Normalized regional brain atrophy measurements in multiple sclerosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zivadinov, Robert; Locatelli, Laura; Stival, Barbara; Bratina, Alessio; Nasuelli, Davide; Zorzon, Marino; Grop, Attilio; Brnabic-Razmilic, Ozana

2003-01-01

There is still a controversy regarding the best regional brain atrophy measurements in multiple sclerosis (MS) studies. The aim of this study was to establish whether, in a cross-sectional study, the normalized measurements of regional brain atrophy correlate better with the MRI-defined regional brain lesions than the absolute measurements of regional brain atrophy. We assessed 45 patients with clinically definite relapsing-remitting (RR) MS (median disease duration 12 years), and measured T1-lesion load (LL) and T2-LL of frontal lobes and pons, using a reproducible semi-automated technique. The regional brain parenchymal volume (RBPV) of frontal lobes and pons was obtained by use of a computerized interactive program, which incorporates semi-automated and automated segmentation processes. A normalized measurement, the regional brain parenchymal fraction (RBPF), was calculated as the ratio of RBPV to the total volume of the parenchyma and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the frontal lobes and in the region of the pons. The total regional brain volume fraction (TRBVF) was obtained after we had corrected for the total volume of the parenchyma and the CSF in the frontal lobes and in the region of the pons for the total intracranial volume. The mean coefficient of variation (CV) for RBPF of the pons was 1% for intra-observer reproducibility and 1.4% for inter-observer reproducibility. Generally, the normalized measurements of regional brain atrophy correlated with regional brain volumes and disability better than did the absolute measurements. RBPF and TRBVF correlated with T2-LL of the pons (r=-0.37, P=0.011, and r= -0.40, P=0.0005 respectively) and with T1-LL of the pons (r=-0.27, P=0.046, and r=-0.31, P=0.04, respectively), whereas RBPV did not (r=-0.18, P = NS). T1-LL of the frontal lobes was related to RBPF (r=-0.32, P=0.033) and TRBVF (r=-0.29, P=0.05), but not to RBPV (R=-0.27, P= NS). There was only a trend of correlation between T2-LL of the frontal lobes and

Age-and Brain Region-Specific Differences in Mitochondrial ...

Science.gov (United States)

Mitochondria are central regulators of energy homeostasis and play a pivotal role in mechanisms of cellular senescence. The objective of the present study was to evaluate mitochondrial bio­-energetic parameters in five brain regions [brainstem (BS), frontal cortex (FC), cerebellum (CER), striatum (STR), hippocampus (HIP)] of four diverse age groups [1 Month (young), 4 Month (adult), 12 Month (middle-aged), 24 Month (old age)] to understand age-related differences in selected brain regions and their contribution to age-related chemical sensitivity. Mitochondrial bioenergetics parameters and enzyme activity were measured under identical conditions across multiple age groups and brain regions in Brown Norway rats (n = 5). The results indicate age- and brain region-specific patterns in mitochondrial functional endpoints. For example, an age-specific decline in ATP synthesis (State 111 respiration) was observed in BS and HIP. Similarly, the maximal respiratory capacities (State V1 and V2) showed age-specific declines in all brain regions examined (young > adult > middle-aged > old age). Amongst all regions, HIP had the greatest change in mitochondrial bioenergetics, showing declines in the 4, 12 and 24 Month age groups. Activities of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and electron transport chain (ETC) complexes I, II, and IV enzymes were also age- and brain-region specific. In general changes associated with age were more pronounced, with

Fused cerebral organoids model interactions between brain regions.

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Bagley, Joshua A; Reumann, Daniel; Bian, Shan; Lévi-Strauss, Julie; Knoblich, Juergen A

2017-07-01

Human brain development involves complex interactions between different regions, including long-distance neuronal migration or formation of major axonal tracts. Different brain regions can be cultured in vitro within 3D cerebral organoids, but the random arrangement of regional identities limits the reliable analysis of complex phenotypes. Here, we describe a coculture method combining brain regions of choice within one organoid tissue. By fusing organoids of dorsal and ventral forebrain identities, we generate a dorsal-ventral axis. Using fluorescent reporters, we demonstrate CXCR4-dependent GABAergic interneuron migration from ventral to dorsal forebrain and describe methodology for time-lapse imaging of human interneuron migration. Our results demonstrate that cerebral organoid fusion cultures can model complex interactions between different brain regions. Combined with reprogramming technology, fusions should offer researchers the possibility to analyze complex neurodevelopmental defects using cells from neurological disease patients and to test potential therapeutic compounds.

Chronnectome fingerprinting: Identifying individuals and predicting higher cognitive functions using dynamic brain connectivity patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jin; Liao, Xuhong; Xia, Mingrui; He, Yong

2018-02-01

The human brain is a large, interacting dynamic network, and its architecture of coupling among brain regions varies across time (termed the "chronnectome"). However, very little is known about whether and how the dynamic properties of the chronnectome can characterize individual uniqueness, such as identifying individuals as a "fingerprint" of the brain. Here, we employed multiband resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 105) and a sliding time-window dynamic network analysis approach to systematically examine individual time-varying properties of the chronnectome. We revealed stable and remarkable individual variability in three dynamic characteristics of brain connectivity (i.e., strength, stability, and variability), which was mainly distributed in three higher order cognitive systems (i.e., default mode, dorsal attention, and fronto-parietal) and in two primary systems (i.e., visual and sensorimotor). Intriguingly, the spatial patterns of these dynamic characteristics of brain connectivity could successfully identify individuals with high accuracy and could further significantly predict individual higher cognitive performance (e.g., fluid intelligence and executive function), which was primarily contributed by the higher order cognitive systems. Together, our findings highlight that the chronnectome captures inherent functional dynamics of individual brain networks and provides implications for individualized characterization of health and disease. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transcriptional responses of the nerve agent-sensitive brain regions amygdala, hippocampus, piriform cortex, septum, and thalamus following exposure to the organophosphonate anticholinesterase sarin

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Meyerhoff James L

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although the acute toxicity of organophosphorus nerve agents is known to result from acetylcholinesterase inhibition, the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of neuropathology following nerve agent-induced seizure are not well understood. To help determine these pathways, we previously used microarray analysis to identify gene expression changes in the rat piriform cortex, a region of the rat brain sensitive to nerve agent exposure, over a 24-h time period following sarin-induced seizure. We found significant differences in gene expression profiles and identified secondary responses that potentially lead to brain injury and cell death. To advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in sarin-induced toxicity, we analyzed gene expression changes in four other areas of the rat brain known to be affected by nerve agent-induced seizure (amygdala, hippocampus, septum, and thalamus. Methods We compared the transcriptional response of these four brain regions to sarin-induced seizure with the response previously characterized in the piriform cortex. In this study, rats were challenged with 1.0 × LD50 sarin and subsequently treated with atropine sulfate, 2-pyridine aldoxime methylchloride, and diazepam. The four brain regions were collected at 0.25, 1, 3, 6, and 24 h after seizure onset, and total RNA was processed for microarray analysis. Results Principal component analysis identified brain region and time following seizure onset as major sources of variability within the dataset. Analysis of variance identified genes significantly changed following sarin-induced seizure, and gene ontology analysis identified biological pathways, functions, and networks of genes significantly affected by sarin-induced seizure over the 24-h time course. Many of the molecular functions and pathways identified as being most significant across all of the brain regions were indicative of an inflammatory response. There

Human capital in European peripheral regions: brain - drain and brain - gain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, Franciscus H.J.M.

2004-01-01

Project goal - The overall goal of the project is to build a legitimate transnational network to transfer ideas and experiences and implement measures to reduce brain drain and foster brain gain while reinforcing the economical and spatial development of peripheral regions in NWE. This means a

Circuit-wide Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Brain Region-Specific Gene Networks Regulating Depression Susceptibility.

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Bagot, Rosemary C; Cates, Hannah M; Purushothaman, Immanuel; Lorsch, Zachary S; Walker, Deena M; Wang, Junshi; Huang, Xiaojie; Schlüter, Oliver M; Maze, Ian; Peña, Catherine J; Heller, Elizabeth A; Issler, Orna; Wang, Minghui; Song, Won-Min; Stein, Jason L; Liu, Xiaochuan; Doyle, Marie A; Scobie, Kimberly N; Sun, Hao Sheng; Neve, Rachael L; Geschwind, Daniel; Dong, Yan; Shen, Li; Zhang, Bin; Nestler, Eric J

2016-06-01

Depression is a complex, heterogeneous disorder and a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Most previous research has focused on individual brain regions and genes contributing to depression. However, emerging evidence in humans and animal models suggests that dysregulated circuit function and gene expression across multiple brain regions drive depressive phenotypes. Here, we performed RNA sequencing on four brain regions from control animals and those susceptible or resilient to chronic social defeat stress at multiple time points. We employed an integrative network biology approach to identify transcriptional networks and key driver genes that regulate susceptibility to depressive-like symptoms. Further, we validated in vivo several key drivers and their associated transcriptional networks that regulate depression susceptibility and confirmed their functional significance at the levels of gene transcription, synaptic regulation, and behavior. Our study reveals novel transcriptional networks that control stress susceptibility and offers fundamentally new leads for antidepressant drug discovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain region-dependent differential expression of alpha-synuclein.

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Taguchi, Katsutoshi; Watanabe, Yoshihisa; Tsujimura, Atsushi; Tanaka, Masaki

2016-04-15

α-Synuclein, the major constituent of Lewy bodies (LBs), is normally expressed in presynapses and is involved in synaptic function. Abnormal intracellular aggregation of α-synuclein is observed as LBs and Lewy neurites in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) or dementia with Lewy bodies. Accumulated evidence suggests that abundant intracellular expression of α-synuclein is one of the risk factors for pathological aggregation. Recently, we reported differential expression patterns of α-synuclein between excitatory and inhibitory hippocampal neurons. Here we further investigated the precise expression profile in the adult mouse brain with special reference to vulnerable regions along the progression of idiopathic PD. The results show that α-synuclein was highly expressed in the neuronal cell bodies of some early PD-affected brain regions, such as the olfactory bulb, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, and substantia nigra pars compacta. Synaptic expression of α-synuclein was mostly accompanied by expression of vesicular glutamate transporter-1, an excitatory presynaptic marker. In contrast, expression of α-synuclein in the GABAergic inhibitory synapses was different among brain regions. α-Synuclein was clearly expressed in inhibitory synapses in the external plexiform layer of the olfactory bulb, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra pars reticulata, but not in the cerebral cortex, subthalamic nucleus, or thalamus. These results suggest that some neurons in early PD-affected human brain regions express high levels of perikaryal α-synuclein, as happens in the mouse brain. Additionally, synaptic profiles expressing α-synuclein are different in various brain regions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Proteomic analysis of proteins expressing in regions of rat brain by a combination of SDS-PAGE with nano-liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry

