at least part of the GM deficit in children and adolescent-onset schizophrenia and in other psychosis occurs before onset of the first positive symptoms and that, contrary to what has been shown in children-onset schizophrenia, frontal GM deficits are probably present from the first appearance of positive symptoms in children and adolescents. PMID:20478821

  11. Microstructural callosal abnormalities in normal-appearing brain of children with developmental delay detected with diffusion tensor imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Xiao-Qi; Sun, Yimeng; Illies, Till; Zeumer, Hermann; Fiehler, Jens; Kruse, Bernd; Lanfermann, Heinrich

    2009-01-01

    Callosal fibres play an important role in psychomotor and cognitive functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible microstructural abnormalities of the corpus callosum in children with developmental delay, who have normal conventional brain MR imaging results. Seventeen pediatric patients (aged 1-9 years) with developmental delay were studied. Quantitative T2 and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were measured at the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum (CC). Fibre tracking, volumetric determination, as well as fibre density calculations of the CC were also carried out. The results were compared with those of the age-matched healthy subjects. A general elevation of T2 relaxation times (105 ms in patients vs. 95 ms in controls) and reduction of the FA values (0.66 in patients vs. 0.74 in controls) at the genu of the CC were found in patients. Reductions of the fibre numbers (5,464 in patients vs. 8,886 in controls) and volumes (3,415 ml in patients vs. 5,235 ml in controls) of the CC were found only in patients older than 5 years. The study indicates that despite their inconspicuous findings in conventional MRI microstructural brain abnormalities are evident in these pediatric patients suffering from developmental delay. (orig.)

  12. Cognition and brain functional aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-jie LI

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available China has the largest population of elderly adults. Meanwhile, it is one of the countries showing fastest aging speed in the world. Aging processing is always companied with a series of brain structural and functional changes, which result in the decline of processing speed, working memory, long-term memory and executive function, etc. The studies based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI found certain aging effects on brain function activation, spontaneous activity and functional connectivity in old people. However, few studies have explored the brain functional curve during the aging process while most previous studies explored the differences in the brain function between young people and old people. Delineation of the human brain functional aging curve will promote the understanding of brain aging mechanisms and support the normal aging monitoring and early detection of abnormal aging changes. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.03.005

  13. Brain Tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    A brain tumor is a growth of abnormal cells in the tissues of the brain. Brain tumors can be benign, with no cancer cells, ... cancer cells that grow quickly. Some are primary brain tumors, which start in the brain. Others are ...

  14. Morphological Abnormalities of Thalamic Subnuclei in Migraine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magon, Stefano; May, Arne; Stankewitz, Anne

    2015-01-01

    UNLABELLED: The thalamus contains third-order relay neurons of the trigeminal system, and animal models as well as preliminary imaging studies in small cohorts of migraine patients have suggested a role of the thalamus in headache pathophysiology. However, larger studies using advanced imaging te...... is a disorder of the CNS in which not only is brain function abnormal, but also brain structure is undergoing significant remodeling....... a fully automated multiatlas approach. Deformation-based shape analysis was performed to localize surface abnormalities. Differences between patients with migraine and healthy subjects were assessed using an ANCOVA model. After correction for multiple comparisons, performed using the false discovery rate.......9) was observed in patients. This large-scale study indicates structural thalamic abnormalities in patients with migraine. The thalamic nuclei with abnormal volumes are densely connected to the limbic system. The data hence lend support to the view that higher-order integration systems are altered in migraine...

  15. The endocannabinoid system in brain reward processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solinas, M; Goldberg, S R; Piomelli, D

    2008-05-01

    Food, drugs and brain stimulation can serve as strong rewarding stimuli and are all believed to activate common brain circuits that evolved in mammals to favour fitness and survival. For decades, endogenous dopaminergic and opioid systems have been considered the most important systems in mediating brain reward processes. Recent evidence suggests that the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system also has an important role in signalling of rewarding events. First, CB(1) receptors are found in brain areas involved in reward processes, such as the dopaminergic mesolimbic system. Second, activation of CB(1) receptors by plant-derived, synthetic or endogenous CB(1) receptor agonists stimulates dopaminergic neurotransmission, produces rewarding effects and increases rewarding effects of abused drugs and food. Third, pharmacological or genetic blockade of CB(1) receptors prevents activation of dopaminergic neurotransmission by several addictive drugs and reduces rewarding effects of food and these drugs. Fourth, brain levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are altered by activation of reward processes. However, the intrinsic activity of the endocannabinoid system does not appear to play a facilitatory role in brain stimulation reward and some evidence suggests it may even oppose it. The influence of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward processes may depend on the degree of activation of the different brain areas involved and might represent a mechanism for fine-tuning dopaminergic activity. Although involvement of the various components of the endocannabinoid system may differ depending on the type of rewarding event investigated, this system appears to play a major role in modulating reward processes.

  16. System for detecting and processing abnormality in electromagnetic shielding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, T.; Nakamura, M.; Yabana, Y.; Ishikawa, T.; Nagata, K.

    1991-01-01

    The present invention relates to a system for detecting and processing an abnormality in electromagnetic shielding of an intelligent building which is constructed using an electromagnetic shielding material for the skeleton and openings such as windows and doorways so that the whole of the building is formed into an electromagnetic shielding structure. (author). 4 figs

  17. Spatial characteristics of white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    T.J.H. White (Tonya); S.M. Ehrlich (Stefan); B.C. Ho (Beng ); D.S. Manoach (Dara); A. Caprihan (Arvind); S.C. Schulz (S. Charles); N.C. Andreasen; R.L. Gollub (Randy); V.D. Calhoun (Vince); V. Magnotta

    2013-01-01

    textabstractThere is considerable evidence implicating brain white matter (WM) abnormalities in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia; however, the spatial localization of WM abnormalities reported in the existing studies is heterogeneous. Thus, the goal of this study was to quantify the spatial

  18. Decision-making deficit of a patient with axonal damage after traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasuno, Fumihiko; Matsuoka, Kiwamu; Kitamura, Soichiro; Kiuchi, Kuniaki; Kosaka, Jun; Okada, Koji; Tanaka, Syohei; Shinkai, Takayuki; Taoka, Toshiaki; Kishimoto, Toshifumi

    2014-02-01

    Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were reported to have difficulty making advantageous decisions, but the underlying deficits of the network of brain areas involved in this process were not directly examined. We report a patient with TBI who demonstrated problematic behavior in situations of risk and complexity after cerebral injury from a traffic accident. The Iowa gambling task (IGT) was used to reveal his deficits in the decision-making process. To examine underlying deficits of the network of brain areas, we examined T1-weighted structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and Tc-ECD SPECT in this patient. The patient showed abnormality in IGT. DTI-MRI results showed a significant decrease in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the fasciculus between the brain stem and cortical regions via the thalamus. He showed significant decrease in gray matter volumes in the bilateral insular cortex, hypothalamus, and posterior cingulate cortex, possibly reflecting Wallerian degeneration secondary to the fasciculus abnormalities. SPECT showed significant blood flow decrease in the broad cortical areas including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VM). Our study showed that the patient had dysfunctional decision-making process. Microstructural abnormality in the fasciculus, likely from the traffic accident, caused reduced afferent feedback to the brain, resulting in less efficient decision-making. Our findings support the somatic-marker hypothesis (SMH), where somatic feedback to the brain influences the decision-making process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Brain 18F-FDG PET Metabolic Abnormalities in Patients with Long-Lasting Macrophagic Myofascitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Der Gucht, Axel; Aoun Sebaiti, Mehdi; Guedj, Eric; Aouizerate, Jessie; Yara, Sabrina; Gherardi, Romain K; Evangelista, Eva; Chalaye, Julia; Cottereau, Anne-Ségolène; Verger, Antoine; Bachoud-Levi, Anne-Catherine; Abulizi, Mukedaisi; Itti, Emmanuel; Authier, François-Jérôme

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this study was to characterize brain metabolic abnormalities in patients with macrophagic myofascitis (MMF) and the relationship with cognitive dysfunction through the use of PET with 18 F-FDG. Methods: 18 F-FDG PET brain imaging and a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests were performed in 100 consecutive MMF patients (age [mean ± SD], 45.9 ± 12 y; 74% women). Images were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping (SPM12). Through the use of analysis of covariance, all 18 F-FDG PET brain images of MMF patients were compared with those of a reference population of 44 healthy subjects similar in age (45.4 ± 16 y; P = 0.87) and sex (73% women; P = 0.88). The neuropsychological assessment identified 4 categories of patients: those with no significant cognitive impairment ( n = 42), those with frontal subcortical (FSC) dysfunction ( n = 29), those with Papez circuit dysfunction ( n = 22), and those with callosal disconnection ( n = 7). Results: In comparison with healthy subjects, the whole population of patients with MMF exhibited a spatial pattern of cerebral glucose hypometabolism ( P glucose hypometabolism that was most marked in MMF patients with FSC dysfunction. Further studies are needed to determine whether this pattern could represent a diagnostic biomarker of MMF in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and cognitive dysfunction. © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

  20. An improved FSL-FIRST pipeline for subcortical gray matter segmentation to study abnormal brain anatomy using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiang; Deistung, Andreas; Dwyer, Michael G; Hagemeier, Jesper; Polak, Paul; Lebenberg, Jessica; Frouin, Frédérique; Zivadinov, Robert; Reichenbach, Jürgen R; Schweser, Ferdinand

    2017-06-01

    Accurate and robust segmentation of subcortical gray matter (SGM) nuclei is required in many neuroimaging applications. FMRIB's Integrated Registration and Segmentation Tool (FIRST) is one of the most popular software tools for automated subcortical segmentation based on T 1 -weighted (T1w) images. In this work, we demonstrate that FIRST tends to produce inaccurate SGM segmentation results in the case of abnormal brain anatomy, such as present in atrophied brains, due to a poor spatial match of the subcortical structures with the training data in the MNI space as well as due to insufficient contrast of SGM structures on T1w images. Consequently, such deviations from the average brain anatomy may introduce analysis bias in clinical studies, which may not always be obvious and potentially remain unidentified. To improve the segmentation of subcortical nuclei, we propose to use FIRST in combination with a special Hybrid image Contrast (HC) and Non-Linear (nl) registration module (HC-nlFIRST), where the hybrid image contrast is derived from T1w images and magnetic susceptibility maps to create subcortical contrast that is similar to that in the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) template. In our approach, a nonlinear registration replaces FIRST's default linear registration, yielding a more accurate alignment of the input data to the MNI template. We evaluated our method on 82 subjects with particularly abnormal brain anatomy, selected from a database of >2000 clinical cases. Qualitative and quantitative analyses revealed that HC-nlFIRST provides improved segmentation compared to the default FIRST method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Correlation of glucose metabolism in brain cells and brain morphological changes with clinical typing in children with cerebral palsy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qiongxiang Zhai; Huixian Qiao; Jiqing Liu

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND:It is widely known that fluorino-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography(18F-FDG PET)is commonly used to evaluate and diagnose epilepsy;however,whether it is beneficial to understand functional metabolism of bra in cells so as to reflect injured site and degree of brain cells or not should be studied further.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the correlation between glucose metabolism and clinical typling as well as the conelation between active function of brain cells and degree of brain injury among children with cerbral palsy with 18F-FDG PET and MRI and compare the results of them.DESIGN:Case analysis.SETTING:Department of Pediatrics,People's Hospital of Guangdong Province.PARTICIPANTS:A total of 31 children with cerebral palsy were selected from Out-patient Clinic and In-patient Department of People's Hospital of Guangdong Province from July 2001 to August 2004.Based on clinical criteria of cerebral palsy,patients were classified into spasm(n=10),gradual movement(n=4),mixed type(n =13)and ataxia(n=4).There were 18 boys and 13 girls aged from 10 months to 4 years.All of them were met the diagnostic criteria of cerebral palsy and all parents of them were told the facts.Exclusion cdteria:Patients who had cerebral palsy caused by genetic metabolism disease were excluded.METHODS:①All children accepted MRI examination after hospitalization with Philips Acs NT 15T superconductling magnetic resonance scanner.②All children were fasted for 4 hours.And then,PET image of brain was collected based on T+EID type.If obvious hypermetabolism or hypometabolism region successively occurred on two layers, the image was regarded as abnormality. ③Different correlations of various abnormal greups of MRI and vadous types of cerebral palsy with PET image were compared and analyzed with Erusal-Willas rank sum test.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:①Results of 18F-FDG PET;②Results of MRI examination;③Correlation of variously abnormal groups of MRI and various types of cerebral

  2. Clinical Symptoms of Minor Head Trauma and Abnormal Computed Tomography Scan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maghsoudi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Background Minor head trauma accounts for 70% to 90% of all head traumas. Previous studies stated that minor head traumas were associated with 7% - 20% significant abnormal findings in brain computed tomography (CT-scans. Objectives The aim of this study was to reevaluate clinical criteria of taking brain CT scan in patients who suffered from minor head trauma. Patients and Methods We enrolled 680 patients presented to an academic trauma hospital with minor head trauma in a prospective manner. All participants underwent brain CT scan if they met the inclusion criteria and the results of scans were compared with clinical examination finding. Results Loss of consciousness (GCS drop or amnesia was markedly associated with abnormal brain CT scan (P < 0.05. Interestingly, we found 7 patients with normal clinical examination but significant abnormal brain CT scan. Conclusions According to the results of our study, we recommend that all patients with minor head trauma underwent brain CT scan in order not to miss any life-threatening head injuries.

  3. Parenchymal abnormalities associated with developmental venous anomalies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    San Millan Ruiz, Diego; Gailloud, Philippe [Johns Hopkins Hospital, Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, Baltimore, MD (United States); Delavelle, Jacqueline [Geneva University Hospital, Neuroradiology Section, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva (Switzerland); Yilmaz, Hasan; Ruefenacht, Daniel A. [Geneva University Hospital, Section of Interventional Neuroradiology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva (Switzerland); Piovan, Enrico; Bertramello, Alberto; Pizzini, Francesca [Verona City Hospital, Service of Neuroradiology, Verona (Italy)

    2007-12-15

    To report a retrospective series of 84 cerebral developmental venous anomalies (DVAs), focusing on associated parenchymal abnormalities within the drainage territory of the DVA. DVAs were identified during routine diagnostic radiological work-up based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (60 cases), computed tomography (CT) (62 cases) or both (36 cases). Regional parenchymal modifications within the drainage territory of the DVA, such as cortical or subcortical atrophy, white matter density or signal alterations, dystrophic calcifications, presence of haemorrhage or a cavernous-like vascular malformation (CVM), were noted. A stenosis of the collecting vein of the DVA was also sought for. Brain abnormalities within the drainage territory of a DVA were encountered in 65.4% of the cases. Locoregional brain atrophy occurred in 29.7% of the cases, followed by white matter lesions in 28.3% of MRI investigations and 19.3% of CT investigations, CVMs in 13.3% of MRI investigations and dystrophic calcification in 9.6% of CT investigations. An intracranial haemorrhage possibly related to a DVA occurred in 2.4% cases, and a stenosis on the collecting vein was documented in 13.1% of cases. Parenchymal abnormalities were identified for all DVA sizes. Brain parenchymal abnormalities were associated with DVAs in close to two thirds of the cases evaluated. These abnormalities are thought to occur secondarily, likely during post-natal life, as a result of chronic venous hypertension. Outflow obstruction, progressive thickening of the walls of the DVA and their morphological organization into a venous convergence zone are thought to contribute to the development of venous hypertension in DVA. (orig.)

  4. Understanding Brain Tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... to Know About Brain Tumors . What is a Brain Tumor? A brain tumor is an abnormal growth
 ... Tumors” from Frankly Speaking Frankly Speaking About Cancer: Brain Tumors Download the full book Questions to ask ...

  5. Left-right subtraction of brain CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishiguchi, Tsuneo; Sakuma, Sadayuki

    1986-01-01

    A new image-processing method to obtain a left-right subtraction image of CT was designed for the automated detection of abnormalities in brain CT. An original CT image was divided in two by a centerline. Then the right half of the image was subtracted from the left half by calculating the absorption value of the pixels on the symmetrical positions against the centerline. The mean and the standard deviation of the absorption value of the pixels in the subtraction image were used as parameters for analysis, and the detectability of abnormal CT findings was evaluated in 100 cases - 50 cases each with normal and abnormal CT. The presence of abnormalities could be diagnosed with a sensitivity of 86 %, a specificity of 90 %, and an overall accuracy of 88 % when the borderline of these parameters between normal and abnormal CT was set at the mean + 2SD in the normal group. As a further analysis, the CT image was subdivided into several areas from a functional or anatomical viewpoint, such as cerebral vascular territories, and the left-right subtraction image of each area was obtained. The possibilities of diagnosing the location of an abnormality and of detecting smaller lesions with this method were shown. Left-right subtraction was considered to be a useful method for the detection of asymmetric abnormalities in the automated diagnosis of brain CT. (author)

  6. Brain structural abnormalities in behavior therapy-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder revealed by voxel-based morphometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hashimoto N

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Nobuhiko Hashimoto,1 Shutaro Nakaaki,2 Akiko Kawaguchi,1 Junko Sato,1 Harumasa Kasai,3 Takashi Nakamae,4 Jin Narumoto,4 Jun Miyata,5 Toshi A Furukawa,6,7 Masaru Mimura2 1Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan; 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Central Radiology, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan; 4Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; 5Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; 6Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, 7Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto, Japan Background: Although several functional imaging studies have demonstrated that behavior therapy (BT modifies the neural circuits involved in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, the structural abnormalities underlying BT-resistant OCD remain unknown. Methods: In this study, we examined the existence of regional structural abnormalities in both the gray matter and the white matter of patients with OCD at baseline using voxel-based morphometry in responders (n=24 and nonresponders (n=15 to subsequent BT. Three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed before the completion of 12 weeks of BT. Results: Relative to the responders, the nonresponders exhibited significantly smaller gray matter volumes in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the right orbitofrontal cortex, the right precentral gyrus, and the left anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, relative to the responders, the nonresponders exhibited significantly smaller white matter volumes in the left cingulate bundle and the left superior frontal white matter. Conclusion: These results suggest that the brain

  7. Comparison of SPET brain perfusion and 18F-FDG brain metabolism in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Judeh, H H; Levine, S; Kumar, M; el-Zeftawy, H; Naddaf, S; Lou, J Q; Abdel-Dayem, H M

    1998-11-01

    Chronic fatigue syndrome is a clinically defined condition of uncertain aetiology. We compared 99Tcm-HMPAO single photon emission tomography (SPET) brain perfusion with dual-head 18F-FDG brain metabolism in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Eighteen patients (14 females, 4 males), who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the Centers for Disease Control for chronic fatigue syndrome, were investigated. Thirteen patients had abnormal SPET brain perfusion scans and five had normal scans. Fifteen patients had normal glucose brain metabolism scans and three had abnormal scans. We conclude that, in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, there is discordance between SPET brain perfusion and 18F-FDG brain uptake. It is possible to have brain perfusion abnormalities without corresponding changes in glucose uptake.

  8. Gray matter abnormalities in patients with narcissistic personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Lars; Dziobek, Isabel; Vater, Aline; Heekeren, Hauke R; Bajbouj, Malek; Renneberg, Babette; Heuser, Isabella; Roepke, Stefan

    2013-10-01

    Despite the relevance of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in clinical settings, there is currently no empirical data available regarding the neurobiological correlates of NPD. In the present study, we performed a voxel-based morphometric analysis to provide initial insight into local abnormalities of gray matter (GM) volume. Structural brain images were obtained from patients with NPD (n = 17) and a sample of healthy controls (n = 17) matched regarding age, gender, handedness, and intelligence. Groups were compared with regard to global brain tissue volumes and local abnormalities of GM volume. Regions-of-interest analyses were calculated for the anterior insula. Relative to the control group, NPD patients had smaller GM volume in the left anterior insula. Independent of group, GM volume in the left anterior insula was positively related to self-reported emotional empathy. Complementary whole-brain analyses yielded smaller GM volume in fronto-paralimbic brain regions comprising the rostral and median cingulate cortex as well as dorsolateral and medial parts of the prefrontal cortex. Here we provide the first empirical evidence for structural abnormalities in fronto-paralimbic brain regions of patients with NPD. The results are discussed in the context of NPD patients' restricted ability for emotional empathy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. SPECT brain perfusion imaging in mild traumatic brain injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Juan; Liu Baojun; Zhao Feng; He Lirong; Xia Yucheng

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To study the clinical value of SPECT brain perfusion imaging after mild traumatic brain injury and to evaluate the mechanism of brain blood flow changes in the brain traumatic symptoms. Methods: SPECT 99 Tc m -ethylene cysteinate dimer (ECD) brain perfusion imaging was performed on 39 patients with normal consciousness and normal computed tomography. The study was performed on 23 patients within 3 months after the accidental injury and on 16 patients at more than 3 months post-injury. The cerebellum was used as the reference site (100% maximum value). Any decrease in cerebral perfusion in cortex or basal ganglia to below 70%, or even to below 50% in the medial temporal lobe, compared to the cerebellar reference was considered abnormal. Results: The results of 23 patients (59%) were abnormal. Among them, 20 patients showed 74 focal lesions with an average of 3.7 per patient (15 studies performed within 3 months and 8 studies performed more than 3 months after injury). The remaining 3 showed diffuse hypoperfusion (two at the early stage and one at more than 3 months after the injury). The 13 abnormal studies performed at the early stage showed 58 lesions (average, 4.5 per patient), whereas there was a reduction to an average of 2.3 per patient in the 7 patients (total 16 lesions) at more than 3 months post-injury. In the 20 patients with focal lesions, mainly the following regions were involved: frontal lobes 43.2% (32/74), basal ganglia 24.3% (18/74) and temporal lobes 17.6% (13/74). Conclusions: 1) SPECT brain perfusion imaging is more sensitive than computed tomography in detecting brain lesions of mild traumatic brain injury. 2) SPECT brain perfusion imaging is more sensitive at early stage than at late stage after injury. 3) The most common complaints were headache, dizziness, memory deficit. The patients without loss of consciousness may present brain hypoperfusion, too. 4) The changes may explain a neurological component of the patient symptoms in

  10. Brain Aneurysm

    Science.gov (United States)

    A brain aneurysm is an abnormal bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery in the brain. They are sometimes called berry aneurysms because they ... often the size of a small berry. Most brain aneurysms produce no symptoms until they become large, ...

  11. Brain computer tomography in critically ill patients - a prospective cohort study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purmer, Ilse M; Iperen, Erik P van; Beenen, Ludo F M; Kuiper, Michael J; Binnekade, Jan M; Vandertop, Peter W; Schultz, Marcus J; Horn, Janneke

    2012-01-01

    Brain computer tomography (brain CT) is an important imaging tool in patients with intracranial disorders. In ICU patients, a brain CT implies an intrahospital transport which has inherent risks. The proceeds and consequences of a brain CT in a critically ill patient should outweigh these risks. The aim of this study was to critically evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of brain CT in ICU patients. In a prospective observational study data were collected during one year on the reasons to request a brain CT, expected abnormalities, abnormalities found by the radiologist and consequences for treatment. An “expected abnormality” was any finding that had been predicted by the physician requesting the brain CT. A brain CT was “diagnostically positive”, if the abnormality found was new or if an already known abnormality was increased. It was “diagnostically negative” if an already known abnormality was unchanged or if an expected abnormality was not found. The treatment consequences of the brain CT, were registered as “treatment as planned”, “treatment changed, not as planned”, “treatment unchanged”. Data of 225 brain CT in 175 patients were analyzed. In 115 (51%) brain CT the abnormalities found were new or increased known abnormalities. 115 (51%) brain CT were found to be diagnostically positive. In the medical group 29 (39%) of brain CT were positive, in the surgical group 86 (57%), p 0.01. After a positive brain CT, in which the expected abnormalities were found, treatment was changed as planned in 33%, and in 19% treatment was changed otherwise than planned. The results of this study show that the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of brain CT in critically ill patients is moderate. The development of guidelines regarding the decision rules for performing a brain CT in ICU patients is needed

  12. MRI of the foetal brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rich, P.; Jones, R.; Britton, J.; Foote, S.; Thilaganathan, B.

    2007-01-01

    Ultrasound examinations for foetal brain abnormalities have been a part of the routine antenatal screening programme in the UK for many years. In utero brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now being used increasingly successfully to clarify abnormal ultrasound findings, often resulting in a change of diagnosis or treatment plan. Interpretation requires an understanding of foetal brain development, malformations and acquired diseases. In this paper we will outline the technique of foetal MRI, relevant aspects of brain development and provide illustrated examples of foetal brain pathology

  13. Annual Research Review: Growth connectomics – the organization and reorganization of brain networks during normal and abnormal development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vértes, Petra E; Bullmore, Edward T

    2015-01-01

    Background We first give a brief introduction to graph theoretical analysis and its application to the study of brain network topology or connectomics. Within this framework, we review the existing empirical data on developmental changes in brain network organization across a range of experimental modalities (including structural and functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography in humans). Synthesis We discuss preliminary evidence and current hypotheses for how the emergence of network properties correlates with concomitant cognitive and behavioural changes associated with development. We highlight some of the technical and conceptual challenges to be addressed by future developments in this rapidly moving field. Given the parallels previously discovered between neural systems across species and over a range of spatial scales, we also review some recent advances in developmental network studies at the cellular scale. We highlight the opportunities presented by such studies and how they may complement neuroimaging in advancing our understanding of brain development. Finally, we note that many brain and mind disorders are thought to be neurodevelopmental in origin and that charting the trajectory of brain network changes associated with healthy development also sets the stage for understanding abnormal network development. Conclusions We therefore briefly review the clinical relevance of network metrics as potential diagnostic markers and some recent efforts in computational modelling of brain networks which might contribute to a more mechanistic understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders in future. PMID:25441756

  14. Theory of mind mediates the prospective relationship between abnormal social brain network morphology and chronic behavior problems after pediatric traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Nicholas P; Catroppa, Cathy; Beare, Richard; Silk, Timothy J; Crossley, Louise; Beauchamp, Miriam H; Yeates, Keith Owen; Anderson, Vicki A

    2016-04-01

    Childhood and adolescence coincide with rapid maturation and synaptic reorganization of distributed neural networks that underlie complex cognitive-affective behaviors. These regions, referred to collectively as the 'social brain network' (SBN) are commonly vulnerable to disruption from pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, the mechanisms that link morphological changes in the SBN to behavior problems in this population remain unclear. In 98 children and adolescents with mild to severe TBI, we acquired 3D T1-weighted MRIs at 2-8 weeks post-injury. For comparison, 33 typically developing controls of similar age, sex and education were scanned. All participants were assessed on measures of Theory of Mind (ToM) at 6 months post-injury and parents provided ratings of behavior problems at 24-months post-injury. Severe TBI was associated with volumetric reductions in the overall SBN package, as well as regional gray matter structural change in multiple component regions of the SBN. When compared with TD controls and children with milder injuries, the severe TBI group had significantly poorer ToM, which was associated with more frequent behavior problems and abnormal SBN morphology. Mediation analysis indicated that impaired theory of mind mediated the prospective relationship between abnormal SBN morphology and more frequent chronic behavior problems. Our findings suggest that sub-acute alterations in SBN morphology indirectly contribute to long-term behavior problems via their influence on ToM. Volumetric change in the SBN and its putative hub regions may represent useful imaging biomarkers for prediction of post-acute social cognitive impairment, which may in turn elevate risk for chronic behavior problems. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Normal and abnormal neuronal migration in the developing cerebral cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xue-Zhi; Takahashi, Sentaro; Cui, Chun; Zhang, Rui; Sakata-Haga, Hiromi; Sawada, Kazuhiko; Fukui, Yoshihiro

    2002-08-01

    Neuronal migration is the critical cellular process which initiates histogenesis of cerebral cortex. Migration involves a series of complex cell interactions and transformation. After completing their final mitosis, neurons migrate from the ventricular zone into the cortical plate, and then establish neuronal lamina and settle onto the outermost layer, forming an "inside-out" gradient of maturation. This process is guided by radial glial fibers, requires proper receptors, ligands, other unknown extracellular factors, and local signaling to stop neuronal migration. This process is also highly sensitive to various physical, chemical and biological agents as well as to genetic mutations. Any disturbance of the normal process may result in neuronal migration disorder. Such neuronal migration disorder is believed as major cause of both gross brain malformation and more special cerebral structural and functional abnormalities in experimental animals and in humans. An increasing number of instructive studies on experimental models and several genetic model systems of neuronal migration disorder have established the foundation of cortex formation and provided deeper insights into the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal neuronal migration.

  16. Abnormal neuronal activity in Tourette syndrome and its modulation using deep brain stimulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Israelashvili, Michal; Loewenstern, Yocheved

    2015-01-01

    Tourette syndrome (TS) is a common childhood-onset disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics that are typically accompanied by a multitude of comorbid symptoms. Pharmacological treatment options are limited, which has led to the exploration of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a possible treatment for severe cases. Multiple lines of evidence have linked TS with abnormalities in the motor and limbic cortico-basal ganglia (CBG) pathways. Neurophysiological data have only recently started to slowly accumulate from multiple sources: noninvasive imaging and electrophysiological techniques, invasive electrophysiological recordings in TS patients undergoing DBS implantation surgery, and animal models of the disorder. These converging sources point to system-level physiological changes throughout the CBG pathway, including both general altered baseline neuronal activity patterns and specific tic-related activity. DBS has been applied to different regions along the motor and limbic pathways, primarily to the globus pallidus internus, thalamic nuclei, and nucleus accumbens. In line with the findings that also draw on the more abundant application of DBS to Parkinson's disease, this stimulation is assumed to result in changes in the neuronal firing patterns and the passage of information through the stimulated nuclei. We present an overview of recent experimental findings on abnormal neuronal activity associated with TS and the changes in this activity following DBS. These findings are then discussed in the context of current models of CBG function in the normal state, during TS, and finally in the wider context of DBS in CBG-related disorders. PMID:25925326

  17. Brain Volume Estimation Enhancement by Morphological Image Processing Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeinali R.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Volume estimation of brain is important for many neurological applications. It is necessary in measuring brain growth and changes in brain in normal/ abnormal patients. Thus, accurate brain volume measurement is very important. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI is the method of choice for volume quantification due to excellent levels of image resolution and between-tissue contrast. Stereology method is a good method for estimating volume but it requires to segment enough MRI slices and have a good resolution. In this study, it is desired to enhance stereology method for volume estimation of brain using less MRI slices with less resolution. Methods: In this study, a program for calculating volume using stereology method has been introduced. After morphologic method, dilation was applied and the stereology method enhanced. For the evaluation of this method, we used T1-wighted MR images from digital phantom in BrainWeb which had ground truth. Results: The volume of 20 normal brain extracted from BrainWeb, was calculated. The volumes of white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid with given dimension were estimated correctly. Volume calculation from Stereology method in different cases was made. In three cases, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE was measured. Case I with T=5, d=5, Case II with T=10, D=10 and Case III with T=20, d=20 (T=slice thickness, d=resolution as stereology parameters. By comparing these results of two methods, it is obvious that RMSE values for our proposed method are smaller than Stereology method. Conclusion: Using morphological operation, dilation allows to enhance the estimation volume method, Stereology. In the case with less MRI slices and less test points, this method works much better compared to Stereology method.

  18. Abnormal brain activation in excoriation (skin-picking) disorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odlaug, Brian L.; Hampshire, Adam; Chamberlain, Samuel R

    2016-01-01

    Background: Excoriation (skin-picking) disorder (SPD) is a relatively common psychiatric condition whose neurobiological basis is unknown. Aims: To probe the function of fronto-striatal circuitry in SPD. Method: Eighteen participants with SPD and 15 matched healthy controls undertook an executive...... encompassing bilateral dorsal striatum (maximal in right caudate), bilateral anterior cingulate and right medial frontal regions. These abnormalities were, for the most part, outside the dorsal planning network typically activated by executive planning tasks. Conclusions: Abnormalities of neural regions...... involved in habit formation, action monitoring and inhibition appear involved in the pathophysiology of SPD. Implications exist for understanding the basis of excessive grooming and the relationship of SPD with putative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders....

  19. Self-Disorder and Brain Processing of Proprioception in Schizophrenia Spectrum Patients: A Re-Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnfred, Sidse M.; Raballo, Andrea; Mørup, Morten

    2015-01-01

    with abnormalities of early contralateral proprioceptive evoked oscillatory brain activity. Methods : We investigated the association between proprioceptive evoked potential components and SDs in a re-analysis of data from a subsample (n = 12) of SZS patients who had previously been observed with deviant...

  20. Higher frequency of brain abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients without primary Sjögren's syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Li-Na; Zhang, Min; Zhu, Hui; Liu, Jing-Yao

    2016-10-01

    Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder often co-exists with primary Sjögren's syndrome. We compared the clinical features of 16 neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients with ( n = 6) or without primary Sjögren's syndrome ( n = 10). All patients underwent extensive clinical, laboratory, and MRI evaluations. There were no statistical differences in demographics or first neurological involvement at onset between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients with and without primary Sjögren's syndrome. The laboratory findings of cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal banding, serum C-reactive protein, antinuclear autoantibody, anti-Sjögren's-syndrome-related antigen A antibodies, anti-Sjögren's-syndrome-related antigen B antibodies, and anti-Sm antibodies were significantly higher in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome than those without. Anti-aquaporin 4 antibodies were detectable in 67% (4/6) of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and in 60% (6/10) of patients without primary Sjögren's syndrome. More brain abnormalities were observed in patients without primary Sjögren's syndrome than in those with primary Sjögren's syndrome. Segments lesions (> 3 centrum) were noted in 50% (5/10) of patients without primary Sjögren's syndrome and in 67% (4/6) of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. These findings indicate that the clinical characteristics of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients with and without primary Sjögren's syndrome are similar. However, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients without primary Sjögren's syndrome have a high frequency of brain abnormalities.

  1. Fetal alcohol exposure leads to abnormal olfactory bulb development and impaired odor discrimination in adult mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K.G. Akers (Katherine); S.A. Kushner (Steven); A.T. Leslie (Ana); L. Clarke (Laura); D. van der Kooy (Derek); J.P. Lerch (Jason); P.W. Frankland (Paul)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractBackground: Children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy exhibit widespread brain abnormalities and a complex array of behavioral disturbances. Here, we used a mouse model of fetal alcohol exposure to investigate relationships between brain abnormalities and specific

  2. Abnormal pain processing in chronic tension-type headache: a high-density EEG brain mapping study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchgreitz, L.; Egsgaard, L.L.; Jensen, R.

    2008-01-01

    Central sensitization caused by prolonged nociceptive input from muscles is considered to play an important role for chronification of tension-type headache. In the present study we used a new high-density EEG brain mapping technique to investigate spatiotemporal aspects of brain activity...... in response to muscle pain in 19 patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) and 19 healthy, age- and sex-matched controls. Intramuscular electrical stimuli (single and train of five pulses delivered at 2 Hz) were applied to the trapezius muscle and somatosensory evoked potentials were recorded...... with 128-channel EEG both in- and outside a condition with induced tonic neck/shoulder muscle pain (glutamate injection into the trapezius muscle). Significant reduction in magnitude during and after induced tonic muscle pain was found in controls at the P200 dipole in response to both the first (baseline...

  3. Characterization of subtle brain abnormalities in a mouse model of Hedgehog pathway antagonist-induced cleft lip and palate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipinski, Robert J; Holloway, Hunter T; O'Leary-Moore, Shonagh K; Ament, Jacob J; Pecevich, Stephen J; Cofer, Gary P; Budin, Francois; Everson, Joshua L; Johnson, G Allan; Sulik, Kathleen K

    2014-01-01

    Subtle behavioral and cognitive deficits have been documented in patient cohorts with orofacial clefts (OFCs). Recent neuroimaging studies argue that these traits are associated with structural brain abnormalities but have been limited to adolescent and adult populations where brain plasticity during infancy and childhood may be a confounding factor. Here, we employed high resolution magnetic resonance microscopy to examine primary brain morphology in a mouse model of OFCs. Transient in utero exposure to the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway antagonist cyclopamine resulted in a spectrum of facial dysmorphology, including unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate, cleft of the secondary palate only, and a non-cleft phenotype marked by midfacial hypoplasia. Relative to controls, cyclopamine-exposed fetuses exhibited volumetric differences in several brain regions, including hypoplasia of the pituitary gland and olfactory bulbs, hyperplasia of the forebrain septal region, and expansion of the third ventricle. However, in affected fetuses the corpus callosum was intact and normal division of the forebrain was observed. This argues that temporally-specific Hh signaling perturbation can result in typical appearing OFCs in the absence of holoprosencephaly--a condition classically associated with Hh pathway inhibition and frequently co-occurring with OFCs. Supporting the premise that some forms of OFCs co-occur with subtle brain malformations, these results provide a possible ontological basis for traits identified in clinical populations. They also argue in favor of future investigations into genetic and/or environmental modulation of the Hh pathway in the etiopathogenesis of orofacial clefting.

  4. Brain microstructural abnormalities revealed by diffusion tensor images in patients with treatment-resistant depression compared with major depressive disorder before treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou Yan, E-mail: clare1475@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ren-Ji Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127 (China); Qin Lingdi, E-mail: flyfool318@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ren-Ji Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127 (China); Chen Jun, E-mail: doctor_cj@msn.com [Shanghai Mental Health Center, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai, 200030 (China); Qian Lijun, E-mail: dearqlj@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ren-Ji Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127 (China); Tao Jing, E-mail: jing318@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ren-Ji Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127 (China); Fang Yiru, E-mail: fangyr@sina.com [Shanghai Mental Health Center, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai, 200030 (China); Xu Jianrong, E-mail: xujianr@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ren-Ji Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127 (China)

    2011-11-15

    Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a therapeutic challenge for clinicians. Despite a growing interest in this area, an understanding of the pathophysiology of depression, particularly TRD, remains lacking. This study aims to detect the white matter abnormalities of whole brain fractional anisotropy (FA) in patients with TRD compared with major depressive disorder (MDD) before treatment by voxel-based analysis using diffusion tensor imaging. A total of 100 patients first diagnosed with untreated MDD underwent diffusion tensor imaging scans. 8 weeks after the first treatment, 54 patients showed response to the medication, whereas 46 did not. Finally, 20 patients were diagnosed with TRD after undergoing another treatment. A total of 20 patients with TRD and another 20 with MDD before treatment matched in gender, age, and education was enrolled in the research. For every subject, an FA map was generated and analyzed using SPM5. Subsequently, t-test was conducted to compare the FA values voxel to voxel between the two groups (p < 0.001 [FDR corrected], t > 7.57, voxel size > 30). Voxel-based morphometric (VBM) analysis was performed using T1W images. Significant reductions in FA were found in the white matter located in the bilateral of the hippocampus (left hippocampus: t = 7.63, voxel size = 50; right hippocampus: t = 7.82, voxel size = 48). VBM analysis revealed no morphological abnormalities between the two groups. Investigation of brain anisotropy revealed significantly decreased FA in both sides of the hippocampus. Although preliminary, our findings suggest that microstructural abnormalities in the hippocampus indicate vulnerability to treatment resistance.

  5. Brain microstructural abnormalities revealed by diffusion tensor images in patients with treatment-resistant depression compared with major depressive disorder before treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Yan; Qin Lingdi; Chen Jun; Qian Lijun; Tao Jing; Fang Yiru; Xu Jianrong

    2011-01-01

    Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a therapeutic challenge for clinicians. Despite a growing interest in this area, an understanding of the pathophysiology of depression, particularly TRD, remains lacking. This study aims to detect the white matter abnormalities of whole brain fractional anisotropy (FA) in patients with TRD compared with major depressive disorder (MDD) before treatment by voxel-based analysis using diffusion tensor imaging. A total of 100 patients first diagnosed with untreated MDD underwent diffusion tensor imaging scans. 8 weeks after the first treatment, 54 patients showed response to the medication, whereas 46 did not. Finally, 20 patients were diagnosed with TRD after undergoing another treatment. A total of 20 patients with TRD and another 20 with MDD before treatment matched in gender, age, and education was enrolled in the research. For every subject, an FA map was generated and analyzed using SPM5. Subsequently, t-test was conducted to compare the FA values voxel to voxel between the two groups (p 7.57, voxel size > 30). Voxel-based morphometric (VBM) analysis was performed using T1W images. Significant reductions in FA were found in the white matter located in the bilateral of the hippocampus (left hippocampus: t = 7.63, voxel size = 50; right hippocampus: t = 7.82, voxel size = 48). VBM analysis revealed no morphological abnormalities between the two groups. Investigation of brain anisotropy revealed significantly decreased FA in both sides of the hippocampus. Although preliminary, our findings suggest that microstructural abnormalities in the hippocampus indicate vulnerability to treatment resistance.

  6. Red-backed vole brain promotes highly efficient in vitro amplification of abnormal prion protein from macaque and human brains infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemecek, Julie; Nag, Nabanita; Carlson, Christina M.; Schneider, Jay R.; Heisey, Dennis M.; Johnson, Christopher J.; Asher, David M.; Gregori, Luisa

    2013-01-01

    Rapid antemortem tests to detect individuals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) would contribute to public health. We investigated a technique known as protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) to amplify abnormal prion protein (PrPTSE) from highly diluted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)-infected human and macaque brain homogenates, seeking to improve the rapid detection of PrPTSE in tissues and blood. Macaque vCJD PrPTSE did not amplify using normal macaque brain homogenate as substrate (intraspecies PMCA). Next, we tested interspecies PMCA with normal brain homogenate of the southern red-backed vole (RBV), a close relative of the bank vole, seeded with macaque vCJD PrPTSE. The RBV has a natural polymorphism at residue 170 of the PrP-encoding gene (N/N, S/S, and S/N). We investigated the effect of this polymorphism on amplification of human and macaque vCJD PrPTSE. Meadow vole brain (170N/N PrP genotype) was also included in the panel of substrates tested. Both humans and macaques have the same 170S/S PrP genotype. Macaque PrPTSE was best amplified with RBV 170S/S brain, although 170N/N and 170S/N were also competent substrates, while meadow vole brain was a poor substrate. In contrast, human PrPTSE demonstrated a striking narrow selectivity for PMCA substrate and was successfully amplified only with RBV 170S/S brain. These observations suggest that macaque PrPTSE was more permissive than human PrPTSE in selecting the competent RBV substrate. RBV 170S/S brain was used to assess the sensitivity of PMCA with PrPTSE from brains of humans and macaques with vCJD. PrPTSE signals were reproducibly detected by Western blot in dilutions through 10-12 of vCJD-infected 10% brain homogenates. This is the first report showing PrPTSE from vCJD-infected human and macaque brains efficiently amplified with RBV brain as the substrate. Based on our estimates, PMCA showed a sensitivity that might be sufficient to detect PrPTSE in v

  7. Red-backed vole brain promotes highly efficient in vitro amplification of abnormal prion protein from macaque and human brains infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease agent.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Nemecek

    Full Text Available Rapid antemortem tests to detect individuals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE would contribute to public health. We investigated a technique known as protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA to amplify abnormal prion protein (PrP(TSE from highly diluted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD-infected human and macaque brain homogenates, seeking to improve the rapid detection of PrP(TSE in tissues and blood. Macaque vCJD PrP(TSE did not amplify using normal macaque brain homogenate as substrate (intraspecies PMCA. Next, we tested interspecies PMCA with normal brain homogenate of the southern red-backed vole (RBV, a close relative of the bank vole, seeded with macaque vCJD PrP(TSE. The RBV has a natural polymorphism at residue 170 of the PrP-encoding gene (N/N, S/S, and S/N. We investigated the effect of this polymorphism on amplification of human and macaque vCJD PrP(TSE. Meadow vole brain (170N/N PrP genotype was also included in the panel of substrates tested. Both humans and macaques have the same 170S/S PrP genotype. Macaque PrP(TSE was best amplified with RBV 170S/S brain, although 170N/N and 170S/N were also competent substrates, while meadow vole brain was a poor substrate. In contrast, human PrP(TSE demonstrated a striking narrow selectivity for PMCA substrate and was successfully amplified only with RBV 170S/S brain. These observations suggest that macaque PrP(TSE was more permissive than human PrP(TSE in selecting the competent RBV substrate. RBV 170S/S brain was used to assess the sensitivity of PMCA with PrP(TSE from brains of humans and macaques with vCJD. PrP(TSE signals were reproducibly detected by Western blot in dilutions through 10⁻¹² of vCJD-infected 10% brain homogenates. This is the first report showing PrP(TSE from vCJD-infected human and macaque brains efficiently amplified with RBV brain as the substrate. Based on our estimates, PMCA showed a sensitivity that might be sufficient to detect Pr

  8. A common brain network links development, aging, and vulnerability to disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douaud, Gwenaëlle; Groves, Adrian R; Tamnes, Christian K; Westlye, Lars Tjelta; Duff, Eugene P; Engvig, Andreas; Walhovd, Kristine B; James, Anthony; Gass, Achim; Monsch, Andreas U; Matthews, Paul M; Fjell, Anders M; Smith, Stephen M; Johansen-Berg, Heidi

    2014-12-09

    Several theories link processes of development and aging in humans. In neuroscience, one model posits for instance that healthy age-related brain degeneration mirrors development, with the areas of the brain thought to develop later also degenerating earlier. However, intrinsic evidence for such a link between healthy aging and development in brain structure remains elusive. Here, we show that a data-driven analysis of brain structural variation across 484 healthy participants (8-85 y) reveals a largely--but not only--transmodal network whose lifespan pattern of age-related change intrinsically supports this model of mirroring development and aging. We further demonstrate that this network of brain regions, which develops relatively late during adolescence and shows accelerated degeneration in old age compared with the rest of the brain, characterizes areas of heightened vulnerability to unhealthy developmental and aging processes, as exemplified by schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, respectively. Specifically, this network, while derived solely from healthy subjects, spatially recapitulates the pattern of brain abnormalities observed in both schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. This network is further associated in our large-scale healthy population with intellectual ability and episodic memory, whose impairment contributes to key symptoms of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Taken together, our results suggest that the common spatial pattern of abnormalities observed in these two disorders, which emerge at opposite ends of the life spectrum, might be influenced by the timing of their separate and distinct pathological processes in disrupting healthy cerebral development and aging, respectively.

  9. Molecular and phenotypic abnormalities in individuals with germline heterozygous PTEN mutations and autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazier, T W; Embacher, R; Tilot, A K; Koenig, K; Mester, J; Eng, C

    2015-09-01

    PTEN is a tumor suppressor associated with an inherited cancer syndrome and an important regulator of ongoing neural connectivity and plasticity. The present study examined molecular and phenotypic characteristics of individuals with germline heterozygous PTEN mutations and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (PTEN-ASD), with the aim of identifying pathophysiologic markers that specifically associate with PTEN-ASD and that may serve as targets for future treatment trials. PTEN-ASD patients (n=17) were compared with idiopathic (non-PTEN) ASD patients with (macro-ASD, n=16) and without macrocephaly (normo-ASD, n=38) and healthy controls (n=14). Group differences were evaluated for PTEN pathway protein expression levels, global and regional structural brain volumes and cortical thickness measures, neurocognition and adaptive behavior. RNA expression patterns and brain characteristics of a murine model of Pten mislocalization were used to further evaluate abnormalities observed in human PTEN-ASD patients. PTEN-ASD had a high proportion of missense mutations and showed reduced PTEN protein levels. Compared with the other groups, prominent white-matter and cognitive abnormalities were specifically associated with PTEN-ASD patients, with strong reductions in processing speed and working memory. White-matter abnormalities mediated the relationship between PTEN protein reductions and reduced cognitive ability. The Pten(m3m4) murine model had differential expression of genes related to myelination and increased corpus callosum. Processing speed and working memory deficits and white-matter abnormalities may serve as useful features that signal clinicians that PTEN is etiologic and prompting referral to genetic professionals for gene testing, genetic counseling and cancer risk management; and could reveal treatment targets in trials of treatments for PTEN-ASD.

  10. Mapping abnormal subcortical brain morphometry in an elderly HIV+ cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, Benjamin S C; Valcour, Victor G; Wendelken-Riegelhaupt, Lauren; Esmaeili-Firidouni, Pardis; Joshi, Shantanu H; Gutman, Boris A; Thompson, Paul M

    2015-01-01

    Over 50% of HIV + individuals exhibit neurocognitive impairment and subcortical atrophy, but the profile of brain abnormalities associated with HIV is still poorly understood. Using surface-based shape analyses, we mapped the 3D profile of subcortical morphometry in 63 elderly HIV + participants and 31 uninfected controls. The thalamus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala, brainstem, accumbens, callosum and ventricles were segmented from high-resolution MRIs. To investigate shape-based morphometry, we analyzed the Jacobian determinant (JD) and radial distances (RD) defined on each region's surfaces. We also investigated effects of nadir CD4 + T-cell counts, viral load, time since diagnosis (TSD) and cognition on subcortical morphology. Lastly, we explored whether HIV + participants were distinguishable from unaffected controls in a machine learning context. All shape and volume features were included in a random forest (RF) model. The model was validated with 2-fold cross-validation. Volumes of HIV + participants' bilateral thalamus, left pallidum, left putamen and callosum were significantly reduced while ventricular spaces were enlarged. Significant shape variation was associated with HIV status, TSD and the Wechsler adult intelligence scale. HIV + people had diffuse atrophy, particularly in the caudate, putamen, hippocampus and thalamus. Unexpectedly, extended TSD was associated with increased thickness of the anterior right pallidum. In the classification of HIV + participants vs. controls, our RF model attained an area under the curve of 72%.

  11. Mapping abnormal subcortical brain morphometry in an elderly HIV+ cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin S.C. Wade

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Over 50% of HIV+ individuals exhibit neurocognitive impairment and subcortical atrophy, but the profile of brain abnormalities associated with HIV is still poorly understood. Using surface-based shape analyses, we mapped the 3D profile of subcortical morphometry in 63 elderly HIV+ participants and 31 uninfected controls. The thalamus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala, brainstem, accumbens, callosum and ventricles were segmented from high-resolution MRIs. To investigate shape-based morphometry, we analyzed the Jacobian determinant (JD and radial distances (RD defined on each region's surfaces. We also investigated effects of nadir CD4+ T-cell counts, viral load, time since diagnosis (TSD and cognition on subcortical morphology. Lastly, we explored whether HIV+ participants were distinguishable from unaffected controls in a machine learning context. All shape and volume features were included in a random forest (RF model. The model was validated with 2-fold cross-validation. Volumes of HIV+ participants' bilateral thalamus, left pallidum, left putamen and callosum were significantly reduced while ventricular spaces were enlarged. Significant shape variation was associated with HIV status, TSD and the Wechsler adult intelligence scale. HIV+ people had diffuse atrophy, particularly in the caudate, putamen, hippocampus and thalamus. Unexpectedly, extended TSD was associated with increased thickness of the anterior right pallidum. In the classification of HIV+ participants vs. controls, our RF model attained an area under the curve of 72%.

  12. Inconsistency in Abnormal Brain Activity across Cohorts of ADHD-200 in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jian-Bao; Zheng, Li-Jun; Cao, Qing-Jiu; Wang, Yu-Feng; Sun, Li; Zang, Yu-Feng; Zhang, Hang

    2017-01-01

    Many papers have shown results from the multi-site dataset of resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a data-sharing project named ADHD-200. However, few studies have illustrated that to what extent the pooled findings were consistent across cohorts. The present study analyzed three voxel-wise whole-brain metrics, i.e., amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) based on the pooled dataset as well as individual cohort of ADHD-200. In addition to the conventional frequency band of 0.01-0.08 Hz, sub-frequency bands of 0-0.01, 0.01-0.027, 0.027-0.073, 0.073-0.198, and 0.198-0.25 Hz, were assessed. While the pooled dataset showed abnormal activity in some brain regions, e.g., the bilateral sensorimotor cortices, bilateral cerebellum, and the bilateral lingual gyrus, these results were highly inconsistent across cohorts, even across the three cohorts from the same research center. The standardized effect size was rather small. These findings suggested a high heterogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in ADHD. Future studies based on multi-site large-sample dataset should be performed on pooled data and single cohort data, respectively and the effect size must be shown.

  13. Urea cycle disorders: brain MRI and neurological outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bireley, William R; Van Hove, Johan L K; Gallagher, Renata C; Fenton, Laura Z

    2012-04-01

    Urea cycle disorders encompass several enzyme deficiencies that can result in cerebral damage, with a wide clinical spectrum from asymptomatic to severe. The goal of this study was to correlate brain MRI abnormalities in urea cycle disorders with clinical neurological sequelae to evaluate whether MRI abnormalities can assist in guiding difficult treatment decisions. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with urea cycle disorders and symptomatic hyperammonemia. Brain MRI images were reviewed for abnormalities that correlated with severity of clinical neurological sequelae. Our case series comprises six urea cycle disorder patients, five with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and one with citrullinemia type 1. The observed trend in distribution of brain MRI abnormalities as the severity of neurological sequelae increased was the peri-insular region first, extending into the frontal, parietal, temporal and, finally, the occipital lobes. There was thalamic restricted diffusion in three children with prolonged hyperammonemia. Prior to death, this site is typically reported to be spared in urea cycle disorders. The pattern and extent of brain MRI abnormalities correlate with clinical neurological outcome in our case series. This suggests that brain MRI abnormalities may assist in determining prognosis and helping clinicians with subsequent treatment decisions.

  14. Urea cycle disorders: brain MRI and neurological outcome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bireley, William R. [University of Colorado, Department of Radiology, Aurora, CO (United States); Van Hove, Johan L.K. [University of Colorado, Department of Genetics and Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Aurora, CO (United States); Gallagher, Renata C. [Children' s Hospital Colorado, Department of Genetics and Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Aurora, CO (United States); Fenton, Laura Z. [Children' s Hospital Colorado, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Aurora, CO (United States)

    2012-04-15

    Urea cycle disorders encompass several enzyme deficiencies that can result in cerebral damage, with a wide clinical spectrum from asymptomatic to severe. The goal of this study was to correlate brain MRI abnormalities in urea cycle disorders with clinical neurological sequelae to evaluate whether MRI abnormalities can assist in guiding difficult treatment decisions. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with urea cycle disorders and symptomatic hyperammonemia. Brain MRI images were reviewed for abnormalities that correlated with severity of clinical neurological sequelae. Our case series comprises six urea cycle disorder patients, five with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and one with citrullinemia type 1. The observed trend in distribution of brain MRI abnormalities as the severity of neurological sequelae increased was the peri-insular region first, extending into the frontal, parietal, temporal and, finally, the occipital lobes. There was thalamic restricted diffusion in three children with prolonged hyperammonemia. Prior to death, this site is typically reported to be spared in urea cycle disorders. The pattern and extent of brain MRI abnormalities correlate with clinical neurological outcome in our case series. This suggests that brain MRI abnormalities may assist in determining prognosis and helping clinicians with subsequent treatment decisions. (orig.)

  15. Urea cycle disorders: brain MRI and neurological outcome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bireley, William R.; Van Hove, Johan L.K.; Gallagher, Renata C.; Fenton, Laura Z.

    2012-01-01

    Urea cycle disorders encompass several enzyme deficiencies that can result in cerebral damage, with a wide clinical spectrum from asymptomatic to severe. The goal of this study was to correlate brain MRI abnormalities in urea cycle disorders with clinical neurological sequelae to evaluate whether MRI abnormalities can assist in guiding difficult treatment decisions. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with urea cycle disorders and symptomatic hyperammonemia. Brain MRI images were reviewed for abnormalities that correlated with severity of clinical neurological sequelae. Our case series comprises six urea cycle disorder patients, five with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and one with citrullinemia type 1. The observed trend in distribution of brain MRI abnormalities as the severity of neurological sequelae increased was the peri-insular region first, extending into the frontal, parietal, temporal and, finally, the occipital lobes. There was thalamic restricted diffusion in three children with prolonged hyperammonemia. Prior to death, this site is typically reported to be spared in urea cycle disorders. The pattern and extent of brain MRI abnormalities correlate with clinical neurological outcome in our case series. This suggests that brain MRI abnormalities may assist in determining prognosis and helping clinicians with subsequent treatment decisions. (orig.)

  16. ORIGINAL ARTICLE EEG changes and neuroimaging abnormalities ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    salah

    Clinical Genetics Department, Human Genetics & Genome Research Division, ... neuroimaging changes of the brain and EEG abnormalities in correlation to the ... level and by developmental changes2. .... for IQ as a confounding factor.30.

  17. Voxel-by-voxel analysis of brain SPECT perfusion in Fibromyalgia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guedj, Eric; Taieb, David; Cammilleri, Serge; Lussato, David; Laforte, Catherine de; Niboyet, Jean; Mundler, Olivier

    2007-01-01

    We evaluated brain perfusion SPECT at rest, without noxious stiumuli, in a homogeneous group of hyperalgesic FM patients. We performed a voxel-based analysis in comparison to a control group, matched for age and gender. Under such conditions, we made the assumption that significant cerebral perfusion abnormalities could be demonstrated, evidencing altered cerebral processing associated with spontaneous pain in FM patients. The secondary objective was to study the reversibility and the prognostic value of such possible perfusion abnormalities under specific treatment. Eighteen hyperalgesic FM women (mean age 48 yr; range 25-63 yr; ACR criteria) and 10 healthy women matched for age were enrolled in the study. A voxel-by-voxel group analysis was performed using SPM2 (p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). All brain SPECT were performed before any change was made in therapy in the pain care unit. A second SPECT was performed a month later after specific treatment by Ketamine. Compared to control subjects, we observed individual brain SPECT abnormalities in FM patients, confirmed by SPM2 analysis with hyperperfusion of the somatosensory cortex and hypoperfusion of the frontal, cingulate, medial temporal and cerebellar cortices. We also found that a medial frontal and anterior cingulate hypoperfusions were highly predictive (PPV=83%; NPV=91%) of non-response on Ketamine, and that only responders showed significant modification of brain perfusion, after treatment. In the present study performed without noxious stimuli in hyperalgesic FM patients, we found significant hyperperfusion in regions of the brain known to be involved in sensory dimension of pain processing and significant hypoperfusion in areas assumed to be associated with the affective dimension. As current pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies act differently on both components of pain, we hypothesize that SPECT could be a valuable and readily available tool to guide individual therapeutic

  18. Voxel-by-voxel analysis of brain SPECT perfusion in Fibromyalgia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guedj, Eric [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France)]. E-mail: eric.guedj@ap-hm.fr; Taieb, David [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Cammilleri, Serge [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Lussato, David [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Laforte, Catherine de [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Niboyet, Jean [Unite d' Etude et de Traitement de la Douleur, Clinique La Phoceanne, Marseille (France); Mundler, Olivier [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France)

    2007-02-01

    We evaluated brain perfusion SPECT at rest, without noxious stiumuli, in a homogeneous group of hyperalgesic FM patients. We performed a voxel-based analysis in comparison to a control group, matched for age and gender. Under such conditions, we made the assumption that significant cerebral perfusion abnormalities could be demonstrated, evidencing altered cerebral processing associated with spontaneous pain in FM patients. The secondary objective was to study the reversibility and the prognostic value of such possible perfusion abnormalities under specific treatment. Eighteen hyperalgesic FM women (mean age 48 yr; range 25-63 yr; ACR criteria) and 10 healthy women matched for age were enrolled in the study. A voxel-by-voxel group analysis was performed using SPM2 (p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). All brain SPECT were performed before any change was made in therapy in the pain care unit. A second SPECT was performed a month later after specific treatment by Ketamine. Compared to control subjects, we observed individual brain SPECT abnormalities in FM patients, confirmed by SPM2 analysis with hyperperfusion of the somatosensory cortex and hypoperfusion of the frontal, cingulate, medial temporal and cerebellar cortices. We also found that a medial frontal and anterior cingulate hypoperfusions were highly predictive (PPV=83%; NPV=91%) of non-response on Ketamine, and that only responders showed significant modification of brain perfusion, after treatment. In the present study performed without noxious stimuli in hyperalgesic FM patients, we found significant hyperperfusion in regions of the brain known to be involved in sensory dimension of pain processing and significant hypoperfusion in areas assumed to be associated with the affective dimension. As current pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies act differently on both components of pain, we hypothesize that SPECT could be a valuable and readily available tool to guide individual therapeutic

  19. Sensory processing difficulties in school-age children born very preterm : An exploratory study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bröring, Tinka; Königs, Marsh; Oostrom, Kim J.; Lafeber, Harrie N.; Brugman, Anniek; Oosterlaan, Jaap

    Background Very preterm birth has a detrimental impact on the developing brain, including widespread white matter brain abnormalities that threaten efficient sensory processing. Yet, sensory processing difficulties in very preterm children are scarcely studied, especially at school age. Aims To

  20. MR imaging of the fetal brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glenn, Orit A.

    2010-01-01

    Fetal MRI is clinically performed to evaluate the brain in cases where an abnormality is detected by prenatal sonography. These most commonly include ventriculomegaly, abnormalities of the corpus callosum, and abnormalities of the posterior fossa. Fetal MRI is also increasingly performed to evaluate fetuses who have normal brain findings on prenatal sonogram but who are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities, such as complicated monochorionic twin pregnancies. This paper will briefly discuss the common clinical conditions imaged by fetal MRI as well as recent advances in fetal MRI research. (orig.)

  1. MR imaging of the fetal brain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glenn, Orit A. [University of California, San Francisco, Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Section, San Francisco, CA (United States)

    2010-01-15

    Fetal MRI is clinically performed to evaluate the brain in cases where an abnormality is detected by prenatal sonography. These most commonly include ventriculomegaly, abnormalities of the corpus callosum, and abnormalities of the posterior fossa. Fetal MRI is also increasingly performed to evaluate fetuses who have normal brain findings on prenatal sonogram but who are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities, such as complicated monochorionic twin pregnancies. This paper will briefly discuss the common clinical conditions imaged by fetal MRI as well as recent advances in fetal MRI research. (orig.)

  2. Cognitive correlates of neuroimaging abnormalities in the onset of schizophrenia: A case report

    OpenAIRE

    Grassi, Silvia; Orsenigo, Giulia; Serati, Marta; Caletti, Elisabetta; Altamura, Alfredo Carlo; Buoli, Massimiliano

    2017-01-01

    Increasing evidence shows that cognitive impairment and brain abnormalities can appear early in the first episodes of schizophrenia, but it is currently debated how brain changes can correlate with clinical presentation of schizophrenic patients. Of note, this report describes the case of a young schizophrenic male presenting parietal magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography abnormalities and cognitive impairment, documented by specific neuropsychological tests. In our knowledge only f...

  3. Regional grey matter volume abnormalities in bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfer, Axel; Vaitl, Dieter; Schienle, Anne

    2010-04-01

    This study investigated whether bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED) are associated with structural brain abnormalities. Both disorders share the main symptom binge-eating, but are considered differential diagnoses. We attempted to identify alterations in grey matter volume (GMV) that are present in both psychopathologies as well as disorder-specific GMV characteristics. Such information can help to improve neurobiological models of eating disorders and their classification. A total of 50 participants (patients suffering from BN (purge type), BED, and normal-weight controls) underwent structural MRI scanning. GMV for specific brain regions involved in food/reinforcement processing was analyzed by means of voxel-based morphometry. Both patient groups were characterized by greater volumes of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) compared to healthy controls. In BN patients, who had increased ventral striatum volumes, body mass index and purging severity were correlated with striatal grey matter volume. Altogether, our data implicate a crucial role of the medial OFC in the studied eating disorders. The structural abnormality might be associated with dysfunctions in food reward processing and/or self-regulation. The bulimia-specific volume enlargement of the ventral striatum is discussed in the framework of negative reinforcement through purging and associated weight regulation. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Grey matter abnormalities in children and adolescents with functional neurological symptom disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlowska, Kasia; Griffiths, Kristi R; Foster, Sheryl L; Linton, James; Williams, Leanne M; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S

    2017-01-01

    Functional neurological symptom disorder refers to the presence of neurological symptoms not explained by neurological disease. Although this disorder is presumed to reflect abnormal function of the brain, recent studies in adults show neuroanatomical abnormalities in brain structure . These structural brain abnormalities have been presumed to reflect long-term adaptations to the disorder, and it is unknown whether child and adolescent patients, with illness that is typically of shorter duration, show similar deficits or have normal brain structure. High-resolution, three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were acquired in 25 patients (aged 10-18 years) and 24 healthy controls. Structure was quantified in terms of grey matter volume using voxel-based morphometry. Post hoc, we examined whether regions of structural difference related to a measure of motor readiness to emotional signals and to clinical measures of illness duration, illness severity, and anxiety/depression. Patients showed greater volumes in the left supplementary motor area (SMA) and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) (corrected p disorder.

  5. Structural brain abnormalities in women with subclinical depression, as revealed by voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayakawa, Yayoi K; Sasaki, Hiroki; Takao, Hidemasa; Mori, Harushi; Hayashi, Naoto; Kunimatsu, Akira; Aoki, Shigeki; Ohtomo, Kuni

    2013-01-25

    Brain structural changes accompany major depressive disorder, but whether subclinical depression is accompanied by similar changes in brain volume and white matter integrity is unknown. By using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of the gray matter and tract-specific analysis based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the white matter, we explored the extent to which abnormalities could be identified in specific brain structures of healthy adults with subclinical depression. The subjects were 21 community-dwelling adults with subclinical depression, as measured by their Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores. They were not demented and had no neurological or psychiatric history. We collected brain magnetic resonance images of the patients and of 21 matched control subjects, and we used VBM to analyze the differences in regional gray matter volume between the two groups. Moreover, we examined the white matter integrity by using tract-specific analysis based on the gray matter volume changes revealed by VBM. VBM revealed that the volumes of both anterior cingulate gyri and the right rectal gyrus were smaller in subclinically depressed women than in control women. Calculation of DTI measures in the anterior cingulum bundle revealed a positive correlation between CES-D scale score and radial diffusivity in the right anterior cingulum in subclinically depressed women. The small sample size limits the stability of the reported findings. Gray matter volume reduction and white matter integrity change in specific frontal brain regions may be associated with depressive symptoms in women, even at a subclinical level. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Childhood Brain Tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brain tumors are abnormal growths inside the skull. They are among the most common types of childhood ... still be serious. Malignant tumors are cancerous. Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors can cause headaches and ...

  7. IS ATTENTION AN APPROPRIATE CONCEPT FOR EXPLAINING BRAIN PROCESSES

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DALENOORT, GJ

    In interpreting measurements of brain processes it is necessary to make the model used explicit. A concept such as attention cannot be used in the description of brain activities without a model of the relation of mental and neural processes.

  8. Anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder are associated with abnormalities in processing visual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, W; Lai, T M; Bohon, C; Loo, S K; McCurdy, D; Strober, M; Bookheimer, S; Feusner, J

    2015-07-01

    Anorexia nervosa (AN) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are characterized by distorted body image and are frequently co-morbid with each other, although their relationship remains little studied. While there is evidence of abnormalities in visual and visuospatial processing in both disorders, no study has directly compared the two. We used two complementary modalities--event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)--to test for abnormal activity associated with early visual signaling. We acquired fMRI and ERP data in separate sessions from 15 unmedicated individuals in each of three groups (weight-restored AN, BDD, and healthy controls) while they viewed images of faces and houses of different spatial frequencies. We used joint independent component analyses to compare activity in visual systems. AN and BDD groups demonstrated similar hypoactivity in early secondary visual processing regions and the dorsal visual stream when viewing low spatial frequency faces, linked to the N170 component, as well as in early secondary visual processing regions when viewing low spatial frequency houses, linked to the P100 component. Additionally, the BDD group exhibited hyperactivity in fusiform cortex when viewing high spatial frequency houses, linked to the N170 component. Greater activity in this component was associated with lower attractiveness ratings of faces. Results provide preliminary evidence of similar abnormal spatiotemporal activation in AN and BDD for configural/holistic information for appearance- and non-appearance-related stimuli. This suggests a common phenotype of abnormal early visual system functioning, which may contribute to perceptual distortions.

  9. Mechanism of case processing in the brain: an fMRI study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoru Yokoyama

    Full Text Available In sentence comprehension research, the case system, which is one of the subsystems of the language processing system, has been assumed to play a crucial role in signifying relationships in sentences between noun phrases (NPs and other elements, such as verbs, prepositions, nouns, and tense. However, so far, less attention has been paid to the question of how cases are processed in our brain. To this end, the current study used fMRI and scanned the brain activity of 15 native English speakers during an English-case processing task. The results showed that, while the processing of all cases activates the left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior part of the middle temporal gyrus, genitive case processing activates these two regions more than nominative and accusative case processing. Since the effect of the difference in behavioral performance among these three cases is excluded from brain activation data, the observed different brain activations would be due to the different processing patterns among the cases, indicating that cases are processed differently in our brains. The different brain activations between genitive case processing and nominative/accusative case processing may be due to the difference in structural complexity between them.

  10. The brain stem function in patients with brain bladder; Clinical evaluation using dynamic CT scan and auditory brainstem response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahashi, Toshihiro (Yokohama City Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine)

    1990-11-01

    A syndrome of detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) is occasionally found in patients with brain bladder. To evaluate the brain stem function in cases of brain bladder, urodynamic study, dynamic CT scan of the brain stem (DCT) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) were performed. The region of interest of DCT aimed at the posterolateral portion of the pons. The results were analysed in contrast with the presense of DSD in urodynamic study. DCT studies were performed in 13 cases with various brain diseases and 5 control cases without neurological diseases. Abnormal patterns of the time-density curve consisted of low peak value, prolongation of filling time and low rapid washout ratio (low clearance ratio) of the contrast medium. Four of 6 cases with DSD showed at least one of the abnormal patterns of the time-density curve bilaterally. In 7 cases without DSD none showed bilateral abnormality of the curve and in 2 of 7 cases only unilateral abnormality was found. ABR was performed in 8 patients with brain diseases. The interpeak latency of the wave I-V (I-V IPL) was considered to be prolonged in 2 cases with DSD compared to that of 4 without DSD. In 2 cases with DSD who had normal DCT findings, measurement of the I-V IPL was impossible due to abnormal pattern of the ABR wave. Above mentioned results suggests the presence of functional disturbance at the posterolateral portion of the pons in cases of brain bladder with DSD. (author).

  11. Altered brain microstructure assessed by diffusion tensor imaging in patients with chronic pancreatitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frøkjær, Jens Brøndum; Olesen, Søren Schou; Gram, Mikkel

    2011-01-01

    Objective In patients with painful chronic pancreatitis (CP) there is increasing evidence of abnormal pain processing in the central nervous system. Using magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion tensor imaging, brain microstructure in areas involved in processing of visceral pain was characterised...

  12. Brain edema associated with unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Bum-soo; Sarma, Dipanka; Lee, Seon-Kyu; ter Brugge, Karel G.

    2009-01-01

    Brain edema in unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is rare; this study examines (1) its frequency and clinical presentation, (2) imaging findings with emphasis on venous drainage abnormalities, and (3) implications of these findings on natural history and management. Presentation and imaging features of all unruptured brain AVMs were prospectively collected in our brain AVM database. Neurological findings, size, location, venous drainage pattern, presence of venous thrombosis, ectasia, or stenosis, and brain edema were specifically recorded. Treatment details of all patients with brain edema and their clinical and imaging follow-up were reviewed. Finally, a comparison was made between patients with and without edema. Brain edema was found in 13/329 unruptured brain AVMs (3.9%). Neurological deficit (46.2%), venous thrombosis (38.5%), venous ectasia (84.6%), stenosis (38.5%), and contrast stagnation in the draining veins (84.6%) were more frequent in patients with brain edema than without edema. Eight patients with brain edema received specific treatment (embolization = 5, surgery = 2, radiosurgery = 1). Clinical features correlated well with change in degree of edema in six. Three of five embolized patients were stable or showed improvement after the procedure. On follow-up, however, intracranial hemorrhage developed in three. Brain edema in unruptured brain AVMs is rare, 3.9% in this series. Venous outflow abnormalities are frequently associated and appear to contribute to the development of edema. Progressive nonhemorrhagic symptoms are also associated, with a possible increased risk of hemorrhage. Palliative embolization arrests the nonhemorrhagic symptoms in selected patients, although it may not have an effect on hemorrhagic risk. (orig.)

  13. Morphological and glucose metabolism abnormalities in alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome: group comparisons and individual analyses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne-Lise Pitel

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Gray matter volume studies have been limited to few brain regions of interest, and white matter and glucose metabolism have received limited research attention in Korsakoff's syndrome (KS. Because of the lack of brain biomarkers, KS was found to be underdiagnosed in postmortem studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nine consecutively selected patients with KS and 22 matched controls underwent both structural magnetic resonance imaging and (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography examinations. Using a whole-brain analysis, the between-group comparisons of gray matter and white matter density and relative glucose uptake between patients with KS and controls showed the involvement of both the frontocerebellar and the Papez circuits, including morphological abnormalities in their nodes and connection tracts and probably resulting hypometabolism. The direct comparison of the regional distribution and degree of gray matter hypodensity and hypometabolism within the KS group indicated very consistent gray matter distribution of both abnormalities, with a single area of significant difference in the middle cingulate cortex showing greater hypometabolism than hypodensity. Finally, the analysis of the variability in the individual patterns of brain abnormalities within our sample of KS patients revealed that the middle cingulate cortex was the only brain region showing significant GM hypodensity and hypometabolism in each of our 9 KS patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate widespread brain abnormalities in KS including both gray and white matter damage mainly involving two brain networks, namely, the fronto-cerebellar circuit and the Papez circuit. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the middle cingulate cortex may play a key role in the pathophysiology of KS and could be considered as a potential in vivo brain biomarker.

  14. Disrupted Nodal and Hub Organization Account for Brain Network Abnormalities in Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshimori, Yuko; Cho, Sang-Soo; Criaud, Marion; Christopher, Leigh; Jacobs, Mark; Ghadery, Christine; Coakeley, Sarah; Harris, Madeleine; Mizrahi, Romina; Hamani, Clement; Lang, Anthony E; Houle, Sylvain; Strafella, Antonio P

    2016-01-01

    The recent application of graph theory to brain networks promises to shed light on complex diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to investigate functional changes in sensorimotor and cognitive networks in Parkinsonian patients, with a focus on inter- and intra-connectivity organization in the disease-associated nodal and hub regions using the graph theoretical analyses. Resting-state functional MRI data of a total of 65 participants, including 23 healthy controls (HCs) and 42 patients, were investigated in 120 nodes for local efficiency, betweenness centrality, and degree. Hub regions were identified in the HC and patient groups. We found nodal and hub changes in patients compared with HCs, including the right pre-supplementary motor area (SMA), left anterior insula, bilateral mid-insula, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and right caudate nucleus. In general, nodal regions within the sensorimotor network (i.e., right pre-SMA and right mid-insula) displayed weakened connectivity, with the former node associated with more severe bradykinesia, and impaired integration with default mode network regions. The left mid-insula also lost its hub properties in patients. Within the executive networks, the left anterior insular cortex lost its hub properties in patients, while a new hub region was identified in the right caudate nucleus, paralleled by an increased level of inter- and intra-connectivity in the bilateral DLPFC possibly representing compensatory mechanisms. These findings highlight the diffuse changes in nodal organization and regional hub disruption accounting for the distributed abnormalities across brain networks and the clinical manifestations of PD.

  15. Abnormal activation of the occipital lobes during emotion picture processing in major depressive disorder patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jianying; Xu, Cheng; Cao, Xiaohua; Gao, Qiang; Wang, Yan; Wang, Yanfang; Peng, Juyi; Zhang, Kerang

    2013-01-01

    A large number of studies have demonstrated that depression patients have cognitive dysfunction. With recently developed brain functional imaging, studies have focused on changes in brain function to investigate cognitive changes. However, there is still controversy regarding abnormalities in brain functions or correlation between cognitive impairment and brain function changes. Thus, it is important to design an emotion-related task for research into brain function changes. We selected positive, neutral, and negative pictures from the International Affective Picture System. Patients with major depressive disorder were asked to judge emotion pictures. In addition, functional MRI was performed to synchronously record behavior data and imaging data. Results showed that the total correct rate for recognizing pictures was lower in patients compared with normal controls. Moreover, the consistency for recognizing pictures for depressed patients was worse than normal controls, and they frequently recognized positive pictures as negative pictures. The consistency for recognizing pictures was negatively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Functional MRI suggested that the activation of some areas in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, limbic lobe, and cerebellum was enhanced, but that the activation of some areas in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe and occipital lobe was weakened while the patients were watching positive and neutral pictures compared with normal controls. The activation of some areas in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and limbic lobe was enhanced, but the activation of some areas in the occipital lobe were weakened while the patients were watching the negative pictures compared with normal controls. These findings indicate that patients with major depressive disorder have negative cognitive disorder and extensive brain dysfunction. Thus, reduced activation of the occipital lobe may be an initiating factor for

  16. Anatomical abnormalities in gray and white matter of the cortical surface in persons with schizophrenia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiziano Colibazzi

    Full Text Available Although schizophrenia has been associated with abnormalities in brain anatomy, imaging studies have not fully determined the nature and relative contributions of gray matter (GM and white matter (WM disturbances underlying these findings. We sought to determine the pattern and distribution of these GM and WM abnormalities. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the contribution of abnormalities in cortical thickness and cortical surface area to the reduced GM volumes reported in schizophrenia.We recruited 76 persons with schizophrenia and 57 healthy controls from the community and obtained measures of cortical and WM surface areas, of local volumes along the brain and WM surfaces, and of cortical thickness.We detected reduced local volumes in patients along corresponding locations of the brain and WM surfaces in addition to bilateral greater thickness of perisylvian cortices and thinner cortex in the superior frontal and cingulate gyri. Total cortical and WM surface areas were reduced. Patients with worse performance on the serial-position task, a measure of working memory, had a higher burden of WM abnormalities.Reduced local volumes along the surface of the brain mirrored the locations of abnormalities along the surface of the underlying WM, rather than of abnormalities of cortical thickness. Moreover, anatomical features of white matter, but not cortical thickness, correlated with measures of working memory. We propose that reductions in WM and smaller total cortical surface area could be central anatomical abnormalities in schizophrenia, driving, at least partially, the reduced regional GM volumes often observed in this illness.

  17. Brain MR imaging in dietarily treated phenylketonuria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Breysem, L. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Smet, M.H. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Johannik, K. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Hecke, P. van [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Francois, B. [L. Willems Inst., Diepenbeek (Belgium); Wilms, G. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Bosmans, H. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Marchal, G. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Jaeken, J. [Dept. of Pediatrics, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Demaerel, P. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium)

    1994-08-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging is the most efficient imaging modality to evaluate brain gray and white matter of patients with metabolic diseases. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the relation between brain MRI abnormalities and the phenylalanine (phe) and tyrosine (tyr) blood levels in 38 phenylketonuria (PKU) patients. Increased periventricular white matter intensity on T2-weighted brain images was the only pathologic finding in 24 patients. Brain MRI abnormalities were scored (4) and correlated with the individual mean phe and phe/tyr levels during 1 year preceding MR examination and with phe tolerance. The residual activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase was defined for each patient by an oral phe tolerance. The appearance of MRI abnormalities on brain T2-weighted images correlates with a threshold mean phe level (averaged over the year preceding the examination). (orig.)

  18. Brain MR imaging in dietarily treated phenylketonuria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breysem, L.; Smet, M.H.; Johannik, K.; Hecke, P. van; Francois, B.; Wilms, G.; Bosmans, H.; Marchal, G.; Jaeken, J.; Demaerel, P.

    1994-01-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging is the most efficient imaging modality to evaluate brain gray and white matter of patients with metabolic diseases. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the relation between brain MRI abnormalities and the phenylalanine (phe) and tyrosine (tyr) blood levels in 38 phenylketonuria (PKU) patients. Increased periventricular white matter intensity on T2-weighted brain images was the only pathologic finding in 24 patients. Brain MRI abnormalities were scored (4) and correlated with the individual mean phe and phe/tyr levels during 1 year preceding MR examination and with phe tolerance. The residual activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase was defined for each patient by an oral phe tolerance. The appearance of MRI abnormalities on brain T2-weighted images correlates with a threshold mean phe level (averaged over the year preceding the examination). (orig.)

  19. Developmental origins of brain disorders: roles for dopamine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelli M Money

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, such as dopamine, participate in a wide range of behavioral and cognitive functions in the adult brain, including movement, cognition, and reward. Dopamine-mediated signaling plays a fundamental neurodevelopmental role in forebrain differentiation and circuit formation. These developmental effects, such as modulation of neuronal migration and dendritic growth, occur before synaptogenesis and demonstrate novel roles for dopaminergic signaling beyond neuromodulation at the synapse. Pharmacologic and genetic disruptions demonstrate that these effects are brain region- and receptor subtype-specific. For example, the striatum and frontal cortex exhibit abnormal neuronal structure and function following prenatal disruption of dopamine receptor signaling. Alterations in these processes are implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, and emerging studies of neurodevelopmental disruptions may shed light on the pathophysiology of abnormal neuronal circuitry in neuropsychiatric disorders.

  20. Accuracy of radiographer reporting of paediatric brain CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandt, Andrew; Louw, Brand; Dekker, Gerrit; Andronikou, Savvas; Wieselthaler, Nicki; Kilborn, Tracy; Bertelsman, Jessica; Dreyer, Catherine

    2007-01-01

    Radiographer reporting has been studied for plain films and for ultrasonography, but not in paediatric brain CT in the emergency setting. To study the accuracy of radiographer reporting in paediatric brain CT. We prospectively collected 100 paediatric brain CT examinations. Films were read from hard copies using a prescribed tick sheet. Radiographers with 12 years' and 3 years' experience, respectively, were blinded to the history and were not trained in diagnostic film interpretation. The radiographers' results were compared with those of a consultant radiologist. Three categories were defined: abnormal scans, significant abnormalities and insignificant abnormalities. Both radiographers had an accuracy of 89.5% in reading a scan correctly as abnormal, and radiographer 1 had a sensitivity of 87.8% and radiographer 2 a sensitivity of 96%. Radiographer 1 had an accuracy in detecting a significant abnormality of 75% and radiographer 2 an accuracy of 48.6%, and the sensitivities for this category were 61.6% and 52.9%, respectively. Results for detecting the insignificant abnormalities were poorer. Selected radiographers could play an effective screening role, but lacking the sensitivity required for detecting significant abnormality, they could not be the final diagnostician. We recommend that the study be repeated after both radiographers have received formal training in interpretation of paediatric brain CT. (orig.)

  1. A cell junction pathology of neural stem cells leads to abnormal neurogenesis and hydrocephalus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esteban M Rodríguez

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Most cells of the developing mammalian brain derive from the ventricular (VZ and the subventricular (SVZ zones. The VZ is formed by the multipotent radial glia/neural stem cells (NSCs while the SVZ harbors the rapidly proliferative neural precursor cells (NPCs. Evidence from human and animal models indicates that the common history of hydrocephalus and brain maldevelopment starts early in embryonic life with disruption of the VZ and SVZ. We propose that a "cell junction pathology" involving adherent and gap junctions is a final common outcome of a wide range of gene mutations resulting in proteins abnormally expressed by the VZ cells undergoing disruption. Disruption of the VZ during fetal development implies the loss of NSCs whereas VZ disruption during the perinatal period implies the loss of ependyma. The process of disruption occurs in specific regions of the ventricular system and at specific stages of brain development. This explains why only certain brain structures have an abnormal development, which in turn results in a specific neurological impairment of the newborn. Disruption of the VZ of the Sylvian aqueduct (SA leads to aqueductal stenosis and hydrocephalus, while disruption of the VZ of telencephalon impairs neurogenesis. We are currently investigating whether grafting of NSCs/neurospheres from normal rats into the CSF of hydrocephalic mutants helps to diminish/repair the outcomes of VZ disruption.

  2. 99Tcm-Neurolite brain SPECT imaging as an outcome predictor after brain trauma: initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howarth, D.M.; Lan, L.; Booth, G.; Christie, J.; Bookalil, A.; Pollack, M.; Pacey, D.

    1999-01-01

    Full text: The aim of this study was to use semi-quantitative 99 Tc m -ethylene cysteine dimer (Neurolite) cerebral blood flow (CBF) SPET brain imaging to assess its role in predicting outcome after brain trauma. Twelve adult patients (9 males, 3 females) who sustained moderate to severe brain trauma were studied by CBF/SPET within 4 weeks of the injury (scan A) and again after 1 year (scan B). Clinical assessment was also performed at these times and included extensive neuropsychometric testing. Patients received 800-850 MBq 99 Tc m -Neurolite intravenously, and were imaged using a triple-headed gamma camera with LEUHR fan beam collimators. Processing, filtering, reconstruction and data set selection were identical for scans A and B. Semi-quantitative analysis was performed using 25 regions of interest in the cerebral cortex and deep structures in 2 coronal, 2 sagittal and 3 oblique planes. Normalized mean counts per pixel for the whole brain, and regional brain ratios were calculated. Scans A and B were compared and correlated to the clinical outcome data. Two patients with minimal CBF abnormalities made full recoveries. The remaining 10 had moderate to severe focal CBF defects, which showed no significant improvement at 12 months. Of these patients, 2 had moderate disability, 3 had severe to moderate disability and 2 had severe disability at 12 months. Patients with persisting focal abnormal CBF showed persisting neurological deficits. Neurolite brain CBF imaging is a useful method of predicting outcome after moderate to severe head injury

  3. Abnormal distracter processing in adults with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank Marzinzik

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Subjects with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD are overdistractible by stimuli out of the intended focus of attention. This control deficit could be due to primarily reduced attentional capacities or, e. g., to overshooting orienting to unexpected events. Here, we aimed at identifying disease-related abnormalities of novelty processing and, therefore, studied event-related potentials (ERP to respective stimuli in adult ADHD patients compared to healthy subjects. METHODS: Fifteen unmedicated subjects with ADHD and fifteen matched controls engaged in a visual oddball task (OT under simultaneous EEG recordings. A target stimulus, upon which a motor response was required, and non-target stimuli, which did not demand a specific reaction, were presented in random order. Target and most non-target stimuli were presented repeatedly, but some non-target stimuli occurred only once ('novels'. These unique stimuli were either 'relative novels' with which a meaning could be associated, or 'complete novels', if no association was available. RESULTS: In frontal recordings, a positive component with a peak latency of some 400 ms became maximal after novels. In healthy subjects, this novelty-P3 (or 'orienting response' was of higher magnitude after complete than after relative novels, in contrast to the patients with an undifferentially high frontal responsivity. Instead, ADHD patients tended to smaller centro-parietal P3 responses after target signals and, on a behavioural level, responded slower than controls. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate abnormal novelty processing in adult subjects with ADHD. In controls, the ERP pattern indicates that allocation of meaning modulates the processing of new stimuli. However, in ADHD such a modulation was not prevalent. Instead, also familiar, only context-wise new stimuli were treated as complete novels. We propose that disturbed semantic processing of new stimuli resembles a mechanism for

  4. Functional brain imaging study on brain processes involved in visual awareness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Tetsuo; Futakawa, Hiroyuki; Tokita, Shohko; Jung, Jiuk

    2003-01-01

    Recently, there has been great interest in visual awareness because it is thought that it may provide valuable information in understanding aspects of consciousness. An important but still controversial issue is what region in the brain is involved in visual awareness. When viewing ambiguous figures, observers can be aware of only one of multiple competing percepts at any given moment, but experience spontaneous alternations among the percepts over time. This phenomenon is known as multistable perceptions and thought to be essential in understanding the brain processes involved in visual awareness. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the brain activities associated with multistable perceptions. Two separate experiments were performed based on two different multistable phenomena known as binocular rivalry and perceptions of ambiguous figures. Significant differential activations in the parietal and prefrontal areas were commonly observed under multistable conditions compared to monostable control conditions in the two separate experiments. These findings suggest that neural processes in the parietal and prefrontal areas may be involved in perceptual alternations in situations involving multistable phenomena. (author)

  5. Neurocognitive and electrophysiological evidence of altered face processing in parents of children with autism: implications for a model of abnormal development of social brain circuitry in autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Geraldine; Webb, Sara Jane; Wijsman, Ellen; Schellenberg, Gerard; Estes, Annette; Munson, Jeffrey; Faja, Susan

    2005-01-01

    Neuroimaging and behavioral studies have shown that children and adults with autism have impaired face recognition. Individuals with autism also exhibit atypical event-related brain potentials to faces, characterized by a failure to show a negative component (N170) latency advantage to face compared to nonface stimuli and a bilateral, rather than right lateralized, pattern of N170 distribution. In this report, performance by 143 parents of children with autism on standardized verbal, visual-spatial, and face recognition tasks was examined. It was found that parents of children with autism exhibited a significant decrement in face recognition ability relative to their verbal and visual spatial abilities. Event-related brain potentials to face and nonface stimuli were examined in 21 parents of children with autism and 21 control adults. Parents of children with autism showed an atypical event-related potential response to faces, which mirrored the pattern shown by children and adults with autism. These results raise the possibility that face processing might be a functional trait marker of genetic susceptibility to autism. Discussion focuses on hypotheses regarding the neurodevelopmental and genetic basis of altered face processing in autism. A general model of the normal emergence of social brain circuitry in the first year of life is proposed, followed by a discussion of how the trajectory of normal development of social brain circuitry, including cortical specialization for face processing, is altered in individuals with autism. The hypothesis that genetic-mediated dysfunction of the dopamine reward system, especially its functioning in social contexts, might account for altered face processing in individuals with autism and their relatives is discussed.

  6. Moving the brain: Neuroimaging motivational changes of deep brain stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Figee, M.

    2013-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical technique that involves the implantation of electrodes in the brain. DBS enables electrical modulation of abnormal brain activity for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Mrs. D. has been suffering from

  7. Brain perfusion studies in the evaluation of acute neurologic abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuckier, Lionel S; Sogbein, O O

    2013-03-01

    Two categories of single-photon radiopharmaceuticals for brain perfusion exist, nonlipophilic and lipophilic compounds. The former are useful in performing simple flow examinations which today have application primarily in the determination of brain death. The latter also exhibit a parenchymal uptake phase that allows for evaluation of the distribution of blood flow within the brain. The lipophilic radiopharmaceuticals, therefore, have application in the evaluation of patients following catastrophic brain injury and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in prognosticating the outcome following cerebral vascular accidents. Use of these agents to monitor therapy with thrombolytic agents, although theoretically helpful, is technically difficult due to the need to institute treatment rapidly, without undue delay. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Parallel workflow tools to facilitate human brain MRI post-processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaixu eCui

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI techniques are widely applied in human brain studies. To obtain specific brain measures of interest from MRI datasets, a number of complex image post-processing steps are typically required. Parallel workflow tools have recently been developed, concatenating individual processing steps and enabling fully automated processing of raw MRI data to obtain the final results. These workflow tools are also designed to make optimal use of available computational resources and to support the parallel processing of different subjects or of independent processing steps for a single subject. Automated, parallel MRI post-processing tools can greatly facilitate relevant brain investigations and are being increasingly applied. In this review, we briefly summarize these parallel workflow tools and discuss relevant issues.

  9. Abnormal emotional processing in maltreated children diagnosed of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertó, Clara; Ferrin, Maite; Barberá, María; Livianos, Lorenzo; Rojo, Luis; García-Blanco, Ana

    2017-11-01

    Maltreated children usually show a specific pattern of emotional and behavioral symptoms that exceed those relating to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These symptoms have been defined as Complex PTSD (CPTSD). The underlying attentional mechanisms of abnormal emotional processing and their relation to the clinical presentation of CPTSD are not well understood. A visual dot-probe paradigm involving pre-attentive (i.e., 500ms) and attentive (i.e., 1500ms) presentation rates of neutral versus emotional (i.e., angry, happy or sad) facial expressions was applied. Twenty-one maltreated CPTSD children were compared with twenty-six controls. The results are as follows: an attention bias away from threatening faces and an attentional bias towards sad faces were observed in maltreated CPTSD children during pre-attentive and attentive processing. Whereas the attentional bias away from angry faces was associated with social problems, the attentional bias towards sad faces was associated with depressive and withdrawn symptoms. Therefore, CPTSD children develop maladaptive negative cognitive styles, which may underlie not only social problems (by a cognitive avoidance of threatening stimuli) but also depressive symptoms (by a cognitive approach to sad stimuli). Attention processing abnormalities should be considered as therapeutic targets for new treatment approaches in this population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Changes of brain microstructure in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis assessed by diffusion tensor imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frøkjær, Jens Brøndum; Olesen, Søren Schou; Gram, Mikkel

    Objective In patients with painful chronic pancreatitis (CP) there is increasing evidence of abnormal pain processing in the central nervous system. Using magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion tensor imaging, brain microstructure in areas involved in processing of visceral pain was characterised...

  11. Riboflavin-Responsive Multiple Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency Associated with Hepatoencephalomyopathy and White Matter Signal Abnormalities on Brain MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieira, Päivi; Myllynen, Päivi; Perhomaa, Marja; Tuominen, Hannu; Keski-Filppula, Riikka; Rytky, Seppo; Risteli, Leila; Uusimaa, Johanna

    2017-06-01

    Multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD) is a rare inborn error of metabolism affecting both fatty acid and amino acid oxidation. It can manifest at any age, but riboflavin-responsiveness has mainly been described in less severely affected patients. We describe an infant with severe MADD presenting with profound hypotonia and hepatomegaly. Treatment with riboflavin improved his muscle strength, liver size, and biochemical markers. A homozygous mutation of electron transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase ( ETFDH ) was found. His motor skills continued to progress until a fatal infection-triggered deterioration at the age of 34 months. We show changes in brain magnetic resonance imaging over the course of the disease, with profound white matter abnormalities during the deterioration phase. Aggregates of mitochondria with abnormal cristae in muscle electron microscopy were noticed already in infancy. An unusual lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme pattern with LDH-1 predominance was additionally observed. This case demonstrates riboflavin-responsiveness in a severely affected infant with both muscular and extramuscular involvement and further underlines the variable nature of this disease. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  12. Latent and Abnormal Functional Connectivity Circuits in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shuo; Xing, Yishi; Kang, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with disrupted brain networks. Neuroimaging techniques provide noninvasive methods of investigating abnormal connectivity patterns in ASD. In the present study, we compare functional connectivity networks in people with ASD with those in typical controls, using neuroimaging data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) project. Specifically, we focus on the characteristics of intrinsic functional connectivity based on data collected by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Our aim was to identify disrupted brain connectivity patterns across all networks, instead of in individual edges, by using advanced statistical methods. Unlike many brain connectome studies, in which networks are prespecified before the edge connectivity in each network is compared between clinical groups, we detected the latent differentially expressed networks automatically. Our network-level analysis identified abnormal connectome networks that (i) included a high proportion of edges that were differentially expressed between people with ASD and typical controls; and (ii) showed highly-organized graph topology. These findings provide new insight into the study of the underlying neuropsychiatric mechanism of ASD.

  13. Brain imaging and autism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zilbovicius, M.

    2006-01-01

    Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder with a range of clinical presentations, from mild to severe, referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The most common clinical ASD sign is social interaction impairment, which is associated with verbal and non-verbal communication deficits and stereotyped and obsessive behaviors. Thanks to recent brain imaging studies, scientists are getting a better idea of the neural circuits involved in ASD. Indeed, functional brain imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET), single positron emission tomograph y (SPECT) and functional MRI (fMRI) have opened a new perspective to study normal and pathological brain functions. Three independent studies have found anatomical and rest functional temporal abnormalities. These anomalies are localized in the superior temporal sulcus bilaterally which are critical for perception of key social stimuli. In addition, functional studies have shown hypo-activation of most areas implicated in social perception (face and voice perception) and social cognition (theory of mind). These data suggest an abnormal functioning of the social brain network. The understanding of such crucial abnormal mechanism may drive the elaboration of new and more adequate social re-educative strategies in autism. (author)

  14. Brain imaging and autism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zilbovicius, M [Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot (CEA/DSV/DRM), INSERM CEA 0205, 91 - Orsay (France)

    2006-07-01

    Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder with a range of clinical presentations, from mild to severe, referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The most common clinical ASD sign is social interaction impairment, which is associated with verbal and non-verbal communication deficits and stereotyped and obsessive behaviors. Thanks to recent brain imaging studies, scientists are getting a better idea of the neural circuits involved in ASD. Indeed, functional brain imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET), single positron emission tomograph y (SPECT) and functional MRI (fMRI) have opened a new perspective to study normal and pathological brain functions. Three independent studies have found anatomical and rest functional temporal abnormalities. These anomalies are localized in the superior temporal sulcus bilaterally which are critical for perception of key social stimuli. In addition, functional studies have shown hypo-activation of most areas implicated in social perception (face and voice perception) and social cognition (theory of mind). These data suggest an abnormal functioning of the social brain network. The understanding of such crucial abnormal mechanism may drive the elaboration of new and more adequate social re-educative strategies in autism. (author)

  15. Abnormal Structure–Function Relationship in Spasmodic Dysphonia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludlow, Christy L.