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Maekawa Tsuyoshi

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most biological functions controlled by the brain and their related disorders are closely associated with activation in specific regions of the brain. Neuroproteomics has been applied to the analysis of whole brain, and the general pattern of protein expression in all regions has been elucidated. However, the comprehensive proteome of each brain region remains unclear. Results In this study, we carried out comparative proteomics of six regions of the adult rat brain: thalamus, hippocampus, frontal cortex, parietal cortex, occipital cortex, and amygdala using semi-quantitative analysis by Mascot Score of the identified proteins. In order to identify efficiently the proteins that are present in the brain, the proteins were separated by a combination of SDS-PAGE on a C18 column-equipped nano-liquid chromatograph, and analyzed by quadrupole-time of flight-tandem-mass spectrometry. The proteomic data show 2,909 peptides in the rat brain, with more than 200 identified as region-abundant proteins by semi-quantitative analysis. The regions containing the identified proteins are membrane (20.0%, cytoplasm (19.5%, mitochondrion (17.1%, cytoskeleton (8.2%, nucleus (4.7%, extracellular region (3.3%, and other (18.0%. Of the identified proteins, the expressions of glial fibrillary acidic protein, GABA transporter 3, Septin 5, heat shock protein 90, synaptotagmin, heat shock protein 70, and pyruvate kinase were confirmed by immunoblotting. We examined the distributions in rat brain of GABA transporter 3, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and heat shock protein 70 by immunohistochemistry, and found that the proteins are localized around the regions observed by proteomic analysis and immunoblotting. IPA analysis indicates that pathways closely related to the biological functions of each region may be activated in rat brain. Conclusions These observations indicate that proteomics in each region of adult rat brain may provide a novel way to

Regional brain activation associated with addiction of computer games in adolescents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Y. H.; Shin, O. J.; Ko, Y. W.; Kim, H. J.; Yun, M. J.; Lee, J. D. [College of Medicine, Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2001-07-01

Excessive computer game (CG) playing may cause not only behavioral addiction, but also potential negative effects on developing brain. It is necessary to reveal how brain is affected by excessive use of CG playing and behavioral addiction of it. By using PET, we address the issue seeking to identifying patterns of regional brain activation associated with behavioral addiction and excessive use of CG playing by adolescents. 6 normal control and 8 adolescents who were met by the criteria of behavioral addiction on the survey as addiction groups with an addiction of CG playing were participated. Initial screening survey which is the adapted version of DSM-IV for pathologic gambling was done. PET were performed twice in each participants both during resting state and after 20 min playing of CG. Psychological test including Youth Self Report (YSR), memory and attention test and vocabulary item from KWAIS were performed. Scores of the vocabulary item from KWAIS and social competence from YSR were significantly lower in the addiction group. On PET, addiction group showed higher resting metabolism on inferior frontal, premotor, prefrontal and superior temporal area. Adolescents with addiction of CG revealed different patterns of regional brain activation comparing to control groups. These suggest behavioral addiction and excessive use of CG may result in functional alteration of developing brain in adolescents.

Regional brain activation associated with addiction of computer games in adolescents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Y. H.; Shin, O. J.; Ko, Y. W.; Kim, H. J.; Yun, M. J.; Lee, J. D.

2001-01-01

Excessive computer game (CG) playing may cause not only behavioral addiction, but also potential negative effects on developing brain. It is necessary to reveal how brain is affected by excessive use of CG playing and behavioral addiction of it. By using PET, we address the issue seeking to identifying patterns of regional brain activation associated with behavioral addiction and excessive use of CG playing by adolescents. 6 normal control and 8 adolescents who were met by the criteria of behavioral addiction on the survey as addiction groups with an addiction of CG playing were participated. Initial screening survey which is the adapted version of DSM-IV for pathologic gambling was done. PET were performed twice in each participants both during resting state and after 20 min playing of CG. Psychological test including Youth Self Report (YSR), memory and attention test and vocabulary item from KWAIS were performed. Scores of the vocabulary item from KWAIS and social competence from YSR were significantly lower in the addiction group. On PET, addiction group showed higher resting metabolism on inferior frontal, premotor, prefrontal and superior temporal area. Adolescents with addiction of CG revealed different patterns of regional brain activation comparing to control groups. These suggest behavioral addiction and excessive use of CG may result in functional alteration of developing brain in adolescents

Identifying modular relations in complex brain networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Kasper Winther; Mørup, Morten; Siebner, Hartwig

2012-01-01

We evaluate the infinite relational model (IRM) against two simpler alternative nonparametric Bayesian models for identifying structures in multi subject brain networks. The models are evaluated for their ability to predict new data and infer reproducible structures. Prediction and reproducibility...... and obtains comparable reproducibility and predictability. For resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 30 healthy controls the IRM model is also superior to the two simpler alternatives, suggesting that brain networks indeed exhibit universal complex relational structure...

Neurons derived from different brain regions are inherently different in vitro: a novel multiregional brain-on-a-chip.

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Dauth, Stephanie; Maoz, Ben M; Sheehy, Sean P; Hemphill, Matthew A; Murty, Tara; Macedonia, Mary Kate; Greer, Angie M; Budnik, Bogdan; Parker, Kevin Kit

2017-03-01

Brain in vitro models are critically important to developing our understanding of basic nervous system cellular physiology, potential neurotoxic effects of chemicals, and specific cellular mechanisms of many disease states. In this study, we sought to address key shortcomings of current brain in vitro models: the scarcity of comparative data for cells originating from distinct brain regions and the lack of multiregional brain in vitro models. We demonstrated that rat neurons from different brain regions exhibit unique profiles regarding their cell composition, protein expression, metabolism, and electrical activity in vitro. In vivo, the brain is unique in its structural and functional organization, and the interactions and communication between different brain areas are essential components of proper brain function. This fact and the observation that neurons from different areas of the brain exhibit unique behaviors in vitro underline the importance of establishing multiregional brain in vitro models. Therefore, we here developed a multiregional brain-on-a-chip and observed a reduction of overall firing activity, as well as altered amounts of astrocytes and specific neuronal cell types compared with separately cultured neurons. Furthermore, this multiregional model was used to study the effects of phencyclidine, a drug known to induce schizophrenia-like symptoms in vivo, on individual brain areas separately while monitoring downstream effects on interconnected regions. Overall, this work provides a comparison of cells from different brain regions in vitro and introduces a multiregional brain-on-a-chip that enables the development of unique disease models incorporating essential in vivo features. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Due to the scarcity of comparative data for cells from different brain regions in vitro, we demonstrated that neurons isolated from distinct brain areas exhibit unique behaviors in vitro. Moreover, in vivo proper brain function is dependent on the

Using transcranial magnetic stimulation of the undamaged brain to identify lesion sites that predict language outcome after stroke.

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Lorca-Puls, Diego L; Gajardo-Vidal, Andrea; Seghier, Mohamed L; Leff, Alexander P; Sethi, Varun; Prejawa, Susan; Hope, Thomas M H; Devlin, Joseph T; Price, Cathy J

2017-06-01

unguided lesion overlap map; and (iii) a region identified from voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. Finally, consistent with prior findings from functional imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation in healthy participants, we show how damage to our transcranial magnetic stimulation-guided regions affected performance on phonologically more than semantically demanding tasks. The observation that phonological processing abilities were impaired years after the stroke, suggests that other brain regions were not able to fully compensate for the contribution that the transcranial magnetic stimulation-guided regions make to language tasks. More generally, our novel transcranial magnetic stimulation-guided lesion-deficit mapping approach shows how non-invasive stimulation of the healthy brain can be used to guide the identification of regions where brain damage is likely to cause persistent behavioural effects. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

Automated recognition of brain region mentions in neuroscience literature

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Leon French

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The ability to computationally extract mentions of neuroanatomical regions from the literature would assist linking to other entities within and outside of an article. Examples include extracting reports of connectivity or region-specific gene expression. To facilitate text mining of neuroscience literature we have created a corpus of manually annotated brain region mentions. The corpus contains 1,377 abstracts with 18,242 brain region annotations. Interannotator agreement was evaluated for a subset of the documents, and was 90.7% and 96.7% for strict and lenient matching respectively. We observed a large vocabulary of over 6,000 unique brain region terms and 17,000 words. For automatic extraction of brain region mentions we evaluated simple dictionary methods and complex natural language processing techniques. The dictionary methods based on neuroanatomical lexicons recalled 36% of the mentions with 57% precision. The best performance was achieved using a conditional random field (CRF with a rich feature set. Features were based on morphological, lexical, syntactic and contextual information. The CRF recalled 76% of mentions at 81% precision, by counting partial matches recall and precision increase to 86% and 92% respectively. We suspect a large amount of error is due to coordinating conjunctions, previously unseen words and brain regions of less commonly studied organisms. We found context windows, lemmatization and abbreviation expansion to be the most informative techniques. The corpus is freely available at http://www.chibi.ubc.ca/WhiteText/.

Regional growth and atlasing of the developing human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Makropoulos, Antonios; Aljabar, Paul; Wright, Robert; Hüning, Britta; Merchant, Nazakat; Arichi, Tomoki; Tusor, Nora; Hajnal, Joseph V; Edwards, A David; Counsell, Serena J; Rueckert, Daniel

2016-01-15

Detailed morphometric analysis of the neonatal brain is required to characterise brain development and define neuroimaging biomarkers related to impaired brain growth. Accurate automatic segmentation of neonatal brain MRI is a prerequisite to analyse large datasets. We have previously presented an accurate and robust automatic segmentation technique for parcellating the neonatal brain into multiple cortical and subcortical regions. In this study, we further extend our segmentation method to detect cortical sulci and provide a detailed delineation of the cortical ribbon. These detailed segmentations are used to build a 4-dimensional spatio-temporal structural atlas of the brain for 82 cortical and subcortical structures throughout this developmental period. We employ the algorithm to segment an extensive database of 420 MR images of the developing brain, from 27 to 45weeks post-menstrual age at imaging. Regional volumetric and cortical surface measurements are derived and used to investigate brain growth and development during this critical period and to assess the impact of immaturity at birth. Whole brain volume, the absolute volume of all structures studied, cortical curvature and cortical surface area increased with increasing age at scan. Relative volumes of cortical grey matter, cerebellum and cerebrospinal fluid increased with age at scan, while relative volumes of white matter, ventricles, brainstem and basal ganglia and thalami decreased. Preterm infants at term had smaller whole brain volumes, reduced regional white matter and cortical and subcortical grey matter volumes, and reduced cortical surface area compared with term born controls, while ventricular volume was greater in the preterm group. Increasing prematurity at birth was associated with a reduction in total and regional white matter, cortical and subcortical grey matter volume, an increase in ventricular volume, and reduced cortical surface area. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by

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

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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.

Brain regions involved in observing and trying to interpret dog behaviour.

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Desmet, Charlotte; van der Wiel, Alko; Brass, Marcel

2017-01-01

Humans and dogs have interacted for millennia. As a result, humans (and especially dog owners) sometimes try to interpret dog behaviour. While there is extensive research on the brain regions that are involved in mentalizing about other peoples' behaviour, surprisingly little is known of whether we use these same brain regions to mentalize about animal behaviour. In this fMRI study we investigate whether brain regions involved in mentalizing about human behaviour are also engaged when observing dog behaviour. Here we show that these brain regions are more engaged when observing dog behaviour that is difficult to interpret compared to dog behaviour that is easy to interpret. Interestingly, these results were not only obtained when participants were instructed to infer reasons for the behaviour but also when they passively viewed the behaviour, indicating that these brain regions are activated by spontaneous mentalizing processes.

Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes through Integrated Study of Alzheimer's Disease Affected Brain Regions.