    2012-01-01

    Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a primary focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms in the laryngeal muscles during speech production. Although recent studies have found abnormal brain function and white matter organization in SD, the extent of gray matter alterations, their structure–function relationships, and correlations with symptoms remain unknown. We compared gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT) in 40 SD patients and 40 controls using voxel-based morphometry and cortical distance estimates. These measures were examined for relationships with blood oxygen level–dependent signal change during symptomatic syllable production in 15 of the same patients. SD patients had increased GMV, CT, and brain activation in key structures of the speech control system, including the laryngeal sensorimotor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior/middle temporal and supramarginal gyri, and in a structure commonly abnormal in other primary dystonias, the cerebellum. Among these regions, GMV, CT and activation of the IFG and cerebellum showed positive relationships with SD severity, while CT of the IFG correlated with SD duration. The left anterior insula was the only region with decreased CT, which also correlated with SD symptom severity. These findings provide evidence for coupling between structural and functional abnormalities at different levels within the speech production system in SD. PMID:21666131

  16. Abnormal N400 Semantic Priming Effect May Reflect Psychopathological Processes in Schizophrenia: A Twin Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anuradha Sharma

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Activation of semantic networks is indexed by the N400 effect. We used a twin study design to investigate whether N400 effect abnormalities reflect genetic/trait liability or are related to psychopathological processes in schizophrenia. Methods. We employed robust linear regression to compare N400 and behavioral priming effects across 36 monozygotic twin pairs (6 pairs concordant for schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, 11 discordant pairs, and 19 healthy control pairs performing a lexical decision task. Moreover, we examined the correlation between Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS score and the N400 effect and the influence of medication status on this effect. Results. Regression yielded a significant main effect of group on the N400 effect only in the direct priming condition (p=0.003. Indirect condition and behavioral priming effect showed no significant effect of group. Planned contrasts with the control group as a reference group revealed that affected concordant twins had significantly reduced N400 effect compared to controls, and discordant affected twins had a statistical trend for reduced N400 effect compared to controls. The unaffected twins did not differ significantly from the controls. There was a trend for correlation between reduced N400 effect and higher BPRS scores, and the N400 effect did not differ significantly between medicated and unmedicated patients. Conclusions. Reduced N400 effect may reflect disease-specific processes in schizophrenia implicating frontotemporal brain network in schizophrenia pathology.

  17. Downstream targets of methyl CpG binding protein 2 and their abnormal expression in the frontal cortex of the human Rett syndrome brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minchenko Dimitri

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Rett Syndrome (RTT brain displays regional histopathology and volumetric reduction, with frontal cortex showing such abnormalities, whereas the occipital cortex is relatively less affected. Results Using microarrays and quantitative PCR, the mRNA expression profiles of these two neuroanatomical regions were compared in postmortem brain tissue from RTT patients and normal controls. A subset of genes was differentially expressed in the frontal cortex of RTT brains, some of which are known to be associated with neurological disorders (clusterin and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 or are involved in synaptic vesicle cycling (dynamin 1. RNAi-mediated knockdown of MeCP2 in vitro, followed by further expression analysis demonstrated that the same direction of abnormal expression was recapitulated with MeCP2 knockdown, which for cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 was associated with a functional respiratory chain defect. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP analysis showed that MeCP2 associated with the promoter regions of some of these genes suggesting that loss of MeCP2 function may be responsible for their overexpression. Conclusions This study has shed more light on the subset of aberrantly expressed genes that result from MECP2 mutations. The mitochondrion has long been implicated in the pathogenesis of RTT, however it has not been at the forefront of RTT research interest since the discovery of MECP2 mutations. The functional consequence of the underexpression of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 indicates that this is an area that should be revisited.

  18. Abnormal functional connectivity of brain network hubs associated with symptom severity in treatment-naive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A resting-state functional MRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Lin; Meng, Chun; Jiang, Ying; Tang, Qunfeng; Wang, Shuai; Xie, Xiyao; Fu, Xiangshuai; Jin, Chunhui; Zhang, Fuquan; Wang, Jidong

    2016-04-03

    Abnormal brain networks have been observed in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, detailed network hub and connectivity changes remained unclear in treatment-naive patients with OCD. Here, we sought to determine whether patients show hub-related connectivity changes in their whole-brain functional networks. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data and voxel-based graph-theoretic analysis to investigate functional connectivity strength and hubs of whole-brain networks in 29 treatment-naive patients with OCD and 29 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Correlation analysis was applied for potential associations with OCD symptom severity. OCD selectively targeted brain regions of higher functional connectivity strength than the average including brain network hubs, mainly distributed in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits and additionally parietal, occipital, temporal and cerebellar regions. Moreover, affected functional connectivity strength in the cerebellum, the medial orbitofrontal cortex and superior occipital cortex was significantly associated with global OCD symptom severity. Our results provide the evidence about OCD-related brain network hub changes, not only in the CSTC circuits but more distributed in whole brain networks. Data suggest that whole brain network hub analysis is useful for understanding the pathophysiology of OCD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Abnormal serotonin transporter availability in the brains of adults with conduct disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chieh; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Huang, Wen-Sheng; Shiue, Chyng-Yann; Yeh, Chin-Bin

    2017-06-01

    The aims of the current study were to determine whether patients with conduct disorder (CD) showed an abnormal availability of serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT), and if their hyperkinetic symptoms, impulsivity, and quality of life were correlated with the availability of SERT. We recruited 14 drug-naïve patients with CD and eight age-matched healthy controls (HCs). The adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) self-report scale (ASRS), Barrett impulsivity scale (BIS), and the World Health Organization quality of life-brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) scale were administered. Positron emission tomography (PET) of the brain with 4-[ 18 F]-ADAM was arranged for SERT imaging. SERT availability was significantly reduced in the striatum and midbrain of patients with CD. Quality of life and inattention symptoms were also significantly correlated with the availability of SERT in the prefrontal cortex. The study suggested that a reduction in the availability of SERT might be associated with CD and could potentially predict poor quality of life or symptoms of inattention for these patients. The implications of our results might be limited to individuals with CD; a future study with a larger sample to validate our preliminary results is warranted. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Structural Brain Abnormalities of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder With Oppositional Defiant Disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noordermeer, Siri D. S.; Luman, Marjolein; Greven, Corina U.; Veroude, Kim; Faraone, Stephen V.; Hartman, Catharina A.; Hoekstra, Pieter J.; Franke, Barbara; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Heslenfeld, Dirk J.; Oosterlaan, Jaap

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with structural abnormalities in total gray matter, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Findings of structural abnormalities in frontal and temporal lobes, amygdala, and insula are less consistent. Remarkably, the impact of

  1. Association of a Guardian's Report of a Child Acting Abnormally With Traumatic Brain Injury After Minor Blunt Head Trauma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishijima, Daniel K; Holmes, James F; Dayan, Peter S; Kuppermann, Nathan

    2015-12-01

    Increased use of computed tomography (CT) in children is concerning owing to the cancer risk from ionizing radiation, particularly in children younger than 2 years. A guardian report that a child is acting abnormally is a risk factor for clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) and may be a driving factor for CT use in the emergency department. To determine the prevalence of ciTBIs and TBIs in children younger than 2 years with minor blunt head trauma and a guardian report of acting abnormally with (1) no other findings or (2) other concerning findings for TBI. Secondary analysis of a large, prospective, multicenter cohort study that included 43 399 children younger than 18 years with minor blunt head trauma evaluated in 25 emergency departments. The study was conducted on data obtained between June 2004 and September 2006. Data analysis was performed between August 21, 2014, and March 9, 2015. A guardian report that the child was acting abnormally after minor blunt head trauma. The prevalence of ciTBI (defined as death, neurosurgery, intubation for >24 hours, or hospitalization for ≥2 nights in association with TBI on CT imaging) and TBI on CT imaging in children with a guardian report of acting abnormally with (1) no other findings and (2) other concerning findings for TBI. Of 43 399 children in the cohort study, a total of 1297 children had reports of acting abnormally, of whom 411 (31.7%) had this report as their only finding. Reported as percentage (95% CI), 1 of 411 (0.2% [0-1.3%]) had a ciTBI, and 4 TBIs were noted on the CT scans in 185 children who underwent imaging (2.2% [0.6%-5.4%]). In children with reports of acting abnormally and other concerning findings for TBI, 29 of 886 (3.3% [2.2%-4.7%]) had ciTBIs and 66 of 674 (9.8% [7.7%-12.3%]) had TBIs on CT. Clinically important TBIs are very uncommon, and TBIs noted on CT are uncommon in children younger than 2 years with minor blunt head trauma and guardian reports of the child acting

  2. The Abnormal Functional Connectivity between the Hypothalamus and the Temporal Gyrus Underlying Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaozheng; Chen, Wei; Tu, Yunhai; Hou, Hongtao; Huang, Xiaoyan; Chen, Xingli; Guo, Zhongwei; Bai, Guanghui; Chen, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Hypothalamic communication with the rest of the brain is critical for accomplishing a wide variety of physiological and psychological functions, including the maintenance of neuroendocrine circadian rhythms and the management of affective processes. Evidence has shown that major depressive disorder (MDD) patients exhibit increased functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Neurofibrillary tangles are also found in the hypothalamus of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and AD patients exhibit abnormal changes in the HPA. However, little is known of how the hypothalamus interacts with other brain regions in AD patients with depression (D-AD). Functional connectivity (FC) analysis explores the connectivity between brain regions that share functional properties. Here, we used resting-state (rs) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and the FC method to measure hypothalamic connectivity across the whole brain in 22 D-AD patients and 21 non-depressed AD patients (nD-AD). Our results showed that D-AD patients had reduced FC among the hypothalamus, the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) compared with the FC of nD-AD patients, suggesting that the abnormal FC between the hypothalamus and the temporal lobe may play a key role in the pathophysiology of depression in AD patients.

  3. Disrupted nodal and hub organization account for brain network abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuko Koshimori

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The recent application of graph theory to brain networks promises to shed light on complex diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. This study aimed to investigate functional changes in sensorimotor and cognitive networks in parkinsonian patients, with a focus on inter- and intra-connectivity organization in the disease-associated nodal and hub regions using the graph theoretical analyses. Resting-state functional MRI data of a total of 65 participants, including 23 healthy controls and 42 patients, were investigated in 120 nodes for local efficiency, betweenness centrality, and degree. Hub regions were identified in the healthy control and patient groups. We found nodal and hub changes in patients compared with healthy controls, including the right pre-supplementary motor area, left anterior insula, bilateral mid-insula, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right caudate nucleus. In general, nodal regions within the sensorimotor network (i.e. right pre-supplementary motor area and right mid-insula displayed weakened connectivity, with the former node associated with more severe bradykinesia, and impaired integration with default mode network regions. The left mid-insula also lost its hub properties in patients. Within the executive networks, the left anterior insular cortex lost its hub properties in patients, while a new hub region was identified in the right caudate nucleus, paralleled by an increased level of inter- and intra-connectivity in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex possibly representing compensatory mechanisms. These findings highlight the diffuse changes in nodal organization and regional hub disruption accounting for the distributed abnormalities across brain networks and the clinical manifestations of Parkinson’s disease.

  4. Role of 99mTc-ECD brain SPECT in the detection of cerebral perfusion abnormality in cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, A.; Phom, H.; Thomas, E.J.; Tripathi, M.; Chandrashekar, N.; Bal, C.S.; Zamir, H.; Gulati, S.; Kalra, V.

    2002-01-01

    Aim: A randomized placebo controlled drug trial with Mentat, a herbal pharmacological agent, was initiated in January 2000 in the department of pediatrics at AIIMS, New Delhi, to compare the efficacy of Mentat with a placebo in school children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Materials and Methods: Contact was established with 12 Public schools in Delhi, to identify poor performers in classes I-V (age 6-12 yrs.). About 195 children with poor school performance were recruited in the study. They were screened for causes of poor performance, which included attention problems, hyperactivity, behavior problems, emotional problems, mental sub-normality and learning disability. ADHD suspected children were identified using the Malin's WISC, Connor's rating scale, Problem Behavior checklist, Bender Gestalt test and some sub tests of the Kaufman's Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). Sixty children diagnosed as ADHD (using DSM-IV criteria), with an IQ between 90-110, were enrolled into the study. Of the 60 children randomized in the study, 30 received Mentat and 30 received an identical looking placebo. The drug/Placebo was given for a six-month period. 99mTC-ECD brain SPECT was performed in a subset of 34 children with ADHD. Results: Abnormal cerebral perfusion was seen in 23/34; thalamic hypoperfusion in 11, basal ganglia hypoperfusion in 9, thalamus and basal ganglia hypoperfusion in 2 and basifrontal hypoperfusion in 1. So far, in ten children with abnormal pretreatment scans, post treatment scans have also been done. In mentat group, 2/5 children showed normalization of perfusion abnormality after treatment whereas in placebo group, 1/5. Conclusion: This study suggests that there is selective focal cerebral hypoperfusion in cases of ADHD and 99mTc-ECD brain SPECT can be used for evaluation and further monitoring of therapeutic outcome in such cases

  5. Reversal of brain metabolic abnormalities following treatment of AIDS dementia complex with 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT, zidovudine): a PET-FDG study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brunetti, A.; Berg, G.; Di Chiro, G.

    1989-01-01

    Brain glucose metabolism was evaluated in four patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia complex using [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans at the beginning of therapy with 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT, zidovudine), and later in the course of therapy. In two patients, baseline, large focal cortical abnormalities of glucose utilization were reversed during the course of therapy. In the other two patients, the initial PET study did not reveal pronounced focal alterations, while the post-treatment scans showed markedly increased cortical glucose metabolism. The improved cortical glucose utilization was accompanied in all patients by immunologic and neurologic improvement. PET-FDG studies can detect cortical metabolic abnormalities associated with AIDS dementia complex, and may be used to monitor the metabolic improvement in response to AZT treatment

  6. Abnormalities in Dynamic Brain Activity Caused by Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Are Partially Rescued by the Cannabinoid Type-2 Receptor Inverse Agonist SMM-189.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yu; McAfee, Samuel S; Guley, Natalie M; Del Mar, Nobel; Bu, Wei; Heldt, Scott A; Honig, Marcia G; Moore, Bob M; Reiner, Anton; Heck, Detlef H

    2017-01-01

    Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can cause severe long-term cognitive and emotional deficits, including impaired memory, depression, and persevering fear, but the neuropathological basis of these deficits is uncertain. As medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus play important roles in memory and emotion, we used multi-site, multi-electrode recordings of oscillatory neuronal activity in local field potentials (LFPs) in awake, head-fixed mice to determine if the functioning of these regions was abnormal after mTBI, using a closed-skull focal cranial blast model. We evaluated mPFC, hippocampus CA1, and primary somatosensory/visual cortical areas (S1/V1). Although mTBI did not alter the power of oscillations, it did cause increased coherence of θ (4-10 Hz) and β (10-30 Hz) oscillations within mPFC and S1/V1, reduced CA1 sharp-wave ripple (SWR)-evoked LFP activity in mPFC, downshifted SWR frequencies in CA1, and enhanced θ-γ phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) within mPFC. These abnormalities might be linked to the impaired memory, depression, and persevering fear seen after mTBI. Treatment with the cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptor inverse agonist SMM-189 has been shown to mitigate functional deficits and neuronal injury after mTBI in mice. We found that SMM-189 also reversed most of the observed neurophysiological abnormalities. This neurophysiological rescue is likely to stem from the previously reported reduction in neuron loss and/or the preservation of neuronal function and connectivity resulting from SMM-189 treatment, which appears to stem from the biasing of microglia from the proinflammatory M1 state to the prohealing M2 state by SMM-189.

  7. Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Developmentally Delayed Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Akbar Momen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Developmental disorders are failure or inability to acquire various age-specific skills at expected maturational age, which affects about 5–10% of preschool children. One of the most important methods for evaluation of developmentally delayed children is neuroimaging, especially, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI that provides useful information regarding brain tissue structures and anomalies. Method and Material. In this study, hospital records of 580 developmentally delayed children (aged 2 months to 15 years who admitted in pediatric ward of Golestan Hospital from 1997 to 2009 were selected. Information such as age, MRI findings were collected in the questionnaire and statistically analyzed. Results. Total, 580 children including 333 males (57.4% and 247 females (42.6% were studied. Abnormal brain MRI was observed in 340 (58.6% cases (204 Males, 136 females. The finding includes nonspecific in 38 (6.6%, congenital and developmental anomalies of brain in 39 (6.7%, recognizable syndromes in 3 (0.5%, neurovascular diseases or trauma in 218 (37.6%, and metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases in 42 (7.2% cases. Conclusion. Because 60% of all study groups showed abnormal brain MRI, using this method could be effective in diagnosis, management, and almost prognosis determination processes.

  8. Retinal Layer Abnormalities as Biomarkers of Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samani, Niraj N; Proudlock, Frank A; Siram, Vasantha; Suraweera, Chathurie; Hutchinson, Claire; Nelson, Christopher P; Al-Uzri, Mohammed; Gottlob, Irene

    2018-06-06

    Schizophrenia is associated with several brain deficits, as well as visual processing deficits, but clinically useful biomarkers are elusive. We hypothesized that retinal layer changes, noninvasively visualized using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), may represent a possible "window" to these abnormalities. A Leica EnvisuTM SD-OCT device was used to obtain high-resolution central foveal B-scans in both eyes of 35 patients with schizophrenia and 50 demographically matched controls. Manual retinal layer segmentation was performed to acquire individual and combined layer thickness measurements in 3 macular regions. Contrast sensitivity was measured at 3 spatial frequencies in a subgroup of each cohort. Differences were compared using adjusted linear models and significantly different layer measures in patients underwent Spearman Rank correlations with contrast sensitivity, quantified symptoms severity, disease duration, and antipsychotic medication dose. Total retinal and photoreceptor complex thickness was reduced in all regions in patients (P layer (P layer (P layer thickness (R = -.47, P = .005). Our novel findings demonstrate considerable retinal layer abnormalities in schizophrenia that are related to clinical features and visual function. With time, SD-OCT could provide easily-measurable biomarkers to facilitate clinical assessment and further our understanding of the disease.

  9. Divided attention and driving. The effects of aging and brain injury

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Withaar, Frederiec Kunna

    2000-01-01

    In this thesis, divided attention was investigated in four groups of subjects: closed head injury (CHI) patients, young control and healthy older subjects, and older subjects with cognitive impairments. It was studied how diffuse brain injury and normal and abnormal aging affect cognitive processes

  10. How can the process of postnatal adaptation be changed by the presence of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brucknerová Ingrid

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite modern approaches in molecular biology and genetics, we are still not able to identify the actual cause in more than 50% of all congenital defects. One-half of the unidentified cases is referred to as “multifactorial”. Detailed prenatal investigation of the fetus can discover the presence of congenital abnormality, which can worsen the process of postnatal adaptation. Retrospective analysis of newborns admitted to the Neonatal Department of Intensive Medicine (NDIM in 2012-2016 with the aim to analyze how the process of postnatal adaptation can be changed by the presence of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate. During a five-year period, 13 newborns were admitted to NDIM (2 premature; 11 term newborns. Chromosomal abnormality was confirmed in one patient (Down syndrome and in one patient suspicion of Patau syndrome was found. Twelve newborns had complete cheilognathopalatoschisis. Two premature newborns and two term newborns had perinatal asphyxia. In this group of patients, 33% had respiratory insufficiency without the presence of congenital heart abnormality, 66% had congenital heart abnormality with respiratory insufficiency, and 2 patients had feeding problems. Only one patient had a positive family history. The diagnosis of complete cheilognathopalatoschisis was confirmed prenatally only in 9 patients. We confirmed that clinical consequences of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate depend on the nature, localization and range of abnormalities, as well as on the genetic background and accompanying congenital abnormalities. Prenatal confirmation of the presence of congenital abnormalities has an important influence on the postnatal management of a patient.

  11. Slowed EEG rhythmicity in patients with chronic pancreatitis: evidence of abnormal cerebral pain processing?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, Søren Schou; Hansen, Tine Maria; Gravesen, Carina

    2011-01-01

    Intractable pain usually dominates the clinical presentation of chronic pancreatitis (CP). Slowing of electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythmicity has been associated with abnormal cortical pain processing in other chronic pain disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the spectral distribution...

  12. Clinical significance of brain SPECT abnormalities of thalami and cerebellum in cerebral palsy with normal MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, C. H.; Lim, S. Y.; Lee, I. Y.; Kim, O. H.; Bai, M. S.; Kim, S. J.; Yoon, S. N.; Cho, C. W.

    1997-01-01

    The cerebral palsy(CP) encephalopathies are often of uncertain etiology and various functional image findings comparing with anatomical image findings have been reported. However, only a few have mentioned its clinical implications. The purpose of our report is to compare clinical severity and functional SPECT abnormalities of thalami and cerebellum in CP patients with normal MRI. Thirty six CP patients with bilateral spastic palsy who had normal MRI and brain SPECT were studied from July 1996 to September 1997. The patients' age at the time of SPECT was 22.84±17.69 months. The patients were divided into two groups according to motor quotient(MQ); moderate defect (>50MQ : n=27 MQ=22.78±10.36), mild defect ( 2 test. Brain SPECT was performed following IV administration of 0.05-0.1 mCi/kg (minimum 2.0 mCi) of Tc-99m ECD and chloral hydrate sedation (50-80 mg/kg p.o) using a triple head system (MS 3, Siemens). Interpretation of brain SPECT was visual analysis: severe decrease is defined when the defect is moderate to marked and mild decrease in rCBF as mild. Seven of 36 (19.4%) showed unilateral or bilateral moderate decrease in rCBF in thalami, 20(55.6%) showed mild decrease, and 9(25.0%) showed no decreased rCBF. All 7 who had moderate thalamic defect reveled moderate motor defect clinically. Ten of 36(27.9%) revealed unilateral or bilateral moderate rCBF defect, 23 (63.9%) depicted mild defect, and 3(8.3%) showed no defect. Sixteen with moderate thalamic rCBF defect showed moderate motor defect in 15 patients. There was statistically significant (p=0.02605) relationship between rCBF defect and motor defect in our CP patients. In conclusion, brain SPECT appears sensitive, non-invasive tool in the evaluation as well as in the prognostication of bilateral spastic cerebral palsy patients and deserves further study using larger number of patients

  13. Abnormal baseline brain activity in Parkinson's disease with and without REM sleep behavior disorder: A resting-state functional MRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dan; Huang, Peiyu; Zang, Yufeng; Lou, Yuting; Cen, Zhidong; Gu, Quanquan; Xuan, Min; Xie, Fei; Ouyang, Zhiyuan; Wang, Bo; Zhang, Minming; Luo, Wei

    2017-09-01

    To investigate the differences in spontaneous brain activity between Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), PD patients without RBD, and normal controls, which may shed new light on the neural mechanism of RBD. Eighteen PD patients with RBD, 16 patients without RBD, and 19 age- and gender-matched normal controls underwent clinical assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a 3.0T scanner. Resting-state fMRI scans were collected using an echo planar imaging sequence. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) were calculated to measure spontaneous brain activity in each subject. Compared with PD patients without RBD, patients with RBD exhibited significantly decreased ALFF values (P abnormalities. Our findings provide additional insight into the neural mechanism of RBD and may drive future research to develop better treatment. 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:697-703. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

  14. Unveiling the mystery of visual information processing in human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamant, Emanuel

    2008-08-15

    It is generally accepted that human vision is an extremely powerful information processing system that facilitates our interaction with the surrounding world. However, despite extended and extensive research efforts, which encompass many exploration fields, the underlying fundamentals and operational principles of visual information processing in human brain remain unknown. We still are unable to figure out where and how along the path from eyes to the cortex the sensory input perceived by the retina is converted into a meaningful object representation, which can be consciously manipulated by the brain. Studying the vast literature considering the various aspects of brain information processing, I was surprised to learn that the respected scholarly discussion is totally indifferent to the basic keynote question: "What is information?" in general or "What is visual information?" in particular. In the old days, it was assumed that any scientific research approach has first to define its basic departure points. Why was it overlooked in brain information processing research remains a conundrum. In this paper, I am trying to find a remedy for this bizarre situation. I propose an uncommon definition of "information", which can be derived from Kolmogorov's Complexity Theory and Chaitin's notion of Algorithmic Information. Embracing this new definition leads to an inevitable revision of traditional dogmas that shape the state of the art of brain information processing research. I hope this revision would better serve the challenging goal of human visual information processing modeling.

  15. BrainK for Structural Image Processing: Creating Electrical Models of the Human Head

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available BrainK is a set of automated procedures for characterizing the tissues of the human head from MRI, CT, and photogrammetry images. The tissue segmentation and cortical surface extraction support the primary goal of modeling the propagation of electrical currents through head tissues with a finite difference model (FDM or finite element model (FEM created from the BrainK geometries. The electrical head model is necessary for accurate source localization of dense array electroencephalographic (dEEG measures from head surface electrodes. It is also necessary for accurate targeting of cerebral structures with transcranial current injection from those surface electrodes. BrainK must achieve five major tasks: image segmentation, registration of the MRI, CT, and sensor photogrammetry images, cortical surface reconstruction, dipole tessellation of the cortical surface, and Talairach transformation. We describe the approach to each task, and we compare the accuracies for the key tasks of tissue segmentation and cortical surface extraction in relation to existing research tools (FreeSurfer, FSL, SPM, and BrainVisa. BrainK achieves good accuracy with minimal or no user intervention, it deals well with poor quality MR images and tissue abnormalities, and it provides improved computational efficiency over existing research packages.

  16. White-matter tract abnormalities and antisocial behavior: A systematic review of diffusion tensor imaging studies across development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Waller

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Antisocial behavior (AB, including aggression, violence, and theft, is thought be underpinned by abnormal functioning in networks of the brain critical to emotion processing, behavioral control, and reward-related learning. To better understand the abnormal functioning of these networks, research has begun to investigate the structural connections between brain regions implicated in AB using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI, which assesses white-matter tract microstructure. This systematic review integrates findings from 22 studies that examined the relationship between white-matter microstructure and AB across development. In contrast to a prior hypothesis that AB is associated with greater diffusivity specifically in the uncinate fasciculus, findings suggest that adult AB is associated with greater diffusivity across a range of white-matter tracts, including the uncinate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, cingulum, corticospinal tract, thalamic radiations, and corpus callosum. The pattern of findings among youth studies was inconclusive with both higher and lower diffusivity found across association, commissural, and projection and thalamic tracts.

  17. Analysis of abnormal findings observed on brain MRI T2 weighted image in a system for the detection of asymptomatic brain disease in 1,200 cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horiguchi, Takashi; Yoshida, Kazunari; Sato, Syuzo; Kawase, Takeshi; Toya, Shigeo; Mizukami, Masahiro

    1998-01-01

    In this study we described the significance of asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI) and periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) observed on brain MRI in a system for detection of asymptomatic brain disease with 1,200 cases. The risk factors (RF), population in each age bracket of ACI and PVH, among groups with hypertension (HTG) and without RF (no-RFG), were investigated. The RF of ACI were hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM), and aging. Without DM, those are common RF of PVH. The population of PVH and ACI with PVH increased with aging in no-RFG. On the other hand, only the population of ACI with PVH increased with aging in HTG. The rate of these abnormal findings in HTG was significantly higher than that in no-RFG. In addition, HT accelerated the occurrence of these findings by 10-20 years. When patients were over 60 years old, ACI increased rapidly. Accordingly, we concluded that PVH and ACI had a common background. Long term follow up concerning the incidence of ACI in the group with only PVH was necessary. It was desirable that treatment for RF should be effected before the age of sixty. (author)

  18. Major Superficial White Matter Abnormalities in Huntington's Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Owen R.; Joshi, Shantanu H.; Squitieri, Ferdinando; Sanchez-Castaneda, Cristina; Narr, Katherine; Shattuck, David W.; Caltagirone, Carlo; Sabatini, Umberto; Di Paola, Margherita

    2016-01-01

    Background: The late myelinating superficial white matter at the juncture of the cortical gray and white matter comprising the intracortical myelin and short-range association fibers has not received attention in Huntington's disease. It is an area of the brain that is late myelinating and is sensitive to both normal aging and neurodegenerative disease effects. Therefore, it may be sensitive to Huntington's disease processes. Methods: Structural MRI data from 25 Pre-symptomatic subjects, 24 Huntington's disease patients and 49 healthy controls was run through a cortical pattern-matching program. The surface corresponding to the white matter directly below the cortical gray matter was then extracted. Individual subject's Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data was aligned to their structural MRI data. Diffusivity values along the white matter surface were then sampled at each vertex point. DTI measures with high spatial resolution across the superficial white matter surface were then analyzed with the General Linear Model to test for the effects of disease. Results: There was an overall increase in the axial and radial diffusivity across much of the superficial white matter (p < 0.001) in Pre-symptomatic subjects compared to controls. In Huntington's disease patients increased diffusivity covered essentially the whole brain (p < 0.001). Changes are correlated with genotype (CAG repeat number) and disease burden (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed broad abnormalities in superficial white matter even before symptoms are present in Huntington's disease. Since, the superficial white matter has a unique microstructure and function these abnormalities suggest it plays an important role in the disease. PMID:27242403

  19. Normal and abnormal growth plate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, R.; Madewell, J.E.; Swischuk, L.E.

    1987-01-01

    Skeletal growth is a dynamic process. A knowledge of the structure and function of the normal growth plate is essential in order to understand the pathophysiology of abnormal skeletal growth in various diseases. In this well-illustrated article, the authors provide a radiographic classification of abnormal growth plates and discuss mechanisms that lead to growth plate abnormalities

  20. Brain-computer interfaces in neurological rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daly, Janis J; Wolpaw, Jonathan R

    2008-11-01

    Recent advances in analysis of brain signals, training patients to control these signals, and improved computing capabilities have enabled people with severe motor disabilities to use their brain signals for communication and control of objects in their environment, thereby bypassing their impaired neuromuscular system. Non-invasive, electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies can be used to control a computer cursor or a limb orthosis, for word processing and accessing the internet, and for other functions such as environmental control or entertainment. By re-establishing some independence, BCI technologies can substantially improve the lives of people with devastating neurological disorders such as advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. BCI technology might also restore more effective motor control to people after stroke or other traumatic brain disorders by helping to guide activity-dependent brain plasticity by use of EEG brain signals to indicate to the patient the current state of brain activity and to enable the user to subsequently lower abnormal activity. Alternatively, by use of brain signals to supplement impaired muscle control, BCIs might increase the efficacy of a rehabilitation protocol and thus improve muscle control for the patient.

  1. The brain as a distributed intelligent processing system: an EEG study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Rocha, Armando Freitas; Rocha, Fábio Theoto; Massad, Eduardo

    2011-03-15

    Various neuroimaging studies, both structural and functional, have provided support for the proposal that a distributed brain network is likely to be the neural basis of intelligence. The theory of Distributed Intelligent Processing Systems (DIPS), first developed in the field of Artificial Intelligence, was proposed to adequately model distributed neural intelligent processing. In addition, the neural efficiency hypothesis suggests that individuals with higher intelligence display more focused cortical activation during cognitive performance, resulting in lower total brain activation when compared with individuals who have lower intelligence. This may be understood as a property of the DIPS. In our study, a new EEG brain mapping technique, based on the neural efficiency hypothesis and the notion of the brain as a Distributed Intelligence Processing System, was used to investigate the correlations between IQ evaluated with WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), and the brain activity associated with visual and verbal processing, in order to test the validity of a distributed neural basis for intelligence. The present results support these claims and the neural efficiency hypothesis.

  2. Brain SPECT in severs traumatic head injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beaulieu, F.; Eder, V.; Pottier, J.M.; Baulieu, J.L.; Fournier, P.; Legros, B.; Chiaroni, P.; Dalonneau, M.

    2000-01-01

    The aim of this work was to compare the results of the early brain scintigraphy in traumatic brain injury to the long term neuropsychological behavior. Twenty four patients had an ECD-Tc99m SPECT, within one month after the trauma; scintigraphic abnormalities were evaluated according to a semi-quantitative analysis. The neuropsychological clinical investigation was interpreted by a synthetic approach to evaluate abnormalities related to residual motor deficit, frontal behavior, memory and language disorders. Fourteen patients (58%) had sequela symptoms. SPECT revealed 80 abnormalities and CT scan only 31. Statistical analysis of uptake values showed significantly lower uptake in left basal ganglia and brain stem in patients with sequela memory disorders. We conclude that the brain perfusion scintigraphy is able to detect more lesions than CT and that it could really help to predict the neuropsychological behavior after severe head injury. Traumatology could become in the future a widely accepted indication of perfusion SPECT. (authors)

  3. SPECT brain perfusion findings in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abu-Judeh, H.H.; Parker, R.; Aleksic, S.

    2000-01-01

    Background: The purpose of this manuscript is to present the findings in the largest series of SPECT brain perfusion imaging reported to date for mild or moderate traumatic brain injury. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective evaluation of 228 SPECT brain perfusion-imaging studies of patients who suffered mild or moderate traumatic brain injury with or without loss of consciousness (LOC). All patients had no past medical history of previous brain trauma, neurological, or psychiatric diseases, HIV, alcohol or drug abuse. The patient population included 135 males and 93 females. The ages ranged from 11-88 years (mean 40.8). The most common complaints were characteristic of the postconcussion syndrome: headaches 139/228 (61%); dizziness 61/228 (27%); and memory problems 63/228 (28%). LOC status was reported to be positive in 121/228 (53%), negative in 41/228 (18%), and unknown for 63/228 (28%). RESULTS: Normal studies accounted for 52/228 (23%). For abnormal studies (176/228 or 77%) the findings were as follows: basal ganglia hypoperfusion 338 lesions (55.2%); frontal lobe hypoperfusion 146 (23.8%); temporal lobes hypoperfusion 80 (13%); parietal lobes hypoperfusion 20 (3.7%); insular and or occipital lobes hypoperfusion 28 (4.6%). Patients' symptoms correlated with the SPECT brain perfusion findings. The SPECT BPI studies in 122/228 (54%) were done early within 3 months of the date of the accident, and for the remainder, 106/228 (46%) over 3 months and less than 3 years from the date of the injury. In early imaging, 382 lesions were detected; in 92 patients (average 4.2 lesions per study) imaging after 3 months detected 230 lesions: in 84 patients (average 2.7 lesions per study). CONCLUSIONS: Basal ganglia hypoperfusion is the most common abnormality following mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (p = 0.006), and is more common in patients complaining of memory problem (p = 0.0005) and dizziness (p = 0.003). Early imaging can detect more lesions than

  4. SPECT brain perfusion findings in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Judeh, H H; Parker, R; Aleksic, S; Singh, M L; Naddaf, S; Atay, S; Kumar, M; Omar, W; El-Zeftawy, H; Luo, J Q; Abdel-Dayem, H M

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this manuscript is to present the findings in the largest series of SPECT brain perfusion imaging reported to date for mild or moderate traumatic brain injury. This is a retrospective evaluation of 228 SPECT brain perfusion-imaging studies of patients who suffered mild or moderate traumatic brain injury with or without loss of consciousness (LOC). All patients had no past medical history of previous brain trauma, neurological, or psychiatric diseases, HIV, alcohol or drug abuse. The patient population included 135 males and 93 females. The ages ranged from 11-88 years (mean 40.8). The most common complaints were characteristic of the postconcussion syndrome: headaches 139/228 (61%); dizziness 61/228 (27%); and memory problems 63/228 (28%). LOC status was reported to be positive in 121/228 (53%), negative in 41/228 (18%), and unknown for 63/228 (28%). Normal studies accounted for 52/228 (23%). For abnormal studies (176/228 or 77%) the findings were as follows: basal ganglia hypoperfusion 338 lesions (55.2%); frontal lobe hypoperfusion 146 (23.8%); temporal lobes hypoperfusion 80 (13%); parietal lobes hypoperfusion 20 (3.7%); insular and or occipital lobes hypoperfusion 28 (4.6%). Patients' symptoms correlated with the SPECT brain perfusion findings. The SPECT BPI studies in 122/228 (54%) were done early within 3 months of the date of the accident, and for the remainder, 106/228 (46%) over 3 months and less than 3 years from the date of the injury. In early imaging, 382 lesions were detected; in 92 patients (average 4.2 lesions per study) imaging after 3 months detected 230 lesions: in 84 patients (average 2.7 lesions per study). Basal ganglia hypoperfusion is the most common abnormality following mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (p = 0.006), and is more common in patients complaining of memory problem (p = 0.0005) and dizziness (p = 0.003). Early imaging can detect more lesions than delayed imaging (p = 0.0011). SPECT brain perfusion

  5. Clinical significance of I-123 IMP brain SPECT in children with brain diseases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takishima, Teruo; Machida, Kikuo; Honda, Norinari; Mamiya, Toshio; Takahashi, Taku; Kamano, Tsuyoshi; Hasegawa, Noriko

    1990-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain using N-isopropyl p-I-123-iodoamphetamine (I-123 IMP) was performed in 43 children with suspected brain diseases. Forty-three children (25 males and 18 females), with an age range of 24 days-15 years (mean: 6.6 years), were included in the study. Six patients were subsequently diagnosed as normal. Early SPECT of the brain was performed 30 minutes after intravenous administration of 74-111 MBq (2-3 mCi) I-123 IMP using a rotating gamma camera equipped with a 30-degree slant hole and medium energy collimator. Transverse images were reconstructed by Shepp-Logan filtered back projection method with attenuation correction after spatial filtering using an 8th order Butterworth-Wiener filter. Findings of I-123 IMP SPECT were compared with those of X-ray computed tomography (CT) and electroencephalography (EEG). The results showed that in I-123 IMP SPECT, abnormality was found in 30 out of 37 children with brain diseases. The incidence of abnormal findings in the 37 patients was 81% in I-123 IMP SPECT, 61% in X-ray CT, and 78% in EEG; in both cryptogenic and secondary epilepsy, the incidence of abnormality was higher in I-123 IMP SPECT than in X-ray CT. (70% and 94% vs 50% and 81% respectively), and epileptic foci detected by EEG did not correspond with defects found using I-123 IMP SPECT in 27% of the patients; and in asphyxiated infants, a high incidence of abnormality was observed on both I-123 IMP SPECT (86%) and X-ray CT (86%). In conclusion, I-123 IMP SPECT is a clinically useful examination in children with brain disease. (author)

  6. EEG changes and neuroimaging abnormalities in relevance to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Autism is currently viewed as a genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder although its defi nite underlying etiology remains to be established. Aim of the Study: Our purpose was to assess autism related morphological neuroimaging changes of the brain and EEG abnormalities in correlation to the ...

  7. Direct Electrical Stimulation in the Human Brain Disrupts Melody Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcea, Frank E; Chernoff, Benjamin L; Diamond, Bram; Lewis, Wesley; Sims, Maxwell H; Tomlinson, Samuel B; Teghipco, Alexander; Belkhir, Raouf; Gannon, Sarah B; Erickson, Steve; Smith, Susan O; Stone, Jonathan; Liu, Lynn; Tollefson, Trenton; Langfitt, John; Marvin, Elizabeth; Pilcher, Webster H; Mahon, Bradford Z

    2017-09-11

    Prior research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) [1-4] and behavioral studies of patients with acquired or congenital amusia [5-8] suggest that the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) in the human brain is specialized for aspects of music processing (for review, see [9-12]). Intracranial electrical brain stimulation in awake neurosurgery patients is a powerful means to determine the computations supported by specific brain regions and networks [13-21] because it provides reversible causal evidence with high spatial resolution (for review, see [22, 23]). Prior intracranial stimulation or cortical cooling studies have investigated musical abilities related to reading music scores [13, 14] and singing familiar songs [24, 25]. However, individuals with amusia (congenitally, or from a brain injury) have difficulty humming melodies but can be spared for singing familiar songs with familiar lyrics [26]. Here we report a detailed study of a musician with a low-grade tumor in the right temporal lobe. Functional MRI was used pre-operatively to localize music processing to the right STG, and the patient subsequently underwent awake intraoperative mapping using direct electrical stimulation during a melody repetition task. Stimulation of the right STG induced "music arrest" and errors in pitch but did not affect language processing. These findings provide causal evidence for the functional segregation of music and language processing in the human brain and confirm a specific role of the right STG in melody processing. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Abnormal Functional Connectivity Density in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Youxue; Xie, Bing; Chen, Heng; Li, Meiling; Liu, Feng; Chen, Huafu

    2016-05-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that occurs in individuals who have experienced life-threatening mental traumas. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated that the pathology of PTSD may be associated with the abnormal functional integration among brain regions. In the current study, we used functional connectivity density (FCD) mapping, a novel voxel-wise data-driven approach based on graph theory, to explore aberrant FC through the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging of the PTSD. We calculated both short- and long-range FCD in PTSD patients and healthy controls (HCs). Compared with HCs, PTSD patients showed significantly increased long-range FCD in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), but no abnormal short-range FCD was found in PTSD. Furthermore, seed-based FC analysis of the left DLPFC showed increased connectivity in the left superior parietal lobe and visual cortex of PTSD patients. The results suggested that PTSD patients experienced a disruption of intrinsic long-range functional connections in the fronto-parietal network and visual cortex, which are associated with attention control and visual information processing.

  9. Resting state fMRI entropy probes complexity of brain activity in adults with ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokunbi, Moses O; Fung, Wilson; Sawlani, Vijay; Choppin, Sabine; Linden, David E J; Thome, Johannes

    2013-12-30

    In patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), quantitative neuroimaging techniques have revealed abnormalities in various brain regions, including the frontal cortex, striatum, cerebellum, and occipital cortex. Nonlinear signal processing techniques such as sample entropy have been used to probe the regularity of brain magnetoencephalography signals in patients with ADHD. In the present study, we extend this technique to analyse the complex output patterns of the 4 dimensional resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging signals in adult patients with ADHD. After adjusting for the effect of age, we found whole brain entropy differences (P=0.002) between groups and negative correlation (r=-0.45) between symptom scores and mean whole brain entropy values, indicating lower complexity in patients. In the regional analysis, patients showed reduced entropy in frontal and occipital regions bilaterally and a significant negative correlation between the symptom scores and the entropy maps at a family-wise error corrected cluster level of Pentropy is a useful tool in revealing abnormalities in the brain dynamics of patients with psychiatric disorders. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Studying frequency processing of the brain to enhance long-term memory and develop a human brain protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedrich, Wernher; Du, Shengzhi; Balt, Karlien

    2015-01-01

    The temporal lobe in conjunction with the hippocampus is responsible for memory processing. The gamma wave is involved with this process. To develop a human brain protocol, a better understanding of the relationship between gamma and long-term memory is vital. A more comprehensive understanding of the human brain and specific analogue waves it uses will support the development of a human brain protocol. Fifty-eight participants aged between 6 and 60 years participated in long-term memory experiments. It is envisaged that the brain could be stimulated through binaural beats (sound frequency) at 40 Hz (gamma) to enhance long-term memory capacity. EEG recordings have been transformed to sound and then to an information standard, namely ASCII. Statistical analysis showed a proportional relationship between long-term memory and gamma activity. Results from EEG recordings indicate a pattern. The pattern was obtained through the de-codification of an EEG recording to sound and then to ASCII. Stimulation of gamma should enhance long term memory capacity. More research is required to unlock the human brains' protocol key. This key will enable the processing of information directly to and from human memory via gamma, the hippocampus and the temporal lobe.

  11. Brain imaging and schizophrenia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinot, J.L.; Dao-Castellana, M.H.

    1991-01-01

    Brain structures and brain function have been investigated by the new brain imaging techniques for more than ten years. In Psychiatry, these techniques could afford a new understanding of mental diseases. In schizophrenic patients, CAT scanner and RMI pointed out statistically significant ventricular enlargments which are presently considered as evidence for abnormalities in brain maturation. Functional imaging techniques reported metabolic dysfunctions in the cortical associative areas which are probably linked to the cognitive features of schizophrenics [fr

  12. Abnormal presynaptic short-term plasticity and information processing in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Pan-Yue; Sojka, David; Klyachko, Vitaly A

    2011-07-27

    Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability and the leading genetic cause of autism. It is associated with the lack of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), a regulator of protein synthesis in axons and dendrites. Studies on FXS have extensively focused on the postsynaptic changes underlying dysfunctions in long-term plasticity. In contrast, the presynaptic mechanisms of FXS have garnered relatively little attention and are poorly understood. Activity-dependent presynaptic processes give rise to several forms of short-term plasticity (STP), which is believed to control some of essential neural functions, including information processing, working memory, and decision making. The extent of STP defects and their contributions to the pathophysiology of FXS remain essentially unknown, however. Here we report marked presynaptic abnormalities at excitatory hippocampal synapses in Fmr1 knock-out (KO) mice leading to defects in STP and information processing. Loss of FMRP led to enhanced responses to high-frequency stimulation. Fmr1 KO mice also exhibited abnormal synaptic processing of natural stimulus trains, specifically excessive enhancement during the high-frequency spike discharges associated with hippocampal place fields. Analysis of individual STP components revealed strongly increased augmentation and reduced short-term depression attributable to loss of FMRP. These changes were associated with exaggerated calcium influx in presynaptic neurons during high-frequency stimulation, enhanced synaptic vesicle recycling, and enlarged readily-releasable and reserved vesicle pools. These data suggest that loss of FMRP causes abnormal STP and information processing, which may represent a novel mechanism contributing to cognitive impairments in FXS.

  13. Disrupted Gamma Synchrony after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Its Correlation with White Matter Abnormality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI has been firmly associated with disrupted white matter integrity due to induced white matter damage and degeneration. However, comparatively less is known about the changes of the intrinsic functional connectivity mediated via neural synchronization in the brain after mTBI. Moreover, despite the presumed link between structural and functional connectivity, no existing studies in mTBI have demonstrated clear association between the structural abnormality of white matter axons and the disruption of neural synchronization. To investigate these questions, we recorded resting state EEG and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI from a cohort of military service members. A newly developed synchronization measure, the weighted phase lag index was applied on the EEG data for estimating neural synchronization. Fractional anisotropy was computed from the DTI data for estimating white matter integrity. Fifteen service members with a history of mTBI within the past 3 years were compared to 22 demographically similar controls who reported no history of head injury. We observed that synchronization at low-gamma frequency band (25–40 Hz across scalp regions was significantly decreased in mTBI cases compared with controls. The synchronization in theta (4–7 Hz, alpha (8–13 Hz, and beta (15–23 Hz frequency bands were not significantly different between the two groups. In addition, we found that across mTBI cases, the disrupted synchronization at low-gamma frequency was significantly correlated with the white matter integrity of the inferior cerebellar peduncle, which was also significantly reduced in the mTBI group. These findings demonstrate an initial correlation between the impairment of white matter integrity and alterations in EEG synchronization in the brain after mTBI. The results also suggest that disruption of intrinsic neural synchronization at low-gamma frequency may be a characteristic functional pathology

  14. Ultrasound evaluation of normal and abnormal fetuses: comparison of conventional, tissue harmonic, and pulse- inversion harmonic imaging techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Jeong Ah; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Sooah; Yang, Soon Ha; Choi, Moon Hae; Ahn, Hyeong Sik

    2003-01-01

    To determine the usefulness of tissue harmonic imaging (THI) and pulse-inversion harmonic imaging (PIHI) in the evaluation of normal and abnormal fetuses. Forty-one pregnant women who bore a total of 31 normal and ten abnormal fetuses underwent conventional ultrasonography (CUS), and then THI and PIHI. US images of six organ systems, namely the brain, spine, heart, abdomen, extremities and face were compared between the three techniques in terms of overall conspicuity and the definition of borders and internal structures. For the brain, heart, abdomen and face, overall conspicuity at THI and PIHI was significantly better than at CUS (p < 0.05). There was, though, no significant difference between THI and PIHI. Affected organs in abnormal fetuses were more clearly depicted at THI and PIHI than at CUS. Both THI and PIHI appear to be superior to CUS for the evaluation of normal or abnormal structures, particularly the brain, heart, abdomen and face

  15. Regional brain metabolite abnormalities in inherited prion disease and asymptomatic gene carriers demonstrated in vivo by quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waldman, A.D.; Cordery, R.J.; Godbolt, A.; Rossor, M.N. [University College London, Dementia Research Group, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom); Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, London (United Kingdom); MacManus, D.G. [University College London, NMR Research Unit, Department of Clinical Neurology, Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom); Collinge, J. [University College London, MRC Prion Unit, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom)

    2006-06-15

    Inherited prion diseases are caused by mutations in the gene which codes for prion protein (PrP), leading to proliferation of abnormal PrP isomers in the brain and neurodegeneration; they include Gerstmann-Straeussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD). We studied two patients with symptomatic inherited prion disease (P102L) and two pre-symptomatic P102L gene carriers using quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Short echo time spectra were acquired from the thalamus, caudate region and frontal white matter, metabolite levels and ratios were measured and z-scores calculated for individual patients relative to age-matched normal controls. MRS data were compared with structural magnetic resonance imaging. One fCJD case had generalised atrophy and showed increased levels of myo-inositol (MI) in the thalamus (z=3.7). The other had decreased levels of N-acetylaspartate (z=4) and diffuse signal abnormality in the frontal white matter. Both asymptomatic gene carriers had normal imaging, but increased frontal white matter MI (z=4.3, 4.1), and one also had increased MI in the caudate (z=5.3). Isolated MI abnormalities in asymptomatic gene carriers are a novel finding and may reflect early glial proliferation, prior to significant neuronal damage. MRS provides potential non-invasive surrogate markers of early disease and progression in inherited prion disease. (orig.)

  16. Regional brain metabolite abnormalities in inherited prion disease and asymptomatic gene carriers demonstrated in vivo by quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waldman, A.D.; Cordery, R.J.; Godbolt, A.; Rossor, M.N.; MacManus, D.G.; Collinge, J.

    2006-01-01

    Inherited prion diseases are caused by mutations in the gene which codes for prion protein (PrP), leading to proliferation of abnormal PrP isomers in the brain and neurodegeneration; they include Gerstmann-Straeussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD). We studied two patients with symptomatic inherited prion disease (P102L) and two pre-symptomatic P102L gene carriers using quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Short echo time spectra were acquired from the thalamus, caudate region and frontal white matter, metabolite levels and ratios were measured and z-scores calculated for individual patients relative to age-matched normal controls. MRS data were compared with structural magnetic resonance imaging. One fCJD case had generalised atrophy and showed increased levels of myo-inositol (MI) in the thalamus (z=3.7). The other had decreased levels of N-acetylaspartate (z=4) and diffuse signal abnormality in the frontal white matter. Both asymptomatic gene carriers had normal imaging, but increased frontal white matter MI (z=4.3, 4.1), and one also had increased MI in the caudate (z=5.3). Isolated MI abnormalities in asymptomatic gene carriers are a novel finding and may reflect early glial proliferation, prior to significant neuronal damage. MRS provides potential non-invasive surrogate markers of early disease and progression in inherited prion disease. (orig.)

  17. Super-emitters in natural gas infrastructure are caused by abnormal process conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavala-Araiza, Daniel; Alvarez, Ramón A.; Lyon, David R.; Allen, David T.; Marchese, Anthony J.; Zimmerle, Daniel J.; Hamburg, Steven P.

    2017-01-01

    Effectively mitigating methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain requires addressing the disproportionate influence of high-emitting sources. Here we use a Monte Carlo simulation to aggregate methane emissions from all components on natural gas production sites in the Barnett Shale production region (Texas). Our total emission estimates are two-thirds of those derived from independent site-based measurements. Although some high-emitting operations occur by design (condensate flashing and liquid unloadings), they occur more than an order of magnitude less frequently than required to explain the reported frequency at which high site-based emissions are observed. We conclude that the occurrence of abnormal process conditions (for example, malfunctions upstream of the point of emissions; equipment issues) cause additional emissions that explain the gap between component-based and site-based emissions. Such abnormal conditions can cause a substantial proportion of a site's gas production to be emitted to the atmosphere and are the defining attribute of super-emitting sites.

  18. Abnormal subcortical nuclei shapes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ji; Zhang, Junxiang; Liu, Xuebing; Wang, Xiaoyang; Xu, Xiangjin; Li, Hui; Cao, Bo; Yang, Yanqiu; Lu, Jingjing; Chen, Ziqian

    2017-10-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) increases the risk of brain atrophy and dementia. We aimed to elucidate deep grey matter (GM) structural abnormalities and their relationships with T2DM cognitive deficits by combining region of interest (ROI)-based volumetry, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and shape analysis. We recruited 23 T2DM patients and 24 age-matched healthy controls to undergo T1-weighted structural MRI scanning. Images were analysed using the three aforementioned methods to obtain deep GM structural shapes and volumes. Biochemical and cognitive assessments were made and were correlated with the resulting metrics. Shape analysis revealed that T2DM is associated with focal atrophy in the bilateral caudate head and dorso-medial part of the thalamus. ROI-based volumetry only detected thalamic volume reduction in T2DM when compared to the controls. No significant between-group differences were found by VBM. Furthermore, a worse performance of cognitive processing speed correlated with more severe GM atrophy in the bilateral dorso-medial part of the thalamus. Also, the GM volume in the bilateral dorso-medial part of the thalamus changed negatively with HbA 1c . Shape analysis is sensitive in identifying T2DM deep GM structural abnormalities and their relationships with cognitive impairments, which may greatly assist in clarifying the neural substrate of T2DM cognitive dysfunction. • Type 2 diabetes mellitus is accompanied with brain atrophy and cognitive dysfunction • Deep grey matter structures are essential for multiple cognitive processes • Shape analysis revealed local atrophy in the dorso-medial thalamus and caudatum in patients • Dorso-medial thalamic atrophy correlated to cognitive processing speed slowing and high HbA1c. • Shape analysis has advantages in unraveling neural substrates of diabetic cognitive deficits.

  19. Cerebral perfusion changes in traumatic diffuse brain injury. IMP SPECT studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Hiroshi; Kawashima, Ryuta; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Ishii, Kiyoshi; Onuma, Takehide.

    1997-01-01

    Diffuse brain injury (DBI) is characterized by axonal degeneration and neuronal damage which cause diffuse brain atrophy. We have investigated the time course of abnormalities in cerebral perfusion distribution in cases of DBI by using Iodine-123-IMP SPECT, and the relationship to the appearance of diffuse brain atrophy. SPECT scans were performed on eight patients with diffuse brain injury due to closed cranial trauma in acute and chronic stages. All patients showed abnormalities in cerebral perfusion with decreases in perfusion, even in non-depicted regions on MRI, and the affected areas varied throughout the period of observation. Diffuse brain atrophy appeared in all patients. In some patients, diffuse brain atrophy was observed at or just after the time when the maximum number of lesions on SPECT were seen. The abnormalities in cerebral perfusion in cases of DBI might therefore be related to axonal degeneration and neuronal damage which causes diffuse brain atrophy. (author)

  20. The brain as a distributed intelligent processing system: an EEG study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armando Freitas da Rocha

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Various neuroimaging studies, both structural and functional, have provided support for the proposal that a distributed brain network is likely to be the neural basis of intelligence. The theory of Distributed Intelligent Processing Systems (DIPS, first developed in the field of Artificial Intelligence, was proposed to adequately model distributed neural intelligent processing. In addition, the neural efficiency hypothesis suggests that individuals with higher intelligence display more focused cortical activation during cognitive performance, resulting in lower total brain activation when compared with individuals who have lower intelligence. This may be understood as a property of the DIPS. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In our study, a new EEG brain mapping technique, based on the neural efficiency hypothesis and the notion of the brain as a Distributed Intelligence Processing System, was used to investigate the correlations between IQ evaluated with WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and the brain activity associated with visual and verbal processing, in order to test the validity of a distributed neural basis for intelligence. CONCLUSION: The present results support these claims and the neural efficiency hypothesis.

  1. The Brain as a Distributed Intelligent Processing System: An EEG Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Rocha, Armando Freitas; Rocha, Fábio Theoto; Massad, Eduardo

    2011-01-01

    Background Various neuroimaging studies, both structural and functional, have provided support for the proposal that a distributed brain network is likely to be the neural basis of intelligence. The theory of Distributed Intelligent Processing Systems (DIPS), first developed in the field of Artificial Intelligence, was proposed to adequately model distributed neural intelligent processing. In addition, the neural efficiency hypothesis suggests that individuals with higher intelligence display more focused cortical activation during cognitive performance, resulting in lower total brain activation when compared with individuals who have lower intelligence. This may be understood as a property of the DIPS. Methodology and Principal Findings In our study, a new EEG brain mapping technique, based on the neural efficiency hypothesis and the notion of the brain as a Distributed Intelligence Processing System, was used to investigate the correlations between IQ evaluated with WAIS (Whechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), and the brain activity associated with visual and verbal processing, in order to test the validity of a distributed neural basis for intelligence. Conclusion The present results support these claims and the neural efficiency hypothesis. PMID:21423657

  2. Abnormalities of cortical structures in adolescent-onset conduct disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Y; Guo, X; Zhang, J; Gao, J; Wang, X; Situ, W; Yi, J; Zhang, X; Zhu, X; Yao, S; Huang, B

    2015-12-01

    Converging evidence has revealed both functional and structural abnormalities in adolescents with early-onset conduct disorder (EO-CD). The neurological abnormalities underlying EO-CD may be different from that of adolescent-onset conduct disorder (AO-CD) patients. However, the cortical structure in AO-CD patients remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the cortical alterations in AO-CD patients. We investigated T1-weighted brain images from AO-CD patients and age-, gender- and intelligence quotient-matched controls. Cortical structures including thickness, folding and surface area were measured using the surface-based morphometric method. Furthermore, we assessed impulsivity and antisocial symptoms using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Compared with the controls, we found significant cortical thinning in the paralimbic system in AO-CD patients. For the first time, we observed cortical thinning in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in AO-CD patients which has not been reported in EO-CD patients. Prominent folding abnormalities were found in the paralimbic structures and frontal cortex while diminished surface areas were shown in the precentral and inferior temporal cortex. Furthermore, cortical thickness of the paralimbic structures was found to be negatively correlated with impulsivity and antisocial behaviors measured by the BIS and APSD, respectively. The present study indicates that AO-CD is characterized by cortical structural abnormalities in the paralimbic system, and, in particular, we highlight the potential role of deficient structures including the precuneus and PCC in the etiology of AO-CD.

  3. Genetic and environmental influences on focal brain density in bipolar disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Schot, Astrid C.; Vonk, Ronald; Brouwer, Rachel M.; van Baal, G. Caroline M.; Brans, Rachel G. H.; van Haren, Neeltje E. M.; Schnack, Hugo G.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Nolen, Willem A.; Pol, Hilleke E. Hulshoff; Kahn, Rene S.

    2010-01-01

    Structural neuroimaging studies suggest the presence of subtle abnormalities in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder. The influence of genetic and/or environmental factors on these brain abnormalities is unknown. To investigate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors on grey

  4. How cortical neurons help us see: visual recognition in the human brain

    OpenAIRE

    Blumberg, Julie; Kreiman, Gabriel

    2010-01-01

    Through a series of complex transformations, the pixel-like input to the retina is converted into rich visual perceptions that constitute an integral part of visual recognition. Multiple visual problems arise due to damage or developmental abnormalities in the cortex of the brain. Here, we provide an overview of how visual information is processed along the ventral visual cortex in the human brain. We discuss how neurophysiological recordings in macaque monkeys and in humans can help us under...

  5. Covertly active and progressing neurochemical abnormalities in suppressed HIV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cysique, Lucette A; Jugé, Lauriane; Gates, Thomas; Tobia, Michael; Moffat, Kirsten; Brew, Bruce J; Rae, Caroline

    2018-01-01

    To assess whether HIV-related brain injury is progressive in persons with suppressed HIV infection. Seventy-three HIV+ virally suppressed men and 35 HIV- men, screened for psychiatric and alcohol/drug use disorders, underwent neuropsychological evaluation and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS) at baseline and after and 23 ± 5 months. 1 H-MRS included brain regions known to be vulnerable to HIV and aging: frontal white matter (FWM), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and caudate area (CA). Major brain metabolites such as creatine (Cr: marker of cellular energy), N -acetyl aspartate (NAA: marker of neuronal integrity), choline (marker of cellular membrane turnover), glutamate/glutamine (excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitter), and myo -Inositol (mI: marker of neuroinflammation) were calculated with reference to water signal. Neurocognitive decline was corrected for practice effect and baseline HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) status. Across the study period, 44% had intact cognition, 42% stable HAND (including the single case that improved), 10% progressing HAND, and 4% incident HAND. When analyzing the neurochemical data per neurocognitive trajectories, we found decreasing PCC Cr in all subgroups compared with controls ( p < 0.002). In addition, relative to the HIV- group, stable HAND showed decreasing FWM Cr, incident HAND showed steep FWM Cr reduction, whereas progressing HAND had a sharply decreasing PCC NAA and reduced but stable CA NAA. When analyzing the neurochemical data at the group level (HIV+ vs HIV- groups), we found stable abnormal metabolite concentrations over the study period: decreased FWM and PCC Cr (both p < 0.001), decreased PCC NAA and CA NAA (both p < 0.05) and PCC mI increase ( p < 0.05). HIV duration and historical HAND had modest effects on metabolite changes. Our study reveals covertly active or progressing HIV-related brain injury in the majority of this virally suppressed cohort, reflecting ongoing

  6. Delayed Mismatch Field Latencies in Autism Spectrum Disorder with Abnormal Auditory Sensitivity: A Magnetoencephalographic Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuzaki, Junko; Kagitani-Shimono, Kuriko; Sugata, Hisato; Hanaie, Ryuzo; Nagatani, Fumiyo; Yamamoto, Tomoka; Tachibana, Masaya; Tominaga, Koji; Hirata, Masayuki; Mohri, Ikuko; Taniike, Masako

    2017-01-01

    Although abnormal auditory sensitivity is the most common sensory impairment associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the neurophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. In previous studies, we reported that this abnormal sensitivity in patients with ASD is associated with delayed and prolonged responses in the auditory cortex. In the present study, we investigated alterations in residual M100 and MMFs in children with ASD who experience abnormal auditory sensitivity. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure MMF elicited by an auditory oddball paradigm (standard tones: 300 Hz, deviant tones: 700 Hz) in 20 boys with ASD (11 with abnormal auditory sensitivity: mean age, 9.62 ± 1.82 years, 9 without: mean age, 9.07 ± 1.31 years) and 13 typically developing boys (mean age, 9.45 ± 1.51 years). We found that temporal and frontal residual M100/MMF latencies were significantly longer only in children with ASD who have abnormal auditory sensitivity. In addition, prolonged residual M100/MMF latencies were correlated with the severity of abnormal auditory sensitivity in temporal and frontal areas of both hemispheres. Therefore, our findings suggest that children with ASD and abnormal auditory sensitivity may have atypical neural networks in the primary auditory area, as well as in brain areas associated with attention switching and inhibitory control processing. This is the first report of an MEG study demonstrating altered MMFs to an auditory oddball paradigm in patients with ASD and abnormal auditory sensitivity. These findings contribute to knowledge of the mechanisms for abnormal auditory sensitivity in ASD, and may therefore facilitate development of novel clinical interventions.

  7. Electroencephalogram abnormalities in full term infants with history of severe asphyxia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanti Halim

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background An electroencephalogram (EEG is an electroimaging tool used to determine developmental and electrical problems in the brain. A history of severe asphyxia is a risk factor for these brain problems in infants. Objective To evaluate the prevalence of abnormal EEGs in full term neonates and to assess for an association with severe asphyxia, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE, and spontaneous delivery. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pediatric Outpatient Department of Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar, from November 2013 to January 2014. Subjects were fullterm infants aged 1 month who were delivered and/or hospitalized at Sanglah Hospital. All subjects underwent EEG. The EEGs were interpreted by a pediatric neurology consultant, twice, with a week interval between readings. Clinical data were obtained from medical records. Association between abnormal ECG and severe asphyxia were analyzed by Chi-square and multivariable logistic analyses. Results Of 55 subjects, 27 had a history of severe asphyxia and 28 were vigorous babies. Forty percent (22/55 of subjects had abnormal EEG findings, 19/22 of these subjects having history of severe asphyxia, 15/22 had history of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE, and 20/22 were delievered vaginally. There were strong correlations between the prevalence of abnormal EEG and history of severe asphyxia, HIE, and spontaneous delivery. Conclusion Prevalence of abnormal EEG among full-term neonates referred to neurology/growth development clinic is around 40%, with most of them having a history of severe asphyxia. Abnormal EEG is significantly associated to severe asphyxia, HIE, and spontaneous delivery.

  8. Predicting the Probability of Abnormal Stimulated Growth Hormone Response in Children After Radiotherapy for Brain Tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hua Chiaho; Wu Shengjie; Chemaitilly, Wassim; Lukose, Renin C.; Merchant, Thomas E.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a mathematical model utilizing more readily available measures than stimulation tests that identifies brain tumor survivors with high likelihood of abnormal growth hormone secretion after radiotherapy (RT), to avoid late recognition and a consequent delay in growth hormone replacement therapy. Methods and Materials: We analyzed 191 prospectively collected post-RT evaluations of peak growth hormone level (arginine tolerance/levodopa stimulation test), serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), IGF-binding protein 3, height, weight, growth velocity, and body mass index in 106 children and adolescents treated for ependymoma (n = 72), low-grade glioma (n = 28) or craniopharyngioma (n = 6), who had normal growth hormone levels before RT. Normal level in this study was defined as the peak growth hormone response to the stimulation test ≥7 ng/mL. Results: Independent predictor variables identified by multivariate logistic regression with high statistical significance (p < 0.0001) included IGF-1 z score, weight z score, and hypothalamic dose. The developed predictive model demonstrated a strong discriminatory power with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.883. At a potential cutoff point of probability of 0.3 the sensitivity was 80% and specificity 78%. Conclusions: Without unpleasant and expensive frequent stimulation tests, our model provides a quantitative approach to closely follow the growth hormone secretory capacity of brain tumor survivors. It allows identification of high-risk children for subsequent confirmatory tests and in-depth workup for diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency.

  9. Predicting the Probability of Abnormal Stimulated Growth Hormone Response in Children After Radiotherapy for Brain Tumors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hua Chiaho, E-mail: Chia-Ho.Hua@stjude.org [Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Wu Shengjie [Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Chemaitilly, Wassim [Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatric Medicine, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Lukose, Renin C.; Merchant, Thomas E. [Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States)

    2012-11-15

    Purpose: To develop a mathematical model utilizing more readily available measures than stimulation tests that identifies brain tumor survivors with high likelihood of abnormal growth hormone secretion after radiotherapy (RT), to avoid late recognition and a consequent delay in growth hormone replacement therapy. Methods and Materials: We analyzed 191 prospectively collected post-RT evaluations of peak growth hormone level (arginine tolerance/levodopa stimulation test), serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), IGF-binding protein 3, height, weight, growth velocity, and body mass index in 106 children and adolescents treated for ependymoma (n = 72), low-grade glioma (n = 28) or craniopharyngioma (n = 6), who had normal growth hormone levels before RT. Normal level in this study was defined as the peak growth hormone response to the stimulation test {>=}7 ng/mL. Results: Independent predictor variables identified by multivariate logistic regression with high statistical significance (p < 0.0001) included IGF-1 z score, weight z score, and hypothalamic dose. The developed predictive model demonstrated a strong discriminatory power with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.883. At a potential cutoff point of probability of 0.3 the sensitivity was 80% and specificity 78%. Conclusions: Without unpleasant and expensive frequent stimulation tests, our model provides a quantitative approach to closely follow the growth hormone secretory capacity of brain tumor survivors. It allows identification of high-risk children for subsequent confirmatory tests and in-depth workup for diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency.

  10. Clinical significance of brain SPECT abnormalities of thalami and cerebellum in cerebral palsy with normal MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, C. H.; Lim, S. Y.; Lee, I. Y.; Kim, O. H.; Bai, M. S.; Kim, S. J.; Yoon, S. N.; Cho, C. W. [College of Medicine, Ajou Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-07-01

    The cerebral palsy(CP) encephalopathies are often of uncertain etiology and various functional image findings comparing with anatomical image findings have been reported. However, only a few have mentioned its clinical implications. The purpose of our report is to compare clinical severity and functional SPECT abnormalities of thalami and cerebellum in CP patients with normal MRI. Thirty six CP patients with bilateral spastic palsy who had normal MRI and brain SPECT were studied from July 1996 to September 1997. The patients' age at the time of SPECT was 22.84{+-}17.69 months. The patients were divided into two groups according to motor quotient(MQ); moderate defect (>50MQ : n=27 MQ=22.78{+-}10.36), mild defect (<50MQ : n=9, MQ=66.11{+-}13.87). The degree of rCBF decrease between the two groups was evaluated by {chi}{sup 2} test. Brain SPECT was performed following IV administration of 0.05-0.1 mCi/kg (minimum 2.0 mCi) of Tc-99m ECD and chloral hydrate sedation (50-80 mg/kg p.o) using a triple head system (MS 3, Siemens). Interpretation of brain SPECT was visual analysis: severe decrease is defined when the defect is moderate to marked and mild decrease in rCBF as mild. Seven of 36 (19.4%) showed unilateral or bilateral moderate decrease in rCBF in thalami, 20(55.6%) showed mild decrease, and 9(25.0%) showed no decreased rCBF. All 7 who had moderate thalamic defect reveled moderate motor defect clinically. Ten of 36(27.9%) revealed unilateral or bilateral moderate rCBF defect, 23 (63.9%) depicted mild defect, and 3(8.3%) showed no defect. Sixteen with moderate thalamic rCBF defect showed moderate motor defect in 15 patients. There was statistically significant (p=0.02605) relationship between rCBF defect and motor defect in our CP patients. In conclusion, brain SPECT appears sensitive, non-invasive tool in the evaluation as well as in the prognostication of bilateral spastic cerebral palsy patients and deserves further study using larger number of patients.

  11. Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy With Clinical and Imaging Abnormalities Limited to Occipital Lobe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Hemant A; Trobe, Jonathan D

    2016-09-01

    The vulnerable brain areas in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) following systemic hypotension are typically the neocortex, deep cerebral gray nuclei, hippocampus, cerebellum, and the parieto-occipital arterial border zone region. The visual cortex is not commonly recognized as a target in this setting. Single-institution review from 2007 to 2015 of patients who suffered cortical visual loss as an isolated clinical manifestation following systemic hypotension and whose brain imaging showed abnormalities limited to the occipital lobe. Nine patients met inclusion criteria. Visual loss at outset ranged from hand movements to 20/20, but all patients had homonymous field loss at best. In 1 patient, imaging was initially normal but 4 months later showed encephalomalacia. In 2 patients, imaging was initially subtle enough to be recognized as abnormal only when radiologists were advised that cortical visual loss was present. The occipital lobe may be an isolated target in HIE with cortical visual loss as the only clinical manifestation. Imaging performed in the acute period may appear normal or disclose abnormalities subtle enough to be overlooked. Radiologists informed of the clinical manifestations may be more attune to these abnormalities, which will become more apparent months later when occipital volume loss develops.

  12. The usefulness of brain MRI and CT in the clinical practice of epilepsia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horita, Hideki [Jikei Univ., Komae, Tokyo (Japan). Daisan Hospital; Maekawa, Kihei

    1995-09-01

    This study was conducted to clarify the usefulness of brain MRI and CT in the clinical practice of epilepsy. The subjects were 100 epileptic child patients (average age, 13.2{+-}8.2 years) who underwent brain MRI, including 93 patients who also underwent brain CT. Twenty-two abnormal findings were obtained by MRI and 25 by CT. Thirty-nine patients who had complications such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or the overlapping disorders showed abnormal findings in a significantly high incidence. No significant correlations existed between the presence or absence of abnormal findings and the disease course after seizures. Patients with symptomatic localization-related epilepsies or cryptogenic and symptomatic generalized epilepsies showed abnormal findings in a significantly high incidence and unfavorable disease course after seizures. In 10 of 28 patients who showed abnormal findings, the abnormal finding site on images were correlated to the focus site on electroencephalograms. In conclusion, brain MRI and CT are essential in the clinical practice of epilepsy, however, we should notice the limitation of these methods. (Y.S.).

  13. The usefulness of brain MRI and CT in the clinical practice of epilepsia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horita, Hideki; Maekawa, Kihei.

    1995-01-01

    This study was conducted to clarify the usefulness of brain MRI and CT in the clinical practice of epilepsy. The subjects were 100 epileptic child patients (average age, 13.2±8.2 years) who underwent brain MRI, including 93 patients who also underwent brain CT. Twenty-two abnormal findings were obtained by MRI and 25 by CT. Thirty-nine patients who had complications such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or the overlapping disorders showed abnormal findings in a significantly high incidence. No significant correlations existed between the presence or absence of abnormal findings and the disease course after seizures. Patients with symptomatic localization-related epilepsies or cryptogenic and symptomatic generalized epilepsies showed abnormal findings in a significantly high incidence and unfavorable disease course after seizures. In 10 of 28 patients who showed abnormal findings, the abnormal finding site on images were correlated to the focus site on electroencephalograms. In conclusion, brain MRI and CT are essential in the clinical practice of epilepsy, however, we should notice the limitation of these methods. (Y.S.)

  14. 2-d spectroscopic imaging of brain tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferris, N.J.; Brotchie, P.R.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: This poster illustrates the use of two-dimensional spectroscopic imaging (2-D SI) in the characterisation of brain tumours, and the monitoring of subsequent treatment. After conventional contrast-enhanced MR imaging of patients with known or suspected brain tumours, 2-D SI is performed at a single axial level. The level is chosen to include the maximum volume of abnormal enhancement, or, in non-enhancing lesions. The most extensive T2 signal abnormality. Two different MR systems have been used (Marconi Edge and GE Signa LX); at each site, a PRESS localisation sequence is employed with TE 128-144 ms. Automated software is used to generate spectral arrays, metabolite maps, and metabolite ratio maps from the spectroscopic data. Colour overlays of the maps onto anatomical images are produced using manufacturer software or the Medex imaging data analysis package. High grade gliomas showed choline levels higher than those in apparently normal brain, with decreases in NAA and creatine. Some lesions showed spectral abnormality extending into otherwise normal appearing brain. This was also seen in a case of CNS lymphoma. Lowgrade lesions showed choline levels similar to normal brain, but with decreased NAA. Only a small number of metastases have been studied, but to date no metastasis has shown spectral abnormality beyond the margins suggested by conventional imaging. Follow-up studies generally show spectral heterogeneity. Regions with choline levels higher than those in normal-appearing brain are considered to represent recurrent high-grade tumour. Some regions show choline to be the dominant metabolite, but its level is not greater than that seen in normal brain. These regions are considered suspicious for residual / recurrent tumour when the choline / creatine ratio exceeds 2 (lower ratios may represent treatment effect). 2-D SI improves the initial assessment of brain tumours, and has potential for influencing the radiotherapy treatment strategy. 2-D SI also

  15. Abnormal wiring of the connectome in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

    OpenAIRE

    Roine, Ulrika; Roine, Timo; Salmi, Juha; Nieminen-von Wendt, Taina; Tani, Pekka; Lepp?m?ki, Sami; Rintahaka, Pertti; Caeyenberghs, Karen; Leemans, Alexander; Sams, Mikko

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Background Recent brain imaging findings suggest that there are widely distributed abnormalities affecting the brain connectivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using graph theoretical analysis, it is possible to investigate both global and local properties of brain’s wiring diagram, i.e., the connectome. Methods We acquired diffusion-...

  16. Altered whole-brain connectivity in albinism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welton, Thomas; Ather, Sarim; Proudlock, Frank A; Gottlob, Irene; Dineen, Robert A

    2017-02-01

    Albinism is a group of congenital disorders of the melanin synthesis pathway. Multiple ocular, white matter and cortical abnormalities occur in albinism, including a greater decussation of nerve fibres at the optic chiasm, foveal hypoplasia and nystagmus. Despite this, visual perception is largely preserved. It was proposed that this may be attributable to reorganisation among cerebral networks, including an increased interhemispheric connectivity of the primary visual areas. A graph-theoretic model was applied to explore brain connectivity networks derived from resting-state functional and diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging data in 23 people with albinism and 20 controls. They tested for group differences in connectivity between primary visual areas and in summary network organisation descriptors. Main findings were supplemented with analyses of control regions, brain volumes and white matter microstructure. Significant functional interhemispheric hyperconnectivity of the primary visual areas in the albinism group were found (P = 0.012). Tests of interhemispheric connectivity based on the diffusion-tensor data showed no significant group difference (P = 0.713). Second, it was found that a range of functional whole-brain network metrics were abnormal in people with albinism, including the clustering coefficient (P = 0.005), although this may have been driven partly by overall differences in connectivity, rather than reorganisation. Based on the results, it was suggested that changes occur in albinism at the whole-brain level, and not just within the visual processing pathways. It was proposed that their findings may reflect compensatory adaptations to increased chiasmic decussation, foveal hypoplasia and nystagmus. Hum Brain Mapp 38:740-752, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. The intellectual capacity of patients with Laron syndrome (LS) differs with various molecular defects of the growth hormone receptor gene. Correlation with CNS abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shevah, O; Kornreich, L; Galatzer, A; Laron, Z

    2005-12-01

    The correlation between the molecular defects of the GH receptor (R), psychosocial development and brain abnormalities were evaluated in 10 patients with Laron syndrome (LS), in whom all data were available. The findings revealed that the intelligence quotient (IQ) and abnormalities in the brain of the patients with LS differ with various molecular defects of the GH-receptor. The most severe mental deficits and brain pathology occurred in patients with 3, 5, 6 exon deletion. Patients with point mutations in exons 2, 4 and 7 presented various degrees of medium to mild CNS abnormalities that correlated with the IQ. Notably, the patient with the E180 splice mutation in exon 6 had a normal IQ, which fits the report on normal IQ in a large Ecuadorian cohort with the same mutation. This is the first report to support a correlation between IQ, brain abnormalities and localization of the molecular defects in the GH-R gene. As all patients with LS are IGF-I-deficient, it must be assumed that other as yet unknown factors related to the molecular defects in the GH-R are the major cause of the differences in intellect and brain abnormalities.

  18. Brain's tumor image processing using shearlet transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadena, Luis; Espinosa, Nikolai; Cadena, Franklin; Korneeva, Anna; Kruglyakov, Alexey; Legalov, Alexander; Romanenko, Alexey; Zotin, Alexander

    2017-09-01

    Brain tumor detection is well known research area for medical and computer scientists. In last decades there has been much research done on tumor detection, segmentation, and classification. Medical imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis of brain tumors and nowadays uses methods non-invasive, high-resolution techniques, especially magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans. Edge detection is a fundamental tool in image processing, particularly in the areas of feature detection and feature extraction, which aim at identifying points in a digital image at which the image has discontinuities. Shearlets is the most successful frameworks for the efficient representation of multidimensional data, capturing edges and other anisotropic features which frequently dominate multidimensional phenomena. The paper proposes an improved brain tumor detection method by automatically detecting tumor location in MR images, its features are extracted by new shearlet transform.

  19. Abnormalities in structural covariance of cortical gyrification in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaniyappan, Lena; Park, Bert; Balain, Vijender; Dangi, Raj; Liddle, Peter

    2015-07-01

    The highly convoluted shape of the adult human brain results from several well-coordinated maturational events that start from embryonic development and extend through the adult life span. Disturbances in these maturational events can result in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, resulting in abnormal patterns of morphological relationship among cortical structures (structural covariance). Structural covariance can be studied using graph theory-based approaches that evaluate topological properties of brain networks. Covariance-based graph metrics allow cross-sectional study of coordinated maturational relationship among brain regions. Disrupted gyrification of focal brain regions is a consistent feature of schizophrenia. However, it is unclear if these localized disturbances result from a failure of coordinated development of brain regions in schizophrenia. We studied the structural covariance of gyrification in a sample of 41 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls by constructing gyrification-based networks using a 3-dimensional index. We found that several key regions including anterior insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex show increased segregation in schizophrenia, alongside reduced segregation in somato-sensory and occipital regions. Patients also showed a lack of prominence of the distributed covariance (hubness) of cingulate cortex. The abnormal segregated folding pattern in the right peri-sylvian regions (insula and fronto-temporal cortex) was associated with greater severity of illness. The study of structural covariance in cortical folding supports the presence of subtle deviation in the coordinated development of cortical convolutions in schizophrenia. The heterogeneity in the severity of schizophrenia could be explained in part by aberrant trajectories of neurodevelopment.

  20. Tutorial: Signal Processing in Brain-Computer Interfaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Garcia Molina, G.

    2010-01-01

    Research in Electroencephalogram (EEG) based Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) has been considerably expanding during the last few years. Such an expansion owes to a large extent to the multidisciplinary and challenging nature of BCI research. Signal processing undoubtedly constitutes an essential

  1. Message processing in the human brain. III

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gerke, P

    1983-10-07

    For pt.II see ibid., no.19, p.95-100 (1983). The general problem of the possibly achievable super brain is discussed, and subtle differences between various linkages leading to selective processes, creativity decision making and speculative assessments are pointed out and translated into possible approaches to the making of machine intelligence. Generally, associative sequences for processing of large data flows cannot be attempted without the provision of generally valid linkage rules. Such coordination steps are considered first, the brain-machine simulation being built-up vertically on 6 levels and horizontally as recognition stages in an event. These six levels are: repertoire (i.e. vocabulary); definition; scene; happenings; spatial linkages; temporal linkages. Event simulation proceeds from the descriptive to the cognitive situation. Speculative discussions continue with the gradual introduction of computer hardware and software concepts to be adapted for intelligence simulation; thus, the simplest associative process could start with an adder network and proceed to a virtual expert system, which would include teaching by example, autonomous control, non-procedural language, all these governed by schedules.

  2. Computation and brain processes, with special reference to neuroendocrine systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toni, Roberto; Spaletta, Giulia; Casa, Claudia Della; Ravera, Simone; Sandri, Giorgio

    2007-01-01

    The development of neural networks and brain automata has made neuroscientists aware that the performance limits of these brain-like devices lies, at least in part, in their computational power. The computational basis of a. standard cybernetic design, in fact, refers to that of a discrete and finite state machine or Turing Machine (TM). In contrast, it has been suggested that a number of human cerebral activites, from feedback controls up to mental processes, rely on a mixing of both finitary, digital-like and infinitary, continuous-like procedures. Therefore, the central nervous system (CNS) of man would exploit a form of computation going beyond that of a TM. This "non conventional" computation has been called hybrid computation. Some basic structures for hybrid brain computation are believed to be the brain computational maps, in which both Turing-like (digital) computation and continuous (analog) forms of calculus might occur. The cerebral cortex and brain stem appears primary candidate for this processing. However, also neuroendocrine structures like the hypothalamus are believed to exhibit hybrid computional processes, and might give rise to computational maps. Current theories on neural activity, including wiring and volume transmission, neuronal group selection and dynamic evolving models of brain automata, bring fuel to the existence of natural hybrid computation, stressing a cooperation between discrete and continuous forms of communication in the CNS. In addition, the recent advent of neuromorphic chips, like those to restore activity in damaged retina and visual cortex, suggests that assumption of a discrete-continuum polarity in designing biocompatible neural circuitries is crucial for their ensuing performance. In these bionic structures, in fact, a correspondence exists between the original anatomical architecture and synthetic wiring of the chip, resulting in a correspondence between natural and cybernetic neural activity. Thus, chip "form

  3. Abnormal GABAergic function and face processing in schizophrenia: A pharmacologic-fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tso, Ivy F; Fang, Yu; Phan, K Luan; Welsh, Robert C; Taylor, Stephan F

    2015-10-01

    The involvement of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in schizophrenia is suggested by postmortem studies and the common use of GABA receptor-potentiating agents in treatment. In a recent study, we used a benzodiazepine challenge to demonstrate abnormal GABAergic function during processing of negative visual stimuli in schizophrenia. This study extended this investigation by mapping GABAergic mechanisms associated with face processing and social appraisal in schizophrenia using a benzodiazepine challenge. Fourteen stable, medicated schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients (SZ) and 13 healthy controls (HC) underwent functional MRI using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) technique while they performed the Socio-emotional Preference Task (SePT) on emotional face stimuli ("Do you like this face?"). Participants received single-blinded intravenous saline and lorazepam (LRZ) in two separate sessions separated by 1-3weeks. Both SZ and HC recruited medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate during the SePT, relative to gender identification. A significant drug by group interaction was observed in the medial occipital cortex, such that SZ showed increased BOLD signal to LRZ challenge, while HC showed an expected decrease of signal; the interaction did not vary by task. The altered BOLD response to LRZ challenge in SZ was significantly correlated with increased negative affect across multiple measures. The altered response to LRZ challenge suggests that abnormal face processing and negative affect in SZ are associated with altered GABAergic function in the visual cortex, underscoring the role of impaired visual processing in socio-emotional deficits in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Regional cerebral blood flow abnormalities in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cermik, Tevfik F.; Kaya, Meryem; Bedel, Deniz; Berkarda, Sakir; Yigitbasi, Oemer N.; Ugur-Altun, Betuel

    2007-01-01

    We assessed the alterations in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) before parathyroidectomy by semiquantitative analysis of brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. Included in this prospective study were 14 patients (mean age 47.6 ± 10.4 years; 3 male, 11 female) and 10 control subjects (mean age 36.0 ± 8.5 years, 6 male, 4 female) were SPECT imaging was performed using a dual-headed gamma camera 60-90 min after intravenous administration of 925 MBq Tc-99m HMPAO. The corticocerebellar rCBF ratios were calculated from 52 brain areas and reference lower values (RLVs) were calculated from the rCBF ratios of control subjects. The regional ratios that were below the corresponding RLV were considered abnormal (hypoperfused). Hypoperfusion was shown in 171 out of 728 regions (23%) and there was a significant correlation between serum calcium, PTH levels and the sum of hypoperfused regions in the patient group (R = 0.75 and P = 0.001, and R = 0.75, P = 0.001, respectively). Significantly reduced rCBF were found in the following cortical regions: bilateral cingulate cortex, superior and inferior frontal cortex, anterior temporal cortex, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and parietal cortex, and right posterior temporal cortex. Our results indicate that alterations in rCBF in patients with PHP can be demonstrated with brain SPECT. The correlation between serum calcium, PTH levels and the sum of hypoperfused regions indicates that there may be a strong relationship between rCBF abnormalities and increased levels of serum calcium and PTH. In addition, the degree of rCBF abnormalities could be determined by brain SPECT in PHP patients with or without psychiatric symptoms. (orig.)

  5. Regional cerebral blood flow abnormalities in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cermik, Tevfik F. [Hospital of the University of Trakya, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Edirne (Turkey); Trakya Universitesi Hastanesi, Nukleer Tip Anabilim Dali, Gullapoglu Yerleskesi, Edirne (Turkey); Kaya, Meryem; Bedel, Deniz; Berkarda, Sakir; Yigitbasi, Oemer N. [Hospital of the University of Trakya, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Edirne (Turkey); Ugur-Altun, Betuel [Hospital of the University of Trakya, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Edirne (Turkey)

    2007-04-15

    We assessed the alterations in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) before parathyroidectomy by semiquantitative analysis of brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. Included in this prospective study were 14 patients (mean age 47.6 {+-} 10.4 years; 3 male, 11 female) and 10 control subjects (mean age 36.0 {+-} 8.5 years, 6 male, 4 female) were SPECT imaging was performed using a dual-headed gamma camera 60-90 min after intravenous administration of 925 MBq Tc-99m HMPAO. The corticocerebellar rCBF ratios were calculated from 52 brain areas and reference lower values (RLVs) were calculated from the rCBF ratios of control subjects. The regional ratios that were below the corresponding RLV were considered abnormal (hypoperfused). Hypoperfusion was shown in 171 out of 728 regions (23%) and there was a significant correlation between serum calcium, PTH levels and the sum of hypoperfused regions in the patient group (R = 0.75 and P = 0.001, and R = 0.75, P = 0.001, respectively). Significantly reduced rCBF were found in the following cortical regions: bilateral cingulate cortex, superior and inferior frontal cortex, anterior temporal cortex, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and parietal cortex, and right posterior temporal cortex. Our results indicate that alterations in rCBF in patients with PHP can be demonstrated with brain SPECT. The correlation between serum calcium, PTH levels and the sum of hypoperfused regions indicates that there may be a strong relationship between rCBF abnormalities and increased levels of serum calcium and PTH. In addition, the degree of rCBF abnormalities could be determined by brain SPECT in PHP patients with or without psychiatric symptoms. (orig.)

  6. Neural mechanisms of oculomotor abnormalities in the infantile strabismus syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, Mark M G; Pallus, Adam; Fleuriet, Jérome; Mustari, Michael J; Tarczy-Hornoch, Kristina

    2017-07-01

    Infantile strabismus is characterized by numerous visual and oculomotor abnormalities. Recently nonhuman primate models of infantile strabismus have been established, with characteristics that closely match those observed in human patients. This has made it possible to study the neural basis for visual and oculomotor symptoms in infantile strabismus. In this review, we consider the available evidence for neural abnormalities in structures related to oculomotor pathways ranging from visual cortex to oculomotor nuclei. These studies provide compelling evidence that a disturbance of binocular vision during a sensitive period early in life, whatever the cause, results in a cascade of abnormalities through numerous brain areas involved in visual functions and eye movements. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  7. The use of gammophos to prevent the delayed radiation injury to brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaposhnikova, V.V.; Levitman, M.Kh.; Plotnikova, E.D.; Ehjdus, L.Kh.

    1987-01-01

    The influence of a radioprotector, gammaphos, on the development of delayed vascular changes and necrosis in rat brain following local brain irradiation with 25 Gy was investigated. The radioprotective effect was manifested by both the morphometric parameters of vessels and the survival rate and relative number of animals with gross vascular abnormalities and brain necrosis. There was a causative relationship between the development of gross vascular abnormalities and the occurrence of brain necrosis after exposure to moderate radiation doses

  8. Changes of FDG brain uptake in patients with abnormal thyroid function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Wen-Sheng; Chang, Chih-Yung; Cheng, Cheng Yi

    2009-01-01

    Full text: Objective: To investigate FOG brain uptake in patients with hypo- and subclinical hyperthyroidism undergoing whole-body FOG PET/CT. Methods: Sixty-four patients who had received total thyroidectomy for thyroid carcinoma underwent whole-body FDG PETI CT. Thirty-two of them received imaging in subclinical hyperthyroid status (15 males; 17 females; mean age, 55 ± 14 years) while the other 32 age-matched patients underwent the scan 4 wk after thyroid hormone withdrawal (12 males; 20 females; mean age, 56 ± 13 years). Brain images were performed I h after 370 MBq intravenous injection using a dedicated PET/CT (Siemens Biograph BGO duo). FOG-uptake was quantified by the standardized uptake value (SUY), normalized to patient's body weight. The volume of brain was determined by PET with 40% maximum SUY threshold. The brain mean SUV (SUY mean) were calculated in each patient. Data were compared between the two groups. Results: The brain mean SUYs for the hypothyroid patients ranged between 3.11 and 6.35 (averaged SUY mean 5.13 ± 0.91) while those of the subclinical hyperthyroid patients varied from 3.53 to 8.29 (mean SUY mean 5.77 ± 1.04). There was a significant global reduction of brain FDG uptake in the hypothyroid group (II.] %, P < 0.0 I) but no significant changes in the sub-clinical hyperthyroid group compared to the controls. Conclusion: FDG brain uptake in subclinical hyperthyroid patients was significantly greater than that of patients with hypothyroidism, suggesting effects of thyroid hormone on cerebral glucose metabolism.

  9. Dissociable meta-analytic brain networks contribute to coordinated emotional processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel, Michael C; Yanes, Julio A; Ray, Kimberly L; Eickhoff, Simon B; Fox, Peter T; Sutherland, Matthew T; Laird, Angela R

    2018-06-01

    Meta-analytic techniques for mining the neuroimaging literature continue to exert an impact on our conceptualization of functional brain networks contributing to human emotion and cognition. Traditional theories regarding the neurobiological substrates contributing to affective processing are shifting from regional- towards more network-based heuristic frameworks. To elucidate differential brain network involvement linked to distinct aspects of emotion processing, we applied an emergent meta-analytic clustering approach to the extensive body of affective neuroimaging results archived in the BrainMap database. Specifically, we performed hierarchical clustering on the modeled activation maps from 1,747 experiments in the affective processing domain, resulting in five meta-analytic groupings of experiments demonstrating whole-brain recruitment. Behavioral inference analyses conducted for each of these groupings suggested dissociable networks supporting: (1) visual perception within primary and associative visual cortices, (2) auditory perception within primary auditory cortices, (3) attention to emotionally salient information within insular, anterior cingulate, and subcortical regions, (4) appraisal and prediction of emotional events within medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, and (5) induction of emotional responses within amygdala and fusiform gyri. These meta-analytic outcomes are consistent with a contemporary psychological model of affective processing in which emotionally salient information from perceived stimuli are integrated with previous experiences to engender a subjective affective response. This study highlights the utility of using emergent meta-analytic methods to inform and extend psychological theories and suggests that emotions are manifest as the eventual consequence of interactions between large-scale brain networks. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Functional neuroimaging abnormalities in idiopathic generalized epilepsy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan L. McGill

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI techniques have been used to quantitatively assess focal and network abnormalities. Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE is characterized by bilateral synchronous spike–wave discharges on electroencephalography (EEG but normal clinical MRI. Dysfunctions involving the neocortex, particularly the prefrontal cortex, and thalamus likely contribute to seizure activity. To identify possible morphometric and functional differences in the brains of IGE patients and normal controls, we employed measures of thalamic volumes, cortical thickness, gray–white blurring, fractional anisotropy (FA measures from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF in thalamic subregions from resting state functional MRI. Data from 27 patients with IGE and 27 age- and sex-matched controls showed similar thalamic volumes, cortical thickness and gray–white contrast. There were no differences in FA values on DTI in tracts connecting the thalamus and prefrontal cortex. Functional analysis revealed decreased fALFF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC subregion of the thalamus in patients with IGE. We provide minimum detectable effect sizes for each measure used in the study. Our analysis indicates that fMRI-based methods are more sensitive than quantitative structural techniques for characterizing brain abnormalities in IGE.

  11. Leading research on brain functional information processing; No kino joho shori no sendo kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    This research aims at searching the concept of an information processing device with a fully different architecture from a previous ones based on the study on human brain function, sense and perception, and developing the basic fabrication technology for such system, and realizing the human-like information processing mechanism of memorization, learning, association, perception, intuition and value judgement. As an approach deriving biological and technological models from experimental brain studies, the model was derived from the brain functional information processing based on brain development/differentiation mechanism, the control mechanism/material of brain activities, and the knowledge obtained from brain measurement and study. In addition, for understanding a brain oscillation phenomenon by computational neuroscience, the cerebral cortex neural network model composed of realistic neuron models was proposed. Evaluation of the previous large-scale neural network chip system showed its ability of learning and fast processing, however, the next-generation brain computer requires further R and D of some novel architecture, device and system. 184 refs., 41 figs., 2 tabs.

  12. Lateralization of Egocentric and Allocentric Spatial Processing after Parietal Brain Lesions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iachini, Tina; Ruggiero, Gennaro; Conson, Massimiliano; Trojano, Luigi

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this paper was to verify whether left and right parietal brain lesions may selectively impair egocentric and allocentric processing of spatial information in near/far spaces. Two Right-Brain-Damaged (RBD), 2 Left-Brain-Damaged (LBD) patients (not affected by neglect or language disturbances) and eight normal controls were submitted…

  13. Microvascular and Macrovascular Abnormalities and Cognitive and Physical Function in Older Adults: Cardiovascular Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dae Hyun; Grodstein, Francine; Newman, Anne B; Chaves, Paulo H M; Odden, Michelle C; Klein, Ronald; Sarnak, Mark J; Lipsitz, Lewis A

    2015-09-01

    To evaluate and compare the associations between microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities and cognitive and physical function Cross-sectional analysis of the Cardiovascular Health Study (1998-1999). Community. Individuals with available data on three or more of five microvascular abnormalities (brain, retina, kidney) and three or more of six macrovascular abnormalities (brain, carotid artery, heart, peripheral artery) (N = 2,452; mean age 79.5). Standardized composite scores derived from three cognitive tests (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, Digit-Symbol Substitution Test, Trail-Making Test (TMT)) and three physical tests (gait speed, grip strength, 5-time sit to stand) Participants with high microvascular and macrovascular burden had worse cognitive (mean score difference = -0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.37 to -0.24) and physical (mean score difference = -0.32, 95% CI = -0.38 to -0.26) function than those with low microvascular and macrovascular burden. Individuals with high microvascular burden alone had similarly lower scores than those with high macrovascular burden alone (cognitive function: -0.16, 95% CI = -0.24 to -0.08 vs -0.13, 95% CI = -0.20 to -0.06; physical function: -0.15, 95% CI = -0.22 to -0.08 vs -0.12, 95% CI = -0.18 to -0.06). Psychomotor speed and working memory, assessed using the TMT, were only impaired in the presence of high microvascular burden. Of the 11 vascular abnormalities considered, white matter hyperintensity, cystatin C-based glomerular filtration rate, large brain infarct, and ankle-arm index were independently associated with cognitive and physical function. Microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities assessed using noninvasive tests of the brain, kidney, and peripheral artery were independently associated with poor cognitive and physical function in older adults. Future research should evaluate the usefulness of these tests in prognostication. © 2015, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2015

  14. Left globus pallidus abnormality in never-medicated patients with schizophrenia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Early, T.S.; Reiman, E.M.; Raichle, M.E.; Spitznagel, E.L.