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Nisha Puthiyedth

Full Text Available Alzheimer's disease (AD is the most common form of dementia in older adults that damages the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behaviour. The identification of differentially expressed genes and related pathways among affected brain regions can provide more information on the mechanisms of AD. In the past decade, several studies have reported many genes that are associated with AD. This wealth of information has become difficult to follow and interpret as most of the results are conflicting. In that case, it is worth doing an integrated study of multiple datasets that helps to increase the total number of samples and the statistical power in detecting biomarkers. In this study, we present an integrated analysis of five different brain region datasets and introduce new genes that warrant further investigation.The aim of our study is to apply a novel combinatorial optimisation based meta-analysis approach to identify differentially expressed genes that are associated to AD across brain regions. In this study, microarray gene expression data from 161 samples (74 non-demented controls, 87 AD from the Entorhinal Cortex (EC, Hippocampus (HIP, Middle temporal gyrus (MTG, Posterior cingulate cortex (PC, Superior frontal gyrus (SFG and visual cortex (VCX brain regions were integrated and analysed using our method. The results are then compared to two popular meta-analysis methods, RankProd and GeneMeta, and to what can be obtained by analysing the individual datasets.We find genes related with AD that are consistent with existing studies, and new candidate genes not previously related with AD. Our study confirms the up-regualtion of INFAR2 and PTMA along with the down regulation of GPHN, RAB2A, PSMD14 and FGF. Novel genes PSMB2, WNK1, RPL15, SEMA4C, RWDD2A and LARGE are found to be differentially expressed across all brain regions. Further investigation on these genes may provide new insights into the development of AD. In addition, we

Altered Regional Brain Cortical Thickness in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea

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Paul M. Macey

2018-01-01

Full Text Available RationaleObstructive sleep apnea (OSA affects 2–5% of all children and is associated with cognitive and behavioral deficits, resulting in poor school performance. These psychological deficits may arise from brain injury, as seen in preliminary findings of lower gray matter volume among pediatric OSA patients. However, the psychological deficits in OSA are closely related to functions in the cortex, and such brain areas have not been specifically assessed. The objective was to determine whether cortical thickness, a marker of possible brain injury, is altered in children with OSA.MethodsWe examined regional brain cortical thicknesses using high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images in 16 pediatric OSA patients (8 males; mean age ± SD = 8.4 ± 1.2 years; mean apnea/hypopnea index ± SD = 11 ± 6 events/h and 138 controls (8.3 ± 1.1 years; 62 male; 138 subjects from the NIH Pediatric MRI database to identify cortical thickness differences in pediatric OSA subjects.ResultsCortical thinning occurred in multiple regions including the superior frontal, ventral medial prefrontal, and superior parietal cortices. The left side showed greater thinning in the superior frontal cortex. Cortical thickening was observed in bilateral precentral gyrus, mid-to-posterior insular cortices, and left central gyrus, as well as right anterior insula cortex.ConclusionChanges in cortical thickness are present in children with OSA and likely indicate disruption to neural developmental processes, including maturational patterns of cortical volume increases and synaptic pruning. Regions with thicker cortices may reflect inflammation or astrocyte activation. Both the thinning and thickening associated with OSA in children may contribute to the cognitive and behavioral dysfunction frequently found in the condition.

Functional integration changes in regional brain glucose metabolism from childhood to adulthood.

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Trotta, Nicola; Archambaud, Frédérique; Goldman, Serge; Baete, Kristof; Van Laere, Koen; Wens, Vincent; Van Bogaert, Patrick; Chiron, Catherine; De Tiège, Xavier

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the age-related changes in resting-state neurometabolic connectivity from childhood to adulthood (6-50 years old). Fifty-four healthy adult subjects and twenty-three pseudo-healthy children underwent [(18) F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography at rest. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM8), age and age squared were first used as covariate of interest to identify linear and non-linear age effects on the regional distribution of glucose metabolism throughout the brain. Then, by selecting voxels of interest (VOI) within the regions showing significant age-related metabolic changes, a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was used to search for age-induced changes in the contribution of VOIs to the metabolic activity in other brain areas. Significant linear or non-linear age-related changes in regional glucose metabolism were found in prefrontal cortices (DMPFC/ACC), cerebellar lobules, and thalamo-hippocampal areas bilaterally. Decreases were found in the contribution of thalamic, hippocampal, and cerebellar regions to DMPFC/ACC metabolic activity as well as in the contribution of hippocampi to preSMA and right IFG metabolic activities. Increases were found in the contribution of the right hippocampus to insular cortex and of the cerebellar lobule IX to superior parietal cortex metabolic activities. This study evidences significant linear or non-linear age-related changes in regional glucose metabolism of mesial prefrontal, thalamic, mesiotemporal, and cerebellar areas, associated with significant modifications in neurometabolic connectivity involving fronto-thalamic, fronto-hippocampal, and fronto-cerebellar networks. These changes in functional brain integration likely represent a metabolic correlate of age-dependent effects on sensory, motor, and high-level cognitive functional networks. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3017-3030, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Central region morphometry in a child brain; Age and gender ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Data on central region morphometry of a child brain is important not only in terms of providing us with information about central region anatomy of the brain but also in terms of the help of this information for the plans to be applied in neurosurgery. Objective: In the present study, central region morphometry of a ...

Genome-wide DNA methylation analyses in the brain reveal four differentially methylated regions between humans and non-human primates

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Wang Jinkai

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The highly improved cognitive function is the most significant change in human evolutionary history. Recently, several large-scale studies reported the evolutionary roles of DNA methylation; however, the role of DNA methylation on brain evolution is largely unknown. Results To test if DNA methylation has contributed to the evolution of human brain, with the use of MeDIP-Chip and SEQUENOM MassARRAY, we conducted a genome-wide analysis to identify differentially methylated regions (DMRs in the brain between humans and rhesus macaques. We first identified a total of 150 candidate DMRs by the MeDIP-Chip method, among which 4 DMRs were confirmed by the MassARRAY analysis. All 4 DMRs are within or close to the CpG islands, and a MIR3 repeat element was identified in one DMR, but no repeat sequence was observed in the other 3 DMRs. For the 4 DMR genes, their proteins tend to be conserved and two genes have neural related functions. Bisulfite sequencing and phylogenetic comparison among human, chimpanzee, rhesus macaque and rat suggested several regions of lineage specific DNA methylation, including a human specific hypomethylated region in the promoter of K6IRS2 gene. Conclusions Our study provides a new angle of studying human brain evolution and understanding the evolutionary role of DNA methylation in the central nervous system. The results suggest that the patterns of DNA methylation in the brain are in general similar between humans and non-human primates, and only a few DMRs were identified.

Differentiating functional brain regions using optical coherence tomography (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Gil, Daniel A.; Bow, Hansen C.; Shen, Jin-H.; Joos, Karen M.; Skala, Melissa C.

2017-02-01

The human brain is made up of functional regions governing movement, sensation, language, and cognition. Unintentional injury during neurosurgery can result in significant neurological deficits and morbidity. The current standard for localizing function to brain tissue during surgery, intraoperative electrical stimulation or recording, significantly increases the risk, time, and cost of the procedure. There is a need for a fast, cost-effective, and high-resolution intraoperative technique that can avoid damage to functional brain regions. We propose that optical coherence tomography (OCT) can fill this niche by imaging differences in the cellular composition and organization of functional brain areas. We hypothesized this would manifest as differences in the attenuation coefficient measured using OCT. Five functional regions (prefrontal, somatosensory, auditory, visual, and cerebellum) were imaged in ex vivo porcine brains (n=3), a model chosen due to a similar white/gray matter ratio as human brains. The attenuation coefficient was calculated using a depth-resolved model and quantitatively validated with Intralipid phantoms across a physiological range of attenuation coefficients (absolute difference Nissl-stained histology will be used to validate our results and correlate OCT-measured attenuation coefficients to neuronal density. Additional development and validation of OCT algorithms to discriminate brain regions are planned to improve the safety and efficacy of neurosurgical procedures such as biopsy, electrode placement, and tissue resection.

Carnosine reverses the aging-induced down regulation of brain regional serotonergic system.

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Banerjee, Soumyabrata; Ghosh, Tushar K; Poddar, Mrinal K

2015-12-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to study the role of carnosine, an endogenous dipeptide biomolecule, on brain regional (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and pons-medulla) serotonergic system during aging. Results showed an aging-induced brain region specific significant (a) increase in Trp (except cerebral cortex) and their 5-HIAA steady state level with an increase in their 5-HIAA accumulation and declination, (b) decrease in their both 5-HT steady state level and 5-HT accumulation (except cerebral cortex). A significant decrease in brain regional 5-HT/Trp ratio (except cerebral cortex) and increase in 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio were also observed during aging. Carnosine at lower dosages (0.5-1.0μg/Kg/day, i.t. for 21 consecutive days) didn't produce any significant response in any of the brain regions, but higher dosages (2.0-2.5μg/Kg/day, i.t. for 21 consecutive days) showed a significant response on those aging-induced brain regional serotonergic parameters. The treatment with carnosine (2.0μg/Kg/day, i.t. for 21 consecutive days), attenuated these brain regional aging-induced serotonergic parameters and restored towards their basal levels that observed in 4 months young control rats. These results suggest that carnosine attenuates and restores the aging-induced brain regional down regulation of serotonergic system towards that observed in young rats' brain regions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factor of personality

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Cho, Sang Soo; Lee, Eun Ju; Yoon, Eun Jin; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Lee, Won Woo; Kim, Sang Eun [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2005-07-01

Temperament factor of personality has been considered to have correlation with activity in a specific central monoaminergic system. In an attempt to explore neuronal substrate of biogenetic personality traits, we examined the relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factor of personality. Twenty right-handed healthy subjects (age, 24{+-}4 yr: 10 females and 10 males) were studied with FDG PET. Their temperaments were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which consisted of four temperament factors (harm avoidance (HA), novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD), persistency) and three personality factors. The relationship between regional glucose metabolism and each temperament score was tested using SPM99 (P < 0.005, uncorrected). NS score was negatively correlated with glucose metabolism in the frontal areas, insula, and superior temporal gyrus mainly in the right hemisphere. Positive correlation between NS score and glucose metabolism was observed in the left superior temporal gyrus. HA score showed negative correlation with glucose metabolism in the middle and orbitofrontal gyri as well as in the parahippocampal gyrus. RD score was positively correlated with glucose metabolism in the left middle frontal gyrus and negative correlated in the posterior cingulate gyrus and caudate nucleus. We identified the relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperamental personality trait. Each temperament factor had a relation with functions of specific brain areas. These results help understand biological background of personality and specific feedback circuits associated with each temperament factor.

Relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factor of personality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Sang Soo; Lee, Eun Ju; Yoon, Eun Jin; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Lee, Won Woo; Kim, Sang Eun

2005-01-01

Temperament factor of personality has been considered to have correlation with activity in a specific central monoaminergic system. In an attempt to explore neuronal substrate of biogenetic personality traits, we examined the relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factor of personality. Twenty right-handed healthy subjects (age, 24±4 yr: 10 females and 10 males) were studied with FDG PET. Their temperaments were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which consisted of four temperament factors (harm avoidance (HA), novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD), persistency) and three personality factors. The relationship between regional glucose metabolism and each temperament score was tested using SPM99 (P < 0.005, uncorrected). NS score was negatively correlated with glucose metabolism in the frontal areas, insula, and superior temporal gyrus mainly in the right hemisphere. Positive correlation between NS score and glucose metabolism was observed in the left superior temporal gyrus. HA score showed negative correlation with glucose metabolism in the middle and orbitofrontal gyri as well as in the parahippocampal gyrus. RD score was positively correlated with glucose metabolism in the left middle frontal gyrus and negative correlated in the posterior cingulate gyrus and caudate nucleus. We identified the relationship between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperamental personality trait. Each temperament factor had a relation with functions of specific brain areas. These results help understand biological background of personality and specific feedback circuits associated with each temperament factor

Multiple determinants of whole and regional brain volume among terrestrial carnivorans.

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Eli M Swanson

Full Text Available Mammalian brain volumes vary considerably, even after controlling for body size. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this variation, most research in mammals on the evolution of encephalization has focused on primates, leaving the generality of these explanations uncertain. Furthermore, much research still addresses only one hypothesis at a time, despite the demonstrated importance of considering multiple factors simultaneously. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate simultaneously the importance of several factors previously hypothesized to be important in neural evolution among mammalian carnivores, including social complexity, forelimb use, home range size, diet, life history, phylogeny, and recent evolutionary changes in body size. We also tested hypotheses suggesting roles for these variables in determining the relative volume of four brain regions measured using computed tomography. Our data suggest that, in contrast to brain size in primates, carnivoran brain size may lag behind body size over evolutionary time. Moreover, carnivore species that primarily consume vertebrates have the largest brains. Although we found no support for a role of social complexity in overall encephalization, relative cerebrum volume correlated positively with sociality. Finally, our results support negative relationships among different brain regions after accounting for overall endocranial volume, suggesting that increased size of one brain regions is often accompanied by reduced size in other regions rather than overall brain expansion.

Regional brain distribution of toluene in rats and in a human autopsy

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Ameno, Kiyoshi; Kiriu, Takahiro; Fuke, Chiaki; Ameno, Setsuko; Shinohara, Toyohiko; Ijiri, Iwao (Kagawa Medical School (Japan). Dept. of Forensic Medicine)

1992-02-01

Toluene concentrations in 9 brain regions of acutely exposed rats and that in 11 brain regions of a human case who inhaled toluene prior to death are described. After exposure to toluene by inhalation (2000 or 10 000 ppm) for 0.5 h or by oral dosing (400 mg/kg.), rats were killed by decapitation 0.5 and 4 h after onset of inhalation and 2 and 10 h after oral ingestion. After each experimental condition the highest range of brain region/blood toluene concentration ratio (BBCR) was in the brain stem regions (2.85-3.22) such as the pons and medulla oblongata, the middle range (1.77-2.12) in the midbrain, thalamus, caudate-putamen, hypothalamus and cerebellum, and the lowest range (1.22-1.64) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. These distribution patterns were quite constant. Toluene concentration in various brain regions were unevenly distributed and directly related blood levels. In a human case who had inhaled toluene vapor, the distribution among brain regions was relatively similar to that in rats, the highest concentration ratios being in the corpus callosum (BBCR:2.66) and the lowest in the hippocampus (BBCR:1.47). (orig.).

AUTOMATED CLASSIFICATION AND SEGREGATION OF BRAIN MRI IMAGES INTO IMAGES CAPTURED WITH RESPECT TO VENTRICULAR REGION AND EYE-BALL REGION

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C. Arunkumar

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI images of the brain are used for detection of various brain diseases including tumor. In such cases, classification of MRI images captured with respect to ventricular and eye ball regions helps in automated location and classification of such diseases. The methods employed in the paper can segregate the given MRI images of brain into images of brain captured with respect to ventricular region and images of brain captured with respect to eye ball region. First, the given MRI image of brain is segmented using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO algorithm, which is an optimized algorithm for MRI image segmentation. The algorithm proposed in the paper is then applied on the segmented image. The algorithm detects whether the image consist of a ventricular region or an eye ball region and classifies it accordingly.

Central region morphometry in a child brain; Age and gender ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-10-10

Oct 10, 2013 ... Background: Data on central region morphometry of a child brain is important not only in terms of ... brain volume reaches the peak at the age of 14.5 in men ..... child and adolescent brain and effects of genetic variation.

The polygenic risk for bipolar disorder influences brain regional function relating to visual and default state processing of emotional information.

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Dima, Danai; de Jong, Simone; Breen, Gerome; Frangou, Sophia

2016-01-01

Genome-wise association studies have identified a number of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), each of small effect, associated with risk to bipolar disorder (BD). Several risk-conferring SNPs have been individually shown to influence regional brain activation thus linking genetic risk for BD to altered brain function. The current study examined whether the polygenic risk score method, which models the cumulative load of all known risk-conferring SNPs, may be useful in the identification of brain regions whose function may be related to the polygenic architecture of BD. We calculated the individual polygenic risk score for BD (PGR-BD) in forty-one patients with the disorder, twenty-five unaffected first-degree relatives and forty-six unrelated healthy controls using the most recent Psychiatric Genomics Consortium data. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to define task-related brain activation patterns in response to facial affect and working memory processing. We found significant effects of the PGR-BD score on task-related activation irrespective of diagnostic group. There was a negative association between the PGR-BD score and activation in the visual association cortex during facial affect processing. In contrast, the PGR-BD score was associated with failure to deactivate the ventromedial prefrontal region of the default mode network during working memory processing. These results are consistent with the threshold-liability model of BD, and demonstrate the usefulness of the PGR-BD score in identifying brain functional alternations associated with vulnerability to BD. Additionally, our findings suggest that the polygenic architecture of BD is not regionally confined but impacts on the task-dependent recruitment of multiple brain regions.

Brain regional networks active during the mismatch negativity vary with paradigm.

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MacLean, Shannon E; Blundon, Elizabeth G; Ward, Lawrence M

2015-08-01

We used independent component analysis (ICA) of high-density EEG recordings coupled with single dipole fitting to identify the dominant brain regions active during the MMN in two different versions of a passive oddball paradigm: a simple, monotic, frequency-deviant paradigm and a more complex, dichotic, frequency-deviant paradigm with deviants occurring in either ear alone or in both ears at the same time. In both paradigms we found brain regional sources in the temporal and frontal cortices active during the MMN period, consistent with some previous studies. In the simpler paradigm, the scalp-potential variance during the earlier (70-120 ms) MMN was mostly accounted for by a wide array of temporal, frontal, and parietal sources. In the more complex paradigm, however, a generator in the prefrontal cortex accounted for a substantial amount of the variance of the scalp potential during the somewhat later MMN period (120-200 ms). These findings are consistent with a more nuanced view of the MMN and its generators than has been held in the past. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data-driven identification of intensity normalization region based on longitudinal coherency of 18F-FDG metabolism in the healthy brain.

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Zhang, Huiwei; Wu, Ping; Ziegler, Sibylle I; Guan, Yihui; Wang, Yuetao; Ge, Jingjie; Schwaiger, Markus; Huang, Sung-Cheng; Zuo, Chuantao; Förster, Stefan; Shi, Kuangyu

2017-02-01

In brain 18 F-FDG PET data intensity normalization is usually applied to control for unwanted factors confounding brain metabolism. However, it can be difficult to determine a proper intensity normalization region as a reference for the identification of abnormal metabolism in diseased brains. In neurodegenerative disorders, differentiating disease-related changes in brain metabolism from age-associated natural changes remains challenging. This study proposes a new data-driven method to identify proper intensity normalization regions in order to improve separation of age-associated natural changes from disease related changes in brain metabolism. 127 female and 128 male healthy subjects (age: 20 to 79) with brain 18 F-FDG PET/CT in the course of a whole body cancer screening were included. Brain PET images were processed using SPM8 and were parcellated into 116 anatomical regions according to the AAL template. It is assumed that normal brain 18 F-FDG metabolism has longitudinal coherency and this coherency leads to better model fitting. The coefficient of determination R 2 was proposed as the coherence coefficient, and the total coherence coefficient (overall fitting quality) was employed as an index to assess proper intensity normalization strategies on single subjects and age-cohort averaged data. Age-associated longitudinal changes of normal subjects were derived using the identified intensity normalization method correspondingly. In addition, 15 subjects with clinically diagnosed Parkinson's disease were assessed to evaluate the clinical potential of the proposed new method. Intensity normalizations by paracentral lobule and cerebellar tonsil, both regions derived from the new data-driven coherency method, showed significantly better coherence coefficients than other intensity normalization regions, and especially better than the most widely used global mean normalization. Intensity normalization by paracentral lobule was the most consistent method within both

Carnosine: effect on aging-induced increase in brain regional monoamine oxidase-A activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Soumyabrata; Poddar, Mrinal K

2015-03-01

Aging is a natural biological process associated with several neurological disorders along with the biochemical changes in brain. Aim of the present investigation is to study the effect of carnosine (0.5-2.5μg/kg/day, i.t. for 21 consecutive days) on aging-induced changes in brain regional (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and pons-medulla) mitochondrial monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) activity with its kinetic parameters. The results of the present study are: (1) The brain regional mitochondrial MAO-A activity and their kinetic parameters (except in Km of pons-medulla) were significantly increased with the increase of age (4-24 months), (2) Aging-induced increase of brain regional MAO-A activity including its Vmax were attenuated with higher dosages of carnosine (1.0-2.5μg/kg/day) and restored toward the activity that observed in young, though its lower dosage (0.5μg/kg/day) were ineffective in these brain regional MAO-A activity, (3) Carnosine at higher dosage in young rats, unlike aged rats significantly inhibited all the brain regional MAO-A activity by reducing their only Vmax excepting cerebral cortex, where Km was also significantly enhanced. These results suggest that carnosine attenuated the aging-induced increase of brain regional MAO-A activity by attenuating its kinetic parameters and restored toward the results of MAO-A activity that observed in corresponding brain regions of young rats. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Segmentation of brain parenchymal regions into gray matter and white matter with Alzheimer's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokunaga, Chiaki; Yoshiura, Takashi; Yamashita, Yasuo; Magome, Taiki; Honda, Hiroshi; Arimura, Hidetaka; Toyofuku, Fukai; Ohki, Masafumi

2010-01-01

It is very difficult and time consuming for neuroradiologists to estimate the degree of cerebral atrophy based on the volume of cortical regions etc. Our purpose of this study was to develop an automated segmentation of the brain parenchyma into gray and white matter regions with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted MR images. Our proposed method consisted of extraction of a brain parenchymal region based on a brain model matching and segmentation of the brain parenchyma into gray and white matter regions based on a fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm. We applied our proposed method to MR images of the whole brains obtained from 9 cases, including 4 clinically AD cases and 5 control cases. The mean volume percentage of a cortical region (41.7%) to a brain parenchymal region in AD patients was smaller than that (45.2%) in the control subjects (p=0.000462). (author)

Neuron-Enriched Gene Expression Patterns are Regionally Anti-Correlated with Oligodendrocyte-Enriched Patterns in the Adult Mouse and Human Brain.