    1987-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by onset in young adulthood, the occurrence of hallucinations and delusions, and the development of enduring psychosocial disability. The pathophysiology of this disorder remains unknown. Studies of cerebral blood flow and metabolism designed to identify brain abnormalities in schizophrenia have been limited by inadequate methods of anatomical localization and the possibility of persistent medication effects. The authors have now used positron emission tomography and a validated method of anatomical localization in an attempt to identify abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow in newly diagnosed never-medicated patients with schizophrenia. An exploratory study of 5 patients and 10 normal control subjects identified abnormally high blood flow in the left globus pallidus of patients with schizophrenia. A replication study of 5 additional patients and 10 additional control subjects confirmed this finding. No other abnormalities were found

  15. Regional Abnormality of Grey Matter in Schizophrenia: Effect from the Illness or Treatment?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Yue

    Full Text Available Both schizophrenia and antipsychotic treatment are known to modulate brain morphology. However, it is difficult to establish whether observed structural brain abnormalities are due to disease or the effects of treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of illness and antipsychotic treatment on brain structures in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode schizophrenia based on a longitudinal short-term design. Twenty antipsychotic-naïve subjects with first-episode schizophrenia and twenty-four age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent 3T MRI scans. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM was used to examine the brain structural abnormality in patients compared to healthy controls. Nine patients were included in the follow-up examination after 8 weeks of treatment. Tensor-based morphometry (TBM was used to identify longitudinal brain structural changes. We observed significantly reduced grey matter volume in the right superior temporal gyrus in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. After 8 weeks of treatment, patients showed significantly increased grey matter volume primarily in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, insula, right thalamus, left superior occipital cortex and the bilateral cerebellum. In addition, a greater enlargement of the prefrontal cortex is associated with the improvement in negative symptoms, and a more enlarged thalamus is associated with greater improvement in positive symptoms. Our results suggest the following: (1 the abnormality in the right superior temporal gyrus is present in the early stages of schizophrenia, possibly representing the core region related to schizophrenia; and (2 atypical antipsychotics could modulate brain morphology involving the thalamus, cortical grey matter and cerebellum. In addition, examination of the prefrontal cortex and thalamus might facilitate an efficient response to atypical antipsychotics in terms of symptom improvement.

  16. Detecting gait abnormalities after concussion or mild traumatic brain injury: A systematic review of single-task, dual-task, and complex gait.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fino, Peter C; Parrington, Lucy; Pitt, Will; Martini, Douglas N; Chesnutt, James C; Chou, Li-Shan; King, Laurie A

    2018-05-01

    While a growing number of studies have investigated the effects of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on gait, many studies use different experimental paradigms and outcome measures. The path for translating experimental studies for objective clinical assessments of gait is unclear. This review asked 2 questions: 1) is gait abnormal after concussion/mTBI, and 2) what gait paradigms (single-task, dual-task, complex gait) detect abnormalities after concussion. Data sources included MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) accessed on March 14, 2017. Original research articles reporting gait outcomes in people with concussion or mTBI were included. Studies of moderate, severe, or unspecified TBI, and studies without a comparator were excluded. After screening 233 articles, 38 studies were included and assigned to one or more sections based on the protocol and reported outcomes. Twenty-six articles reported single-task simple gait outcomes, 24 reported dual-task simple gait outcomes, 21 reported single-task complex gait outcomes, and 10 reported dual-task complex gait outcomes. Overall, this review provides evidence for two conclusions: 1) gait is abnormal acutely after concussion/mTBI but generally resolves over time; and 2) the inconsistency of findings, small sample sizes, and small number of studies examining homogenous measures at the same time-period post-concussion highlight the need for replication across independent populations and investigators. Future research should concentrate on dual-task and complex gait tasks, as they showed promise for detecting abnormal locomotor function outside of the acute timeframe. Additionally, studies should provide detailed demographic and clinical characteristics to enable more refined comparisons across studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Compressive sensing-based electrostatic sensor array signal processing and exhausted abnormal debris detecting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Xin; Chen, Zhongsheng; Li, Yue; Yang, Yongmin

    2018-05-01

    When faults happen at gas path components of gas turbines, some sparsely-distributed and charged debris will be generated and released into the exhaust gas. The debris is called abnormal debris. Electrostatic sensors can detect the debris online and further indicate the faults. It is generally considered that, under a specific working condition, a more serious fault generates more and larger debris, and a piece of larger debris carries more charge. Therefore, the amount and charge of the abnormal debris are important indicators of the fault severity. However, because an electrostatic sensor can only detect the superposed effect on the electrostatic field of all the debris, it can hardly identify the amount and position of the debris. Moreover, because signals of electrostatic sensors depend on not only charge but also position of debris, and the position information is difficult to acquire, measuring debris charge accurately using the electrostatic detecting method is still a technical difficulty. To solve these problems, a hemisphere-shaped electrostatic sensors' circular array (HSESCA) is used, and an array signal processing method based on compressive sensing (CS) is proposed in this paper. To research in a theoretical framework of CS, the measurement model of the HSESCA is discretized into a sparse representation form by meshing. In this way, the amount and charge of the abnormal debris are described as a sparse vector. It is further reconstructed by constraining l1-norm when solving an underdetermined equation. In addition, a pre-processing method based on singular value decomposition and a result calibration method based on weighted-centroid algorithm are applied to ensure the accuracy of the reconstruction. The proposed method is validated by both numerical simulations and experiments. Reconstruction errors, characteristics of the results and some related factors are discussed.

  18. Gray Matter Concentration Abnormality in Brains of Narcolepsy Patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joo, Eun Yeon; Tae, Woo Suk; Kim, Sung Tae; Hong, Seung Bong [Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-12-15

    To investigate gray matter concentration changes in the brains of narcoleptic patients. Twenty-nine narcoleptic patient with cataplexy and 29 age and sex-matched normal subjects (mean age, 31 years old) underwent volumetric MRIs. The MRIs were spatially normalized to a standard T1 template and subdivided into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). These segmented images were then smoothed using a 12-mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) isotropic Gaussian kernel. An optimized voxel-based morphometry protocol was used to analyze brain tissue concentrations using SPM2 (statistical parametric mapping). A one-way analysis of variance was applied to the concentration analysis of gray matter images. Narcoleptics with cataplexy showed reduced gray matter concentration in bilateral thalami, left gyrus rectus, bilateral frontopolar gyri, bilateral short insular gyri, bilateral superior frontal gyri, and right superior temporal and left inferior temporal gyri compared to normal subjects (uncorrected p < 0.001). Furthermore, small volume correction revealed gray matter concentration reduction in bilateral nuclei accumbens, hypothalami, and thalami (false discovery rate corrected p < 0.05). Gray matter concentration reductions were observed in brain regions related to excessive daytime sleepiness, cognition, attention, and memory in narcoleptics with cataplexy

  19. Gray Matter Concentration Abnormality in Brains of Narcolepsy Patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joo, Eun Yeon; Tae, Woo Suk; Kim, Sung Tae; Hong, Seung Bong

    2009-01-01

    To investigate gray matter concentration changes in the brains of narcoleptic patients. Twenty-nine narcoleptic patient with cataplexy and 29 age and sex-matched normal subjects (mean age, 31 years old) underwent volumetric MRIs. The MRIs were spatially normalized to a standard T1 template and subdivided into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). These segmented images were then smoothed using a 12-mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) isotropic Gaussian kernel. An optimized voxel-based morphometry protocol was used to analyze brain tissue concentrations using SPM2 (statistical parametric mapping). A one-way analysis of variance was applied to the concentration analysis of gray matter images. Narcoleptics with cataplexy showed reduced gray matter concentration in bilateral thalami, left gyrus rectus, bilateral frontopolar gyri, bilateral short insular gyri, bilateral superior frontal gyri, and right superior temporal and left inferior temporal gyri compared to normal subjects (uncorrected p < 0.001). Furthermore, small volume correction revealed gray matter concentration reduction in bilateral nuclei accumbens, hypothalami, and thalami (false discovery rate corrected p < 0.05). Gray matter concentration reductions were observed in brain regions related to excessive daytime sleepiness, cognition, attention, and memory in narcoleptics with cataplexy

  20. Brain SPECT imaging in temporal lobe epilepsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krausz, Y.; Yaffe, S.; Atlan, H.; Cohen, D.; Konstantini, S.; Meiner, Z.

    1991-01-01

    Temporal lobe epilepsy is diagnosed by clinical symptoms and signs and by localization of an epileptogenic focus. A brain SPECT study of two patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, using 99m Tc-HMPAO, was used to demonstrate a perfusion abnormality in the temporal lobe, while brain CT and MRI were non-contributory. The electroencephalogram, though abnormal, did not localize the diseased area. The potential role of the SPECT study in diagnosis and localization of temporal lobe epilepsy is discussed. (orig.)

  1. Delayed Mismatch Field Latencies in Autism Spectrum Disorder with Abnormal Auditory Sensitivity: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junko Matsuzaki

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Although abnormal auditory sensitivity is the most common sensory impairment associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, the neurophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. In previous studies, we reported that this abnormal sensitivity in patients with ASD is associated with delayed and prolonged responses in the auditory cortex. In the present study, we investigated alterations in residual M100 and MMFs in children with ASD who experience abnormal auditory sensitivity. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG to measure MMF elicited by an auditory oddball paradigm (standard tones: 300 Hz, deviant tones: 700 Hz in 20 boys with ASD (11 with abnormal auditory sensitivity: mean age, 9.62 ± 1.82 years, 9 without: mean age, 9.07 ± 1.31 years and 13 typically developing boys (mean age, 9.45 ± 1.51 years. We found that temporal and frontal residual M100/MMF latencies were significantly longer only in children with ASD who have abnormal auditory sensitivity. In addition, prolonged residual M100/MMF latencies were correlated with the severity of abnormal auditory sensitivity in temporal and frontal areas of both hemispheres. Therefore, our findings suggest that children with ASD and abnormal auditory sensitivity may have atypical neural networks in the primary auditory area, as well as in brain areas associated with attention switching and inhibitory control processing. This is the first report of an MEG study demonstrating altered MMFs to an auditory oddball paradigm in patients with ASD and abnormal auditory sensitivity. These findings contribute to knowledge of the mechanisms for abnormal auditory sensitivity in ASD, and may therefore facilitate development of novel clinical interventions.

  2. Geometry Processing of Conventionally Produced Mouse Brain Slice Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Nitin; Xu, Xiangmin; Gopi, M

    2018-04-21

    Brain mapping research in most neuroanatomical laboratories relies on conventional processing techniques, which often introduce histological artifacts such as tissue tears and tissue loss. In this paper we present techniques and algorithms for automatic registration and 3D reconstruction of conventionally produced mouse brain slices in a standardized atlas space. This is achieved first by constructing a virtual 3D mouse brain model from annotated slices of Allen Reference Atlas (ARA). Virtual re-slicing of the reconstructed model generates ARA-based slice images corresponding to the microscopic images of histological brain sections. These image pairs are aligned using a geometric approach through contour images. Histological artifacts in the microscopic images are detected and removed using Constrained Delaunay Triangulation before performing global alignment. Finally, non-linear registration is performed by solving Laplace's equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Our methods provide significant improvements over previously reported registration techniques for the tested slices in 3D space, especially on slices with significant histological artifacts. Further, as one of the application we count the number of neurons in various anatomical regions using a dataset of 51 microscopic slices from a single mouse brain. To the best of our knowledge the presented work is the first that automatically registers both clean as well as highly damaged high-resolutions histological slices of mouse brain to a 3D annotated reference atlas space. This work represents a significant contribution to this subfield of neuroscience as it provides tools to neuroanatomist for analyzing and processing histological data. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Regional gray matter abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia determined with optimized voxel-based morphometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, XiaoJuan; Yao, Li; Jin, Zhen; Chen, Kewei

    2006-03-01

    This study examined regional gray matter abnormalities across the whole brain in 19 patients with schizophrenia (12 males and 7 females), comparing with 11 normal volunteers (7 males and 4 females). The customized brain templates were created in order to improve spatial normalization and segmentation. Then automated preprocessing of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data was conducted using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The statistical voxel based analysis was implemented in terms of two-sample t-test model. Compared with normal controls, regional gray matter concentration in patients with schizophrenia was significantly reduced in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal and inferior frontal gyrus, right insula, precentral and parahippocampal areas, left thalamus and hypothalamus as well as, however, significant increases in gray matter concentration were not observed across the whole brain in the patients. This study confirms and extends some earlier findings on gray matter abnormalities in schizophrenic patients. Previous behavior and fMRI researches on schizophrenia have suggested that cognitive capacity decreased and self-conscious weakened in schizophrenic patients. These regional gray matter abnormalities determined through structural MRI with optimized VBM may be potential anatomic underpinnings of schizophrenia.

  4. How cortical neurons help us see: visual recognition in the human brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumberg, Julie; Kreiman, Gabriel

    2010-01-01

    Through a series of complex transformations, the pixel-like input to the retina is converted into rich visual perceptions that constitute an integral part of visual recognition. Multiple visual problems arise due to damage or developmental abnormalities in the cortex of the brain. Here, we provide an overview of how visual information is processed along the ventral visual cortex in the human brain. We discuss how neurophysiological recordings in macaque monkeys and in humans can help us understand the computations performed by visual cortex. PMID:20811161

  5. An Abnormal Nitric Oxide Metabolism Contributes to Brain Oxidative Stress in the Mouse Model for the Fragile X Syndrome, a Possible Role in Intellectual Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima-Cabello, Elena; Garcia-Guirado, Francisco; Calvo-Medina, Rocio; el Bekay, Rajaa; Perez-Costillas, Lucia; Quintero-Navarro, Carolina; Sanchez-Salido, Lourdes

    2016-01-01

    Background. Fragile X syndrome is the most common genetic cause of mental disability. Although many research has been performed, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis is unclear and needs further investigation. Oxidative stress played major roles in the syndrome. The aim was to investigate the nitric oxide metabolism, protein nitration level, the expression of NOS isoforms, and furthermore the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 subunit in different brain areas on the fragile X mouse model. Methods. This study involved adult male Fmr1-knockout and wild-type mice as controls. We detected nitric oxide metabolism and the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κBp65 subunit, comparing the mRNA expression and protein content of the three NOS isoforms in different brain areas. Results. Fmr1-KO mice showed an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism and increased levels of protein tyrosine nitrosylation. Besides that, nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 and inducible nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly increased in the Fmr1-knockout mice. mRNA and protein levels of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly decreased in the knockout mice. However, the epithelial nitric oxide synthase isoform displayed no significant changes. Conclusions. These data suggest the potential involvement of an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism in the pathogenesis of the fragile X syndrome. PMID:26788253

  6. An Abnormal Nitric Oxide Metabolism Contributes to Brain Oxidative Stress in the Mouse Model for the Fragile X Syndrome, a Possible Role in Intellectual Disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Lima-Cabello

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Fragile X syndrome is the most common genetic cause of mental disability. Although many research has been performed, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis is unclear and needs further investigation. Oxidative stress played major roles in the syndrome. The aim was to investigate the nitric oxide metabolism, protein nitration level, the expression of NOS isoforms, and furthermore the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 subunit in different brain areas on the fragile X mouse model. Methods. This study involved adult male Fmr1-knockout and wild-type mice as controls. We detected nitric oxide metabolism and the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κBp65 subunit, comparing the mRNA expression and protein content of the three NOS isoforms in different brain areas. Results. Fmr1-KO mice showed an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism and increased levels of protein tyrosine nitrosylation. Besides that, nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 and inducible nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly increased in the Fmr1-knockout mice. mRNA and protein levels of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly decreased in the knockout mice. However, the epithelial nitric oxide synthase isoform displayed no significant changes. Conclusions. These data suggest the potential involvement of an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism in the pathogenesis of the fragile X syndrome.

  7. Imaging of Brain Connectivity in Dementia: Clinical Implications for Diagnosis of its Underlying Diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R. Meijboom (Rozanna)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractIn this thesis we investigated the use of advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in identifying subtle brain abnormalities, associating brain abnormalities with disease symptomatology, and improving early (differential) diagnosis in several diseases underlying dementia.

  8. Neurodevelopmental origins of abnormal cortical morphology in dissociative identity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinders, A A T S; Chalavi, S; Schlumpf, Y R; Vissia, E M; Nijenhuis, E R S; Jäncke, L; Veltman, D J; Ecker, C

    2018-02-01

    To examine the two constitutes of cortical volume (CV), that is, cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA), in individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID) with the view of gaining important novel insights into the underlying neurobiological mechanisms mediating DID. This study included 32 female patients with DID and 43 matched healthy controls. Between-group differences in CV, thickness, and SA, the degree of spatial overlap between differences in CT and SA, and their relative contribution to differences in regional CV were assessed using a novel spatially unbiased vertex-wise approach. Whole-brain correlation analyses were performed between measures of cortical anatomy and dissociative symptoms and traumatization. Individuals with DID differed from controls in CV, CT, and SA, with significantly decreased CT in the insula, anterior cingulate, and parietal regions and reduced cortical SA in temporal and orbitofrontal cortices. Abnormalities in CT and SA shared only about 3% of all significantly different cerebral surface locations and involved distinct contributions to the abnormality of CV in DID. Significant negative associations between abnormal brain morphology (SA and CV) and dissociative symptoms and early childhood traumatization (0 and 3 years of age) were found. In DID, neuroanatomical areas with decreased CT and SA are in different locations in the brain. As CT and SA have distinct genetic and developmental origins, our findings may indicate that different neurobiological mechanisms and environmental factors impact on cortical morphology in DID, such as early childhood traumatization. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Abnormal topological organization of the white matter network in Mandarin speakers with congenital amusia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yanxin; Chen, Xizhuo; Zhong, Suyu; Cui, Zaixu; Gong, Gaolang; Dong, Qi; Nan, Yun

    2016-05-23

    Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder that mainly affects the processing of musical pitch. Brain imaging evidence indicates that it is associated with abnormal structural and functional connections in the fronto-temporal region. However, a holistic understanding of the anatomical topology underlying amusia is still lacking. Here, we used probabilistic diffusion tensor imaging tractography and graph theory to examine whole brain white matter structural connectivity in 31 Mandarin-speaking amusics and 24 age- and IQ-matched controls. Amusics showed significantly reduced global connectivity, as indicated by the abnormally decreased clustering coefficient (Cp) and increased normalized shortest path length (λ) compared to the controls. Moreover, amusics exhibited enhanced nodal strength in the right inferior parietal lobule relative to controls. The co-existence of the lexical tone deficits was associated with even more deteriorated global network efficiency in amusics, as suggested by the significant correlation between the increments in normalized shortest path length (λ) and the insensitivity in lexical tone perception. Our study is the first to reveal reduced global connectivity efficiency in amusics as well as an increase in the global connectivity cost due to the co-existed lexical tone deficits. Taken together these results provide a holistic perspective on the anatomical substrates underlying congenital amusia.

  10. Impaired social brain network for processing dynamic facial expressions in autism spectrum disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sato Wataru

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Impairment of social interaction via facial expressions represents a core clinical feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD. However, the neural correlates of this dysfunction remain unidentified. Because this dysfunction is manifested in real-life situations, we hypothesized that the observation of dynamic, compared with static, facial expressions would reveal abnormal brain functioning in individuals with ASD. We presented dynamic and static facial expressions of fear and happiness to individuals with high-functioning ASD and to age- and sex-matched typically developing controls and recorded their brain activities using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. Result Regional analysis revealed reduced activation of several brain regions in the ASD group compared with controls in response to dynamic versus static facial expressions, including the middle temporal gyrus (MTG, fusiform gyrus, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG. Dynamic causal modeling analyses revealed that bi-directional effective connectivity involving the primary visual cortex–MTG–IFG circuit was enhanced in response to dynamic as compared with static facial expressions in the control group. Group comparisons revealed that all these modulatory effects were weaker in the ASD group than in the control group. Conclusions These results suggest that weak activity and connectivity of the social brain network underlie the impairment in social interaction involving dynamic facial expressions in individuals with ASD.

  11. Dyslexia singular brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habis, M.; Robichon, F.; Demonet, J.F.

    1996-01-01

    Of late ten years, neurologists are studying the brain of the dyslectics. The cerebral imagery (NMR imaging, positron computed tomography) has allowed to confirm the anatomical particularities discovered by some of them: asymmetry default of cerebral hemispheres, size abnormally large of the white substance mass which connect the two hemispheres. The functional imagery, when visualizing this singular brain at work, allows to understand why it labors to reading. (O.M.)

  12. Abnormal sound detection device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Izumi; Matsui, Yuji.

    1995-01-01

    Only components synchronized with rotation of pumps are sampled from detected acoustic sounds, to judge the presence or absence of abnormality based on the magnitude of the synchronized components. A synchronized component sampling means can remove resonance sounds and other acoustic sounds generated at a synchronously with the rotation based on the knowledge that generated acoustic components in a normal state are a sort of resonance sounds and are not precisely synchronized with the number of rotation. On the other hand, abnormal sounds of a rotating body are often caused by compulsory force accompanying the rotation as a generation source, and the abnormal sounds can be detected by extracting only the rotation-synchronized components. Since components of normal acoustic sounds generated at present are discriminated from the detected sounds, reduction of the abnormal sounds due to a signal processing can be avoided and, as a result, abnormal sound detection sensitivity can be improved. Further, since it is adapted to discriminate the occurrence of the abnormal sound from the actually detected sounds, the other frequency components which are forecast but not generated actually are not removed, so that it is further effective for the improvement of detection sensitivity. (N.H.)

  13. Altered regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yanping; Zhang, Xiaoling; Guan, Qiaobing; Wan, Lihong; Yi, Yahui; Liu, Chun-Feng

    2015-01-01

    The pathophysiology of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) has conventionally been thought to be induced by neurovascular compression theory. Recent structural brain imaging evidence has suggested an additional central component for ITN pathophysiology. However, far less attention has been given to investigations of the basis of abnormal resting-state brain activity in these patients. The objective of this study was to investigate local brain activity in patients with ITN and its correlation with clinical variables of pain. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 17 patients with ITN and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis, which is a data-driven approach used to measure the regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity. Patients with ITN had decreased ReHo in the left amygdala, right parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum and increased ReHo in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right thalamus, right inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus (corrected). Furthermore, the increase in ReHo in the left precentral gyrus was positively correlated with visual analog scale (r=0.54; P=0.002). Our study found abnormal functional homogeneity of intrinsic brain activity in several regions in ITN, suggesting the maladaptivity of the process of daily pain attacks and a central role for the pathophysiology of ITN.

  14. Cortical gyrification is abnormal in children with prenatal alcohol exposure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy J. Hendrickson

    2017-01-01

    Conclusions: Abnormalities in cortical development were seen across the brain in children with PAE compared to controls. Cortical gyrification and IQ were strongly correlated, suggesting that examining mechanisms by which alcohol disrupts cortical formation may yield clinically relevant insights and potential directions for early intervention.

  15. Migraine and structural changes in the brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bashir, Asma; Lipton, Richard B; Ashina, Sait

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the association between migraine without aura (MO) and migraine with aura (MA) and 3 types of structural brain abnormalities detected by MRI: white matter abnormalities (WMAs), infarct-like lesions (ILLs), and volumetric changes in gray and white matter (GM, WM) regions....

  16. Utilizing 3D Printing Technology to Merge MRI with Histology: A Protocol for Brain Sectioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luciano, Nicholas J; Sati, Pascal; Nair, Govind; Guy, Joseph R; Ha, Seung-Kwon; Absinta, Martina; Chiang, Wen-Yang; Leibovitch, Emily C; Jacobson, Steven; Silva, Afonso C; Reich, Daniel S.

    2016-01-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for the delineation between normal and abnormal tissue on a macroscopic scale, sampling an entire tissue volume three-dimensionally. While MRI is an extremely sensitive tool for detecting tissue abnormalities, association of signal changes with an underlying pathological process is usually not straightforward. In the central nervous system, for example, inflammation, demyelination, axonal damage, gliosis, and neuronal death may all induce similar findings on MRI. As such, interpretation of MRI scans depends on the context, and radiological-histopathological correlation is therefore of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, traditional pathological sectioning of brain tissue is often imprecise and inconsistent, thus complicating the comparison between histology sections and MRI. This article presents novel methodology for accurately sectioning primate brain tissues and thus allowing precise matching between histology and MRI. The detailed protocol described in this article will assist investigators in applying this method, which relies on the creation of 3D printed brain slicers. Slightly modified, it can be easily implemented for brains of other species, including humans. PMID:28060281

  17. Utilizing 3D Printing Technology to Merge MRI with Histology: A Protocol for Brain Sectioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luciano, Nicholas J; Sati, Pascal; Nair, Govind; Guy, Joseph R; Ha, Seung-Kwon; Absinta, Martina; Chiang, Wen-Yang; Leibovitch, Emily C; Jacobson, Steven; Silva, Afonso C; Reich, Daniel S

    2016-12-06

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for the delineation between normal and abnormal tissue on a macroscopic scale, sampling an entire tissue volume three-dimensionally. While MRI is an extremely sensitive tool for detecting tissue abnormalities, association of signal changes with an underlying pathological process is usually not straightforward. In the central nervous system, for example, inflammation, demyelination, axonal damage, gliosis, and neuronal death may all induce similar findings on MRI. As such, interpretation of MRI scans depends on the context, and radiological-histopathological correlation is therefore of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, traditional pathological sectioning of brain tissue is often imprecise and inconsistent, thus complicating the comparison between histology sections and MRI. This article presents novel methodology for accurately sectioning primate brain tissues and thus allowing precise matching between histology and MRI. The detailed protocol described in this article will assist investigators in applying this method, which relies on the creation of 3D printed brain slicers. Slightly modified, it can be easily implemented for brains of other species, including humans.

  18. [Forensic application of brainstem auditory evoked potential in patients with brain concussion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Xing-Bin; Li, Sheng-Yan; Huang, Si-Xing; Ma, Ke-Xin

    2008-12-01

    To investigate changes of brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) in patients with brain concussion. Nineteen patients with brain concussion were studied with BAEP examination. The data was compared to the healthy persons reported in literatures. The abnormal rate of BAEP for patients with brain concussion was 89.5%. There was a statistically significant difference between the abnormal rate of patients and that of healthy persons (Pconcussion was 73.7%, indicating dysfunction of the brainstem in those patients. BAEP might be helpful in forensic diagnosis of brain concussion.

  19. Vibration-processing interneurons in the honeybee brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki Ai

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The afferents of the Johnston’s organ (JO in the honeybee brain send their axons to three distinct areas, the dorsal lobe, the dorsal subesophageal ganglion (DL-dSEG, and the posterior protocerebral lobe (PPL, suggesting that vibratory signals detected by the JO are processed differentially in these primary sensory centers. The morphological and physiological characteristics of interneurons arborizing in these areas were studied by intracellular recording and staining. DL-Int-1 and DL-Int-2 have dense arborizations in the DL-dSEG and respond to vibratory stimulation applied to the JO in either tonic excitatory, on-off-phasic excitatory, or tonic inhibitory patterns. PPL-D-1 has dense arborizations in the PPL, sends axons into the ventral nerve cord (VNC, and responds to vibratory stimulation and olfactory stimulation simultaneously applied to the antennae in long-lasting excitatory pattern. These results show that there are at least two parallel pathways for vibration processing through the DL-dSEG and the PPL. In this study, Honeybee Standard Brain was used as the common reference, and the morphology of two types of interneurons (DL-Int-1 and DL-Int-2 and JO afferents was merged into the standard brain based on the boundary of several neuropiles, greatly supporting the understanding of the spatial relationship between these identified neurons and JO afferents. The visualization of the region where the JO afferents are closely appositioned to these DL interneurons demonstrated the difference in putative synaptic regions between the JO afferents and these DL interneurons (DL-Int-1 and DL-Int-2 in the DL. The neural circuits related to the vibration-processing interneurons are discussed.

  20. Normal and abnormal neuronal migration during brain development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rakic, P.

    1986-01-01

    Conceptual and factual advances in understanding neuronal migration in the past two decades have provided new insight into the pathogenesis of brain malformations at the cellular, molecular, and functional levels. Some of these results may have direct implications in understanding the consequences of ionizing radiation on the fetal central nervous system in utero. (orig.)

  1. Brain Tissue Volumes and Perfusion Change with the Number of Optic Neuritis Attacks in Relapsing Neuromyelitis Optica: A Voxel-Based Correlation Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos A Sánchez-Catasús

    Full Text Available Recent neuroimaging studies show that brain abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica (NMO are more frequent than earlier described. Yet, more research considering multiple aspects of NMO is necessary to better understand these abnormalities. A clinical feature of relapsing NMO (RNMO is that the incremental disability is attack-related. Therefore, association between the attack-related process and neuroimaging might be expected. On the other hand, the immunopathological analysis of NMO lesions has suggested that CNS microvasculature could be an early disease target, which could alter brain perfusion. Brain tissue volume changes accompanying perfusion alteration could also be expected throughout the attack-related process. The aim of this study was to investigate in RNMO patients, by voxel-based correlation analysis, the assumed associations between regional brain white (WMV and grey matter volumes (GMV and/or perfusion on one side, and the number of optic neuritis (ON attacks, myelitis attacks and/or total attacks on the other side. For this purpose, high resolution T1-weighted MRI and perfusion SPECT imaging were obtained in 15 RNMO patients. The results showed negative regional correlations of WMV, GMV and perfusion with the number of ON attacks, involving important components of the visual system, which could be relevant for the comprehension of incremental visual disability in RNMO. We also found positive regional correlation of perfusion with the number of ON attacks, mostly overlapping the brain area where the WMV showed negative correlation. This provides evidence that brain microvasculature is an early disease target and suggests that perfusion alteration could be important in the development of brain structural abnormalities in RNMO.

  2. Congenital visual pathway abnormalities : A window onto cortical stability and plasticity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoffmann, Michael B.; Dumoulin, Serge O.

    2015-01-01

    Sensory systems project information in a highly organized manner to the brain, where it is preserved in maps of the sensory structures. These sensory projections are altered in congenital abnormalities, such as anophthalmia, albinism, achiasma, and hemihydranencephaly. Consequently, these

  3. Kisspeptin modulates sexual and emotional brain processing in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comninos, Alexander N; Wall, Matthew B; Demetriou, Lysia; Shah, Amar J; Clarke, Sophie A; Narayanaswamy, Shakunthala; Nesbitt, Alexander; Izzi-Engbeaya, Chioma; Prague, Julia K; Abbara, Ali; Ratnasabapathy, Risheka; Salem, Victoria; Nijher, Gurjinder M; Jayasena, Channa N; Tanner, Mark; Bassett, Paul; Mehta, Amrish; Rabiner, Eugenii A; Hönigsperger, Christoph; Silva, Meire Ribeiro; Brandtzaeg, Ole Kristian; Lundanes, Elsa; Wilson, Steven Ray; Brown, Rachel C; Thomas, Sarah A; Bloom, Stephen R; Dhillo, Waljit S

    2017-02-01

    Sex, emotion, and reproduction are fundamental and tightly entwined aspects of human behavior. At a population level in humans, both the desire for sexual stimulation and the desire to bond with a partner are important precursors to reproduction. However, the relationships between these processes are incompletely understood. The limbic brain system has key roles in sexual and emotional behaviors, and is a likely candidate system for the integration of behavior with the hormonal reproductive axis. We investigated the effects of kisspeptin, a recently identified key reproductive hormone, on limbic brain activity and behavior. Using a combination of functional neuroimaging and hormonal and psychometric analyses, we compared the effects of kisspeptin versus vehicle administration in 29 healthy heterosexual young men. We demonstrated that kisspeptin administration enhanced limbic brain activity specifically in response to sexual and couple-bonding stimuli. Furthermore, kisspeptin's enhancement of limbic brain structures correlated with psychometric measures of reward, drive, mood, and sexual aversion, providing functional significance. In addition, kisspeptin administration attenuated negative mood. Collectively, our data provide evidence of an undescribed role for kisspeptin in integrating sexual and emotional brain processing with reproduction in humans. These results have important implications for our understanding of reproductive biology and are highly relevant to the current pharmacological development of kisspeptin as a potential therapeutic agent for patients with common disorders of reproductive function. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Wellcome Trust (Ref 080268), and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

  4. Experimental Evidence that In Vivo Intracerebral Administration of L-2-Hydroxyglutaric Acid to Neonatal Rats Provokes Disruption of Redox Status and Histopathological Abnormalities in the Brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Rafael Teixeira; Zanatta, Ângela; Amaral, Alexandre Umpierrez; Leipnitz, Guilhian; de Oliveira, Francine Hehn; Seminotti, Bianca; Wajner, Moacir

    2018-04-01

    Tissue accumulation of L-2-hydroxyglutaric acid (L-2-HG) is the biochemical hallmark of L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L-2-HGA), a rare neurometabolic inherited disease characterized by neurological symptoms and brain white matter abnormalities whose pathogenesis is not yet well established. L-2-HG was intracerebrally administered to rat pups at postnatal day 1 (P1) to induce a rise of L-2-HG levels in the central nervous system (CNS). Thereafter, we investigated whether L-2-HG in vivo administration could disturb redox homeostasis and induce brain histopathological alterations in the cerebral cortex and striatum of neonatal rats. L-2-HG markedly induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (increase of 2',7'-dichloroflurescein-DCFH-oxidation), lipid peroxidation (increase of malondialdehyde concentrations), and protein oxidation (increase of carbonyl formation and decrease of sulfhydryl content), besides decreasing the antioxidant defenses (reduced glutathione-GSH) and sulfhydryl content in the cerebral cortex. Alterations of the activities of various antioxidant enzymes were also observed in the cerebral cortex and striatum following L-2-HG administration. Furthermore, L-2-HG-induced lipid peroxidation and GSH decrease in the cerebral cortex were prevented by the antioxidant melatonin and by the classical antagonist of NMDA glutamate receptor MK-801, suggesting the involvement of reactive species and of overstimulation of NMDA receptor in these effects. Finally, L-2-HG provoked significant vacuolation and edema particularly in the cerebral cortex with less intense alterations in the striatum that were possibly associated with the unbalanced redox homeostasis caused by this metabolite. Taken together, it is presumed that these pathomechanisms may underlie the neurological symptoms and brain abnormalities observed in the affected patients.

  5. Evidence for brain glucose dysregulation in Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yang; Varma, Vijay R; Varma, Sudhir; Casanova, Ramon; Dammer, Eric; Pletnikova, Olga; Chia, Chee W; Egan, Josephine M; Ferrucci, Luigi; Troncoso, Juan; Levey, Allan I; Lah, James; Seyfried, Nicholas T; Legido-Quigley, Cristina; O'Brien, Richard; Thambisetty, Madhav

    2018-03-01

    It is unclear whether abnormalities in brain glucose homeostasis are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Within the autopsy cohort of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, we measured brain glucose concentration and assessed the ratios of the glycolytic amino acids, serine, glycine, and alanine to glucose. We also quantified protein levels of the neuronal (GLUT3) and astrocytic (GLUT1) glucose transporters. Finally, we assessed the relationships between plasma glucose measured before death and brain tissue glucose. Higher brain tissue glucose concentration, reduced glycolytic flux, and lower GLUT3 are related to severity of AD pathology and the expression of AD symptoms. Longitudinal increases in fasting plasma glucose levels are associated with higher brain tissue glucose concentrations. Impaired glucose metabolism due to reduced glycolytic flux may be intrinsic to AD pathogenesis. Abnormalities in brain glucose homeostasis may begin several years before the onset of clinical symptoms. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. All rights reserved.

  6. Residual number processing in dyscalculia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappelletti, Marinella; Price, Cathy J

    2014-01-01

    Developmental dyscalculia - a congenital learning disability in understanding numerical concepts - is typically associated with parietal lobe abnormality. However, people with dyscalculia often retain some residual numerical abilities, reported in studies that otherwise focused on abnormalities in the dyscalculic brain. Here we took a different perspective by focusing on brain regions that support residual number processing in dyscalculia. All participants accurately performed semantic and categorical colour-decision tasks with numerical and non-numerical stimuli, with adults with dyscalculia performing slower than controls in the number semantic tasks only. Structural imaging showed less grey-matter volume in the right parietal cortex in people with dyscalculia relative to controls. Functional MRI showed that accurate number semantic judgements were maintained by parietal and inferior frontal activations that were common to adults with dyscalculia and controls, with higher activation for participants with dyscalculia than controls in the right superior frontal cortex and the left inferior frontal sulcus. Enhanced activation in these frontal areas was driven by people with dyscalculia who made faster rather than slower numerical decisions; however, activation could not be accounted for by response times per se, because it was greater for fast relative to slow dyscalculics but not greater for fast controls relative to slow dyscalculics. In conclusion, our results reveal two frontal brain regions that support efficient number processing in dyscalculia.

  7. Residual number processing in dyscalculia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinella Cappelletti

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Developmental dyscalculia – a congenital learning disability in understanding numerical concepts – is typically associated with parietal lobe abnormality. However, people with dyscalculia often retain some residual numerical abilities, reported in studies that otherwise focused on abnormalities in the dyscalculic brain. Here we took a different perspective by focusing on brain regions that support residual number processing in dyscalculia. All participants accurately performed semantic and categorical colour-decision tasks with numerical and non-numerical stimuli, with adults with dyscalculia performing slower than controls in the number semantic tasks only. Structural imaging showed less grey-matter volume in the right parietal cortex in people with dyscalculia relative to controls. Functional MRI showed that accurate number semantic judgements were maintained by parietal and inferior frontal activations that were common to adults with dyscalculia and controls, with higher activation for participants with dyscalculia than controls in the right superior frontal cortex and the left inferior frontal sulcus. Enhanced activation in these frontal areas was driven by people with dyscalculia who made faster rather than slower numerical decisions; however, activation could not be accounted for by response times per se, because it was greater for fast relative to slow dyscalculics but not greater for fast controls relative to slow dyscalculics. In conclusion, our results reveal two frontal brain regions that support efficient number processing in dyscalculia.

  8. Residual number processing in dyscalculia☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappelletti, Marinella; Price, Cathy J.

    2013-01-01

    Developmental dyscalculia – a congenital learning disability in understanding numerical concepts – is typically associated with parietal lobe abnormality. However, people with dyscalculia often retain some residual numerical abilities, reported in studies that otherwise focused on abnormalities in the dyscalculic brain. Here we took a different perspective by focusing on brain regions that support residual number processing in dyscalculia. All participants accurately performed semantic and categorical colour-decision tasks with numerical and non-numerical stimuli, with adults with dyscalculia performing slower than controls in the number semantic tasks only. Structural imaging showed less grey-matter volume in the right parietal cortex in people with dyscalculia relative to controls. Functional MRI showed that accurate number semantic judgements were maintained by parietal and inferior frontal activations that were common to adults with dyscalculia and controls, with higher activation for participants with dyscalculia than controls in the right superior frontal cortex and the left inferior frontal sulcus. Enhanced activation in these frontal areas was driven by people with dyscalculia who made faster rather than slower numerical decisions; however, activation could not be accounted for by response times per se, because it was greater for fast relative to slow dyscalculics but not greater for fast controls relative to slow dyscalculics. In conclusion, our results reveal two frontal brain regions that support efficient number processing in dyscalculia. PMID:24266008

  9. Brain functional network connectivity based on a visual task: visual information processing-related brain regions are significantly activated in the task state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-li Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available It is not clear whether the method used in functional brain-network related research can be applied to explore the feature binding mechanism of visual perception. In this study, we investigated feature binding of color and shape in visual perception. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 38 healthy volunteers at rest and while performing a visual perception task to construct brain networks active during resting and task states. Results showed that brain regions involved in visual information processing were obviously activated during the task. The components were partitioned using a greedy algorithm, indicating the visual network existed during the resting state. Z-values in the vision-related brain regions were calculated, confirming the dynamic balance of the brain network. Connectivity between brain regions was determined, and the result showed that occipital and lingual gyri were stable brain regions in the visual system network, the parietal lobe played a very important role in the binding process of color features and shape features, and the fusiform and inferior temporal gyri were crucial for processing color and shape information. Experimental findings indicate that understanding visual feature binding and cognitive processes will help establish computational models of vision, improve image recognition technology, and provide a new theoretical mechanism for feature binding in visual perception.

  10. The INTERPRET Decision-Support System version 3.0 for evaluation of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy data from human brain tumours and other abnormal brain masses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mercadal Guillem

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Proton Magnetic Resonance (MR Spectroscopy (MRS is a widely available technique for those clinical centres equipped with MR scanners. Unlike the rest of MR-based techniques, MRS yields not images but spectra of metabolites in the tissues. In pathological situations, the MRS profile changes and this has been particularly described for brain tumours. However, radiologists are frequently not familiar to the interpretation of MRS data and for this reason, the usefulness of decision-support systems (DSS in MRS data analysis has been explored. Results This work presents the INTERPRET DSS version 3.0, analysing the improvements made from its first release in 2002. Version 3.0 is aimed to be a program that 1st, can be easily used with any new case from any MR scanner manufacturer and 2nd, improves the initial analysis capabilities of the first version. The main improvements are an embedded database, user accounts, more diagnostic discrimination capabilities and the possibility to analyse data acquired under additional data acquisition conditions. Other improvements include a customisable graphical user interface (GUI. Most diagnostic problems included have been addressed through a pattern-recognition based approach, in which classifiers based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA were trained and tested. Conclusions The INTERPRET DSS 3.0 allows radiologists, medical physicists, biochemists or, generally speaking, any person with a minimum knowledge of what an MR spectrum is, to enter their own SV raw data, acquired at 1.5 T, and to analyse them. The system is expected to help in the categorisation of MR Spectra from abnormal brain masses.

  11. SPET brain perfusion imaging in mild traumatic brain injury without loss of consciousness and normal computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Judeh, H H; Parker, R; Singh, M; el-Zeftawy, H; Atay, S; Kumar, M; Naddaf, S; Aleksic, S; Abdel-Dayem, H M

    1999-06-01

    We present SPET brain perfusion findings in 32 patients who suffered mild traumatic brain injury without loss of consciousness and normal computed tomography. None of the patients had previous traumatic brain injury, CVA, HIV, psychiatric disorders or a history of alcohol or drug abuse. Their ages ranged from 11 to 61 years (mean = 42). The study was performed in 20 patients (62%) within 3 months of the date of injury and in 12 (38%) patients more than 3 months post-injury. Nineteen patients (60%) were involved in a motor vehicle accident, 10 patients (31%) sustained a fall and three patients (9%) received a blow to the head. The most common complaints were headaches in 26 patients (81%), memory deficits in 15 (47%), dizziness in 13 (41%) and sleep disorders in eight (25%). The studies were acquired approximately 2 h after an intravenous injection of 740 MBq (20.0 mCi) of 99Tcm-HMPAO. All images were acquired on a triple-headed gamma camera. The data were displayed on a 10-grade colour scale, with 2-pixel thickness (7.4 mm), and were reviewed blind to the patient's history of symptoms. The cerebellum was used as the reference site (100% maximum value). Any decrease in cerebral perfusion in the cortex or basal ganglia less than 70%, or less than 50% in the medial temporal lobe, compared to the cerebellar reference was considered abnormal. The results show that 13 (41%) had normal studies and 19 (59%) were abnormal (13 studies performed within 3 months of the date of injury and six studies performed more than 3 months post-injury). Analysis of the abnormal studies revealed that 17 showed 48 focal lesions and two showed diffuse supratentorial hypoperfusion (one from each of the early and delayed imaging groups). The 12 abnormal studies performed early had 37 focal lesions and averaged 3.1 lesions per patient, whereas there was a reduction to--an average of 2.2 lesions per patient in the five studies (total 11 lesions) performed more than 3 months post-injury. In the

  12. Deficits in Neurite Density Underlie White Matter Structure Abnormalities in First-Episode Psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rae, Charlotte L; Davies, Geoff; Garfinkel, Sarah N; Gabel, Matt C; Dowell, Nicholas G; Cercignani, Mara; Seth, Anil K; Greenwood, Kathryn E; Medford, Nick; Critchley, Hugo D

    2017-11-15

    Structural abnormalities across multiple white matter tracts are recognized in people with early psychosis, consistent with dysconnectivity as a neuropathological account of symptom expression. We applied advanced neuroimaging techniques to characterize microstructural white matter abnormalities for a deeper understanding of the developmental etiology of psychosis. Thirty-five first-episode psychosis patients, and 19 healthy controls, participated in a quantitative neuroimaging study using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, a multishell diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging technique that distinguishes white matter fiber arrangement and geometry from changes in neurite density. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity images were also derived. Tract-based spatial statistics compared white matter structure between patients and control subjects and tested associations with age, symptom severity, and medication. Patients with first-episode psychosis had lower regional FA in multiple commissural, corticospinal, and association tracts. These abnormalities predominantly colocalized with regions of reduced neurite density, rather than aberrant fiber bundle arrangement (orientation dispersion index). There was no direct relationship with active symptoms. FA decreased and orientation dispersion index increased with age in patients, but not control subjects, suggesting accelerated effects of white matter geometry change. Deficits in neurite density appear fundamental to abnormalities in white matter integrity in early psychosis. In the first application of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in psychosis, we found that processes compromising axonal fiber number, density, and myelination, rather than processes leading to spatial disruption of fiber organization, are implicated in the etiology of psychosis. This accords with a neurodevelopmental origin of aberrant brain-wide structural connectivity predisposing individuals to

  13. A method for acetylcholinesterase staining of brain sections previously processed for receptor autoradiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, M M; Hammock, E A D; Young, L J

    2004-02-01

    Receptor autoradiography using selective radiolabeled ligands allows visualization of brain receptor distribution and density on film. The resolution of specific brain regions on the film often can be difficult to discern owing to the general spread of the radioactive label and the lack of neuroanatomical landmarks on film. Receptor binding is a chemically harsh protocol that can render the tissue virtually unstainable by Nissl and other conventional stains used to delineate neuroanatomical boundaries of brain regions. We describe a method for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining of slides previously processed for receptor binding. AChE staining is a useful tool for delineating major brain nuclei and tracts. AChE staining on sections that have been processed for receptor autoradiography provides a direct comparison of brain regions for more precise neuroanatomical description. We report a detailed thiocholine protocol that is a modification of the Koelle-Friedenwald method to amplify the AChE signal in brain sections previously processed for autoradiography. We also describe several temporal and experimental factors that can affect the density and clarity of the AChE signal when using this protocol.

  14. Memory Processing: Ripples in the Resting Brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Matthew P; Robertson, Edwin M

    2016-03-21

    Recent work has shown that, during sleep, a functional circuit is created amidst a general breakdown in connectivity following fast-frequency bursts of brain activity. The findings question the unconscious nature of deep sleep, and provide an explanation for its contribution to memory processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Potential Adverse Effects of Prolonged Sevoflurane Exposure on Developing Monkey Brain: From Abnormal Lipid Metabolism to Neuronal Damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fang; Rainosek, Shuo W; Frisch-Daiello, Jessica L; Patterson, Tucker A; Paule, Merle G; Slikker, William; Wang, Cheng; Han, Xianlin

    2015-10-01

    Sevoflurane is a volatile anesthetic that has been widely used in general anesthesia, yet its safety in pediatric use is a public concern. This study sought to evaluate whether prolonged exposure of infant monkeys to a clinically relevant concentration of sevoflurane is associated with any adverse effects on the developing brain. Infant monkeys were exposed to 2.5% sevoflurane for 9 h, and frontal cortical tissues were harvested for DNA microarray, lipidomics, Luminex protein, and histological assays. DNA microarray analysis showed that sevoflurane exposure resulted in a broad identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the monkey brain. In general, these genes were associated with nervous system development, function, and neural cell viability. Notably, a number of DEGs were closely related to lipid metabolism. Lipidomic analysis demonstrated that critical lipid components, (eg, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylglycerol) were significantly downregulated by prolonged exposure of sevoflurane. Luminex protein analysis indicated abnormal levels of cytokines in sevoflurane-exposed brains. Consistently, Fluoro-Jade C staining revealed more degenerating neurons after sevoflurane exposure. These data demonstrate that a clinically relevant concentration of sevoflurane (2.5%) is capable of inducing and maintaining an effective surgical plane of anesthesia in the developing nonhuman primate and that a prolonged exposure of 9 h resulted in profound changes in gene expression, cytokine levels, lipid metabolism, and subsequently, neuronal damage. Generally, sevoflurane-induced neuronal damage was also associated with changes in lipid content, composition, or both; and specific lipid changes could provide insights into the molecular mechanism(s) underlying anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity and may be sensitive biomarkers for the early detection of anesthetic-induced neuronal damage. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the

  16. A brain network processing the age of faces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    György A Homola

    Full Text Available Age is one of the most salient aspects in faces and of fundamental cognitive and social relevance. Although face processing has been studied extensively, brain regions responsive to age have yet to be localized. Using evocative face morphs and fMRI, we segregate two areas extending beyond the previously established face-sensitive core network, centered on the inferior temporal sulci and angular gyri bilaterally, both of which process changes of facial age. By means of probabilistic tractography, we compare their patterns of functional activation and structural connectivity. The ventral portion of Wernicke's understudied perpendicular association fasciculus is shown to interconnect the two areas, and activation within these clusters is related to the probability of fiber connectivity between them. In addition, post-hoc age-rating competence is found to be associated with high response magnitudes in the left angular gyrus. Our results provide the first evidence that facial age has a distinct representation pattern in the posterior human brain. We propose that particular face-sensitive nodes interact with additional object-unselective quantification modules to obtain individual estimates of facial age. This brain network processing the age of faces differs from the cortical areas that have previously been linked to less developmental but instantly changeable face aspects. Our probabilistic method of associating activations with connectivity patterns reveals an exemplary link that can be used to further study, assess and quantify structure-function relationships.