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Tan, Powell Patrick Cheng; French, Leon; Pavlidis, Paul

2013-01-01

An important goal in neuroscience is to understand gene expression patterns in the brain. The recent availability of comprehensive and detailed expression atlases for mouse and human creates opportunities to discover global patterns and perform cross-species comparisons. Recently we reported that the major source of variation in gene transcript expression in the adult normal mouse brain can be parsimoniously explained as reflecting regional variation in glia to neuron ratios, and is correlated with degree of connectivity and location in the brain along the anterior-posterior axis. Here we extend this investigation to two gene expression assays of adult normal human brains that consisted of over 300 brain region samples, and perform comparative analyses of brain-wide expression patterns to the mouse. We performed principal components analysis (PCA) on the regional gene expression of the adult human brain to identify the expression pattern that has the largest variance. As in the mouse, we observed that the first principal component is composed of two anti-correlated patterns enriched in oligodendrocyte and neuron markers respectively. However, we also observed interesting discordant patterns between the two species. For example, a few mouse neuron markers show expression patterns that are more correlated with the human oligodendrocyte-enriched pattern and vice-versa. In conclusion, our work provides insights into human brain function and evolution by probing global relationships between regional cell type marker expression patterns in the human and mouse brain.

Identifying with fictive characters: structural brain correlates of the personality trait 'fantasy'.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheetham, Marcus; Hänggi, Jürgen; Jancke, Lutz

2014-11-01

The perception of oneself as absorbed in the thoughts, feelings and happenings of a fictive character (e.g. in a novel or film) as if the character's experiences were one's own is referred to as identification. We investigated whether individual variation in the personality trait of identification is associated with individual variation in the structure of specific brain regions, using surface and volume-based morphometry. The hypothesized regions of interest were selected on the basis of their functional role in subserving the cognitive processing domains considered important for identification (i.e. mental imagery, empathy, theory of mind and merging) and for the immersive experience called 'presence'. Controlling for age, sex, whole-brain volume and other traits, identification covaried significantly with the left hippocampal volume, cortical thickness in the right anterior insula and the left dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, and with gray matter volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings show that trait identification is associated with structural variation in specific brain regions. The findings are discussed in relation to the potential functional contribution of these regions to identification. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Alterations in regional homogeneity of resting-state brain activity in internet gaming addicts

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Dong Guangheng

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Backgrounds Internet gaming addiction (IGA, as a subtype of internet addiction disorder, is rapidly becoming a prevalent mental health concern around the world. The neurobiological underpinnings of IGA should be studied to unravel the potential heterogeneity of IGA. This study investigated the brain functions in IGA patients with resting-state fMRI. Methods Fifteen IGA subjects and fourteen healthy controls participated in this study. Regional homogeneity (ReHo measures were used to detect the abnormal functional integrations. Results Comparing to the healthy controls, IGA subjects show enhanced ReHo in brainstem, inferior parietal lobule, left posterior cerebellum, and left middle frontal gyrus. All of these regions are thought related with sensory-motor coordination. In addition, IGA subjects show decreased ReHo in temporal, occipital and parietal brain regions. These regions are thought responsible for visual and auditory functions. Conclusions Our results suggest that long-time online game playing enhanced the brain synchronization in sensory-motor coordination related brain regions and decreased the excitability in visual and auditory related brain regions.

Food and drug cues activate similar brain regions: a meta-analysis of functional MRI studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, D W; Fellows, L K; Small, D M; Dagher, A

2012-06-06

In healthy individuals, food cues can trigger hunger and feeding behavior. Likewise, smoking cues can trigger craving and relapse in smokers. Brain imaging studies report that structures involved in appetitive behaviors and reward, notably the insula, striatum, amygdala and orbital frontal cortex, tend to be activated by both visual food and smoking cues. Here, by carrying out a meta-analysis of human neuro-imaging studies, we investigate the neural network activated by: 1) food versus neutral cues (14 studies, 142 foci) 2) smoking versus neutral cues (15 studies, 176 foci) 3) smoking versus neutral cues when correlated with craving scores (7 studies, 108 foci). PubMed was used to identify cue-reactivity imaging studies that compared brain response to visual food or smoking cues to neutral cues. Fourteen articles were identified for the food meta-analysis and fifteen articles were identified for the smoking meta-analysis. Six articles were identified for the smoking cue correlated with craving analysis. Meta-analyses were carried out using activation likelihood estimation. Food cues were associated with increased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in the left amygdala, bilateral insula, bilateral orbital frontal cortex, and striatum. Smoking cues were associated with increased BOLD signal in the same areas, with the exception of the insula. However, the smoking meta-analysis of brain maps correlating cue-reactivity with subjective craving did identify the insula, suggesting that insula activation is only found when craving levels are high. The brain areas identified here are involved in learning, memory and motivation, and their cue-induced activity is an index of the incentive salience of the cues. Using meta-analytic techniques to combine a series of studies, we found that food and smoking cues activate comparable brain networks. There is significant overlap in brain regions responding to conditioned cues associated with natural and drug rewards

Regional cerebral blood flow in psychiatry: The resting and activated brains of schizophrenic patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gur, R.E.

1984-01-01

The investigation of regional brain functioning in schizophrenia has been based on behavioral techniques. Although results are sometimes inconsistent, the behavioral observations suggest left hemispheric dysfunction and left hemispheric overreaction. Recent developments in neuroimaging technology make possible major refinements in assessing regional brain function. Both anatomical and physiological information now be used to study regional brain development in psychiatric disorders. This chapter describes the application of one method - the xenon-133 technique for measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) - in studying the resting and activated brains of schizoprenic patients

Brain region specific mitophagy capacity could contribute to selective neuronal vulnerability in Parkinson's disease

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Zabel Claus

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD is histologically well defined by its characteristic degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Remarkably, divergent PD-related mutations can generate comparable brain region specific pathologies. This indicates that some intrinsic region-specificity respecting differential neuron vulnerability exists, which codetermines the disease progression. To gain insight into the pathomechanism of PD, we investigated protein expression and protein oxidation patterns of three different brain regions in a PD mouse model, the PINK1 knockout mice (PINK1-KO, in comparison to wild type control mice. The dysfunction of PINK1 presumably affects mitochondrial turnover by disturbing mitochondrial autophagic pathways. The three brain regions investigated are the midbrain, which is the location of substantia nigra; striatum, the major efferent region of substantia nigra; and cerebral cortex, which is more distal to PD pathology. In all three regions, mitochondrial proteins responsible for energy metabolism and membrane potential were significantly altered in the PINK1-KO mice, but with very different region specific accents in terms of up/down-regulations. This suggests that disturbed mitophagy presumably induced by PINK1 knockout has heterogeneous impacts on different brain regions. Specifically, the midbrain tissue seems to be most severely hit by defective mitochondrial turnover, whereas cortex and striatum could compensate for mitophagy nonfunction by feedback stimulation of other catabolic programs. In addition, cerebral cortex tissues showed the mildest level of protein oxidation in both PINK1-KO and wild type mice, indicating either a better oxidative protection or less reactive oxygen species (ROS pressure in this brain region. Ultra-structural histological examination in normal mouse brain revealed higher incidences of mitophagy vacuoles in cerebral cortex than in striatum and substantia

Influence of ketamine on regional brain glucose use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D.W.; Mans, A.M.; Biebuyck, J.F.; Hawkins, R.A.

1988-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different doses of ketamine on cerebral function at the level of individual brain structures as reflected by glucose use. Rats received either 5 or 30 mg/kg ketamine intravenously as a loading dose, followed by an infusion to maintain a steady-state level of the drug. An additional group received 30 mg/kg as a single injection only, and was studied 20 min later, by which time they were recovering consciousness (withdrawal group). Regional brain energy metabolism was evaluated with [6- 14 C]glucose and quantitative autoradiography during a 5-min experimental period. A subhypnotic, steady-state dose (5 mg/kg) of ketamine caused a stimulation of glucose use in most brain areas, with an average increase of 20%. At the larger steady-state dose (30 mg/kg, which is sufficient to cause anesthesia), there was no significant effect on most brain regions; some sensory nuclei were depressed (inferior colliculus, -29%; cerebellar dentate nucleus, -18%; vestibular nucleus, -16%), but glucose use in the ventral posterior hippocampus was increased by 33%. In contrast, during withdrawal from a 30-mg/kg bolus, there was a stimulation of glucose use throughout the brain (21-78%), at a time when plasma ketamine levels were similar to the levels in the 5 mg/kg group. At each steady-state dose, as well as during withdrawal, ketamine caused a notable stimulation of glucose use by the hippocampus

Regional apparent diffusion coefficient values in 3rd trimester fetal brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffmann, Chen; Weisz, Boaz; Lipitz, Shlomo; Katorza, Eldad; Yaniv, Gal; Bergman, Dafi; Biegon, Anat

2014-01-01

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the developing fetus can be used in the diagnosis and prognosis of prenatal brain pathologies. To this end, we measured regional ADC in a relatively large cohort of normal fetal brains in utero. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 48 non-sedated 3rd trimester fetuses with normal structural MR imaging results. ADC was measured in white matter (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes), basal ganglia, thalamus, pons, and cerebellum. Regional ADC values were compared by one-way ANOVA with gestational age as covariate. Regression analysis was used to examine gestational age-related changes in regional ADC. Four other cases of CMV infection were also examined. Median gestational age was 32 weeks (range, 26-33 weeks). There was a highly significant effect of region on ADC, whereby ADC values were highest in white matter, with significantly lower values in basal ganglia and cerebellum and the lowest values in thalamus and pons. ADC did not significantly change with gestational age in any of the regions tested. In the four cases with fetal CMV infection, ADC value was associated with a global decrease. ADC values in normal fetal brain are relatively stable during the third trimester, show consistent regional variation, and can make an important contribution to the early diagnosis and possibly prognosis of fetal brain pathologies. (orig.)

Regional apparent diffusion coefficient values in 3rd trimester fetal brain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffmann, Chen [Tel Aviv University, Department of Radiology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer (affiliated to the Sackler School of Medicine), Tel Aviv (Israel); Sheba Medical Center, Diagnostic Imaging, 52621, Tel Hashomer (Israel); Weisz, Boaz; Lipitz, Shlomo; Katorza, Eldad [Tel Aviv University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer (affiliated to the Sackler School of Medicine), Tel Aviv (Israel); Yaniv, Gal; Bergman, Dafi [Tel Aviv University, Department of Radiology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer (affiliated to the Sackler School of Medicine), Tel Aviv (Israel); Biegon, Anat [Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Stony Brook, NY (United States)

2014-07-15

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the developing fetus can be used in the diagnosis and prognosis of prenatal brain pathologies. To this end, we measured regional ADC in a relatively large cohort of normal fetal brains in utero. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 48 non-sedated 3rd trimester fetuses with normal structural MR imaging results. ADC was measured in white matter (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes), basal ganglia, thalamus, pons, and cerebellum. Regional ADC values were compared by one-way ANOVA with gestational age as covariate. Regression analysis was used to examine gestational age-related changes in regional ADC. Four other cases of CMV infection were also examined. Median gestational age was 32 weeks (range, 26-33 weeks). There was a highly significant effect of region on ADC, whereby ADC values were highest in white matter, with significantly lower values in basal ganglia and cerebellum and the lowest values in thalamus and pons. ADC did not significantly change with gestational age in any of the regions tested. In the four cases with fetal CMV infection, ADC value was associated with a global decrease. ADC values in normal fetal brain are relatively stable during the third trimester, show consistent regional variation, and can make an important contribution to the early diagnosis and possibly prognosis of fetal brain pathologies. (orig.)