  17. Neurofunctional Abnormalities during Sustained Attention in Severe Childhood Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Mitul A.; Simmons, Andrew; Mirza, Kah; Rubia, Katya

    2016-01-01

    Childhood maltreatment is associated with adverse affective and cognitive consequences including impaired emotion processing, inhibition and attention. However, the majority of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in childhood maltreatment have examined emotion processing, while very few studies have tested the neurofunctional substrates of cognitive functions and none of attention. This study investigated the association between severe childhood abuse and fMRI brain activation during a parametric sustained attention task with a progressively increasing load of sustained attention in 21 medication-naïve, drug-free young people with a history of childhood abuse controlling for psychiatric comorbidities by including 19 psychiatric controls matched for psychiatric diagnoses, and 27 healthy controls. Behaviorally, the participants exposed to childhood abuse showed increased omission errors in the task which correlated positively trend-wise with the duration of their abuse. Neurofunctionally, the participants with a history of childhood abuse, but not the psychiatric controls, displayed significantly reduced activation relative to the healthy controls during the most challenging attention condition only in typical attention regions including left inferior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, insula and temporal areas. We therefore show for the first time that severe childhood abuse is associated with neurofunctional abnormalities in key ventral frontal-temporal sustained attention regions. The findings represent a first step towards the delineation of abuse-related neurofunctional abnormalities in sustained attention, which may help in the development of effective treatments for victims of childhood abuse. PMID:27832090

  18. Classification of tumor based on magnetic resonance (MR) brain images using wavelet energy feature and neuro-fuzzy model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damayanti, A.; Werdiningsih, I.

    2018-03-01

    The brain is the organ that coordinates all the activities that occur in our bodies. Small abnormalities in the brain will affect body activity. Tumor of the brain is a mass formed a result of cell growth not normal and unbridled in the brain. MRI is a non-invasive medical test that is useful for doctors in diagnosing and treating medical conditions. The process of classification of brain tumor can provide the right decision and correct treatment and right on the process of treatment of brain tumor. In this study, the classification process performed to determine the type of brain tumor disease, namely Alzheimer’s, Glioma, Carcinoma and normal, using energy coefficient and ANFIS. Process stages in the classification of images of MR brain are the extraction of a feature, reduction of a feature, and process of classification. The result of feature extraction is a vector approximation of each wavelet decomposition level. The feature reduction is a process of reducing the feature by using the energy coefficients of the vector approximation. The feature reduction result for energy coefficient of 100 per feature is 1 x 52 pixels. This vector will be the input on the classification using ANFIS with Fuzzy C-Means and FLVQ clustering process and LM back-propagation. Percentage of success rate of MR brain images recognition using ANFIS-FLVQ, ANFIS, and LM back-propagation was obtained at 100%.

  19. The effects of repeat testing, malingering, and traumatic brain injury on visuospatial memory span

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David L Woods

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Spatial span tests such as the Corsi Block Test (CBT and the spatial span test of the Wechsler Memory Scale are widely used to assess deficits in spatial working memory. We conducted three experiments to evaluate the test-retest reliability and clinical sensitivity of a new computerized spatial span test (C-SST that incorporates psychophysical methods to improve the precision of spatial span measurement. In Experiment 1, we analyzed C-SST test-retest reliability in 49 participants who underwent three test sessions at weekly intervals. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC were higher for a psychophysically derived mean span (MnS metric (0.83 than for the maximal span and total correct metrics used in traditional spatial-span tests. Response times (ReTs also showed high ICCs (0.93 that correlated negatively with MnS scores and correlated positively with response-time latencies from other tests of processing speed. Learning effects were insignificant. Experiment 2 examined the performance of Experiment 1 participants when instructed to feign symptoms of traumatic brain injury: 57% showed abnormal MnS z-scores. A MnS z-score cutoff of 3.0 correctly classified 36% of simulated malingerers and 91% of the subgroup of 11 control participants with abnormal spans. Malingerers also made more substitution errors than control participants with abnormal spans (sensitivity = 43%, specificity = 91%. In addition, malingerers showed no evidence of ReT slowing, in contrast to significant abnormalities seen on other malingered tests of processing speed. As a result, differences between ReT z-scores and z-scores on other processing speed tests showed very high sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing malingering and control participants with either normal or abnormal spans. Experiment 3 examined C-SST performance in a group of patients with predominantly mild traumatic brain injury (TBI: neither MnS nor ReT z-scores showed significant group

  20. Red Brain, Blue Brain: Evaluative Processes Differ in Democrats and Republicans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiber, Darren; Fonzo, Greg; Simmons, Alan N.; Dawes, Christopher T.; Flagan, Taru; Fowler, James H.; Paulus, Martin P.

    2013-01-01

    Liberals and conservatives exhibit different cognitive styles and converging lines of evidence suggest that biology influences differences in their political attitudes and beliefs. In particular, a recent study of young adults suggests that liberals and conservatives have significantly different brain structure, with liberals showing increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, and conservatives showing increased gray matter volume in the in the amygdala. Here, we explore differences in brain function in liberals and conservatives by matching publicly-available voter records to 82 subjects who performed a risk-taking task during functional imaging. Although the risk-taking behavior of Democrats (liberals) and Republicans (conservatives) did not differ, their brain activity did. Democrats showed significantly greater activity in the left insula, while Republicans showed significantly greater activity in the right amygdala. In fact, a two parameter model of partisanship based on amygdala and insula activations yields a better fitting model of partisanship than a well-established model based on parental socialization of party identification long thought to be one of the core findings of political science. These results suggest that liberals and conservatives engage different cognitive processes when they think about risk, and they support recent evidence that conservatives show greater sensitivity to threatening stimuli. PMID:23418419

  1. MRI of the brain: malformations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Treguier, C.; Heautot, J.F.; Gandon, Y.; Carsin, M.; Buhe, T.; Weppe, V.

    1990-01-01

    Brain malformations include occlusion, diverticula, neuronal migration abnormalities, cystic malformations, and histogenetic disorders in neurocutaneous syndromes. The multiple planes of section, excellent white/gray matter differentiation and accurate delineation of the brain cortex available with magnetic resonance imaging make it a tool of choice for the diagnosis of malformations, as well as for prognosis and genetic counseling [fr

  2. Network efficiency in autism spectrum disorder and its relation to brain overgrowth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John D Lewis

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available A substantial body of evidence links differences in brain size to differences in brain organization. We have hypothesized that the developmental aspect of this relation plays a role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD, a neurodevelopmental disorder which involves abnormalities in brain growth. Children with ASD have abnormally large brains by the second year of life, and for several years thereafter their brain size can be multiple standard deviations above the norm. The greater conduction delays and cellular costs presumably associated with the longer long-distance connections in these larger brains is thought to influence developmental processes, giving rise to an altered brain organization with less communication between spatially distant regions. This has been supported by computational models and by findings linking greater intra-cranial volume, an index of maximum brain-size during development, to reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity in individuals with ASD. In this paper, we further assess this hypothesis via a whole-brain analysis of network efficiency. We utilize diffusion tractography to estimate the strength and length of the connections between all pairs of cortical regions. We compute the efficiency of communication between each network node and all others, and within local neighborhoods; we then assess the relation of these measures to intra-cranial volume, and the differences in these measures between adults with autism and typical controls. Intra-cranial volume is shown to be inversely related to efficiency for wide-spread regions of cortex. Moreover, the spatial patterns of reductions in efficiency in autism bear a striking resemblance to the regional relationships between efficiency and intra-cranial volume, particularly for local efficiency. The results thus provide further support for the hypothesized link between brain overgrowth in children with autism and the efficiency of the organization of the brain in adults with autism.

  3. Multiscale neural connectivity during human sensory processing in the brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksimenko, Vladimir A.; Runnova, Anastasia E.; Frolov, Nikita S.; Makarov, Vladimir V.; Nedaivozov, Vladimir; Koronovskii, Alexey A.; Pisarchik, Alexander; Hramov, Alexander E.

    2018-05-01

    Stimulus-related brain activity is considered using wavelet-based analysis of neural interactions between occipital and parietal brain areas in alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) frequency bands. We show that human sensory processing related to the visual stimuli perception induces brain response resulted in different ways of parieto-occipital interactions in these bands. In the alpha frequency band the parieto-occipital neuronal network is characterized by homogeneous increase of the interaction between all interconnected areas both within occipital and parietal lobes and between them. In the beta frequency band the occipital lobe starts to play a leading role in the dynamics of the occipital-parietal network: The perception of visual stimuli excites the visual center in the occipital area and then, due to the increase of parieto-occipital interactions, such excitation is transferred to the parietal area, where the attentional center takes place. In the case when stimuli are characterized by a high degree of ambiguity, we find greater increase of the interaction between interconnected areas in the parietal lobe due to the increase of human attention. Based on revealed mechanisms, we describe the complex response of the parieto-occipital brain neuronal network during the perception and primary processing of the visual stimuli. The results can serve as an essential complement to the existing theory of neural aspects of visual stimuli processing.

  4. State-of-the-Art Methods for Brain Tissue Segmentation: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dora, Lingraj; Agrawal, Sanjay; Panda, Rutuparna; Abraham, Ajith

    2017-01-01

    Brain tissue segmentation is one of the most sought after research areas in medical image processing. It provides detailed quantitative brain analysis for accurate disease diagnosis, detection, and classification of abnormalities. It plays an essential role in discriminating healthy tissues from lesion tissues. Therefore, accurate disease diagnosis and treatment planning depend merely on the performance of the segmentation method used. In this review, we have studied the recent advances in brain tissue segmentation methods and their state-of-the-art in neuroscience research. The review also highlights the major challenges faced during tissue segmentation of the brain. An effective comparison is made among state-of-the-art brain tissue segmentation methods. Moreover, a study of some of the validation measures to evaluate different segmentation methods is also discussed. The brain tissue segmentation, content in terms of methodologies, and experiments presented in this review are encouraging enough to attract researchers working in this field.

  5. Introductory study of brain function data processing; No kino joho shori no sendo kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    An investigational study was conducted of the brain function aiming at developing an interface with the same function as humans have. In the study, the most up-to-date information/knowledge and future problems were examined on brain measurement, brain modeling, making a model an element, and the brain function data processing system. As to the brain measurement, the paper took up the multielectrode simultaneous measuring method and the optical multipoint measuring method as an invasive measuring method, and the functional magnetic resonance imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy, magneto-encephalography, and electro-encephalography as a non-invasive measuring method. Relating to the brain modeling, studies were made on senses of sight and smell, the movement control and the learning. As to making a model an element, how to make the modeled function a chip on silicone for example becomes the problem. Reported were two reports on making the sense of sight an element and one report on making the parallel dispersed processing mechanism of brain an element. About the brain function data processing system, three reports were made on the present situation, matters in question, and the future development of the system in the case of catching data processing as a system taking a step ahead from making the model an element. 250 refs., 74 figs., 11 tabs.

  6. Readiness to change and brain damage in patients with chronic alcoholism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Berre, Anne-Pascale; Rauchs, Géraldine; La Joie, Renaud; Segobin, Shailendra; Mézenge, Florence; Boudehent, Céline; Vabret, François; Viader, Fausto; Eustache, Francis; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Beaunieux, Hélène

    2013-09-30

    High motivation to change is a crucial triggering factor to patients' engagement in clinical treatment. This study investigates whether the low readiness to change observed in some alcoholic inpatients at treatment entry could, at least partially, be linked with macrostructural gray matter abnormalities in critical brain regions. Participants comprised 31 alcoholic patients and 27 controls, who underwent 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging. The Readiness to Change Questionnaire, designed to assess three stages of motivation to change (precontemplation, contemplation and action stages), was completed by all patients, who were then divided into "Action" (i.e., patients in action stage) and "PreAction" (i.e., patients in precontemplation or in contemplation stage) subgroups. The PreAction subgroup, but not the Action subgroup, had gray matter volume deficits compared with controls. Unlike the patients in the Action subgroup, the PreAction patients had gray matter abnormalities in the cerebellum (Crus I), fusiform gyri and frontal cortex. The low level of motivation to modify drinking behavior observed in some alcoholic patients at treatment entry may be related to macrostructural brain abnormalities in regions subtending cognitive, emotional and social abilities. These brain volume deficits may result in impairment of critical abilities such as decision making, executive functions and social cognition skills. Those abilities may be needed to resolve ambivalence toward alcohol addiction and to apply "processes of change", which are essential for activating the desire to change problematic behavior. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Brain mechanisms in religion and spirituality : An integrative predictive processing framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Elk, Michiel; Aleman, Andre

    We present the theory of predictive processing as a unifying framework to account for the neurocognitive basis of religion and spirituality. Our model is substantiated by discussing four different brain mechanisms that play a key role in religion and spirituality: temporal brain areas are associated

  8. Telling good from bad news: ADHD differentially affects processing of positive and negative feedback during guessing.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Meel, C.S.; Oosterlaan, J.; Heslenfeld, D.J.; Sergeant, J.A.

    2005-01-01

    Neuroimaging studies on ADHD suggest abnormalities in brain regions associated with decision-making and reward processing such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex. Recently, event-related potential (ERP) studies demonstrated that the ACC is involved in processing feedback

  9. Available processing resources influence encoding-related brain activity before an event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galli, Giulia; Gebert, A Dorothea; Otten, Leun J

    2013-09-01

    Effective cognitive functioning not only relies on brain activity elicited by an event, but also on activity that precedes it. This has been demonstrated in a number of cognitive domains, including memory. Here, we show that brain activity that precedes the effective encoding of a word into long-term memory depends on the availability of sufficient processing resources. We recorded electrical brain activity from the scalps of healthy adult men and women while they memorized intermixed visual and auditory words for later recall. Each word was preceded by a cue that indicated the modality of the upcoming word. The degree to which processing resources were available before word onset was manipulated by asking participants to make an easy or difficult perceptual discrimination on the cue. Brain activity before word onset predicted later recall of the word, but only in the easy discrimination condition. These findings indicate that anticipatory influences on long-term memory are limited in capacity and sensitive to the degree to which attention is divided between tasks. Prestimulus activity that affects later encoding can only be engaged when the necessary cognitive resources can be allocated to the encoding process. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Differential impact of hyponatremia and hepatic encephalopathy on health-related quality of life and brain metabolite abnormalities in cirrhosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahluwalia, Vishwadeep; Wade, James B; Thacker, Leroy; Kraft, Kenneth A; Sterling, Richard K; Stravitz, R Todd; Fuchs, Michael; Bouneva, Iliana; Puri, Puneet; Luketic, Velimir; Sanyal, Arun J; Gilles, Hochong; Heuman, Douglas M; Bajaj, Jasmohan S

    2013-09-01

    Hyponatremia (HN) and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) together can impair health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and cognition in cirrhosis. We aimed at studying the effect of hyponatremia on cognition, HRQOL, and brain MR spectroscopy (MRS) independent of HE. Four cirrhotic groups (no HE/HN, HE alone, HN alone (sodium <130 mEq/L), HE+HN) underwent cognitive testing, HRQOL using Sickness Impact Profile (SIP: higher score is worse; has psychosocial and physical sub-scores) and brain MRS (myoinositol (mI) and glutamate+glutamine (Glx)), which were compared across groups. A subset underwent HRQOL testing before/after diuretic withdrawal. 82 cirrhotics (30 no HE/HN, 25 HE, 17 HE+HN, and 10 HN, MELD 12, 63% hepatitis C) were included. Cirrhotics with HN alone and without HE/HN had better cognition compared to HE groups (median abnormal tests no-HE/HN: 3, HN: 3.5, HE: 6.5, HE+HN: 7, p=0.008). Despite better cognition, HN only patients had worse HRQOL in total and psychosocial SIP while both HN groups (with/without HE) had a significantly worse physical SIP (p<0.0001, all comparisons). Brain MRS showed the lowest Glx in HN and the highest in HE groups (p<0.02). mI levels were comparably decreased in the three affected (HE, HE+HN, and HN) groups compared to no HE/HN and were associated with poor HRQOL. Six HE+HN cirrhotics underwent diuretic withdrawal which improved serum sodium and total/psychosocial SIP scores. Hyponatremic cirrhotics without HE have poor HRQOL despite better cognition than those with concomitant HE. Glx levels were lowest in HN without HE but mI was similar across affected groups. HRQOL improved after diuretic withdrawal. Hyponatremia has a complex, non-linear relationship with brain Glx and mI, cognition and HRQOL. Copyright © 2013 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Using the Optical Fractionator to Estimate Total Cell Numbers in the Normal and Abnormal Developing Human Forebrain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Karen B

    2017-01-01

    abnormal development. Furthermore, many studies of brain cell numbers have employed biased counting methods, whereas innovations in stereology during the past 20-30 years enable reliable and efficient estimates of cell numbers. However, estimates of cell volumes and densities in fetal brain samples...

  12. Implicit false-belief processing in the human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Dana; Slaughter, Virginia P; Becker, Stefanie I; Dux, Paul E

    2014-11-01

    Eye-movement patterns in 'Sally-Anne' tasks reflect humans' ability to implicitly process the mental states of others, particularly false-beliefs - a key theory of mind (ToM) operation. It has recently been proposed that an efficient ToM system, which operates in the absence of awareness (implicit ToM, iToM), subserves the analysis of belief-like states. This contrasts to consciously available belief processing, performed by the explicit ToM system (eToM). The frontal, temporal and parietal cortices are engaged when humans explicitly 'mentalize' about others' beliefs. However, the neural underpinnings of implicit false-belief processing and the extent to which they draw on networks involved in explicit general-belief processing are unknown. Here, participants watched 'Sally-Anne' movies while fMRI and eye-tracking measures were acquired simultaneously. Participants displayed eye-movements consistent with implicit false-belief processing. After independently localizing the brain areas involved in explicit general-belief processing, only the left anterior superior temporal sulcus and precuneus revealed greater blood-oxygen-level-dependent activity for false- relative to true-belief trials in our iToM paradigm. No such difference was found for the right temporal-parietal junction despite significant activity in this area. These findings fractionate brain regions that are associated with explicit general ToM reasoning and false-belief processing in the absence of awareness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Genetic and infectious profiles influence cerebrospinal fluid IgG abnormality in Japanese multiple sclerosis patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi Yoshimura

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Abnormal intrathecal synthesis of IgG, reflected by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF oligoclonal IgG bands (OBs and increased IgG index, is much less frequently observed in Japanese multiple sclerosis (MS cohorts compared with Western cohorts. We aimed to clarify whether genetic and common infectious backgrounds influence CSF IgG abnormality in Japanese MS patients. METHODOLOGY: We analyzed HLA-DRB1 alleles, and IgG antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA, and varicella zoster virus (VZV in 94 patients with MS and 367 unrelated healthy controls (HCs. We defined CSF IgG abnormality as the presence of CSF OBs and/or increased IgG index (>0.658. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: CSF IgG abnormality was found in 59 of 94 (62.8% MS patients. CSF IgG abnormality-positive patients had a significantly higher frequency of brain MRI lesions meeting the Barkhof criteria compared with abnormality-negative patients. Compared with HCs, CSF IgG abnormality-positive MS patients showed a significantly higher frequency of DRB1 1501, whereas CSF IgG abnormality-negative patients had a significantly higher frequency of DRB1 0405. CSF IgG abnormality-positive MS patients had a significantly higher frequency of anti-C. pneumoniae IgG antibodies compared with CSF IgG abnormality-negative MS patients, although there was no difference in the frequency of anti-C. pneumoniae IgG antibodies between HCs and total MS patients. Compared with HCs, anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies were detected significantly less frequently in the total MS patients, especially in CSF IgG abnormality-negative MS patients. The frequencies of antibodies against EBNA and VZV did not differ significantly among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: CSF IgG abnormality is associated with Western MS-like brain MRI features. DRB1 1501 and C. pneumoniae infection confer CSF IgG abnormality, while DRB1 0405 and H. pylori infection are positively and negatively

  14. A study of brain MRI findings in children with epilepsy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanematsu, Sachiko; Sumida, Sawako; Muto, Ayako; Osawa, Makiko; Ono, Yuko [Tokyo Women' s Medical Coll. (Japan); Uchida, Moriyasu; Maruyama, Hiroshi

    2000-06-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging in the brain was performed in 293 patients with childhood-onset (<15 y.o.) epilepsy who had been classified into 4 groups, idiopathic localization-related epilepsy (ILRE), 78 patients; idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), 116 patients; symptomatic localization-related epilepsy (SLRE), 68 patients and symptomatic generalized epilepsy (SGE), 31 patients, with the Classification of Epilepsies and Epileptic Syndrome (1989 International League Against Epilepsy). The examination was performed with a 1.5 T magnet. One hundred twenty-five patients (42.7%) showed abnormal findings, and the incidence in each group was as follows: Idiopathic epilepsy: The rate of abnormal findings in the ILRE and IGE groups was 21.8% and 20.7%, respectively. Most of the abnormal findings were secondary changes, such as diffuse or localized brain atrophy. Of the congenital abnormalities, the main finding was arachnoid cyst. Symptomatic epilepsy: The rate of abnormality in the SLRE patients was 88.2%, and 85% of the findings were secondary changes, i.e., brain atrophy, or degeneration of the white matter. In the SGE group, the rate was 77.4%, with an almost equal percentage of congenital and secondary changes. Of 255 patients who were examined by electroencephalography (EEG) on the same day as MRI, about 50% showed a correlation between the EEG records and the MRI abnormalities. However, only 8 patients showed a correlation in localization between the EEG and MRI abnormalities. (author)

  15. A study of brain MRI findings in children with epilepsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanematsu, Sachiko; Sumida, Sawako; Muto, Ayako; Osawa, Makiko; Ono, Yuko; Uchida, Moriyasu; Maruyama, Hiroshi

    2000-01-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging in the brain was performed in 293 patients with childhood-onset (<15 y.o.) epilepsy who had been classified into 4 groups, idiopathic localization-related epilepsy (ILRE), 78 patients; idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), 116 patients; symptomatic localization-related epilepsy (SLRE), 68 patients and symptomatic generalized epilepsy (SGE), 31 patients, with the Classification of Epilepsies and Epileptic Syndrome (1989 International League Against Epilepsy). The examination was performed with a 1.5 T magnet. One hundred twenty-five patients (42.7%) showed abnormal findings, and the incidence in each group was as follows: Idiopathic epilepsy: The rate of abnormal findings in the ILRE and IGE groups was 21.8% and 20.7%, respectively. Most of the abnormal findings were secondary changes, such as diffuse or localized brain atrophy. Of the congenital abnormalities, the main finding was arachnoid cyst. Symptomatic epilepsy: The rate of abnormality in the SLRE patients was 88.2%, and 85% of the findings were secondary changes, i.e., brain atrophy, or degeneration of the white matter. In the SGE group, the rate was 77.4%, with an almost equal percentage of congenital and secondary changes. Of 255 patients who were examined by electroencephalography (EEG) on the same day as MRI, about 50% showed a correlation between the EEG records and the MRI abnormalities. However, only 8 patients showed a correlation in localization between the EEG and MRI abnormalities. (author)

  16. Diurnal variation in Cotard's syndrome (copresent with Capgras delusion) following traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, P V

    2000-08-01

    The aim of this paper is to document regular nocturnal intensification of delusional nihilistic and persecutory ideas (Cotard delusion) linked with extreme depersonalisation and hypervivid dreaming. A 17-year-old man presented with Cotard and Capgras delusions after sustaining multiple cognitive impairments secondary to traumatic brain injury. Delusional ideation fully resolved within 14 days of commencement of olanzapine 5 mg daily. This patient's experience of perceptual abnormalities and impairments in meta-abilities related to self-monitoring and critical inferencing lends support to multicomponent sensory processing accounts of brain injury related, content-specific delusional syndromes.

  17. Electrophysiological signatures of atypical intrinsic brain connectivity networks in autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shou, Guofa; Mosconi, Matthew W.; Wang, Jun; Ethridge, Lauren E.; Sweeney, John A.; Ding, Lei

    2017-08-01

    Objective. Abnormal local and long-range brain connectivity have been widely reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet the nature of these abnormalities and their functional relevance at distinct cortical rhythms remains unknown. Investigations of intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) and their coherence across whole brain networks hold promise for determining whether patterns of functional connectivity abnormalities vary across frequencies and networks in ASD. In the present study, we aimed to probe atypical intrinsic brain connectivity networks in ASD from resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) data via characterizing the whole brain network. Approach. Connectivity within individual ICNs (measured by spectral power) and between ICNs (measured by coherence) were examined at four canonical frequency bands via a time-frequency independent component analysis on high-density EEG, which were recorded from 20 ASD and 20 typical developing (TD) subjects during an eyes-closed resting state. Main results. Among twelve identified electrophysiological ICNs, individuals with ASD showed hyper-connectivity in individual ICNs and hypo-connectivity between ICNs. Functional connectivity alterations in ASD were more severe in the frontal lobe and the default mode network (DMN) and at low frequency bands. These functional connectivity measures also showed abnormal age-related associations in ICNs related to frontal, temporal and motor regions in ASD. Significance. Our findings suggest that ASD is characterized by the opposite directions of abnormalities (i.e. hypo- and hyper-connectivity) in the hierarchical structure of the whole brain network, with more impairments in the frontal lobe and the DMN at low frequency bands, which are critical for top-down control of sensory systems, as well as for both cognition and social skills.

  18. Delayed traumatic hematomas of the brain: the early manifestations of CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Shuyan; Tang Guangjian; Fu Jiazhen; Xu Bing; Yin Yanyu

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To study the CT manifestations of delayed traumatic hematomas of the brain and evaluate their diagnostic significance in predicting the delayed traumatic brain hematoma. Methods: The manifestations of initial CT studies and follow-up CT examinations of 31 delayed traumatic brain hematomas were analyzed. Another 50 CT studies of head trauma without delayed brain hematomas were included randomly as control. Results: The abnormal findings of CT studies of the 31 delayed traumatic brain hematomas included: (1) Decreased density of the local brain parenchyma and disappeared difference between gray and white matter of the same area in 18 cases; (2) Local subarachnoid space hemorrhage in 24 cases; (3) Slight mass effect of local brain parenchyma in 16 cases. (4) Subdural hematoma in 9 cases. The locations of the abnormalities were roughly the same with the delayed hematoma except one local subarachnoid space hemorrhage, which was in the opposite of the delayed hematoma. The appearing rate of those abnormal findings in the control group was low and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: The decrease of density of local brain parenchyma, the disappeared difference between the gray and white matter, local subarachnoid space hemorrhage, and local swollen of brain presented in the initial CT study of the patient with heat trauma should be taken as indicators of delayed hemorrhage of the same area of brain, and it is necessary to do follow-up CT studies to exclude it

  19. The maternal brain and its plasticity in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Pilyoung; Strathearn, Lane; Swain, James E.

    2015-01-01

    Early mother-infant relationships play important roles in infants’ optimal development. New mothers undergo neurobiological changes that support developing mother-infant relationships regardless of great individual differences in those relationships. In this article, we review the neural plasticity in human mothers’ brains based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. First, we review the neural circuits that are involved in establishing and maintaining mother-infant relationships. Second, we discuss early postpartum factors (e.g., birth and feeding methods, hormones, and parental sensitivity) that are associated with individual differences in maternal brain neuroplasticity. Third, we discuss abnormal changes in the maternal brain related to psychopathology (i.e., postpartum depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse) and potential brain remodeling associated with interventions. Last, we highlight potentially important future research directions to better understand normative changes in the maternal brain and risks for abnormal changes that may disrupt early mother-infant relationships. PMID:26268151

  20. Unexplained mental retardation: is brain MRI useful?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Decobert, Fabrice; Merzoug, Valerie; Kalifa, Gabriel; Adamsbaum, Catherine [Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital, Department of Radiology, 75674 Paris Cedex 14 (France); Grabar, Sophie [Cochin Hospital, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Information, Paris (France); Ponsot, Gerard [Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital, Department of Neuropaediatrics, Paris (France); Des Portes, Vincent [Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital, Department of Neuropaediatrics, Paris (France); Debrousse Hospital, Department of Neuropaediatrics, Lyon (France)

    2005-06-01

    Mental retardation (MR), defined as an IQ below 70, is a frequent cause of consultation in paediatrics. To evaluate the yield of brain MRI in the diagnostic work-up of unexplained MR in children. Patients and methods: The MRI features and clinical data of 100 patients (age 1-18 years) affected with non-progressive MR of unknown origin were compared to an age-matched control group (n=100). Two radiologists conducted an independent review of the MRI scans. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed a higher incidence of brain anomalies in the MR group than in the control group (53 vs 17, OR=5.7 [2.9-11.1]), for signal abnormalities within the periventricular white matter (OR=20.3 [2.6-155.3]), lateral ventricular dilatation (OR=15.6 [2.0-124]), mild corpus callosum abnormalities (shortness, atrophy) (OR=6.8 [1.8-25.6]) and subtle cerebellar abnormalities, including fissure enlargement (OR=5.2 [1.1-26.2]). The diagnostic value of MRI abnormalities was considered good in 5% of patients (Alexander disease n=1, diffuse cortical malformation n=1, leukomalacia n=1, vermian agenesis n=1, commissural agenesis n=1), and weak in 48% of patients, in whom non-specific abnormalities did not lead to a diagnosis. Some clinical features resulted in a significantly higher percentage of abnormal MRI scans: abnormal neurological examination (82% vs 47%, P=0.008), abnormal skull circumference (66% vs 49%, P=0.04). Motor delay was associated with cerebellar abnormalities (P=0.01). (orig.)

  1. Unexplained mental retardation: is brain MRI useful?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decobert, Fabrice; Merzoug, Valerie; Kalifa, Gabriel; Adamsbaum, Catherine; Grabar, Sophie; Ponsot, Gerard; Des Portes, Vincent

    2005-01-01

    Mental retardation (MR), defined as an IQ below 70, is a frequent cause of consultation in paediatrics. To evaluate the yield of brain MRI in the diagnostic work-up of unexplained MR in children. Patients and methods: The MRI features and clinical data of 100 patients (age 1-18 years) affected with non-progressive MR of unknown origin were compared to an age-matched control group (n=100). Two radiologists conducted an independent review of the MRI scans. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed a higher incidence of brain anomalies in the MR group than in the control group (53 vs 17, OR=5.7 [2.9-11.1]), for signal abnormalities within the periventricular white matter (OR=20.3 [2.6-155.3]), lateral ventricular dilatation (OR=15.6 [2.0-124]), mild corpus callosum abnormalities (shortness, atrophy) (OR=6.8 [1.8-25.6]) and subtle cerebellar abnormalities, including fissure enlargement (OR=5.2 [1.1-26.2]). The diagnostic value of MRI abnormalities was considered good in 5% of patients (Alexander disease n=1, diffuse cortical malformation n=1, leukomalacia n=1, vermian agenesis n=1, commissural agenesis n=1), and weak in 48% of patients, in whom non-specific abnormalities did not lead to a diagnosis. Some clinical features resulted in a significantly higher percentage of abnormal MRI scans: abnormal neurological examination (82% vs 47%, P=0.008), abnormal skull circumference (66% vs 49%, P=0.04). Motor delay was associated with cerebellar abnormalities (P=0.01). (orig.)

  2. Available processing resources influence encoding-related brain activity before an event

    OpenAIRE

    Galli, Giulia; Gebert, A. Dorothea; Otten, Leun J.

    2013-01-01

    Effective cognitive functioning not only relies on brain activity elicited by an event, but also on activity that precedes it. This has been demonstrated in a number of cognitive domains, including memory. Here, we show that brain activity that precedes the effective encoding of a word into long-term memory depends on the availability of sufficient processing resources. We recorded electrical brain activity from the scalps of healthy adult men and women while they memorized intermixed visual ...

  3. Brain perfusion abnormality in patients with chronic pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Honda, Tetsumi; Maruta, Toshihiko; Takahashi, Kumiko

    2007-01-01

    We performed single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain in 15 patients with chronic pain (males, 7; females, 8; average age 49.1±17.9 years) and identified the locus of cerebral blood flow reduction by a new analytical method (easy Z-score Imaging System: eZIS) to clarify the functional neuroanatomical basis of chronic pain. Of the 15 patients, 6 had backache, 2 neck pain, 2 gonalgia, and 5 pain at other sites, with an average Visual analog scale of pain (VAS) value of 6.1±1.9. In comparison with a information on a data base on physically unimpaired persons, the dorsolateral prefrontal area (both sides, right dominant), medial prefrontal area (both sides), dorsal aspect of the anterior cingulate gyrus nociceptive cortex (both sides) and the lateral part of the orbitofrontal cortex (right side) were found to have blood flow reduction in the group of patients with chronic pain. As for chronic pain and its correlation with clinical features such as a depressive state, anticipation anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and conversion hysteria, the mechanism in the brain that was suggested by this study should be followed-up by functional neuroimaging studies. (author)

  4. Abnormal brain structure in youth who commit homicide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cope, L.M.; Ermer, E.; Gaudet, L.M.; Steele, V.R.; Eckhardt, A.L.; Arbabshirani, M.R.; Caldwell, M.F.; Calhoun, V.D.; Kiehl, K.A.

    2014-01-01

    Background Violence that leads to homicide results in an extreme financial and emotional burden on society. Juveniles who commit homicide are often tried in adult court and typically spend the majority of their lives in prison. Despite the enormous costs associated with homicidal behavior, there have been no serious neuroscientific studies examining youth who commit homicide. Methods Here we use neuroimaging and voxel-based morphometry to examine brain gray matter in incarcerated male adolescents who committed homicide (n = 20) compared with incarcerated offenders who did not commit homicide (n = 135). Two additional control groups were used to understand further the nature of gray matter differences: incarcerated offenders who did not commit homicide matched on important demographic and psychometric variables (n = 20) and healthy participants from the community (n = 21). Results Compared with incarcerated adolescents who did not commit homicide (n = 135), incarcerated homicide offenders had reduced gray matter volumes in the medial and lateral temporal lobes, including the hippocampus and posterior insula. Feature selection and support vector machine learning classified offenders into the homicide and non-homicide groups with 81% overall accuracy. Conclusions Our results indicate that brain structural differences may help identify those at the highest risk for committing serious violent offenses. PMID:24936430

  5. Brain venous pathologies: MRI findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salvatico, Rosana; Gonzalez, Alejandro; Yanez, Paulina; Romero, Carlos; Trejo, Mariano; Lambre, Hector

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To describe MRI findings of the different brain venous pathologies. Material and Methods: Between January 2002 and March 2004, 18 patients were studied 10 males and 8 females between 6 and 63 years old; with different brain venous pathologies. In all cases brain MRI were performed including morphological sequences with and without gadolinium injection and angiographic venous sequences. Results: 10 venous occlusions were found, 6 venous angiomas, and 2 presented varices secondary to arteriovenous dural fistula. Conclusion: Brain venous pathologies can appear in many different clinical contexts, with different prognosis and treatment. In all the cases brain MRI was the best imaging study to disclose typical morphologic abnormalities. (author) [es

  6. Using EEG/MEG Data of Cognitive Processes in Brain-Computer Interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutierrez, David

    2008-01-01

    Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) aim at providing a non-muscular channel for sending commands to the external world using electroencephalographic (EEG) and, more recently, magnetoencephalographic (MEG) measurements of the brain function. Most of the current implementations of BCIs rely on EEG/MEG data of motor activities as such neural processes are well characterized, while the use of data related to cognitive activities has been neglected due to its intrinsic complexity. However, cognitive data usually has larger amplitude, lasts longer and, in some cases, cognitive brain signals are easier to control at will than motor signals. This paper briefy reviews the use of EEG/MEG data of cognitive processes in the implementation of BCIs. Specifically, this paper reviews some of the neuromechanisms, signal features, and processing methods involved. This paper also refers to some of the author's work in the area of detection and classifcation of cognitive signals for BCIs using variability enhancement, parametric modeling, and spatial fltering, as well as recent developments in BCI performance evaluation

  7. Adams Oliver syndrome: Description of a new phenotype with cerebellar abnormalities in a family

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D’Amico, Alessandra; Melis, Daniela; D’Arco, Felice; Di Paolo, Nilde; Carotenuto, Barbara; D’Anna, Gennaro; Russo, Carmela; Boemio, Pasquale; Brunetti, Arturo

    2013-01-01

    To describe cerebellar abnormalities in a family composed by a father and two affected sibs with Adams Oliver syndrome (AOS) (OMIM 100300). Brain MRI and MR angiography were performed at 1.5T. The siblings presented cerebellar cortex dysplasia characterized by the presence of cysts. Abnormalities of CNS are an unusual manifestation of AOS. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cerebellar cortical dysplasia in a family with AOS

  8. Childhood Brain Stem Glioma Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childhood brain stem glioma can be a benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer) condition where abnormal cells form in the tissues of the brain stem. Get information about the symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent childhood brain stem glioma in this expert-reviewed summary.

  9. Abnormal deactivation of the inferior frontal gyrus during implicit emotion processing in youth with bipolar disorder: attenuated by medication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafeman, Danella M; Bebko, Genna; Bertocci, Michele A; Fournier, Jay C; Bonar, Lisa; Perlman, Susan B; Travis, Michael; Gill, Mary Kay; Diwadkar, Vaibhav A; Sunshine, Jeffrey L; Holland, Scott K; Kowatch, Robert A; Birmaher, Boris; Axelson, David; Horwitz, Sarah M; Arnold, L Eugene; Fristad, Mary A; Frazier, Thomas W; Youngstrom, Eric A; Findling, Robert L; Drevets, Wayne; Phillips, Mary L

    2014-11-01

    Previous neuroimaging studies of youth with bipolar disorder (BD) have identified abnormalities in emotion regulation circuitry. Using data from the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms Cohort (a clinical sample recruited for behavioral and emotional dysregulation), we examined the impact of BD and medication on activation in these regions. Functional neuroimaging data were obtained from 15 youth with BD who currently were unmedicated with a mood stabilizer or antipsychotic (U-BD), 19 youth with medicated BD (M-BD), a non-bipolar clinical sample with high rates of disruptive behavioral disorders (non-BD, n = 59), and 29 healthy controls (HC) while they were shown task-irrelevant morphing emotional faces and shapes. Whole brain analysis was used to identify clusters that showed differential activation to emotion vs. shapes across group. To assess pair-wise comparisons and potential confounders, mean activation data were extracted only from clusters within regions previously implicated in emotion regulation (including amygdala and ventral prefrontal regions). A cluster in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) showed group differences to emotion vs. shapes (159 voxels, corrected p abnormally decreased right IFG activation to negative emotions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Magnetic resonance and cranial ultrasound characteristics of periventricular white matter abnormalities in newborn infants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Childs, Anne-Marie; Cornette, Luc; Ramenghi, Luca A.; Tanner, Steven F.; Arthur, Rosemary J.; Martinez, Delia; Levene, Malcolm I.

    2001-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To characterize the range of abnormalities within the periventricular white matter (PVWM) in a cohort of newborns using magnetic resonance (MR) brain imaging and to compare the focal MR abnormalities with the cranial ultrasound (CUS) findings. METHODS: Retrospective study of MR brain and CUS findings of infants born in the 18-month period 1998-1999. PVWM abnormalities were identified by MR and focal lesions were characterized by size, number and distribution using a grading scale. Correspondence with CUS findings was assessed. RESULTS: 175 MR examinations corresponding to n = 105 preterm infants, (median GA 28, range 23-36 weeks) and n = 25 term infants (median GA 39, range 37-42 weeks) were analysed for PVWM abnormalities. In the preterm group, MR demonstrated a normal PVWM in n = 76, focal areas of altered signal intensity (SI) in PVWM in n = 26 and venous infarction inn 3. In the term group, MR demonstrated a normal PVWM in n = 15, focal areas of altered SI in PVWM in n = 4, oedematous PVWM in n = 2 and a middle cerebral artery infarction in n = 4. All infants with normal MR had normal CUS findings. A focal PVWM SI abnormality detectable on MR corresponded with an abnormality on CUS in only n = 10/30. CONCLUSIONS: MR appears considerably more sensitive than CUS in demonstrating the existence and extent of focal PVWM lesions in newborn infants. Satisfactory correspondence between the two imaging investigations is obtained only for cystic PVWM lesions. Childs, A.-M. et al. (2001)

  11. Selective mutism and abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) tracings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Politi, Keren; Kivity, Sara; Goldberg-Stern, Hadassa; Halevi, Ayelet; Shuper, Avinoam

    2011-11-01

    Epileptic discharges are not considered a part of the clinical picture of selective mutism, and electroencephalography is generally not recommended in its work-up. This report describes 6 children with selective mutism who were found to have a history of epilepsy and abnormal interictal or subclinical electroencephalography recordings. Two of them had benign epilepsy of childhood with centro-temporal spikes. The mutism was not related in time to the presence of active seizures. While seizures could be controlled in all children by medications, the mutism resolved only in 1. Although the discharges could be coincidental, they might represent a co-morbidity of selective mutism or even play a role in its pathogenesis. Selective mutism should be listed among the psychiatric disorders that may be associated with electroencephalographic abnormalities. It can probably be regarded as a symptom of a more complicated organic brain disorder.

  12. Neural correlates of apathy in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, acquired brain injury, and psychiatric disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kos, Claire; van Tol, Marie-José; Marsman, Jan-Bernard C; Knegtering, Henderikus; Aleman, André

    2016-10-01

    Apathy can be described as a loss of goal-directed purposeful behavior and is common in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Although previous studies investigated associations between abnormal brain functioning and apathy, it is unclear whether the neural basis of apathy is similar across different pathological conditions. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide an extensive overview of the neuroimaging literature on apathy including studies of various patient populations, and evaluate whether the current state of affairs suggest disorder specific or shared neural correlates of apathy. Results suggest that abnormalities within fronto-striatal circuits are most consistently associated with apathy across the different pathological conditions. Of note, abnormalities within the inferior parietal cortex were also linked to apathy, a region previously not included in neuroanatomical models of apathy. The variance in brain regions implicated in apathy may suggest that different routes towards apathy are possible. Future research should investigate possible alterations in different processes underlying goal-directed behavior, ranging from intention and goal-selection to action planning and execution. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Effective brain network analysis with resting-state EEG data: a comparison between heroin abstinent and non-addicted subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Bin; Dong, Qunxi; Hao, Yanrong; Zhao, Qinglin; Shen, Jian; Zheng, Fang

    2017-08-01

    Objective. Neuro-electrophysiological tools have been widely used in heroin addiction studies. Previous studies indicated that chronic heroin abuse would result in abnormal functional organization of the brain, while few heroin addiction studies have applied the effective connectivity tool to analyze the brain functional system (BFS) alterations induced by heroin abuse. The present study aims to identify the abnormality of resting-state heroin abstinent BFS using source decomposition and effective connectivity tools. Approach. The resting-state electroencephalograph (EEG) signals were acquired from 15 male heroin abstinent (HA) subjects and 14 male non-addicted (NA) controls. Multivariate autoregressive models combined independent component analysis (MVARICA) was applied for blind source decomposition. Generalized partial directed coherence (GPDC) was applied for effective brain connectivity analysis. Effective brain networks of both HA and NA groups were constructed. The two groups of effective cortical networks were compared by the bootstrap method. Abnormal causal interactions between decomposed source regions were estimated in the 1-45 Hz frequency domain. Main results. This work suggested: (a) there were clear effective network alterations in heroin abstinent subject groups; (b) the parietal region was a dominant hub of the abnormally weaker causal pathways, and the left occipital region was a dominant hub of the abnormally stronger causal pathways. Significance. These findings provide direct evidence that chronic heroin abuse induces brain functional abnormalities. The potential value of combining effective connectivity analysis and brain source decomposition methods in exploring brain alterations of heroin addicts is also implied.

  14. Digital atlas of fetal brain MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chapman, Teresa; Weinberger, E. [Department of Radiology, Seattle Children' s Hospital, Seattle, WA (United States); Matesan, Manuela [University of Washington, Department of Radiology, Seattle, WA (United States); Bulas, Dorothy I. [Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC (United States)

    2010-02-15

    Fetal MRI can be performed in the second and third trimesters. During this time, the fetal brain undergoes profound structural changes. Interpretation of appropriate development might require comparison with normal age-based models. Consultation of a hard-copy atlas is limited by the inability to compare multiple ages simultaneously. To provide images of normal fetal brains from weeks 18 through 37 in a digital format that can be reviewed interactively. This will facilitate recognition of abnormal brain development. T2-W images for the atlas were obtained from fetal MR studies of normal brains scanned for other indications from 2005 to 2007. Images were oriented in standard axial, coronal and sagittal projections, with laterality established by situs. Gestational age was determined by last menstrual period, earliest US measurements and sonogram performed on the same day as the MR. The software program used for viewing the atlas, written in C, permits linked scrolling and resizing the images. Simultaneous comparison of varying gestational ages is permissible. Fetal brain images across gestational ages 18 to 37 weeks are provided as an interactive digital atlas and are available for free download. Improved interpretation of fetal brain abnormalities can be facilitated by the use of digital atlas cataloging of the normal changes throughout fetal development. Here we provide a description of the atlas and a discussion of normal fetal brain development. (orig.)

  15. Digital atlas of fetal brain MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, Teresa; Weinberger, E.; Matesan, Manuela; Bulas, Dorothy I.

    2010-01-01

    Fetal MRI can be performed in the second and third trimesters. During this time, the fetal brain undergoes profound structural changes. Interpretation of appropriate development might require comparison with normal age-based models. Consultation of a hard-copy atlas is limited by the inability to compare multiple ages simultaneously. To provide images of normal fetal brains from weeks 18 through 37 in a digital format that can be reviewed interactively. This will facilitate recognition of abnormal brain development. T2-W images for the atlas were obtained from fetal MR studies of normal brains scanned for other indications from 2005 to 2007. Images were oriented in standard axial, coronal and sagittal projections, with laterality established by situs. Gestational age was determined by last menstrual period, earliest US measurements and sonogram performed on the same day as the MR. The software program used for viewing the atlas, written in C, permits linked scrolling and resizing the images. Simultaneous comparison of varying gestational ages is permissible. Fetal brain images across gestational ages 18 to 37 weeks are provided as an interactive digital atlas and are available for free download. Improved interpretation of fetal brain abnormalities can be facilitated by the use of digital atlas cataloging of the normal changes throughout fetal development. Here we provide a description of the atlas and a discussion of normal fetal brain development. (orig.)

  16. Phenotype abnormality: 35 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 35 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u541i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... during process named response to gravity ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  17. Data warehousing methods and processing infrastructure for brain recovery research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, T; Kenny, S; Price, C J; Seghier, M L; Small, S L; Leff, A P; Pacurar, A; Strother, S C

    2010-09-01

    In order to accelerate translational neuroscience with the goal of improving clinical care it has become important to support rapid accumulation and analysis of large, heterogeneous neuroimaging samples and their metadata from both normal control and patient groups. We propose a multi-centre, multinational approach to accelerate the data mining of large samples and facilitate data-led clinical translation of neuroimaging results in stroke. Such data-driven approaches are likely to have an early impact on clinically relevant brain recovery while we simultaneously pursue the much more challenging model-based approaches that depend on a deep understanding of the complex neural circuitry and physiological processes that support brain function and recovery. We present a brief overview of three (potentially converging) approaches to neuroimaging data warehousing and processing that aim to support these diverse methods for facilitating prediction of cognitive and behavioral recovery after stroke, or other types of brain injury or disease.

  18. A Dirichlet process mixture model for brain MRI tissue classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira da Silva, Adelino R

    2007-04-01

    Accurate classification of magnetic resonance images according to tissue type or region of interest has become a critical requirement in diagnosis, treatment planning, and cognitive neuroscience. Several authors have shown that finite mixture models give excellent results in the automated segmentation of MR images of the human normal brain. However, performance and robustness of finite mixture models deteriorate when the models have to deal with a variety of anatomical structures. In this paper, we propose a nonparametric Bayesian model for tissue classification of MR images of the brain. The model, known as Dirichlet process mixture model, uses Dirichlet process priors to overcome the limitations of current parametric finite mixture models. To validate the accuracy and robustness of our method we present the results of experiments carried out on simulated MR brain scans, as well as on real MR image data. The results are compared with similar results from other well-known MRI segmentation methods.