Age- and brain region-dependent α-synuclein oligomerization is attributed to alterations in intrinsic enzymes regulating α-synuclein phosphorylation in aging monkey brains.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Min; Yang, Weiwei; Li, Xin; Li, Xuran; Wang, Peng; Yue, Feng; Yang, Hui; Chan, Piu; Yu, Shun

2016-02-23

We previously reported that the levels of α-syn oligomers, which play pivotal pathogenic roles in age-related Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies, increase heterogeneously in the aging brain. Here, we show that exogenous α-syn incubated with brain extracts from older cynomolgus monkeys and in Lewy body pathology (LBP)-susceptible brain regions (striatum and hippocampus) forms higher amounts of phosphorylated and oligomeric α-syn than that in extracts from younger monkeys and LBP-insusceptible brain regions (cerebellum and occipital cortex). The increased α-syn phosphorylation and oligomerization in the brain extracts from older monkeys and in LBP-susceptible brain regions were associated with higher levels of polo-like kinase 2 (PLK2), an enzyme promoting α-syn phosphorylation, and lower activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), an enzyme inhibiting α-syn phosphorylation, in these brain extracts. Further, the extent of the age- and brain-dependent increase in α-syn phosphorylation and oligomerization was reduced by inhibition of PLK2 and activation of PP2A. Inversely, phosphorylated α-syn oligomers reduced the activity of PP2A and showed potent cytotoxicity. In addition, the activity of GCase and the levels of ceramide, a product of GCase shown to activate PP2A, were lower in brain extracts from older monkeys and in LBP-susceptible brain regions. Our results suggest a role for altered intrinsic metabolic enzymes in age- and brain region-dependent α-syn oligomerization in aging brains.

Neuropeptide processing in regional brain slices: Effect of conformation and sequence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Z.W.; Bijl, W.A.; van Nispen, J.W.; Brendel, K.; Davis, T.P. (Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (USA))

1990-05-01

The central enzymatic stability of des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin and its synthetic analogs (cycloN alpha 6, C delta 11)beta-endorphin-(6-17) and (Pro7, Lys(Ac)9)-beta-endorphin(6-17) was studied in vitro using a newly developed, regionally dissected rat brain slice, time course incubation procedure. Tissue slice viability was estimated as the ability of the brain slice to take up or release gamma-(3H)aminobutyric acid after high K+ stimulation. Results demonstrated stability of uptake/release up to 5 hr of incubation, suggesting tissue viability over this period. The estimated half-life of peptides based on the results obtained in our incubation protocol suggest that the peptides studied are metabolized at different rates in the individual brain regions tested. A good correlation exists between the high enzyme activity of neutral endopeptidase and the rapid degradation of des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin and (cycloN alpha 6, C delata 11)beta-endorphin-(6-17) in caudate putamen. Proline substitution combined with lysine acetylation appears to improve resistance to enzymatic metabolism in caudate putamen and hypothalamus. However, cyclization of des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin forming an amide bond between the alpha-NH2 of the N-terminal threonine and the gamma-COOH of glutamic acid did not improve peptide stability in any brain region tested. The present study has shown that the brain slice technique is a valid and unique approach to study neuropeptide metabolism in small, discrete regions of rat brain where peptides, peptidases and receptors are colocalized and that specific structural modifications can improve peptide stability.

Big Cat Coalitions: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Brain Volumes in Felidae.

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Sakai, Sharleen T; Arsznov, Bradley M; Hristova, Ani E; Yoon, Elise J; Lundrigan, Barbara L

2016-01-01

Broad-based species comparisons across mammalian orders suggest a number of factors that might influence the evolution of large brains. However, the relationship between these factors and total and regional brain size remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between relative brain size and regional brain volumes and sociality in 13 felid species in hopes of revealing relationships that are not detected in more inclusive comparative studies. In addition, a more detailed analysis was conducted of four focal species: lions ( Panthera leo ), leopards ( Panthera pardus ), cougars ( Puma concolor ), and cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ). These species differ markedly in sociality and behavioral flexibility, factors hypothesized to contribute to increased relative brain size and/or frontal cortex size. Lions are the only truly social species, living in prides. Although cheetahs are largely solitary, males often form small groups. Both leopards and cougars are solitary. Of the four species, leopards exhibit the most behavioral flexibility, readily adapting to changing circumstances. Regional brain volumes were analyzed using computed tomography. Skulls ( n = 75) were scanned to create three-dimensional virtual endocasts, and regional brain volumes were measured using either sulcal or bony landmarks obtained from the endocasts or skulls. Phylogenetic least squares regression analyses found that sociality does not correspond with larger relative brain size in these species. However, the sociality/solitary variable significantly predicted anterior cerebrum (AC) volume, a region that includes frontal cortex. This latter finding is despite the fact that the two social species in our sample, lions and cheetahs, possess the largest and smallest relative AC volumes, respectively. Additionally, an ANOVA comparing regional brain volumes in four focal species revealed that lions and leopards, while not significantly different from one another, have relatively larger AC

Big Cat Coalitions: A comparative analysis of regional brain volumes in Felidae

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Sharleen T Sakai

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Broad-based species comparisons across mammalian orders suggest a number of factors that might influence the evolution of large brains. However, the relationship between these factors and total and regional brain size remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between relative brain size and regional brain volumes and sociality in 13 felid species in hopes of revealing relationships that are not detected in more inclusive comparative studies. In addition, a more detailed analysis was conducted of 4 focal species: lions (Panthera leo, leopards (Panthera pardus, cougars (Puma concolor, and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus. These species differ markedly in sociality and behavioral flexibility, factors hypothesized to contribute to increased relative brain size and/or frontal cortex size. Lions are the only truly social species, living in prides. Although cheetahs are largely solitary, males often form small groups. Both leopards and cougars are solitary. Of the four species, leopards exhibit the most behavioral flexibility, readily adapting to changing circumstances. Regional brain volumes were analyzed using computed tomography (CT. Skulls (n=75 were scanned to create three-dimensional virtual endocasts, and regional brain volumes were measured using either sulcal or bony landmarks obtained from the endocasts or skulls. Phylogenetic least squares (PGLS regression analyses found that sociality does not correspond with larger relative brain size in these species. However, the sociality/solitary variable significantly predicted anterior cerebrum (AC volume, a region that includes frontal cortex. This latter finding is despite the fact that the two social species in our sample, lions and cheetahs, possess the largest and smallest relative AC volumes, respectively. Additionally, an ANOVA comparing regional brain volumes in 4 focal species revealed that lions and leopards, while not significantly different from one another, have relatively

Brain regions involved in subprocesses of small-space episodic object-location memory: a systematic review of lesion and functional neuroimaging studies.

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Zimmermann, Kathrin; Eschen, Anne

2017-04-01

Object-location memory (OLM) enables us to keep track of the locations of objects in our environment. The neurocognitive model of OLM (Postma, A., Kessels, R. P. C., & Van Asselen, M. (2004). The neuropsychology of object-location memory. In G. L. Allen (Ed.), Human spatial memory: Remembering where (pp. 143-160). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, Postma, A., Kessels, R. P. C., & Van Asselen, M. (2008). How the brain remembers and forgets where things are: The neurocognition of object-location memory. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 1339-1345. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.001 ) proposes that distinct brain regions are specialised for different subprocesses of OLM (object processing, location processing, and object-location binding; categorical and coordinate OLM; egocentric and allocentric OLM). It was based mainly on findings from lesion studies. However, recent episodic memory studies point to a contribution of additional or different brain regions to object and location processing within episodic OLM. To evaluate and update the neurocognitive model of OLM, we therefore conducted a systematic literature search for lesion as well as functional neuroimaging studies contrasting small-space episodic OLM with object memory or location memory. We identified 10 relevant lesion studies and 8 relevant functional neuroimaging studies. We could confirm some of the proposals of the neurocognitive model of OLM, but also differing hypotheses from episodic memory research, about which brain regions are involved in the different subprocesses of small-space episodic OLM. In addition, we were able to identify new brain regions as well as important research gaps.

Brain noise is task dependent and region specific.

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Misić, Bratislav; Mills, Travis; Taylor, Margot J; McIntosh, Anthony R

2010-11-01

The emerging organization of anatomical and functional connections during human brain development is thought to facilitate global integration of information. Recent empirical and computational studies have shown that this enhanced capacity for information processing enables a diversified dynamic repertoire that manifests in neural activity as irregularity and noise. However, transient functional networks unfold over multiple time, scales and the embedding of a particular region depends not only on development, but also on the manner in which sensory and cognitive systems are engaged. Here we show that noise is a facet of neural activity that is also sensitive to the task context and is highly region specific. Children (6-16 yr) and adults (20-41 yr) performed a one-back face recognition task with inverted and upright faces. Neuromagnetic activity was estimated at several hundred sources in the brain by applying a beamforming technique to the magnetoencephalogram (MEG). During development, neural activity became more variable across the whole brain, with most robust increases in medial parietal regions, such as the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex. For young children and adults, activity evoked by upright faces was more variable and noisy compared with inverted faces, and this effect was reliable only in the right fusiform gyrus. These results are consistent with the notion that upright faces engender a variety of integrative neural computations, such as the relations among facial features and their holistic constitution. This study shows that transient changes in functional integration modulated by task demand are evident in the variability of regional neural activity.

Zebrafish homologs of genes within 16p11.2, a genomic region associated with brain disorders, are active during brain development, and include two deletion dosage sensor genes

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Alicia Blaker-Lee

2012-11-01

Deletion or duplication of one copy of the human 16p11.2 interval is tightly associated with impaired brain function, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs, intellectual disability disorder (IDD and other phenotypes, indicating the importance of gene dosage in this copy number variant region (CNV. The core of this CNV includes 25 genes; however, the number of genes that contribute to these phenotypes is not known. Furthermore, genes whose functional levels change with deletion or duplication (termed ‘dosage sensors’, which can associate the CNV with pathologies, have not been identified in this region. Using the zebrafish as a tool, a set of 16p11.2 homologs was identified, primarily on chromosomes 3 and 12. Use of 11 phenotypic assays, spanning the first 5 days of development, demonstrated that this set of genes is highly active, such that 21 out of the 22 homologs tested showed loss-of-function phenotypes. Most genes in this region were required for nervous system development – impacting brain morphology, eye development, axonal density or organization, and motor response. In general, human genes were able to substitute for the fish homolog, demonstrating orthology and suggesting conserved molecular pathways. In a screen for 16p11.2 genes whose function is sensitive to hemizygosity, the aldolase a (aldoaa and kinesin family member 22 (kif22 genes were identified as giving clear phenotypes when RNA levels were reduced by ∼50%, suggesting that these genes are deletion dosage sensors. This study leads to two major findings. The first is that the 16p11.2 region comprises a highly active set of genes, which could present a large genetic target and might explain why multiple brain function, and other, phenotypes are associated with this interval. The second major finding is that there are (at least two genes with deletion dosage sensor properties among the 16p11.2 set, and these could link this CNV to brain disorders such as ASD and IDD.

Exosomal biomarkers of brain insulin resistance associated with regional atrophy in Alzheimer's disease.