  19. Evaluation of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome with [99mTc] HMPAO Brain SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carreira, LCTF; Santos, A. O; Juarez, B. A; Leite, H. A; Lima, M. C. L; Ramos, C. D; Camargo, E. E

    2002-01-01

    Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GLTS) is a disorder characterized by tics and several behavioral disturbances. Although GLTS is a relatively common disorder, little is known about its pathophysiology. Previous studies with SPECT and PET were performed in a small number of patients and have shown some discordant data. The aim of this study is to evaluate brain perfusion abnormalities in patients with GLTS and to correlate them with the clinical manifestations of the syndrome. Twenty-eight patients were submitted to brain [99mTc]-HMPAO SPECT. 82 percent of the patients had abnormal studies. The most frequent finding was perfusion abnormalities in the thalami in 16 patients (57 percent) and 85 percent of patients with hyperperfusion of one or both thalami had complex motor tics. This investigation has demonstrated that brain perfusion SPECT is able to identify cortical perfusion abnormalities, associated with clinical symptoms in patients with GLTS. These abnormalities involve the pre-frontal-striatal-thalamic-cortical pathways (Au)

  20. Three-dimensional brain metabolic imaging in patients with toxic encephalopathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callender, T.J.; Duhon, D.; Ristovv, M.; Morrow, L.; Subramanian, K.

    1993-01-01

    Thirty-three workers, ages 24 to 63, developed clinical toxic encephalopathy after exposure to neurotoxins and were studied by SPECT brain scans. Five were exposed to pesticides, 13 were acutely exposed to mixtures of solvents, 8 were chronically exposed to mixtures of hazardous wastes that contained organic solvents, 2 were acutely exposed to phosgene and other toxins, and 5 had exposures to hydrogen sulfide. Twenty-nine had neuropsychological testing and all had a medical history and physical. Of the workers who had a clinical diagnosis of toxic encephalopathy, 31 (93.9%) had abnormal SPECT brain scans with the most frequent areas of abnormality being temporal lobes (67.7%), frontal lobes (61.3%), basal ganglia (45.2%), thalamus (29.0%), parietal lobes (12.9%), motorstrip (9.68%), cerebral hemisphere (6.45%), occipital lobes (3.23%), and caudate nucleus (3.23%). Twenty-three out of 29 (79.3%) neuropsychological evaluations were abnormal. Other modalities when performed included the following percentages of abnormals: NCV, 33.3%; CPT sensory nerve testing, 91.3%, vestibular function testing, 71.4%; olfactory testing, 89.2%; sleep EEG analysis, 85.7%; EEG, 8.33%; CT, 7.14%; and MRI brain scans, 28.6%. The complex of symptoms seen in toxic encephalopathy implies dysfunction involving several CNS regions. This series of patients adds to the previous experience of brain metabolic imaging and demonstrates that certain areas of the brain are typically affected despite differences in toxin structure, that these lesions can be globally defined by SPECT/PET brain scans, that these lesions correlate well with clinical and neuropsychological testing, and that such testing is a useful adjunct to previous methods. EEG and structural brain imaging such as CT and MRI are observed to have poor sensitivity in this type of patient. 32 refs., 5 tabs

  1. Abnormal functional integration across core brain networks in migraine without aura.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dahua; Yuan, Kai; Luo, Lin; Zhai, Jinquan; Bi, Yanzhi; Xue, Ting; Ren, Xiaoying; Zhang, Ming; Ren, Guoyin; Lu, Xiaoqi

    2017-01-01

    As a complex subjective experience, pain processing may be related to functional integration among intrinsic connectivity networks of migraine patients without aura. However, few study focused on the pattern alterations in the intrinsic connectivity networks of migraine patients without aura. Thirty-one migraine patients without aura and 31 age- and education-matched healthy controls participated in this study. After identifying the default mode network, central executive network and salience network as core intrinsic connectivity networks by using independent component analysis, functional connectivity, and effective connectivity during the resting state were used to investigate the abnormalities in intrinsic connectivity network interactions. Migraine patients without aura showed decreased functional connectivity among intrinsic connectivity networks compared with healthy controls. The strength of causal influences from the right frontoinsular cortex to the right anterior cingulate cortex became weaker, and the right frontoinsular cortex to the right medial prefrontal cortex became stronger in migraine patients without aura. These changes suggested that the salience network may play a major role in the pathophysiological features of migraine patients without aura and helped us to synthesize previous findings into an aberrant network dynamical framework.

  2. Phenotype abnormality: 31 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 31 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u537i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality during process named localization of cell ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  3. Phenotype abnormality: 33 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 33 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u539i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality during process named response to auxin stimulus ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  4. Phenotype abnormality: 32 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 32 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u538i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... during process named organ development ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  5. Phenotype abnormality: 34 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 34 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u540i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... during process named response to cytokinin stimulus ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  6. Schizophrenia and Category-Selectivity in the Brain: Normal for Faces but Abnormal for Houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Kronbichler

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Face processing is regularly found to be impaired in schizophrenia (SZ, thus suggesting that social malfunctioning might be caused by dysfunctional face processing. Most studies focused on emotional face processes, whereas non-emotional face processing received less attention. While current reports on abnormal face processing in SZ are mixed, examinations of non-emotional face processing compared to adequate control stimuli may clarify whether SZ is characterized by a face-processing deficit. Patients with SZ (n = 28 and healthy controls (n = 30 engaged in an fMRI scan where images of non-emotional faces and houses were presented. A simple inverted-picture detection task warranted the participants’ attention. Region of interest (ROI analyses were conducted on face-sensitive regions including the fusiform face area, the occipital face area, and the superior temporal sulcus. Scene-sensitivity was assessed in the parahippocampal place area (PPA and served as control condition. Patients did not show aberrant face-related neural processes in face-sensitive regions. This finding was also evident when analyses were done on individually defined ROIs or on in-house-localizer ROIs. Patients revealed a decreased specificity toward house stimuli as reflected in decreased neural response toward houses in the PPA. Again, this result was supported by supplementary analyses. Neural activation toward neutral faces was not found to be impaired in SZ, therefore speaking against an overall face-processing deficit. Aberrant activation in scene-sensitive PPA is also found in assessments of memory processes in SZ. It is up to future studies to show how impairments in PPA relate to functional outcome in SZ.

  7. Digital atlas of fetal brain MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Teresa; Matesan, Manuela; Weinberger, Ed; Bulas, Dorothy I

    2010-02-01

    Fetal MRI can be performed in the second and third trimesters. During this time, the fetal brain undergoes profound structural changes. Interpretation of appropriate development might require comparison with normal age-based models. Consultation of a hard-copy atlas is limited by the inability to compare multiple ages simultaneously. To provide images of normal fetal brains from weeks 18 through 37 in a digital format that can be reviewed interactively. This will facilitate recognition of abnormal brain development. T2-W images for the atlas were obtained from fetal MR studies of normal brains scanned for other indications from 2005 to 2007. Images were oriented in standard axial, coronal and sagittal projections, with laterality established by situs. Gestational age was determined by last menstrual period, earliest US measurements and sonogram performed on the same day as the MR. The software program used for viewing the atlas, written in C#, permits linked scrolling and resizing the images. Simultaneous comparison of varying gestational ages is permissible. Fetal brain images across gestational ages 18 to 37 weeks are provided as an interactive digital atlas and are available for free download from http://radiology.seattlechildrens.org/teaching/fetal_brain . Improved interpretation of fetal brain abnormalities can be facilitated by the use of digital atlas cataloging of the normal changes throughout fetal development. Here we provide a description of the atlas and a discussion of normal fetal brain development.

  8. Movement Disorders and Other Motor Abnormalities in Adults With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boot, Erik; Butcher, Nancy J; van Amelsvoort, Thérèse AMJ; Lang, Anthony E; Marras, Connie; Pondal, Margarita; Andrade, Danielle M; Fung, Wai Lun Alan; Bassett, Anne S

    2015-01-01

    Movement abnormalities are frequently reported in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), but knowledge in this area is scarce in the increasing adult population. We report on five individuals illustrative of movement disorders and other motor abnormalities in adults with 22q11.2DS. In addition to an increased susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders, seizures, and early-onset Parkinson disease, the underlying brain dysfunction associated with 22q11.2DS may give rise to an increased vulnerability to multiple movement abnormalities, including those influenced by medications. Movement abnormalities may also be secondary to treatable endocrine diseases and congenital musculoskeletal abnormalities. We propose that movement abnormalities may be common in adults with 22q11.2DS and discuss the implications and challenges important to clinical practice. PMID:25684639

  9. Radiopharmaceuticals for the imaging of functional abnormalities of the developing brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senekowitsch, R.; Kriegel, H.

    1986-01-01

    The measurement of physiological parameters in man is possible with the help of positron emission tomography (PET) and radiopharmaceuticals labeled with short lived positron emitters as C 11, N 13, O 15 and F 18. With the use of this substances it is possible to make a tomographic map defining regional metabolic parameters in normal and diseased brain. This technique has therefore also be named 'in vivo autoradiography'. The possibility of applying C 11 or F 18 labeled deoxyglucose with PET for detecting regional and local changes in cerebral metabolic rate of glucose in brain development in children of 5 days to 1 year of age is discussed. Beyond this a relationship between cerebral metabolic rate of glucose, cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen by use of this technique after inhalation of O 15 and C 11-labeled CO 2 is shown. Attention is drawn to the application of C 11-methyl-spiperone and PET to visualize dopamine receptor density in the brain. The receptor density and the ability of receptors to bind neutrotransmitters is found to be influenced by prenatal irradiation. It is expected that relations between alterations in the developing brain and its postnatal function may be explored in this way. (orig.)

  10. Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hibar, D.P.; Stein, J.L.; Renteria, M.E.; Arias-Vasquez, A.; Desrivières, S.; Jahanshad, N.; Toro, R.; Wittfeld, K.; Abramovic, L.; Andersson, M.; Aribisala, B.S.; Armstrong, N.J.; Bernard, M.; Bohlken, M.M.; Biks, M.P.; Bralten, J.; Brown, A.A.; Chakravarty, M.M.; Chen, Q.; Ching, C.R.K.; Cuellar-Partida, G.; den Braber, A.; Giddaluru, S.; Goldman, A.L.; Grimm, O.; Guadalupe, T.; Hass, J.; Woldehawariat, G.; Holmes, A.J.; Hoogman, M.; Janowitz, D.; Jia, T.; Kim, S.; Klein, M.; Kraemer, B.; Lee, P.H.; Olde Loohuis, L.M.; Luciano, M.; Macare, C.; Mather, K.A.; Mattheisen, M.; Milaneschi, Y.; Nho, K.; Papmeyer, M.; Ramasamy, A.; Risacher, S.L.; Roiz-Santiañez, R.; Rose, E.J.; Salami, A.; Sämann, P.G.; Schmaal, L.; Schork, A.J.; Shin, J.; Strike, L.T.; Teumer, A.; Donkelaar, M.M.J.; van Eijk, K.R.; Walters, R.K.; Westlye, L.T.; Welan, C.D.; Winkler, A.M.; Zwiers, M.P.; Alhusaini, S.; Athanasiu, L.; Ehrlich, S.; Hakobjan, M.M.H.; Hartberg, C.B.; Haukvik, U.K.; Heister, A.J.G.A.M.; Hoehn, D.; Kasperaviciute, D.; Liewald, D.C.M.; Lopez, L.M.; Makkinje, R.R.; Matarin, M.; Naber, M.A.M.; Reese McKay, D.; Needham, M.; Nugent, A.C.; Pütz, B.; Royle, N.A.; Shen, L.; Sprooten, E.; Trabzuni, D.; van der Marel, S.S.L.; van Hulzen, K.J.E.; Walton, E.; Wolf, C.; Almasy, L.; Ames, D.; Arepalli, S.; Assareh, A.A.; Bastin, M.E.; Brodaty, H.; Bulayeva, K.B.; Carless, M.A.; Cichon, S.; Corvin, A.; Curran, J.E.; Czisch, M.; de Zubicaray, G.I.; Dillman, A.; Duggirala, R.; Dyer, T.D.; Erk, S.; Fedko, I.O.; Ferrucci, L.; Foroud, T.M.; Fox, P.T.; Fukunaga, M.; Gibbs, J.R.; Göring, H.H.H.; Green, R.C.; Guelfi, S.; Hansell, N.K.; Hartman, C.A.; Hegenscheid, K.; Heinz, A.; Hernandez, D.G.; Heslenfeld, D.J.; Hoekstra, P.J.; Holsboer, F.; Homuth, G.; Hottenga, J.J.; Ikeda, M.; Jack, C.R., Jr.; Jenkinson, M.; Johnson, R.; Kanai, R.; Keil, M.; Kent, J.W. Jr.; Kochunov, P.; Kwok, J.B.; Lawrie, S.M.; Liu, X.; Longo, D.L.; McMahon, K.L.; Meisenzahl, E.; Melle, I.; Mohnke, S.; Montgomery, G.W.; Mostert, J.C.; Mühleisen, T.W.; Nalls, M.A.; Nichols, T.E.; Nilsson, L.G.; Nöthen, M.M.; Ohi, K.; Olvera, R.L.; Perez-Iglesias, R.; Pike, G.B.; Potkin, S.G.; Reinvang, I.; Reppermund, S.; Rietschel, M.; Romanczuk-Seiferth, N.; Rosen, G.D.; Rujescu, D.; Schnell, K.; Schofield, P.R.; Smith, C.; Steen, V.M.; Sussmann, J.E.; Thalamuthu, A.; Toga, A.W.; Traynor, B.J.; Troncoso, J.; Turner, J.A.; Valdés Hernández, M.C.; van t Ent, D.; van der Brug, M.; van der Wee, N.J.A.; van Tol, M.J.; Veltman, D.J.; Wassink, T.H.; Westmann, E.; Zielke, R.H.; Zonderman, A.B.; Ashbrook, D.G.; Hager, R.; Lu, L.; McMahon, F.J.; Morris, D.W.; Williams, R.W.; Brunner, H.G.; Buckner, R.L.; Buitelaar, J.K.; Cahn, W.; Calhoun, V.D.; Cavalleri, G.L.; Crespo-Facorro, B.; Dale, A.M.; Davies, G.E.; Delanty, N.; Depondt, C.; Djurovic, S.; Drevets, W.C.; Espeseth, T.; Gollub, R.L.; Ho, B.C.; Hoffmann, W.; Hosten, N.; Kahn, R.S.; Le Hellard, S.; Meyer-Lindenberg, A.; Müller-Myhsok, B.; Nauck, M.; Nyberg, L.; Pandolfo, M.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.; Roffman, J.L.; Sisodiya, SM; Smoller, J.W.; van Bokhoven, H.; van Haren, N.E.M.; Völzke, H.; Walter, H.; Weiner, M.W.; Wen, W.; White, T.; Agartz, I.; Andreassen, O.A.; Blangero, J.; Boomsma, D.I.; Brouwer, R.M.; Cannon, D.M.; Cookson, M.R.; de Geus, E.J.C.; Deary, I.J.; Donohoe, G.; Fernandez, G.; Fisher, S.E.; Francks, C.; Glahn, D.C.; Grabe, H.J.; Gruber, O.; Hardy, J.; Hashimoto, R.; Hulshoff Pol, H.E.; Jönsson, E.G.; Kloszewska, I.; Lovestone, S.; Mattay, V.S.; Mecocci, P.; McDonald, C.; McIntosh, A.M.; Ophoff, R.A.; Paus, T.; Pausova, Z.; Ryten, M.; Sachdev, P.S.; Saykin, A.J.; Simmons, A.; Singleton, A.; Soininen, H.; Wardlaw, J.M.; Weale, M.E.; Weinberger, D.R.; Adams, H.H.H.; Launer, L.J.; Seiler, S.; Schmidt, R.; Chauhan, G.; Satizabal, C.L.; Becker, J.T.; Yanek, L.; van der Lee, S.J.; Ebling, M.; Fischl, B.; Longstreth, Jr. W.T.; Greve, D.; Schmidt, H.; Nyquist, P.; Vinke, L.N.; van Duijn, C.M.; Xue, L.; Mazoyer, B.; Bis, J.C.; Gudnason, V.; Seshadri, S.; Arfan Ikram, M.; Martin, N.G.; Wright, M.J.; Schumann, G.; Franke, B.; Thompson, P.M.; Medland, S.E.

    2015-01-01

    The highly complex structure of the human brain is strongly shaped by genetic influences. Subcortical brain regions form circuits with cortical areas to coordinate movement, learning, memory and motivation, and altered circuits can lead to abnormal behaviour and disease. To investigate how common

  11. Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D.P. Hibar (Derrek); J.L. Stein; M.E. Rentería (Miguel); A. Arias-Vásquez (Alejandro); S. Desrivières (Sylvane); N. Jahanshad (Neda); R. Toro (Roberto); K. Wittfeld (Katharina); L. Abramovic (Lucija); M. Andersson (Micael); B. Aribisala (Benjamin); N.J. Armstrong (Nicola J.); M. Bernard (Manon); M.M. Bohlken (Marc M.); M.P.M. Boks (Marco); L.B.C. Bralten (Linda); A.A. Brown (Andrew); M.M. Chakravarty (M. Mallar); Q. Chen (Qiang); C.R.K. Ching (Christopher); G. Cuellar-Partida (Gabriel); A. den Braber (Anouk); S. Giddaluru (Sudheer); A.L. Goldman (Aaron L.); O. Grimm (Oliver); T. Guadalupe (Tulio); J. Hass (Johanna); G. Woldehawariat (Girma); A.J. Holmes (Avram); M. Hoogman (Martine); D. Janowitz (Deborah); T. Jia (Tianye); S. Kim (Shinseog); M. Klein (Marieke); B. Kraemer (Bernd); P.H. Lee (Phil H.); L.M. Olde Loohuis (Loes M.); M. Luciano (Michelle); C. MacAre (Christine); R. Mather; M. Mattheisen (Manuel); Y. Milaneschi (Yuri); K. Nho (Kwangsik); M. Papmeyer (Martina); A. Ramasamy (Adaikalavan); S.L. Risacher (Shannon); R. Roiz-Santiañez (Roberto); E.J. Rose (Emma); A. Salami (Alireza); P.G. Sämann (Philipp); L. Schmaal (Lianne); N.J. Schork (Nicholas); J. Shin (Jean); L.T. Strike (Lachlan); A. Teumer (Alexander); M.M.J. Van Donkelaar (Marjolein M. J.); K.R. van Eijk (Kristel); R.K. Walters (Raymond); L.T. Westlye (Lars); C.D. Whelan (Christopher); A.M. Winkler (Anderson); M.P. Zwiers (Marcel); S. Alhusaini (Saud); L. Athanasiu (Lavinia); S.M. Ehrlich (Stefan); M. Hakobjan (Marina); C.B. Hartberg (Cecilie B.); U.K. Haukvik (Unn); A.J.G.A.M. Heister (Angelien J. G. A. M.); D. Hoehn (David); D. Kasperaviciute (Dalia); D.C. Liewald (David C.); L.M. Lopez (Lorna); R.R.R. Makkinje (Remco R. R.); M. Matarin (Mar); M.A.M. Naber (Marlies A. M.); D. Reese McKay; M. Needham (Margaret); A.C. Nugent (Allison); B. Pütz (Benno); N.A. Royle (Natalie); L. Shen (Li); R. Sprooten (Roy); D. Trabzuni (Danyah); S.S.L. Van Der Marel (Saskia S. L.); K.J.E. Van Hulzen (Kimm J. E.); E. Walton (Esther); A. Björnsson (Asgeir); L. Almasy (Laura); D.J. Ames (David); S. Arepalli (Sampath); A.A. Assareh; M.E. Bastin (Mark); H. Brodaty (Henry); K. Bulayeva (Kazima); M.A. Carless (Melanie); S. Cichon (Sven); A. Corvin (Aiden); J.E. Curran (Joanne); M. Czisch (Michael); G.I. de Zubicaray (Greig); A. Dillman (Allissa); A. Duggirala (Aparna); M.D. Dyer (Matthew); S. Erk; I. Fedko (Iryna); L. Ferrucci (Luigi); T. Foroud (Tatiana); P.T. Fox (Peter); M. Fukunaga (Masaki); J. Raphael Gibbs; H.H.H. Göring (Harald H.); R.C. Green (Robert C.); S. Guelfi (Sebastian); N.K. Hansell (Narelle); C.A. Hartman (Catharina); K. Hegenscheid (Katrin); J. Heinz (Judith); D.G. Hernandez (Dena); D.J. Heslenfeld (Dirk); P.J. Hoekstra (Pieter); F. Holsboer; G. Homuth (Georg); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); M. Ikeda (Masashi); C.R. Jack Jr. (Clifford); S. Jenkinson (Sarah); R. Johnson (Robert); R. Kanai (Ryota); M. Keil (Maria); J.W. Kent (Jack W.); P. Kochunov (Peter); J.B. Kwok (John B.); S. Lawrie (Stephen); X. Liu (Xinmin); D.L. Longo (Dan L.); K.L. Mcmahon (Katie); E. Meisenzahl (Eva); I. Melle (Ingrid); S. Mohnke (Sebastian); G.W. Montgomery (Grant); J.C. Mostert (Jeanette C.); T.W. Mühleisen (Thomas); M.A. Nalls (Michael); T.E. Nichols (Thomas); L.G. Nilsson; M.M. Nöthen (Markus); K. Ohi (Kazutaka); R.L. Olvera (Rene); R. Perez-Iglesias (Rocio); G. Bruce Pike; S.G. Potkin (Steven); I. Reinvang (Ivar); S. Reppermund; M. Rietschel (Marcella); N. Seiferth (Nina); G.D. Rosen (Glenn D.); D. Rujescu (Dan); K. Schnell (Kerry); C.J. Schofield (Christopher); C. Smith (Colin); V.M. Steen (Vidar); J. Sussmann (Jessika); A. Thalamuthu (Anbupalam); A.W. Toga (Arthur W.); B. Traynor (Bryan); J.C. Troncoso (Juan); J. Turner (Jessica); M.C. Valdés Hernández (Maria); D. van 't Ent (Dennis); M.P. van der Brug (Marcel); N.J. van der Wee (Nic); M.J.D. van Tol (Marie-José); D.J. Veltman (Dick); A.M.J. Wassink (Annemarie); E. Westman (Eric); R.H. Zielke (Ronald H.); A.B. Zonderman (Alan B.); D.G. Ashbrook (David G.); R. Hager (Reinmar); L. Lu (Lu); F.J. Mcmahon (Francis J); D.W. Morris (Derek W); R.W. Williams (Robert W.); H.G. Brunner; M. Buckner; J.K. Buitelaar (Jan K.); W. Cahn (Wiepke); V.D. Calhoun Vince D. (V.); G. Cavalleri (Gianpiero); B. Crespo-Facorro (Benedicto); A.M. Dale (Anders); G.E. Davies (Gareth); N. Delanty; C. Depondt (Chantal); S. Djurovic (Srdjan); D.A. Drevets (Douglas); T. Espeseth (Thomas); R.L. Gollub (Randy); B.C. Ho (Beng ); W. Hoffmann (Wolfgang); N. Hosten (Norbert); R. Kahn (René); S. Le Hellard (Stephanie); A. Meyer-Lindenberg; B. Müller-Myhsok (B.); M. Nauck (Matthias); L. Nyberg (Lars); M. Pandolfo (Massimo); B.W.J.H. Penninx (Brenda); J.L. Roffman (Joshua); S.M. Sisodiya (Sanjay); J.W. Smoller; H. van Bokhoven (Hans); N.E.M. van Haren (Neeltje E.); H. Völzke (Henry); H.J. Walter (Henrik); M.W. Weiner (Michael); W. Wen (Wei); T.J.H. White (Tonya); I. Agartz (Ingrid); O.A. Andreassen (Ole); J. Blangero (John); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); R.M. Brouwer (Rachel); D.M. Cannon (Dara); M.R. Cookson (Mark); E.J.C. de Geus (Eco); I.J. Deary (Ian J.); D.J. Donohoe (Dennis); G. Fernandez (Guillén); S.E. Fisher (Simon); C. Francks (Clyde); D.C. Glahn (David); H.J. Grabe (Hans Jörgen); O. Gruber (Oliver); J. Hardy (John); R. Hashimoto (Ryota); H.E. Hulshoff Pol (Hilleke); E.G. Jönsson (Erik); I. Kloszewska (Iwona); S. Lovestone (Simon); V.S. Mattay (Venkata S.); P. Mecocci (Patrizia); C. McDonald (Colm); A.M. McIntosh (Andrew); R.A. Ophoff (Roel); T. Paus (Tomas); Z. Pausova (Zdenka); M. Ryten (Mina); P.S. Sachdev (Perminder); A.J. Saykin (Andrew); A. Simmons (Andrew); A. Singleton (Andrew); H. Soininen (H.); J.M. Wardlaw (J.); M.E. Weale (Michael); D.R. Weinberger (Daniel); H.H.H. Adams (Hieab); L.J. Launer (Lenore); S. Seiler (Stephan); R. Schmidt (Reinhold); G. Chauhan (Ganesh); C.L. Satizabal (Claudia L.); J.T. Becker (James); L.R. Yanek (Lisa); S.J. van der Lee (Sven); M. Ebling (Maritza); B. Fischl (Bruce); W.T. Longstreth Jr; D. Greve (Douglas); R. Schmidt (Reinhold); P. Nyquist (Paul); L.N. Vinke (Louis N.); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); L. Xue (Luting); B. Mazoyer (Bernard); J.C. Bis (Joshua); V. Gudnason (Vilmundur); S. Seshadri (Sudha); M.A. Ikram (Arfan); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); M.J. Wright (Margaret); G. Schumann (Gunter); B. Franke (Barbara); P.M. Thompson (Paul); S.E. Medland (Sarah Elizabeth)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractThe highly complex structure of the human brain is strongly shaped by genetic influences. Subcortical brain regions form circuits with cortical areas to coordinate movement, learning, memory and motivation, and altered circuits can lead to abnormal behaviour and disease. To investigate

  12. Increased brain-predicted aging in treated HIV disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cole, James H; Underwood, Jonathan; Caan, Matthan W A; De Francesco, Davide; van Zoest, Rosan A; Leech, Robert; Wit, Ferdinand W N M; Portegies, Peter; Geurtsen, Gert J; Schmand, Ben A; Schim van der Loeff, Maarten F; Franceschi, Claudio; Sabin, Caroline A; Majoie, Charles B L M; Winston, Alan; Reiss, Peter; Sharp, David J; Kalsbeek, A.

    OBJECTIVE: To establish whether HIV disease is associated with abnormal levels of age-related brain atrophy, by estimating apparent brain age using neuroimaging and exploring whether these estimates related to HIV status, age, cognitive performance, and HIV-related clinical parameters. METHODS: A

  13. Increased brain-predicted aging in treated HIV disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cole, James H.; Underwood, Jonathan; Caan, Matthan W. A.; de Francesco, Davide; van Zoest, Rosan A.; Leech, Robert; Wit, Ferdinand W. N. M.; Portegies, Peter; Geurtsen, Gert J.; Schmand, Ben A.; Schim van der Loeff, Maarten F.; Franceschi, Claudio; Sabin, Caroline A.; Majoie, Charles B. L. M.; Winston, Alan; Reiss, Peter; Sharp, David J.; Schouten, J.; Kooij, K. W.; Elsenga, B. C.; Janssen, F. R.; Heidenrijk, M.; Schrijver, J. H. N.; Zikkenheiner, W.; van der Valk, M.; Henderiks, A.; Kootstra, N. A.; Harskamp-Holwerda, A. M.; Maurer, I.; Ruiz, M. M. Mangas; Booiman, T.; Girigorie, A. F.; Villaudy, J.; Frankin, E.; Pasternak, A.; Berkhout, B.; van der Kuyl, T.; Stege, J. A. ter; Twennaar, M. Klein; Su, T.; Siteur-van Rijnstra, E.; Weijer, K.; Bisschop, P. H. L. T.; Kalsbeek, A.; Wezel, M.; Visser, I.; Ruhé , H. G.; Tembo, L.; Stott, M.; Prins, M. [= Maria

    2017-01-01

    To establish whether HIV disease is associated with abnormal levels of age-related brain atrophy, by estimating apparent brain age using neuroimaging and exploring whether these estimates related to HIV status, age, cognitive performance, and HIV-related clinical parameters. A large sample of

  14. Structural brain imaging in diabetes : A methodological perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongen, Cynthia; Biessels, Geert Jan

    2008-01-01

    Brain imaging provides information on brain anatomy and function and progression of cerebral abnormalities can be monitored. This may provide insight into the aetiology of diabetes related cerebral disorders. This paper focuses on the methods for the assessment of white matter hyperintensities and

  15. Pattern of mri brain abnormalities in rheumatic patients with neurological involvement: a tertiary care teaching hospital experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parvez, K.; Arfaj, A.; Naseeb, F.; Daif, A.K.

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To explore the pattern of abnormalities seen on MRI in rheumatic patients with neurological manifestations and to interpret the findings in relation to clinical picture. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Rheumatology unit, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from January 2013 to February 2014. Patients and Methods: We prospectively included rheumatic patients with neurological symptoms and signs. The clinical data were correlated with MRI findings by a team comprising of a rheumatologist, neurologist and neuro-radiologist. Data was analyzed using simple statistical analysis. Results: Fifty patients were recruited with a mean age of 36.4 ± 10.76 years (range 17-62). Among SLE patients with seizures, focal deficit and headache white matter hyperintensities were found in 9 (64.28%), 4 (50%), 4 (80%) patients respectively. Out of seven SLE patients with global dysfunction, 3 (42.85%) had brain atrophy and 2 (28.57%) normal MRI. In Behcet disease with focal deficit, 3 (75%) patients had white matter hyperintensities and 1 (25%) had brainstem involvement. In Behcet disease with headache, 2 (50%) had normal MRI, 1 (25%) brainstem hyper-intensities and 1 (25%) had subacute infarct. Two (66%) of three Primary APS patients had white matter hyperintensities while third (33%) had old infarct. Both patients of polyarteritisnodosa, had white matter hyperintensities. Out of two Wegener granulomatosis one had white matter hyperintensities and other had ischemic changes in optic nerves. The only one scleroderma patient had white matter hyperintensities. Conclusion: We found that white matter hyperintensities was the most common MRI abnormality in our study group which in most of the cases had poor clinical correlation. No distinct pattern of CNS involvement on MRI was observed in various rheumatic disorders. (author)

  16. Abnormal metabolic network activity in REM sleep behavior disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holtbernd, Florian; Gagnon, Jean-François; Postuma, Ron B; Ma, Yilong; Tang, Chris C; Feigin, Andrew; Dhawan, Vijay; Vendette, Mélanie; Soucy, Jean-Paul; Eidelberg, David; Montplaisir, Jacques

    2014-02-18

    To determine whether the Parkinson disease-related covariance pattern (PDRP) expression is abnormally increased in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and whether increased baseline activity is associated with greater individual risk of subsequent phenoconversion. For this cohort study, we recruited 2 groups of RBD and control subjects. Cohort 1 comprised 10 subjects with RBD (63.5 ± 9.4 years old) and 10 healthy volunteers (62.7 ± 8.6 years old) who underwent resting-state metabolic brain imaging with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET. Cohort 2 comprised 17 subjects with RBD (68.9 ± 4.8 years old) and 17 healthy volunteers (66.6 ± 6.0 years old) who underwent resting brain perfusion imaging with ethylcysteinate dimer SPECT. The latter group was followed clinically for 4.6 ± 2.5 years by investigators blinded to the imaging results. PDRP expression was measured in both RBD groups and compared with corresponding control values. PDRP expression was elevated in both groups of subjects with RBD (cohort 1: p abnormalities in subjects with idiopathic RBD are associated with a greater likelihood of subsequent phenoconversion to a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome.

  17. MRI-based quantification of brain damage in cerebrovascular disorders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bresser, J.H.J.M.

    2011-01-01

    Brain diseases can lead to diverse structural abnormalities that can be assessed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. These abnormalities can be quantified by (semi-)automated techniques. The studies described in this thesis aimed to optimize and apply cerebral quantification techniques in

  18. Phenotype abnormality: 42 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 42 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u548i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named root during process named gravitropism ... root ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  19. Phenotype abnormality: 40 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 40 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u546i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... in organ named hypocotyl during process named gravitropism ... hypocotyl ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  20. Phenotype abnormality: 43 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 43 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u549i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... in organ named root during process named growth ... root ... abnormal ... growth ... behavioral quality

  1. Brain Structure Abnormalities in Adolescent Girls with Conduct Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairchild, Graeme; Hagan, Cindy C.; Walsh, Nicholas D.; Passamonti, Luca; Calder, Andrew J.; Goodyer, Ian M.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Conduct disorder (CD) in female adolescents is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including teenage pregnancy and antisocial personality disorder. Although recent studies have documented changes in brain structure and function in male adolescents with CD, there have been no neuroimaging studies of female adolescents with CD.…

  2. Altered intrinsic functional brain architecture in female patients with bulimia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Li; Kong, Qing-Mei; Li, Ke; Li, Xue-Ni; Zeng, Ya-Wei; Chen, Chao; Qian, Ying; Feng, Shi-Jie; Li, Ji-Tao; Su, Yun'Ai; Correll, Christoph U; Mitchell, Philip B; Yan, Chao-Gan; Zhang, Da-Rong; Si, Tian-Mei

    2017-11-01

    Bulimia nervosa is a severe psychiatric syndrome with uncertain pathogenesis. Neural systems involved in sensorimotor and visual processing, reward and impulsive control may contribute to the binge eating and purging behaviours characterizing bulimia nervosa. However, little is known about the alterations of functional organization of whole brain networks in individuals with this disorder. We used resting-state functional MRI and graph theory to characterize functional brain networks of unmedicated women with bulimia nervosa and healthy women. We included 44 unmedicated women with bulimia nervosa and 44 healthy women in our analyses. Women with bulimia nervosa showed increased clustering coefficient and path length compared with control women. The nodal strength in patients with the disorder was higher in the sensorimotor and visual regions as well as the precuneus, but lower in several subcortical regions, such as the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex. Patients also showed hyperconnectivity primarily involving sensorimotor and unimodal visual association regions, but hypoconnectivity involving subcortical (striatum, thalamus), limbic (amygdala, hippocampus) and paralimbic (orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus) regions. The topological aberrations correlated significantly with scores of bulimia and drive for thinness and with body mass index. We reruited patients with only acute bulimia nervosa, so it is unclear whether the topological abnormalities comprise vulnerability markers for the disorder developing or the changes associated with illness state. Our findings show altered intrinsic functional brain architecture, specifically abnormal global and local efficiency, as well as nodal- and network-level connectivity across sensorimotor, visual, subcortical and limbic systems in women with bulimia nervosa, suggesting that it is a disorder of dysfunctional integration among large-scale distributed brain regions. These abnormalities

  3. Survival Rate without Brain Abnormalities on Postnatal Ultrasonography among Monochorionic Twins after Fetoscopic Laser Photocoagulation for Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction with Concomitant Oligohydramnios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, Keisuke; Wada, Seiji; Takano, Mayumi; Nakata, Masahiko; Murakoshi, Takeshi; Sago, Haruhiko

    2018-02-20

    We aimed to clarify the survival rate without brain abnormalities (BA) after fetoscopic laser photoco-agulation (FLP) for monochorionic diamniotic twin gestations (MCDA) with selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR) accompanied by abnormal umbilical artery (UA) Doppler waveforms and isolated oligohydramnios in the sIUGR twin. This retrospective study included 52 cases that underwent FLP. The main outcome was survival rate without BA of the twins at age 28 days. BA was defined as severe intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia on postnatal ultrasonography. Median gestational age at FLP was 20 (16-24) weeks. Ten cases were classified as type III based on Doppler for the UA. For all cases, including 20 cases of anterior placenta, FLP was completed without major intraoperative complications. Amnioinfusion was required in 49 cases for better fetoscopic visualization. Fetal loss occurred in 29 sIUGR twins and two larger twins, whereas one larger twin experienced neonatal death. Survival rates without BA were 44% (n = 23) for sIUGR twins and 94% (n = 49) for the larger twins. FLP for MCDA with sIUGR presenting with oligohydramnios in the sIUGR twin might be considered a prenatal treatment option. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Transient MRI abnormalities associated with partial status epilepticus: a case report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amato, Carmelo; Elia, Maurizio; Musumeci, Sebastiano A; Bisceglie, Pierluigi; Moschini, Massimo

    2001-04-01

    We report the case of an 18-year-old woman who presented a long-lasting cluster of partial seizures, and MRI cortical abnormalities localized in the left parietal lobe. The MRI changes correlated with the site of the epileptogenic focus, and disappeared within 2 weeks. The recognition of these reversible MRI abnormalities, which are presumably due to a temporary alteration of blood-brain barrier in the epileptogenic zone with subsequent edema, and are not associated with any underlying organic conditions, is extremely useful in the medical management of the patient and allows to avoid other invasive diagnostic procedures.

  5. Transient MRI abnormalities associated with partial status epilepticus: a case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amato, Carmelo; Elia, Maurizio; Musumeci, Sebastiano A.; Bisceglie, Pierluigi; Moschini, Massimo

    2001-01-01

    We report the case of an 18-year-old woman who presented a long-lasting cluster of partial seizures, and MRI cortical abnormalities localized in the left parietal lobe. The MRI changes correlated with the site of the epileptogenic focus, and disappeared within 2 weeks. The recognition of these reversible MRI abnormalities, which are presumably due to a temporary alteration of blood-brain barrier in the epileptogenic zone with subsequent edema, and are not associated with any underlying organic conditions, is extremely useful in the medical management of the patient and allows to avoid other invasive diagnostic procedures

  6. Altered caudate connectivity is associated with executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Simoni, Sara; Jenkins, Peter O; Bourke, Niall J; Fleminger, Jessica J; Jolly, Amy E; Patel, Maneesh C; Leech, Robert; Sharp, David J

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Traumatic brain injury often produces executive dysfunction. This characteristic cognitive impairment often causes long-term problems with behaviour and personality. Frontal lobe injuries are associated with executive dysfunction, but it is unclear how these injuries relate to corticostriatal interactions that are known to play an important role in behavioural control. We hypothesized that executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury would be associated with abnormal corticostriatal interactions, a question that has not previously been investigated. We used structural and functional MRI measures of connectivity to investigate this. Corticostriatal functional connectivity in healthy individuals was initially defined using a data-driven approach. A constrained independent component analysis approach was applied in 100 healthy adult dataset from the Human Connectome Project. Diffusion tractography was also performed to generate white matter tracts. The output of this analysis was used to compare corticostriatal functional connectivity and structural integrity between groups of 42 patients with traumatic brain injury and 21 age-matched controls. Subdivisions of the caudate and putamen had distinct patterns of functional connectivity. Traumatic brain injury patients showed disruption to functional connectivity between the caudate and a distributed set of cortical regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex. Cognitive impairments in the patients were mainly seen in processing speed and executive function, as well as increased levels of apathy and fatigue. Abnormalities of caudate functional connectivity correlated with these cognitive impairments, with reductions in right caudate connectivity associated with increased executive dysfunction, information processing speed and memory impairment. Structural connectivity, measured using diffusion tensor imaging between the caudate and anterior cingulate cortex was impaired and this also correlated with

  7. Abnormal Grain Growth Suppression in Aluminum Alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hales, Stephen J. (Inventor); Claytor, Harold Dale (Inventor); Alexa, Joel A. (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    The present invention provides a process for suppressing abnormal grain growth in friction stir welded aluminum alloys by inserting an intermediate annealing treatment ("IAT") after the welding step on the article. The IAT may be followed by a solution heat treatment (SHT) on the article under effectively high solution heat treatment conditions. In at least some embodiments, a deformation step is conducted on the article under effective spin-forming deformation conditions or under effective superplastic deformation conditions. The invention further provides a welded article having suppressed abnormal grain growth, prepared by the process above. Preferably the article is characterized with greater than about 90% reduction in area fraction abnormal grain growth in any friction-stir-welded nugget.

  8. Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hibar, Derrek P.; Stein, Jason L.; Renteria, Miguel E.; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Desrivieres, Sylvane; Jahanshad, Neda; Toro, Roberto; Wittfeld, Katharina; Abramovic, Lucija; Andersson, Micael; Aribisala, Benjamin S.; Armstrong, Nicola J.; Bernard, Manon; Bohlken, Marc M.; Boks, Marco P.; Bralten, Janita; Brown, Andrew A.; Chakravarty, M. Mallar; Chen, Qiang; Ching, Christopher R. K.; Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; den Braber, Anouk; Giddaluru, Sudheer; Goldman, Aaron L.; Grimm, Oliver; Guadalupe, Tulio; Hass, Johanna; Woldehawariat, Girma; Holmes, Avram J.; Hoogman, Martine; Janowitz, Deborah; Jia, Tianye; Kim, Sungeun; Klein, Marieke; Kraemer, Bernd; Lee, Phil H.; Loohuis, Loes M. Olde; Luciano, Michelle; Macare, Christine; Mather, Karen A.; Mattheisen, Manuel; Milaneschi, Yuri; Nho, Kwangsik; Papmeyer, Martina; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Risacher, Shannon L.; Roiz-Santianez, Roberto; Rose, Emma J.; Salami, Alireza; Saemann, Philipp G.; Schmaal, Lianne; Schork, Andrew J.; Shin, Jean; Strike, Lachlan T.; Teumer, Alexander; van Donkelaar, Marjolein M. J.; van Eijk, Kristel R.; Walters, Raymond K.; Westlye, Lars T.; Whelan, Christopher D.; Winkler, Anderson M.; Zwiers, Marcel P.; Alhusaini, Saud; Athanasiu, Lavinia; Ehrlich, Stefan; Hakobjan, Marina M. H.; Hartberg, Cecilie B.; Haukvik, Unn K.; Heister, Angelien J. G. A. M.; Hoehn, David; Kasperaviciute, Dalia; Liewald, David C. M.; Lopez, Lorna M.; Makkinje, Remco R. R.; Matarin, Mar; Naber, Marlies A. M.; McKay, D. Reese; Needham, Margaret; Nugent, Allison C.; Puetz, Benno; Royle, Natalie A.; Shen, Li; Sprooten, Emma; Trabzuni, Daniah; van der Marel, Saskia S. L.; van Hulzen, Kimm J. E.; Walton, Esther; Wolf, Christiane; Almasy, Laura; Ames, David; Arepalli, Sampath; Assareh, Amelia A.; Bastin, Mark E.; Brodaty, Henry; Bulayeva, Kazima B.; Carless, Melanie A.; Cichon, Sven; Corvin, Aiden; Curran, Joanne E.; Czisch, Michael; de Zubicaray, Greig I.; Dillman, Allissa; Duggirala, Ravi; Dyer, Thomas D.; Erk, Susanne; Fedko, Iryna O.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Fox, Peter T.; Fukunaga, Masaki; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Goering, Harald H. H.; Green, Robert C.; Guelfi, Sebastian; Hansell, Narelle K.; Hartman, Catharina A.; Hegenscheid, Katrin; Heinz, Andreas; Hernandez, Dena G.; Heslenfeld, Dirk J.; Hoekstra, Pieter J.; Holsboer, Florian; Homuth, Georg; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Ikeda, Masashi; Jack, Clifford R.; Jenkinson, Mark; Johnson, Robert; Kanai, Ryota; Keil, Maria; Kent, Jack W.; Kochunov, Peter; Kwok, John B.; Lawrie, Stephen M.; Liu, Xinmin; Longo, Dan L.; McMahon, Katie L.; Meisenzah, Eva; Melle, Ingrid; Mahnke, Sebastian; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mostert, Jeanette C.; Muehleisen, Thomas W.; Nalls, Michael A.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Nilsson, Lars G.; Noethen, Markus M.; Ohi, Kazutaka; Olvera, Rene L.; Perez-Iglesias, Rocio; Pike, G. Bruce; Potkin, Steven G.; Reinvang, Ivar; Reppermund, Simone; Rietschel, Marcella; Romanczuk-Seiferth, Nina; Rosen, Glenn D.; Rujescu, Dan; Schnell, Knut; Schofield, Peter R.; Smith, Colin; Steen, Vidar M.; Sussmann, Jessika E.; Thalamuthu, Anbupalam; Toga, Arthur W.; Traynor, Bryan J.; Troncoso, Juan; Turner, Jessica A.; Valdes Hernandez, Maria C.; van't Ent, Dennis; van der Brug, Marcel; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; van Tol, Marie-Jose; Veltman, Dick J.; Wassink, Thomas H.; Westman, Eric; Zielke, Ronald H.; Zonderman, Alan B.; Ashbrook, David G.; Hager, Reinmar; Lu, Lu; McMahon, Francis J.; Morris, Derek W.; Williams, Robert W.; Brunner, Han G.; Buckner, Randy L.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Cahn, Wiepke; Calhoun, Vince D.; Cavalleri, Gianpiero L.; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Dale, Anders M.; Davies, Gareth E.; Delanty, Norman; Depondt, Chantal; Djurovic, Srdjan; Drevets, Wayne C.; Espeseth, Thomas; Gollub, Randy L.; Ho, Beng-Choon; Hoffman, Wolfgang; Hosten, Norbert; Kahn, Rene S.; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Mueller-Myhsok, Bertram; Nauck, Matthias; Nyberg, Lars; Pandolfo, Massimo; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.; Roffman, Joshua L.; Sisodiya, Sanjay M.; Smoller, Jordan W.; van Bokhoven, Hans; van Haren, Neeltje E. M.; Voelzke, Henry; Walter, Henrik; Weiner, Michael W.; Wen, Wei; White, Tonya; Agartz, Ingrid; Andreassen, Ole A.; Blangero, John; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Brouwer, Rachel M.; Cannon, Dara M.; Cookson, Mark R.; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Deary, Ian J.; Donohoe, Gary; Fernandez, Guillen; Fisher, Simon E.; Francks, Clyde; Glahn, David C.; Grabe, Hans J.; Gruber, Oliver; Hardy, John; Hashimoto, Ryota; Pol, Hilleke E. Hulshoff; Joensson, Erik G.; Kloszewska, Iwona; Lovestone, Simon; Mattay, Venkata S.; Mecocci, Patrizia; McDonald, Colm; McIntosh, Andrew M.; Ophoff, Roel A.; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Ryten, Mina; Sachdev, Perminder S.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Simmons, Andy; Singleton, Andrew; Soininen, Hilkka; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Weale, Michael E.; Weinberger, Daniel R.; Adams, Hieab H. H.; Launer, Lenore J.; Seiler, Stephan; Schmidt, Reinhold; Chauhan, Ganesh; Satizabal, Claudia L.; Becker, James T.; Yanek, Lisa; van der Lee, Sven J.; Ebling, Maritza; Fischl, Bruce; Longstreth, W. T.; Greve, Douglas; Schmidt, Helena; Nyquist, Paul; Vinke, Louis N.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Xue, Luting; Mazoyer, Bernard; Bis, Joshua C.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Seshadri, Sudha; Ikram, M. Arfan; Martin, Nicholas G.; Wright, Margaret J.; Schumann, Gunter; Franke, Barbara; Thompson, Paul M.; Medland, Sarah E.

    2015-01-01

    The highly complex structure of the human brain is strongly shaped by genetic influences(1). Subcortical brain regions form circuits with cortical areas to coordinate movement(2), learning, memory(3) and motivation(4), and altered circuits can lead to abnormal behaviour and disease(5). To

  9. Abnormalities in structural covariance of cortical gyrification in schizophrenia

    OpenAIRE

    Palaniyappan, Lena; Park, Bert; Balain, Vijender; Dangi, Raj; Liddle, Peter

    2014-01-01

    The highly convoluted shape of the adult human brain results from several well-coordinated maturational events that start from embryonic development and extend through the adult life span. Disturbances in these maturational events can result in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, resulting in abnormal patterns of morphological relationship among cortical structures (structural covariance). Structural covariance can be studied using graph theory-based approaches that evaluate topol...