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Mullins, Roger J; Mustapic, Maja; Goetzl, Edward J; Kapogiannis, Dimitrios

2017-04-01

Brain insulin resistance (IR), which depends on insulin-receptor-substrate-1 (IRS-1) phosphorylation, is characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previously, we demonstrated higher pSer312-IRS-1 (ineffective insulin signaling) and lower p-panTyr-IRS-1 (effective insulin signaling) in neural origin-enriched plasma exosomes of AD patients vs. Here, we hypothesized that these exosomal biomarkers associate with brain atrophy in AD. We studied 24 subjects with biomarker-supported probable AD (low CSF Aβ 42 ). Exosomes were isolated from plasma, enriched for neural origin using immunoprecipitation for L1CAM, and measured for pSer 312 - and p-panTyr-IRS-1 phosphotypes. MPRAGE images were segmented by brain tissue type and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis for gray matter against pSer 312 - and p-panTyr-IRS-1 was conducted. Given the regionally variable brain expression of IRS-1, we used the Allen Brain Atlas to make spatial comparisons between VBM results and IRS-1 expression. Brain volume was positively associated with P-panTyr-IRS-1 and negatively associated with pSer 312 -IRS-1 in a strikingly similar regional pattern (bilateral parietal-occipital junction, R middle temporal gyrus). This volumetric association pattern was spatially correlated with Allen Human Brain atlas normal brain IRS-1 expression. Exosomal biomarkers of brain IR are thus associated with atrophy in AD as could be expected by their pathophysiological roles and do so in a pattern that reflects regional IRS-1 expression. Furthermore, neural-origin plasma exosomes may recover molecular signals from specific brain regions. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1933-1940, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Region-specific protein misfolding cyclic amplification reproduces brain tropism of prion strains.

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Privat, Nicolas; Levavasseur, Etienne; Yildirim, Serfildan; Hannaoui, Samia; Brandel, Jean-Philippe; Laplanche, Jean-Louis; Béringue, Vincent; Seilhean, Danielle; Haïk, Stéphane

2017-10-06

Human prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are transmissible brain proteinopathies, characterized by the accumulation of a misfolded isoform of the host cellular prion protein (PrP) in the brain. According to the prion model, prions are defined as proteinaceous infectious particles composed solely of this abnormal isoform of PrP (PrP Sc ). Even in the absence of genetic material, various prion strains can be propagated in experimental models. They can be distinguished by the pattern of disease they produce and especially by the localization of PrP Sc deposits within the brain and the spongiform lesions they induce. The mechanisms involved in this strain-specific targeting of distinct brain regions still are a fundamental, unresolved question in prion research. To address this question, we exploited a prion conversion in vitro assay, protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), by using experimental scrapie and human prion strains as seeds and specific brain regions from mice and humans as substrates. We show here that region-specific PMCA in part reproduces the specific brain targeting observed in experimental, acquired, and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases. Furthermore, we provide evidence that, in addition to cellular prion protein, other region- and species-specific molecular factors influence the strain-dependent prion conversion process. This important step toward understanding prion strain propagation in the human brain may impact research on the molecular factors involved in protein misfolding and the development of ultrasensitive methods for diagnosing prion disease. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Regional differences in brain glucose metabolism determined by imaging mass spectrometry

OpenAIRE

André Kleinridders; Heather A. Ferris; Michelle L. Reyzer; Michaela Rath; Marion Soto; M. Lisa Manier; Jeffrey Spraggins; Zhihong Yang; Robert C. Stanton; Richard M. Caprioli; C. Ronald Kahn

2018-01-01

Objective: Glucose is the major energy substrate of the brain and crucial for normal brain function. In diabetes, the brain is subject to episodes of hypo- and hyperglycemia resulting in acute outcomes ranging from confusion to seizures, while chronic metabolic dysregulation puts patients at increased risk for depression and Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we aimed to determine how glucose is metabolized in different regions of the brain using imaging mass spectrometry (IMS). Metho...

Hierarchical clustering into groups of human brain regions according to elemental composition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stedman, J.D.; Spyrou, N.M.

1998-01-01

Thirteen brain regions were dissected from both hemispheres of fifteen 'normal' ageing subjects (8 females, 7 males) of mean age 79±7 years. Elemental compositions were determined by simultaneous application of particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) analyses using a 2 MeV, 4 nA proton beam scanned over 4 mm 2 of the sample surface. Elemental concentrations were found to be dependent upon the brain region and hemisphere studied. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to group the brain regions according to the sample concentrations of eight elements. The resulting dendrogram is presented and its clusters related to the sample compositions of grey and white matter. (author)

Functional photoacoustic imaging to observe regional brain activation induced by cocaine hydrochloride

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Jo, Janggun; Yang, Xinmai

2011-09-01

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) was used to detect small animal brain activation in response to drug abuse. Cocaine hydrochloride in saline solution was injected into the blood stream of Sprague Dawley rats through tail veins. The rat brain functional change in response to the injection of drug was then monitored by the PAM technique. Images in the coronal view of the rat brain at the locations of 1.2 and 3.4 mm posterior to bregma were obtained. The resulted photoacoustic (PA) images showed the regional changes in the blood volume. Additionally, the regional changes in blood oxygenation were also presented. The results demonstrated that PA imaging is capable of monitoring regional hemodynamic changes induced by drug abuse.

Evidence for a release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor from the brain during exercise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Peter; Brassard, Patrice; Adser, Helle

2009-01-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has an important role in regulating maintenance, growth and survival of neurons. However, the main source of circulating BDNF in response to exercise is unknown. To identify whether the brain is a source of BDNF during exercise, eight volunteers rowed for 4...... h while simultaneous blood samples were obtained from the radial artery and the internal jugular vein. To further identify putative cerebral region(s) responsible for BDNF release, mouse brains were dissected and analysed for BDNF mRNA expression following treadmill exercise. In humans, a BDNF...... release from the brain was observed at rest (P BDNF, while that contribution decreased following 1 h of recovery. In mice, exercise induced a three...

Regional brain activity during early visual perception in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients.

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Lee, Junghee; Cohen, Mark S; Engel, Stephen A; Glahn, David; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Wynn, Jonathan K; Green, Michael F

2010-07-01

Visual masking paradigms assess the early part of visual information processing, which may reflect vulnerability measures for schizophrenia. We examined the neural substrates of visual backward performance in unaffected sibling of schizophrenia patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-one unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 19 healthy controls performed a backward masking task and three functional localizer tasks to identify three visual processing regions of interest (ROI): lateral occipital complex (LO), the motion-sensitive area, and retinotopic areas. In the masking task, we systematically manipulated stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). We analyzed fMRI data in two complementary ways: 1) an ROI approach for three visual areas, and 2) a whole-brain analysis. The groups did not differ in behavioral performance. For ROI analysis, both groups increased activation as SOAs increased in LO. Groups did not differ in activation levels of the three ROIs. For whole-brain analysis, controls increased activation as a function of SOAs, compared with siblings in several regions (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule). The study found: 1) area LO showed sensitivity to the masking effect in both groups; 2) siblings did not differ from controls in activation of LO; and 3) groups differed significantly in several brain regions outside visual processing areas that have been related to attentional or re-entrant processes. These findings suggest that LO dysfunction may be a disease indicator rather than a risk indicator for schizophrenia. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frequency-dependent brain regional homogeneity alterations in patients with mild cognitive impairment during working memory state relative to resting state

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Pengyun eWang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Several studies have reported working memory deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI. However, previous studies investigating the neural mechanisms of MCI have primarily focused on brain activity alterations during working memory tasks. No study to date has compared brain network alterations in the working memory state between MCI patients and normal control subjects. Therefore, using the index of regional homogeneity (ReHo, we explored brain network impairments in MCI patients during a working memory task relative to the resting state, and identified frequency-dependent effects in separate frequency bands.Our results indicate that, in MCI patients, ReHo is altered in the posterior cingulate cortex in the slow-3 band (0.073–0.198 Hz, and in the bottom of the right occipital lobe and part of the right cerebellum, the right thalamus, a diffusing region in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, the left and right parietal-occipital regions, and the right angular gyrus in the slow-5 band (0.01–0.027 Hz. Furthermore, in normal controls, the value of ReHo in clusters belonging to the default mode network decreased, while the value of ReHo in clusters belonging to the attentional network increased during the task state. However, this pattern was reversed in MCI patients, and was associated with decreased working memory performance. In addition, we identified altered functional connectivity of the abovementioned regions with other parts of the brain in MCI patients.This is the first study to compare frequency-dependent alterations of ReHo in MCI patients between resting and working memory states. The results provide a new perspective regarding the neural mechanisms of working memory deficits in MCI patients, and extend our knowledge of altered brain patterns in resting and task-evoked states.

Differential susceptibility of brain regions to tributyltin chloride toxicity.

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Mitra, Sumonto; Siddiqui, Waseem A; Khandelwal, Shashi

2015-12-01

Tributyltin (TBT), a well-known endocrine disruptor, is an omnipresent environmental pollutant and is explicitly used in many industrial applications. Previously we have shown its neurotoxic potential on cerebral cortex of male Wistar rats. As the effect of TBT on other brain regions is not known, we planned this study to evaluate its effect on four brain regions (cerebellum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum). Four-week-old male Wistar rats were gavaged with a single dose of TBT-chloride (TBTC) (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg) and sacrificed on days 3 and 7, respectively. Effect of TBTC on blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and tin (Sn) accumulation were measured. Oxidative stress indexes such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) ratio, lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonylation were analyzed as they play an imperative role in various neuropathological conditions. Since metal catalyzed reactions are a major source of oxidant generation, levels of essential metals like iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and calcium (Ca) were estimated. We found that TBTC disrupted BBB and increased Sn accumulation, both of which appear significantly correlated. Altered metal homeostasis and ROS generation accompanied by elevated lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation indicated oxidative damage which appeared more pronounced in the striatum than in cerebellum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. This could be associated to the depleted GSH levels in striatum. These results suggest that striatum is more susceptible to TBTC induced oxidative damage as compared with other brain regions under study. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Regional cerebral blood flow measurement in brain tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izunaga, Hiroshi; Hirota, Yoshihisa; Takahashi, Mutsumasa; Fuwa, Isao; Kodama, Takafumi; Matsukado, Yasuhiko

1986-01-01

The regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was determined on seventeen patients with brain tumors. Ring type single photon emission CT (SPECT) was used following intravenous injection of 133 Xe. Case materials included eleven meningiomas and six malignant gliomas. Evaluation was performed with emphasis on the following points; 1. Correlation of the flow data within tumors to the angiographic tumor stains, 2. Influence of tumors on the cerebral blood flow of the normal brain tissue, 3. Correlation between degree of peripheral edema and the flow data of the affected hemispheres. There was significant correlation between flow data within tumors and angiographic tumor stains in meningiomas. Influence of tumors on cerebral blood flow of the normal tissue was greater in meningiomas than in gliomas. There was negative correlation between the degree of peripheral edema and the flow data of the affected hemisphere. It has been concluded that the measurement of CBF in brain tumors is a valuable method in evaluation of brain tumors. (author)

Regional cerebral blood flow measurement in brain tumors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Izunaga, Hiroshi; Hirota, Yoshihisa; Takahashi, Mutsumasa; Fuwa, Isao; Kodama, Takafumi; Matsukado, Yasuhiko

1986-10-01

The regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was determined on seventeen patients with brain tumors. Ring type single photon emission CT (SPECT) was used following intravenous injection of /sup 133/Xe. Case materials included eleven meningiomas and six malignant gliomas. Evaluation was performed with emphasis on the following points; 1. Correlation of the flow data within tumors to the angiographic tumor stains, 2. Influence of tumors on the cerebral blood flow of the normal brain tissue, 3. Correlation between degree of peripheral edema and the flow data of the affected hemispheres. There was significant correlation between flow data within tumors and angiographic tumor stains in meningiomas. Influence of tumors on cerebral blood flow of the normal tissue was greater in meningiomas than in gliomas. There was negative correlation between the degree of peripheral edema and the flow data of the affected hemisphere. It has been concluded that the measurement of CBF in brain tumors is a valuable method in evaluation of brain tumors.