  10. Radiation-induced brain structural and functional abnormalities in presymptomatic phase and outcome prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Zhongxiang; Zhang, Han; Lv, Xiao-Fei; Xie, Fei; Liu, Lizhi; Qiu, Shijun; Li, Li; Shen, Dinggang

    2018-01-01

    Radiation therapy, a major method of treatment for brain cancer, may cause severe brain injuries after many years. We used a rare and unique cohort of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with normal-appearing brains to study possible early irradiation injury in its presymptomatic phase before severe, irreversible necrosis happens. The aim is to detect any structural or functional imaging biomarker that is sensitive to early irradiation injury, and to understand the recovery and progression of irradiation injury that can shed light on outcome prediction for early clinical intervention. We found an acute increase in local brain activity that is followed by extensive reductions in such activity in the temporal lobe and significant loss of functional connectivity in a distributed, large-scale, high-level cognitive function-related brain network. Intriguingly, these radiosensitive functional alterations were found to be fully or partially recoverable. In contrast, progressive late disruptions to the integrity of the related far-end white matter structure began to be significant after one year. Importantly, early increased local brain functional activity was predictive of severe later temporal lobe necrosis. Based on these findings, we proposed a dynamic, multifactorial model for radiation injury and another preventive model for timely clinical intervention. Hum Brain Mapp 39:407-427, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Phenotype abnormality: 47 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 47 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u553i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named thylakoid membrane during process named thylakoid membrane organization ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  12. Phenotype abnormality: 50 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 50 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u556i abnormal for trait of behavioral quality... in organ named whole plant during process named photomorphogenesis ... whole plant ... abnormal ... behavioral quality

  13. 3-D brain image registration using optimal morphological processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loncaric, S.; Dhawan, A.P.

    1994-01-01

    The three-dimensional (3-D) registration of Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Positron Emission Tomographic (PET) images of the brain is important for analysis of the human brain and its diseases. A procedure for optimization of (3-D) morphological structuring elements, based on a genetic algorithm, is presented in the paper. The registration of the MR and PET images is done by means of a registration procedure in two major phases. In the first phase, the Iterative Principal Axis Transform (IPAR) is used for initial registration. In the second phase, the optimal shape description method based on the Morphological Signature Transform (MST) is used for final registration. The morphological processing is used to improve the accuracy of the basic IPAR method. The brain ventricle is used as a landmark for MST registration. A near-optimal structuring element obtained by means of a genetic algorithm is used in MST to describe the shape of the ventricle. The method has been tested on the set of brain images demonstrating the feasibility of approach. (author). 11 refs., 3 figs

  14. Amelioration of behavioral abnormalities in BH(4-deficient mice by dietary supplementation of tyrosine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sang Su Kwak

    Full Text Available This study reports an amelioration of abnormal motor behaviors in tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4-deficient Spr (-/- mice by the dietary supplementation of tyrosine. Since BH4 is an essential cofactor for the conversion of phenylalanine into tyrosine as well as the synthesis of dopamine neurotransmitter within the central nervous system, the levels of tyrosine and dopamine were severely reduced in brains of BH4-deficient Spr (-/- mice. We found that Spr (-/- mice display variable 'open-field' behaviors, impaired motor functions on the 'rotating rod', and dystonic 'hind-limb clasping'. In this study, we report that these aberrant motor deficits displayed by Spr (-/- mice were ameliorated by the therapeutic tyrosine diet for 10 days. This study also suggests that dopamine deficiency in brains of Spr (-/- mice may not be the biological feature of aberrant motor behaviors associated with BH4 deficiency. Brain levels of dopamine (DA and its metabolites in Spr (-/- mice were not substantially increased by the dietary tyrosine therapy. However, we found that mTORC1 activity severely suppressed in brains of Spr (-/- mice fed a normal diet was restored 10 days after feeding the mice the tyrosine diet. The present study proposes that brain mTORC1 signaling pathway is one of the potential targets in understanding abnormal motor behaviors associated with BH4-deficiency.

  15. Reward sensitivity is associated with brain activity during erotic stimulus processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costumero, Victor; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso; Bustamante, Juan Carlos; Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Fuentes, Paola; Rosell-Negre, Patricia; Ávila, César

    2013-01-01

    The behavioral approach system (BAS) from Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory is a neurobehavioral system involved in the processing of rewarding stimuli that has been related to dopaminergic brain areas. Gray's theory hypothesizes that the functioning of reward brain areas is modulated by BAS-related traits. To test this hypothesis, we performed an fMRI study where participants viewed erotic and neutral pictures, and cues that predicted their appearance. Forty-five heterosexual men completed the Sensitivity to Reward scale (from the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire) to measure BAS-related traits. Results showed that Sensitivity to Reward scores correlated positively with brain activity during reactivity to erotic pictures in the left orbitofrontal cortex, left insula, and right ventral striatum. These results demonstrated a relationship between the BAS and reward sensitivity during the processing of erotic stimuli, filling the gap of previous reports that identified the dopaminergic system as a neural substrate for the BAS during the processing of other rewarding stimuli such as money and food.

  16. Reward sensitivity is associated with brain activity during erotic stimulus processing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Costumero

    Full Text Available The behavioral approach system (BAS from Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory is a neurobehavioral system involved in the processing of rewarding stimuli that has been related to dopaminergic brain areas. Gray's theory hypothesizes that the functioning of reward brain areas is modulated by BAS-related traits. To test this hypothesis, we performed an fMRI study where participants viewed erotic and neutral pictures, and cues that predicted their appearance. Forty-five heterosexual men completed the Sensitivity to Reward scale (from the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire to measure BAS-related traits. Results showed that Sensitivity to Reward scores correlated positively with brain activity during reactivity to erotic pictures in the left orbitofrontal cortex, left insula, and right ventral striatum. These results demonstrated a relationship between the BAS and reward sensitivity during the processing of erotic stimuli, filling the gap of previous reports that identified the dopaminergic system as a neural substrate for the BAS during the processing of other rewarding stimuli such as money and food.

  17. Augmented brain function by coordinated reset stimulation with slowly varying sequences

    OpenAIRE

    Magteld eZeitler; Peter A. Tass; Peter A. Tass; Peter A. Tass

    2015-01-01

    Several brain disorders are characterized by abnormally strong neuronal synchrony. Coordinated Reset (CR) stimulation was developed to selectively counteract abnormal neuronal synchrony by desynchronization. For this, phase resetting stimuli are delivered to different subpopulations in a timely coordinated way. In neural networks with spike timing-dependent plasticity CR stimulation may eventually lead to an anti-kindling, i.e. an unlearning of abnormal synaptic connectivity and abnormal sync...

  18. Augmented brain function by coordinated reset stimulation with slowly varying sequences

    OpenAIRE

    Zeitler, Magteld; Tass, Peter A.

    2015-01-01

    Several brain disorders are characterized by abnormally strong neuronal synchrony. Coordinated Reset (CR) stimulation was developed to selectively counteract abnormal neuronal synchrony by desynchronization. For this, phase resetting stimuli are delivered to different subpopulations in a timely coordinated way. In neural networks with spike timing-dependent plasticity CR stimulation may eventually lead to an anti-kindling, i.e., an unlearning of abnormal synaptic connectivity and abnormal syn...

  19. Modulation of electric brain responses evoked by pitch deviants through transcranial direct current stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royal, Isabelle; Zendel, Benjamin Rich; Desjardins, Marie-Ève; Robitaille, Nicolas; Peretz, Isabelle

    2018-01-31

    Congenital amusia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by a difficulty detecting pitch deviation that is related to abnormal electrical brain responses. Abnormalities found along the right fronto-temporal pathway between the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the auditory cortex (AC) are the likely neural mechanism responsible for amusia. To investigate the causal role of these regions during the detection of pitch deviants, we applied cathodal (inhibitory) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over right frontal and right temporal regions during separate testing sessions. We recorded participants' electrical brain activity (EEG) before and after tDCS stimulation while they performed a pitch change detection task. Relative to a sham condition, there was a decrease in P3 amplitude after cathodal stimulation over both frontal and temporal regions compared to pre-stimulation baseline. This decrease was associated with small pitch deviations (6.25 cents), but not large pitch deviations (200 cents). Overall, this demonstrates that using tDCS to disrupt regions around the IFG and AC can induce temporary changes in evoked brain activity when processing pitch deviants. These electrophysiological changes are similar to those observed in amusia and provide causal support for the connection between P3 and fronto-temporal brain regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Ventricular shape and relative position abnormalities in preterm neonates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Paquette

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent neuroimaging findings have highlighted the impact of premature birth on subcortical development and morphological changes in the deep grey nuclei and ventricular system. To help characterize subcortical microstructural changes in preterm neonates, we recently implemented a multivariate tensor-based method (mTBM. This method allows to precisely measure local surface deformation of brain structures in infants. Here, we investigated ventricular abnormalities and their spatial relationships with surrounding subcortical structures in preterm neonates. We performed regional group comparisons on the surface morphometry and relative position of the lateral ventricles between 19 full-term and 17 preterm born neonates at term-equivalent age. Furthermore, a relative pose analysis was used to detect individual differences in translation, rotation, and scale of a given brain structure with respect to an average. Our mTBM results revealed broad areas of alterations on the frontal horn and body of the left ventricle, and narrower areas of differences on the temporal horn of the right ventricle. A significant shift in the rotation of the left ventricle was also found in preterm neonates. Furthermore, we located significant correlations between morphology and pose parameters of the lateral ventricles and that of the putamen and thalamus. These results show that regional abnormalities on the surface and pose of the ventricles are also associated with alterations on the putamen and thalamus. The complementarity of the information provided by the surface and pose analysis may help to identify abnormal white and grey matter growth, hinting toward a pattern of neural and cellular dysmaturation.

  1. Brain CT and MRI findings in fat embolism syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Shin; Hayashi, Takaki; Ri, Kyoshichi

    1996-01-01

    To elucidate brain CT and MRI findings in fat embolism syndrome (FES), we retrospectively analyzed images from 5 patients with FES during the acute and subacute stages. Brain CT examinations demonstrated brain edema in 2 patients and transient spotty low density lesions in 2 patients. Three patients showed no abnormalities. Brain MRI, however, showed brain abnormalities in all patients during the acute stages. These were revealed as spotty high signal intensity lesions on T2WI, and some showed low intensity on T1WI. These spotty lesions were considered to reflect edematous fluid occurring as a result of the unique pathophysiological condition of FES. While the spotty high signal intensity lesions on T2WI were distributed in the cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, thalamus, basal ganglia, internal capsule and corpus callosum, cerebral and cerebellar spotty lesions were characteristically located along the boundary zones of the major vascular territories. This characteristic location might be induced by a hypoxic brain condition in FES because the numerous fat globules present in this condition can block entire brain capillaries. This characteristic signal location on T2WI is a useful indicator for differentiating FES from the primary intra-axial brain injury in patients with multifocal trauma. (author)

  2. Functional MRI of music emotion processing in frontotemporal dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustus, Jennifer L; Mahoney, Colin J; Downey, Laura E; Omar, Rohani; Cohen, Miriam; White, Mark J; Scott, Sophie K; Mancini, Laura; Warren, Jason D

    2015-03-01

    Frontotemporal dementia is an important neurodegenerative disorder of younger life led by profound emotional and social dysfunction. Here we used fMRI to assess brain mechanisms of music emotion processing in a cohort of patients with frontotemporal dementia (n = 15) in relation to healthy age-matched individuals (n = 11). In a passive-listening paradigm, we manipulated levels of emotion processing in simple arpeggio chords (mode versus dissonance) and emotion modality (music versus human emotional vocalizations). A complex profile of disease-associated functional alterations was identified with separable signatures of musical mode, emotion level, and emotion modality within a common, distributed brain network, including posterior and anterior superior temporal and inferior frontal cortices and dorsal brainstem effector nuclei. Separable functional signatures were identified post-hoc in patients with and without abnormal craving for music (musicophilia): a model for specific abnormal emotional behaviors in frontotemporal dementia. Our findings indicate the potential of music to delineate neural mechanisms of altered emotion processing in dementias, with implications for future disease tracking and therapeutic strategies. © 2014 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

  3. Phenotype abnormality: 44 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 44 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u550i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named root during process named organ development ... root ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  4. Phenotype abnormality: 45 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 45 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u551i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named stamen during process named organ development ... stamen ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  5. Phenotype abnormality: 37 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 37 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u543i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named cotyledon during process named organ development ... cotyledon ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  6. Phenotype abnormality: 39 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 39 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u545i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named flower during process named organ development ... flower ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  7. Brain Natriuretic Peptide, Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Endothelin-1 response to peak exercise in patients with coronary artery disease and correlation with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy abnormalities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erbas, B.; Ergun, E.; Koray, Z.; Kabakci, G.; Yildirir, A.; Kes, S.

    2002-01-01

    Aim: Plasma Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) has been known as a promising marker of ventricular dysfunction in cardiac patients. There are conflicting reports about its response to exercise testing. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the exercise induced changes in BNP, Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP) and Endothelin-1 (E) levels and their correlation with perfusion abnormalities on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS). Materials and Methods: Study group consisted of 35 patients (mean age=53.9+11.8) who underwent MPS with suspicion or diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Plasma levels of BNP, ANP, and E were measured at rest and after symptom-limited ergometry. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of perfusion abnormality (i.e. ischemia or infarction) on MPS. Results: BNP, ANP and E levels did not change significantly with exercise, however baseline levels of BNP, ANP levels and peak-exercise level of BNP in patients with perfusion abnormalities were significantly higher. Hypertensive patients with or without perfusion abnormalities had higher baseline BNP, ANP levels, and peak-exercise BNP levels compared to normotensives. BNP levels at rest and after exercise had a significant correlation with age (r=0.57, p=0.04; r=0.58, p=0.04), as well as baseline ANP values (r=0.37, p=0.033). Highest baseline BNP, ANP and exercise BNP levels were observed in patients with infarction. Conclusion: Exercise-testing did not induce significant changes in plasma levels of BNP, ANP and E. Higher BNP levels had correlation with the presence of ischemia, infarction and hypertension, as well as, increasing age

  8. A mutation in Ccdc39 causes neonatal hydrocephalus with abnormal motile cilia development in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelhamed, Zakia; Vuong, Shawn M; Hill, Lauren; Shula, Crystal; Timms, Andrew; Beier, David; Campbell, Kenneth; Mangano, Francesco T; Stottmann, Rolf W; Goto, June

    2018-01-09

    Pediatric hydrocephalus is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and is one of the most common congenital brain abnormalities. However, little is known about the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating CSF flow in the developing brain. Through whole-genome sequencing analysis, we report that a homozygous splice site mutation in coiled-coil domain containing 39 ( Ccdc39 ) is responsible for early postnatal hydrocephalus in the progressive hydrocephal us ( prh ) mouse mutant. Ccdc39 is selectively expressed in embryonic choroid plexus and ependymal cells on the medial wall of the forebrain ventricle, and the protein is localized to the axoneme of motile cilia. The Ccdc39 prh/prh ependymal cells develop shorter cilia with disorganized microtubules lacking the axonemal inner arm dynein. Using high-speed video microscopy, we show that an orchestrated ependymal ciliary beating pattern controls unidirectional CSF flow on the ventricular surface, which generates bulk CSF flow in the developing brain. Collectively, our data provide the first evidence for involvement of Ccdc39 in hydrocephalus and suggest that the proper development of medial wall ependymal cilia is crucial for normal mouse brain development. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  9. Solitary tuberculous brain lesions: 24 new cases and a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Psimaras, D; Bonnet, C; Heinzmann, A; Cárdenas, G; Hernández José Luis, S; Tungaria, A; Behari, S; Lacrois, D; Mokhtari, K; Karantoni, E; Sokrab Tag, E; Idris Mohamed, N; Sönmez, G; Caumes, E; Roze, E

    2014-01-01

    A solitary tuberculous brain lesion (STBL) can be difficult to distinguish from a glioma, metastasis or other infectious disease, especially from a pyogenic brain abscess. We analyzed the clinical characteristics, diagnostic procedures and outcomes of 24 patients with STBL diagnosed in three centers from France, India and Mexico. We also reviewed 92 STBL cases previously reported in the literature. General symptoms were found in 54% of our patients, including enlarged lymph nodes in 20%. Cerebrospinal fluid was typically abnormal, with lymphocytic pleocytosis and a high protein level. The lung CT scan was abnormal in 56% of patients, showing lymphadenopathy or pachipleuritis. Brain MRI or CT was always abnormal, showing contrast-enhanced lesions. Typically, MRI abnormalities were hypointense on T1-weighted sequences, while T2-weighted sequences showed both a peripheral hypersignal and a central hyposignal. The diagnosis was documented microbiologically or supported histologically in 71% of cases. Clinical outcome was good in 83% of cases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  10. Accelerated Brain Aging in Schizophrenia: A Longitudinal Pattern Recognition Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnack, Hugo G; van Haren, Neeltje E M; Nieuwenhuis, Mireille; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Cahn, Wiepke; Kahn, René S

    2016-06-01

    Despite the multitude of longitudinal neuroimaging studies that have been published, a basic question on the progressive brain loss in schizophrenia remains unaddressed: Does it reflect accelerated aging of the brain, or is it caused by a fundamentally different process? The authors used support vector regression, a supervised machine learning technique, to address this question. In a longitudinal sample of 341 schizophrenia patients and 386 healthy subjects with one or more structural MRI scans (1,197 in total), machine learning algorithms were used to build models to predict the age of the brain and the presence of schizophrenia ("schizophrenia score"), based on the gray matter density maps. Age at baseline ranged from 16 to 67 years, and follow-up scans were acquired between 1 and 13 years after the baseline scan. Differences between brain age and chronological age ("brain age gap") and between schizophrenia score and healthy reference score ("schizophrenia gap") were calculated. Accelerated brain aging was calculated from changes in brain age gap between two consecutive measurements. The age prediction model was validated in an independent sample. In schizophrenia patients, brain age was significantly greater than chronological age at baseline (+3.36 years) and progressively increased during follow-up (+1.24 years in addition to the baseline gap). The acceleration of brain aging was not constant: it decreased from 2.5 years/year just after illness onset to about the normal rate (1 year/year) approximately 5 years after illness onset. The schizophrenia gap also increased during follow-up, but more pronounced variability in brain abnormalities at follow-up rendered this increase nonsignificant. The progressive brain loss in schizophrenia appears to reflect two different processes: one relatively homogeneous, reflecting accelerated aging of the brain and related to various measures of outcome, and a more variable one, possibly reflecting individual variation and

  11. Clinical Significance of Brain SPECT in Zipeprol Abusers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Dai Ok; Kim, Jae Phil; Kim, Deog Yoon; Yang, Hyung In; Koh, Eun Mi; Kim, Kwang Won; Choi, Young Kil [Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1993-03-15

    Drug abuse is widespread in worldwide and has been associated with neurologic complication. Zipeprol is one of drugs which been abused for psychological satisfaction in some adolescents. This agent is non-opioid antitussive agent, which is not legally considered as being capable of creating dependence or abuse liability at therapeutic serum levels. But it has been reported that acute or chronic overdose create neurologic complication such as convulsion as well as dependence. Recently we experienced six zipeprol abusers who admitted due to convulsion and variable neurologic symptoms. The aim of our study was to determine the role of Tc-99m- HMPAO brain SPECT in those patients. EEG and brain CT showed no abnormal finding, but brain SPECT showed focal or multiple perfusion abnormalities in frontal, parietal, occipital cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus and especially at temporal cortex. These results suggest that brain SPECT may be a useful diagnostic tool to evaluate the cerebral dysfunction induced by zipeprol abuse.

  12. Clinical Significance of Brain SPECT in Zipeprol Abusers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Dai Ok; Kim, Jae Phil; Kim, Deog Yoon; Yang, Hyung In; Koh, Eun Mi; Kim, Kwang Won; Choi, Young Kil

    1993-01-01

    Drug abuse is widespread in worldwide and has been associated with neurologic complication. Zipeprol is one of drugs which been abused for psychological satisfaction in some adolescents. This agent is non-opioid antitussive agent, which is not legally considered as being capable of creating dependence or abuse liability at therapeutic serum levels. But it has been reported that acute or chronic overdose create neurologic complication such as convulsion as well as dependence. Recently we experienced six zipeprol abusers who admitted due to convulsion and variable neurologic symptoms. The aim of our study was to determine the role of Tc-99m- HMPAO brain SPECT in those patients. EEG and brain CT showed no abnormal finding, but brain SPECT showed focal or multiple perfusion abnormalities in frontal, parietal, occipital cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus and especially at temporal cortex. These results suggest that brain SPECT may be a useful diagnostic tool to evaluate the cerebral dysfunction induced by zipeprol abuse.

  13. Quality assessment of brain images by Hoffman phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karimian, A.R.; Saddad, F.; Mosalla, B.; Moradkhani, S.; Degbankhan, R.; Pouladi, M.

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation is using Hoffman brain phantom for quality assessment of brian images in SPECT system. There are the following standards for quality control in nuclear medicine: American Association of Physicists in Medicine, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, International Electromechanical Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency. Each of the above standards has the following important orders: Physical inspection, Acceptance and Reference Testing, Periodic Q C tests (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually). The above tests are simple physics measures. To more meaningful ones based on performance of some tasks related to clinical application it is better to use from organs' phantoms, such as: brain, cardiac, etc. In this research we made a comparison between normal and abnormal states of Hoffman brain phantom. Methods of Hoffman brain phantom was filled with a solution of Tc- 99 m (5 mCi) and water (1300 cc). this results: The investigation of small abnormalities strongly related to the operating conditions and deviation from best tuning state of the system

  14. Creative thinking as orchestrated by semantic processing versus cognitive control brain networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna eAbraham

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Creativity is primarily investigated within the neuroscientific perspective as a unitary construct. While such an approach is beneficial when trying to infer the general picture regarding creativity and brain function, it is insufficient if the objective is to uncover the information processing brain mechanisms by which creativity occurs. As creative thinking emerges through the dynamic interplay between several cognitive processes, assessing the neural correlates of these operations would enable the development and characterization of an information processing framework from which to better understand this complex ability. This article focuses on two aspects of creative cognition that are central to generating original ideas. Conceptual expansion refers to the ability to widen one’s conceptual structures to include unusual or novel associations, while overcoming knowledge constraints refers to our ability to override the constraining influence imposed by salient or pertinent knowledge when trying to be creative. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence is presented to illustrate how semantic processing and cognitive control networks in the brain differentially modulate these critical facets of creative cognition.

  15. Overexpression of the DYRK1A Gene (Dual-Specificity Tyrosine Phosphorylation-Regulated Kinase 1A) Induces Alterations of the Serotoninergic and Dopaminergic Processing in Murine Brain Tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    London, Jacqueline; Rouch, Claude; Bui, Linh Chi; Assayag, Elodie; Souchet, Benoit; Daubigney, Fabrice; Medjaoui, Hind; Luquet, Serge; Magnan, Christophe; Delabar, Jean Maurice; Dairou, Julien; Janel, Nathalie

    2018-05-01

    Trisomy 21 (T21) or Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability and affects around 5 million persons worldwide. Neuroanatomical phenotypes associated with T21 include slight reduction of brain size and weight, abnormalities in several brain areas including spines dysgenesis, dendritic morphogenesis, and early neuroanatomical characteristics of Alzheimer's disease. Monoamine neurotransmitters are involved in dendrites development, functioning of synapses, memory consolidation, and their levels measured in the cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or brain areas that are modified in individuals with T21. DYRK1A is one of the recognized key genes that could explain some of the deficits present in individuals with T21. We investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection the contents and processing of monoamines neurotransmitters in four brain areas of female and male transgenic mice for the Dyrk1a gene (mBactgDyrk1a). DYRK1A overexpression induced dramatic deficits in the serotonin contents of the four brain areas tested and major deficits in dopamine and adrenaline contents especially in the hypothalamus. These results suggest that DYRK1A overexpression might be associated with the modification of monoamines content found in individuals with T21 and reinforce the interest to target the level of DYRK1A expression as a therapeutic approach for persons with T21.

  16. Transcriptional profiling of human glioblastoma vessels indicates a key role of VEGF-A and TGF beta 2 in vascular abnormalization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dieterich, Lothar C.; Mellberg, Sofie; Langenkamp, Elise; Zhang, Lei; Zieba, Agata; Salomaki, Henriikka; Teichert, Martin; Huang, Hua; Edqvist, Per-Henrik; Kraus, Theo; Augustin, Hellmut G.; Olofsson, Tommie; Larsson, Erik; Soderberg, Ola; Molema, Grietje; Ponten, Fredrik; Georgii-Hemming, Patrik; Alafuzoff, Irina; Dimberg, Anna

    2012-01-01

    Glioblastoma are aggressive astrocytic brain tumours characterized by microvascular proliferation and an abnormal vasculature, giving rise to brain oedema and increased patient morbidity. Here, we have characterized the transcriptome of tumour-associated blood vessels and describe a gene signature

  17. Oxytocin: parallel processing in the social brain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dölen, Gül

    2015-06-01

    Early studies attempting to disentangle the network complexity of the brain exploited the accessibility of sensory receptive fields to reveal circuits made up of synapses connected both in series and in parallel. More recently, extension of this organisational principle beyond the sensory systems has been made possible by the advent of modern molecular, viral and optogenetic approaches. Here, evidence supporting parallel processing of social behaviours mediated by oxytocin is reviewed. Understanding oxytocinergic signalling from this perspective has significant implications for the design of oxytocin-based therapeutic interventions aimed at disorders such as autism, where disrupted social function is a core clinical feature. Moreover, identification of opportunities for novel technology development will require a better appreciation of the complexity of the circuit-level organisation of the social brain. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

  18. Evaluation of role of brain SPECT in diagnosis of post stroke dementia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yousepour, G.; Alavi, M.

    2003-01-01

    Post stroke dementia is one of the most common complications of stroke that is preventable and relatively treatable too. The purpose of the study is comparison between the positive findings in the brain CT scan and brain perfusion SPECT. 15 patients who were complicated by dementia after cerebrovascular accident and also 5 patients as a control group enrolled in this study. Brain CT scan and brain SPECT were performed during at most one week after stroke. Abnormal findings in both brain CT scan and SPECT were seen in 46% of patients. Brain CT scan disclosed more abnormal findings compared to brain SPECT (33.3%). While brain SPECT findings were more information than brain CT scan (20%) this study is indicating that brain CT scan and the brain SPECT concomitantly for each other in better diagnosis of post stroke dementia. We did not find any specific diagnostic pattern in brain SPECT of patients suffering from post stroke dementia. The low quality of brain SPECT in spite of uniformity of gamma camera may be suggestive of low quality of Iran produced ECD kit that needs further evaluation

  19. Phenotype abnormality: 49 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 49 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u555i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named whole plant during process named cell growth ... whole plant ... abnormal ... cell growth ... behavioral quality

  20. Phenotype abnormality: 48 [Arabidopsis Phenome Database[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 48 http://metadb.riken.jp/db/SciNetS_ria224i/cria224u1ria224u554i abnormal for trait of behavior...al quality in organ named vascular leaf during process named organ development ... vascular leaf ... abnormal ... organ development ... behavioral quality

  1. Divided attention and driving. The effects of aging and brain injury

    OpenAIRE

    Withaar, Frederiec Kunna

    2000-01-01

    In this thesis, divided attention was investigated in four groups of subjects: closed head injury (CHI) patients, young control and healthy older subjects, and older subjects with cognitive impairments. It was studied how diffuse brain injury and normal and abnormal aging affect cognitive processes involved in divided attention tasks. Furthermore, it was investigated how deficits in divided attention relate to performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), with an emphasis on ...

  2. Cerebral glucose metabolic abnormality in patients with congenital scoliosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, H. Y.; Seo, G. T.; Lee, J. S.; Kim, S. C.; Kim, I. J.; Kim, Y. K.; Jeon, S. M.

    2007-01-01

    A possible association between congenital scoliosis and low mental status has been recognized, but there are no reports describing the mental status or cerebral metabolism in patients with congenital scoliosis in detail. We investigated the mental status using a mini-mental status exam as well as the cerebral glucose metabolism using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose brain positron emission tomography in 12 patients with congenital scoliosis and compared them with those of 14 age-matched patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The mean mini-mental status exam score in the congenital scoliosis group was significantly lower than that in the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis group. Group analysis found that various brain areas of patients with congenital scoliosis showed glucose hypometabolisms in the left prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 10), right orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann area 11), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 9), left anterior cingulate gyrus (Brodmann area 24) and pulvinar of the left thalamus. From this study, we could find the metabolic abnormalities of brain in patients with congenital scoliosis and suggest the possible role of voxel-based analysis of brain fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography

  3. Cerebral glucose metabolic abnormality in patients with congenital scoliosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nam, H. Y.; Seo, G. T.; Lee, J. S.; Kim, S. C.; Kim, I. J.; Kim, Y. K.; Jeon, S. M. [Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-07-01

    A possible association between congenital scoliosis and low mental status has been recognized, but there are no reports describing the mental status or cerebral metabolism in patients with congenital scoliosis in detail. We investigated the mental status using a mini-mental status exam as well as the cerebral glucose metabolism using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose brain positron emission tomography in 12 patients with congenital scoliosis and compared them with those of 14 age-matched patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The mean mini-mental status exam score in the congenital scoliosis group was significantly lower than that in the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis group. Group analysis found that various brain areas of patients with congenital scoliosis showed glucose hypometabolisms in the left prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 10), right orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann area 11), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 9), left anterior cingulate gyrus (Brodmann area 24) and pulvinar of the left thalamus. From this study, we could find the metabolic abnormalities of brain in patients with congenital scoliosis and suggest the possible role of voxel-based analysis of brain fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

  4. Altered reward processing in the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus in healthy first-degree relatives of patients with depression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Macoveanu, J; Knorr, U; Skimminge, A

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Healthy first-degree relatives of patients with major depression (rMD+) show brain structure and functional response anomalies and have elevated risk for developing depression, a disorder linked to abnormal serotonergic neurotransmission and reward processing. METHOD: In a two...... intervention compared to placebo. Conversely, for positive outcomes, the left hippocampus showed attenuated response to high wins in the rMD+ compared to the rMD- group. The SSRI intervention reinforced the hippocampal response to large wins. A subsequent structural analysis revealed that the abnormal neural...... responses were not accounted for by changes in gray matter density in rMD+ individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Our study in first-degree relatives of depressive patients showed abnormal brain responses to aversive and rewarding outcomes in regions known to be dysfunctional in depression. We further confirmed...

  5. Development of quantitative analysis method for stereotactic brain image. Assessment of reduced accumulation in extent and severity using anatomical segmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mizumura, Sunao; Kumita, Shin-ichiro; Cho, Keiichi; Ishihara, Makiko; Nakajo, Hidenobu; Toba, Masahiro; Kumazaki, Tatsuo

    2003-01-01

    Through visual assessment by three-dimensional (3D) brain image analysis methods using stereotactic brain coordinates system, such as three-dimensional stereotactic surface projections and statistical parametric mapping, it is difficult to quantitatively assess anatomical information and the range of extent of an abnormal region. In this study, we devised a method to quantitatively assess local abnormal findings by segmenting a brain map according to anatomical structure. Through quantitative local abnormality assessment using this method, we studied the characteristics of distribution of reduced blood flow in cases with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). Using twenty-five cases with DAT (mean age, 68.9 years old), all of whom were diagnosed as probable Alzheimer's disease based on National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA), we collected I-123 iodoamphetamine SPECT data. A 3D brain map using the 3D-stereotactic surface projections (SSP) program was compared with the data of 20 cases in the control group, who age-matched the subject cases. To study local abnormalities on the 3D images, we divided the whole brain into 24 segments based on anatomical classification. We assessed the extent of an abnormal region in each segment (rate of the coordinates with a Z-value that exceeds the threshold value, in all coordinates within a segment), and severity (average Z-value of the coordinates with a Z-value that exceeds the threshold value). This method clarified orientation and expansion of reduced accumulation, through classifying stereotactic brain coordinates according to the anatomical structure. This method was considered useful for quantitatively grasping distribution abnormalities in the brain and changes in abnormality distribution. (author)

  6. Real-time Multiple Abnormality Detection in Video Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Have, Simon Hartmann; Ren, Huamin; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2013-01-01

    Automatic abnormality detection in video sequences has recently gained an increasing attention within the research community. Although progress has been seen, there are still some limitations in current research. While most systems are designed at detecting specific abnormality, others which...... are capable of detecting more than two types of abnormalities rely on heavy computation. Therefore, we provide a framework for detecting abnormalities in video surveillance by using multiple features and cascade classifiers, yet achieve above real-time processing speed. Experimental results on two datasets...... show that the proposed framework can reliably detect abnormalities in the video sequence, outperforming the current state-of-the-art methods....

  7. Contralateral thalamic hypoperfusion on brain perfusion SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seok Mo; Bae, Sang Kyun; Yoo, Kyung Moo; Yum, Ha Yong

    2000-01-01

    Brain perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is useful for the localization of cerebrovascular lesion and sometimes reveals more definite lesion than radiologic imaging modality such as CT or MRI does. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of brain perfusion SPECT in patients with hemisensory impairment. Thirteen consecutive patients (M:F= 8:5, mean age = 48) who has hemisensory impairment were included. Brain perfusion SPECT was performed after intravenous injection of 1110 MBq of Tc-99m ECD. The images were obtained using a dual-head gamma camera with ultra-high resolution collimator. Semiquantitative analysis was performed after placing multiple ROIs on cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum. There were 10 patients with left hemisensory impairment and 3 patients with right-sided symptom. Only 2 patients revealed abnormal signal change in the thalamus on MRI. But brain perfusion SPECT showed decreased perfusion in the thalamus in 9 patients. Six patients among 10 patients with left hemisensory impairment revealed decreased perfusion in the contralateral thalamus on brain SPECT. The other 4 patients revealed no abnormality. Two patients among 3 patients with right hemisensory impairment also showed decreased perfusion in the contralateral thalamus on brain SPECT. One patients with right hemisensory impairment showed ipsilateral perfusion decrease. Two patients who had follow-up brain perfusion SEPCT after treatment revealed normalization of perfusion in the thalamus. Brain perfusion SPECT might be a useful tool in diagnosing patients with hemisensory impairment

  8. Tuberculous brain abscess-Case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veenu Gupta

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available In spite of recent advances in understanding of disease, tuberculosis still remains a major health problem, particularly in developing countries. Central nervous system tuberculosis may present as commonly encountered tuberculous meningitis or tuberculous mass lesions and rare tuberculous brain abscess (TBA. We report a case of tuberculous brain abscess in a patient of chronic liver disease with pulmonary hypertension and HCV infection. A 48 years old male presented with headache and abnormal behavior. There was no history of fever, vomiting, loss of consciousness, seizures, trauma and loss of weight and appetite. On examination patient was conscious but confused. No sensory- motor deficit was revealed on neurological examination. Chest x ray showed no abnormality. Mantoux test was positive. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain showed large , well defined marginally enhancing focal mass lesion in left frontal lobe. Evacuation of brain abscess done and frank creamy pus was aspirated and was sent for gram staining, Ziehl Neelsen staining, fungal smear and culture for both pyogenic and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Gram staining revealed no microorganisms. No growth of pyogenic organisms obtained. No fungal hypha was seen. Ziehl Neelsen staining was positive for acid fast bacilli and growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was obtained. Patient was put on anti tubercular treatment. Patient responded well and discharged in satisfactory condition.

  9. Altered caudate connectivity is associated with executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Simoni, Sara; Jenkins, Peter O; Bourke, Niall J; Fleminger, Jessica J; Hellyer, Peter J; Jolly, Amy E; Patel, Maneesh C; Cole, James H; Leech, Robert; Sharp, David J

    2018-01-01

    Traumatic brain injury often produces executive dysfunction. This characteristic cognitive impairment often causes long-term problems with behaviour and personality. Frontal lobe injuries are associated with executive dysfunction, but it is unclear how these injuries relate to corticostriatal interactions that are known to play an important role in behavioural control. We hypothesized that executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury would be associated with abnormal corticostriatal interactions, a question that has not previously been investigated. We used structural and functional MRI measures of connectivity to investigate this. Corticostriatal functional connectivity in healthy individuals was initially defined using a data-driven approach. A constrained independent component analysis approach was applied in 100 healthy adult dataset from the Human Connectome Project. Diffusion tractography was also performed to generate white matter tracts. The output of this analysis was used to compare corticostriatal functional connectivity and structural integrity between groups of 42 patients with traumatic brain injury and 21 age-matched controls. Subdivisions of the caudate and putamen had distinct patterns of functional connectivity. Traumatic brain injury patients showed disruption to functional connectivity between the caudate and a distributed set of cortical regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex. Cognitive impairments in the patients were mainly seen in processing speed and executive function, as well as increased levels of apathy and fatigue. Abnormalities of caudate functional connectivity correlated with these cognitive impairments, with reductions in right caudate connectivity associated with increased executive dysfunction, information processing speed and memory impairment. Structural connectivity, measured using diffusion tensor imaging between the caudate and anterior cingulate cortex was impaired and this also correlated with measures of

  10. Abnormal functional connectivity and cortical integrity influence dominant hand motor disability in multiple sclerosis: a multimodal analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Jidan; Nantes, Julia C; Holmes, Scott A; Gallant, Serge; Narayanan, Sridar; Koski, Lisa

    2016-12-01

    Functional reorganization and structural damage occur in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout the disease course. However, the relationship between resting-state functional connectivity (FC) reorganization in the sensorimotor network and motor disability in MS is not well understood. This study used resting-state fMRI, T1-weighted and T2-weighted, and magnetization transfer (MT) imaging to investigate the relationship between abnormal FC in the sensorimotor network and upper limb motor disability in people with MS, as well as the impact of disease-related structural abnormalities within this network. Specifically, the differences in FC of the left hemisphere hand motor region between MS participants with preserved (n = 17) and impaired (n = 26) right hand function, compared with healthy controls (n = 20) was investigated. Differences in brain atrophy and MT ratio measured at the global and regional levels were also investigated between the three groups. Motor preserved MS participants had stronger FC in structurally intact visual information processing regions relative to motor impaired MS participants. Motor impaired MS participants showed weaker FC in the sensorimotor and somatosensory association cortices and more severe structural damage throughout the brain compared with the other groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that regional MTR predicted motor disability beyond the impact of global atrophy whereas regional grey matter volume did not. More importantly, as the first multimodal analysis combining resting-state fMRI, T1-weighted, T2-weighted and MTR images in MS, we demonstrate how a combination of structural and functional changes may contribute to motor impairment or preservation in MS. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4262-4275, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Brain single photon emission computed tomography in neonates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denays, R.; Van Pachterbeke, T.; Tondeur, M.

    1989-01-01

    This study was designed to rate the clinical value of [ 123 I]iodoamphetamine (IMP) or [ 99m Tc] hexamethyl propylene amine oxyme (HM-PAO) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in neonates, especially in those likely to develop cerebral palsy. The results showed that SPECT abnormalities were congruent in most cases with structural lesions demonstrated by ultrasonography. However, mild bilateral ventricular dilatation and bilateral subependymal porencephalic cysts diagnosed by ultrasound were not associated with an abnormal SPECT finding. In contrast, some cortical periventricular and sylvian lesions and all the parasagittal lesions well visualized in SPECT studies were not diagnosed by ultrasound scans. In neonates with subependymal and/or intraventricular hemorrhage the existence of a parenchymal abnormality was only diagnosed by SPECT. These results indicate that [ 123 I]IMP or [ 99m Tc]HM-PAO brain SPECT shows a potential clinical value as the neurodevelopmental outcome is clearly related to the site, the extent, and the number of cerebral lesions. Long-term clinical follow-up is, however, mandatory in order to define which SPECT abnormality is associated with neurologic deficit

  12. Magnetic resonance imaging in classification of congenital muscular dystrophies with brain abnormalities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    vanderKnaap, MS; Smit, LME; Barth, PG; CatsmanBerrevoets, CE; Brouwer, OF; Begeer, JH; deCoo, IFM; Valk, J.

    A survey was performed of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in 21 patients with congenital muscular dystrophy (QID) with cerebral abnormalities to evaluate the contribution of MRI to the classification of CMD patients. In 5 patients with Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS), MRI showed

  13. Amnesia and vegetative abnormalities after irradiation treatment. A case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christianson, S.Aa.; Neppe, V.; Hoffman, H.

    1994-01-01

    This paper describes a case of a patient (GX) with a brain tumour in the third ventricle who developed a syndrome of amnestic disorder and vegetative abnormalities (hyperphagia, oligodipsia) after irradiation treatment that followed brain surgery. The patient shows an extremely poor long-term memory on both visually and verbally presented material, and of autobiographical events occurring after the onset of the illness, but some preserved memory functions on short-term memory tasks, semantic memory tasks, and implicit memory tasks. Given the onset of symptoms only after irradiation (a memory deficit in particular), and the non-invasive nature of the surgery, the probable etiology is post-irradiation syndrome. (au) (27 refs.)

  14. Amnesia and vegetative abnormalities after irradiation treatment. A case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christianson, S.Aa. (Departments of Psychology, University of Stockholm (Sweden)); Neppe, V. (Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle (United States)); Hoffman, H. (Department of Psychology, Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Washington, Settle (United States))

    1994-11-01

    This paper describes a case of a patient (GX) with a brain tumour in the third ventricle who developed a syndrome of amnestic disorder and vegetative abnormalities (hyperphagia, oligodipsia) after irradiation treatment that followed brain surgery. The patient shows an extremely poor long-term memory on both visually and verbally presented material, and of autobiographical events occurring after the onset of the illness, but some preserved memory functions on short-term memory tasks, semantic memory tasks, and implicit memory tasks. Given the onset of symptoms only after irradiation (a memory deficit in particular), and the non-invasive nature of the surgery, the probable etiology is post-irradiation syndrome. (au) (27 refs.).

  15. Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Komal Bharti

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundPathological and MRI-based evidence suggests that multiple brain structures are likely to be involved in functional disconnection between brain areas. Few studies have investigated resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP and corticobasal syndrome (CBS. In this study, we investigated within- and between-network rsFC abnormalities in these two conditions.MethodsTwenty patients with PSP, 11 patients with CBS, and 16 healthy subjects (HS underwent a resting-state fMRI study. Resting-state networks (RSNs were extracted to evaluate within- and between-network rsFC using the Melodic and FSLNets software packages.ResultsIncreased within-network rsFC was observed in both PSP and CBS patients, with a larger number of RSNs being involved in CBS. Within-network cerebellar rsFC positively correlated with mini-mental state examination scores in patients with PSP. Compared to healthy volunteers, PSP and CBS patients exhibit reduced functional connectivity between the lateral visual and auditory RSNs, with PSP patients additionally showing lower functional connectivity between the cerebellar and insular RSNs. Moreover, rsFC between the salience and executive-control RSNs was increased in patients with CBS compared to HS.ConclusionThis study provides evidence of functional brain reorganization in both PSP and CBS. Increased within-network rsFC could represent a higher degree of synchronization in damaged brain areas, while between-network rsFC abnormalities may mainly reflect degeneration of long-range white matter fibers.

  16. A comparative study of postmortem MR imaging and pathological examination of human brain specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiga, Tohru

    1998-01-01

    This study was designed to assess the value of MRI of the postmortem brain specimens by comparing MRI findings with neuropathological findings. Postmortem MRI was performed in 17 consecutive formalin-fixed whole brains comprising 3 with primary CNS neoplasm, 1 with metastatic brain tumor, 6 with cerebral vascular disease (CVD), 1 with degenerative disease, 1 with spongy state in thalamus, and 5 with no abnormality. Postmortem T2WI detected all neuropathological abnormalities but sparsely distributed tumor cells without edema. In one case of CNS neoplasm, the tumor lesions with little necrosis or edema showed isointensity to brain tissue, while others with large amounts of necrosis and edema showed high signal intensity on T2WI. In the cases of CVD, the major signal changes on T2WI were due to edema, necrosis, and damage of the organization as observed on neuropathological studies. There was one case in which both MRI and neuropathological examination showed an abnormality, which was pathologically unexplainable. In two cases, findings of postmortem MRI were more apparent than those of macroscopic examination. Postmortem MRI appeared different from premortem MRI in one of the rest three cases whereas the postmortem MRI correlated well with neuropathological findings. Progression of the disease immediately before death may have caused this difference. In conclusion, the correlations between MRI and neuropathological findings facilitate understanding the mechanisms responsible for MRI abnormalities. An increase in free water in edema, necrosis, and damage in brain tissue can explain an increased signal intensity on T2WI. Postmortem MRI may contribute to the effective pathological examination by pointing out subtle abnormalities before brain cutting. (author)

  17. Speech processing asymmetry revealed by dichotic listening and functional brain imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hugdahl, Kenneth; Westerhausen, René

    2016-12-01

    In this article, we review research in our laboratory from the last 25 to 30 years on the neuronal basis for laterality of speech perception focusing on the upper, posterior parts of the temporal lobes, and its functional and structural connections to other brain regions. We review both behavioral and brain imaging data, with a focus on dichotic listening experiments, and using a variety of imaging modalities. The data have come in most parts from healthy individuals and from studies on normally functioning brain, although we also review a few selected clinical examples. We first review and discuss the structural model for the explanation of the right-ear advantage (REA) and left hemisphere asymmetry for auditory language processing. A common theme across many studies have been our interest in the interaction between bottom-up, stimulus-driven, and top-down, instruction-driven, aspects of hemispheric asymmetry, and how perceptual factors interact with cognitive factors to shape asymmetry of auditory language information processing. In summary, our research have shown laterality for the initial processing of consonant-vowel syllables, first observed as a behavioral REA when subjects are required to report which syllable of a dichotic syllable-pair they perceive. In subsequent work we have corroborated the REA with brain imaging, and have shown that the REA is modulated through both bottom-up manipulations of stimulus properties, like sound intensity, and top-down manipulations of cognitive properties, like attention focus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. High prevalence of brain pathology in violent prisoners: a qualitative CT and MRI scan study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiltz, Kolja; Witzel, Joachim G; Bausch-Hölterhoff, Josef; Bogerts, Bernhard

    2013-10-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and extent of brain anomalies in a large sample of incarcerated violent offenders not previously considered neuropsychiatrically ill, in comparison with non-violent offenders and non-offending controls. MRI and CT brain scans from 287 male prison inmates (162 violent and 125 non-violent) not diagnosed as mentally ill before that were obtained due to headache, vertigo or psychological complaints during imprisonment were assessed and compared to 52 non-criminal controls. Brain scans were rated qualitatively with respect to evidence of structural brain damage. Each case received a semiquantitative rating of "normal" (=0), "questionably abnormal" (=1) or "definitely abnormal" (=2) for the lateral ventricles, frontal/parietal cortex and medial temporal structures bilaterally as well as third ventricle. Overall, offenders displayed a significantly higher rate of morphological abnormality, with the violent offenders scoring significantly higher than non-violent offenders and controls. This difference was statistically detectable for frontal/parietal cortex, medial temporal structures, third ventricle and the left but not the right lateral ventricle. The remarkable prevalence of brain pathology in convicted violent prisoners detectable by neuroradiological routine assessment not only highlights the importance of frontal and temporal structures in the control of social, and specifically of violent behaviour, but also raises questions on the legal culpability of violent offenders with brain abnormalities. The high proportion of undetected presence of structural brain damage emphasizes the need that in violent criminals, the comprehensive routine neuropsychiatric assessment usually performed in routine forensic psychiatric expertises should be complemented with brain imaging.

  19. Abnormalities in gray and white matter volumes associated with explicit memory dysfunction in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Chung-Man; Jeong, Gwang-Woo

    2017-03-01

    Background The neuroanatomical abnormalities associated with behavioral dysfunction on explicit memory in patients generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have not yet been clearly identified. Purpose To investigate the regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume alterations over the whole brain in patients with GAD, as well as the correlation between the brain structural abnormality and explicit memory dysfunction. Material and Methods Twenty patients with GAD and 20 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and education level underwent high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The participants performed the explicit memory tasks with the neutral and anxiety-inducing words. Results Patients with GAD showed significantly reduced GM volumes in the midbrain (MB), thalamus, hippocampus (Hip), insula, and superior temporal gyrus (STG); and reduced WM volumes in the MB, anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and precentral gyrus (PrG). It is important to note that the GM volume of the Hip and the WM volume of the DLPFC were positively correlated with the recognition accuracy (%) in the explicit memory tasks with neutral and anxiety-inducing words, respectively. On the other hand, the WM volume of the PrG was negatively correlated with the reaction time in the same memory tasks. Conclusion This study demonstrated the regional volume changes on whole-brain GM and WM and the correlation between the brain structural alteration and explicit memory dysfunction in GAD patients. These findings would be helpful to understand the association between the brain structure abnormality and the functional deficit in the explicit memory in GAD.

  20. Brain mechanisms in religion and spirituality: An integrative predictive processing framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Elk, Michiel; Aleman, André

    2017-02-01

    We present the theory of predictive processing as a unifying framework to account for the neurocognitive basis of religion and spirituality. Our model is substantiated by discussing four different brain mechanisms that play a key role in religion and spirituality: temporal brain areas are associated with religious visions and ecstatic experiences; multisensory brain areas and the default mode network are involved in self-transcendent experiences; the Theory of Mind-network is associated with prayer experiences and over attribution of intentionality; top-down mechanisms instantiated in the anterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex could be involved in acquiring and maintaining intuitive supernatural beliefs. We compare the predictive processing model with two-systems accounts of religion and spirituality, by highlighting the central role of prediction error monitoring. We conclude by presenting novel predictions for future research and by discussing the philosophical and theological implications of neuroscientific research on religion and spirituality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.