Moral values are associated with individual differences in regional brain volume.

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Lewis, Gary J; Kanai, Ryota; Bates, Timothy C; Rees, Geraint

2012-08-01

Moral sentiment has been hypothesized to reflect evolved adaptations to social living. If so, individual differences in moral values may relate to regional variation in brain structure. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 70 young, healthy adults examining whether differences on two major dimensions of moral values were significantly associated with regional gray matter volume. The two clusters of moral values assessed were "individualizing" (values of harm/care and fairness) and "binding" (deference to authority, in-group loyalty, and purity/sanctity). Individualizing was positively associated with left dorsomedial pFC volume and negatively associated with bilateral precuneus volume. For binding, a significant positive association was found for bilateral subcallosal gyrus and a trend to significance for the left anterior insula volume. These findings demonstrate that variation in moral sentiment reflects individual differences in brain structure and suggest a biological basis for moral sentiment, distributed across multiple brain regions.

Voxel-based lesion analysis of brain regions underlying reading and writing.

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Baldo, Juliana V; Kacinik, Natalie; Ludy, Carl; Paulraj, Selvi; Moncrief, Amber; Piai, Vitória; Curran, Brian; Turken, And; Herron, Tim; Dronkers, Nina F

2018-03-20

The neural basis of reading and writing has been a source of inquiry as well as controversy in the neuroscience literature. Reading has been associated with both left posterior ventral temporal zones (termed the "visual word form area") as well as more dorsal zones, primarily in left parietal cortex. Writing has also been associated with left parietal cortex, as well as left sensorimotor cortex and prefrontal regions. Typically, the neural basis of reading and writing are examined in separate studies and/or rely on single case studies exhibiting specific deficits. Functional neuroimaging studies of reading and writing typically identify a large number of activated regions but do not necessarily identify the core, critical hubs. Last, due to constraints on the functional imaging environment, many previous studies have been limited to measuring the brain activity associated with single-word reading and writing, rather than sentence-level processing. In the current study, the brain correlates of reading and writing at both the single- and sentence-level were studied in a large sample of 111 individuals with a history of chronic stroke using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM). VLSM provides a whole-brain, voxel-by-voxel statistical analysis of the role of distinct regions in a particular behavior by comparing performance of individuals with and without a lesion at every voxel. Rather than comparing individual cases or small groups with particular behavioral dissociations in reading and writing, VLSM allowed us to analyze data from a large, well-characterized sample of stroke patients exhibiting a wide range of reading and writing impairments. The VLSM analyses revealed that reading was associated with a critical left inferior temporo-occipital focus, while writing was primarily associated with the left supramarginal gyrus. Separate VLSM analyses of single-word versus sentence-level reading showed that sentence-level reading was uniquely associated with anterior

Brain functional network connectivity based on a visual task: visual information processing-related brain regions are significantly activated in the task state

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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.

Attentional Performance is Correlated with the Local Regional Efficiency of Intrinsic Brain Networks

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Junhai eXu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Attention is a crucial brain function for human beings. Using neuropsychological paradigms and task-based functional brain imaging, previous studies have indicated that widely distributed brain regions are engaged in three distinct attention subsystems: alerting, orienting and executive control (EC. Here, we explored the potential contribution of spontaneous brain activity to attention by examining whether resting-state activity could account for individual differences of the attentional performance in normal individuals. The resting-state functional images and behavioral data from attention network test (ANT task were collected in 59 healthy subjects. Graph analysis was conducted to obtain the characteristics of functional brain networks and linear regression analyses were used to explore their relationships with behavioral performances of the three attentional components. We found that there was no significant relationship between the attentional performance and the global measures, while the attentional performance was associated with specific local regional efficiency. These regions related to the scores of alerting, orienting and EC largely overlapped with the regions activated in previous task-related functional imaging studies, and were consistent with the intrinsic dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN/VAN. In addition, the strong associations between the attentional performance and specific regional efficiency suggested that there was a possible relationship between the DAN/VAN and task performances in the ANT. We concluded that the intrinsic activity of the human brain could reflect the processing efficiency of the attention system. Our findings revealed a robust evidence for the functional significance of the efficiently organized intrinsic brain network for highly productive cognitions and the hypothesized role of the DAN/ VAN at rest.

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.

Region-specific RNA m6A methylation represents a new layer of control in the gene regulatory network in the mouse brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Mengqi; Lv, Hongyi; Zhang, Weilong; Ma, Chunhui; He, Xue; Zhao, Shunli; Zhang, Zhi-Wei; Zeng, Yi-Xin; Song, Shuhui; Niu, Yamei; Tong, Wei-Min

2017-09-01

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant epitranscriptomic mark found on mRNA and has important roles in various physiological processes. Despite the relatively high m 6 A levels in the brain, its potential functions in the brain remain largely unexplored. We performed a transcriptome-wide methylation analysis using the mouse brain to depict its region-specific methylation profile. RNA methylation levels in mouse cerebellum are generally higher than those in the cerebral cortex. Heterogeneity of RNA methylation exists across different brain regions and different types of neural cells including the mRNAs to be methylated, their methylation levels and methylation site selection. Common and region-specific methylation have different preferences for methylation site selection and thereby different impacts on their biological functions. In addition, high methylation levels of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) target mRNAs suggest that m 6 A methylation is likely to be used for selective recognition of target mRNAs by FMRP in the synapse. Overall, we provide a region-specific map of RNA m 6 A methylation and characterize the distinct features of specific and common methylation in mouse cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Our results imply that RNA m 6 A methylation is a newly identified element in the region-specific gene regulatory network in the mouse brain. © 2017 The Authors.

Regional brain gray and white matter changes in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents☆

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Sarma, Manoj K.; Nagarajan, Rajakumar; Keller, Margaret A.; Kumar, Rajesh; Nielsen-Saines, Karin; Michalik, David E.; Deville, Jaime; Church, Joseph A.; Thomas, M. Albert

2013-01-01

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART), perinatally infected HIV remains a major health problem worldwide. Although advance neuroimaging studies have investigated structural brain changes in HIV-infected adults, regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume changes have not been reported in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and young adults. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated regional GM and WM changes in 16 HIV-infected youths receiving ART (age 17.0 ± 2.9 years) compared with age-matched 14 healthy controls (age 16.3 ± 2.3 years) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based high-resolution T1-weighted images with voxel based morphometry (VBM) analyses. White matter atrophy appeared in perinatally HIV-infected youths in brain areas including the bilateral posterior corpus callosum (CC), bilateral external capsule, bilateral ventral temporal WM, mid cerebral peduncles, and basal pons over controls. Gray matter volume increase was observed in HIV-infected youths for several regions including the left superior frontal gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, gyrus rectus, right mid cingulum, parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus compared with controls. Global WM and GM volumes did not differ significantly between groups. These results indicate WM injury in perinatally HIV-infected youths, but the interpretation of the GM results, which appeared as increased regional volumes, is not clear. Further longitudinal studies are needed to clarify if our results represent active ongoing brain infection or toxicity from HIV treatment resulting in neuronal cell swelling and regional increased GM volume. Our findings suggest that assessment of regional GM and WM volume changes, based on VBM procedures, may be an additional measure to assess brain integrity in HIV-infected youths and to evaluate success of current ART therapy for efficacy in the brain. PMID:24380059

Regional brain gray and white matter changes in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents

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Manoj K. Sarma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART, perinatally infected HIV remains a major health problem worldwide. Although advance neuroimaging studies have investigated structural brain changes in HIV-infected adults, regional gray matter (GM and white matter (WM volume changes have not been reported in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and young adults. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated regional GM and WM changes in 16 HIV-infected youths receiving ART (age 17.0 ± 2.9 years compared with age-matched 14 healthy controls (age 16.3 ± 2.3 years using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-based high-resolution T1-weighted images with voxel based morphometry (VBM analyses. White matter atrophy appeared in perinatally HIV-infected youths in brain areas including the bilateral posterior corpus callosum (CC, bilateral external capsule, bilateral ventral temporal WM, mid cerebral peduncles, and basal pons over controls. Gray matter volume increase was observed in HIV-infected youths for several regions including the left superior frontal gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, gyrus rectus, right mid cingulum, parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus compared with controls. Global WM and GM volumes did not differ significantly between groups. These results indicate WM injury in perinatally HIV-infected youths, but the interpretation of the GM results, which appeared as increased regional volumes, is not clear. Further longitudinal studies are needed to clarify if our results represent active ongoing brain infection or toxicity from HIV treatment resulting in neuronal cell swelling and regional increased GM volume. Our findings suggest that assessment of regional GM and WM volume changes, based on VBM procedures, may be an additional measure to assess brain integrity in HIV-infected youths and to evaluate success of current ART therapy for efficacy in the brain.

Brain Region-Specific Activity Patterns after Recent or Remote Memory Retrieval of Auditory Conditioned Fear

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Kwon, Jeong-Tae; Jhang, Jinho; Kim, Hyung-Su; Lee, Sujin; Han, Jin-Hee

2012-01-01

Memory is thought to be sparsely encoded throughout multiple brain regions forming unique memory trace. Although evidence has established that the amygdala is a key brain site for memory storage and retrieval of auditory conditioned fear memory, it remains elusive whether the auditory brain regions may be involved in fear memory storage or…

Cognitive control of drug craving inhibits brain reward regions in cocaine abusers

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Volkow, N.D.; Fowler, J.; Wang, G.J.; Telang, F.; Logan, J.; Jayne, M.; Ma, Y.; Pradhan, K.; Wong, C.T.; Swanson, J.M.

2010-01-01

Loss of control over drug taking is considered a hallmark of addiction and is critical in relapse. Dysfunction of frontal brain regions involved with inhibitory control may underlie this behavior. We evaluated whether addicted subjects when instructed to purposefully control their craving responses to drug-conditioned stimuli can inhibit limbic brain regions implicated in drug craving. We used PET and 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose to measure brain glucose metabolism (marker of brain function) in 24 cocaine abusers who watched a cocaine-cue video and compared brain activation with and without instructions to cognitively inhibit craving. A third scan was obtained at baseline (without video). Statistical parametric mapping was used for analysis and corroborated with regions of interest. The cocaine-cue video increased craving during the no-inhibition condition (pre 3 ± 3, post 6 ± 3; p < 0.001) but not when subjects were instructed to inhibit craving (pre 3 ± 2, post 3 ± 3). Comparisons with baseline showed visual activation for both cocaine-cue conditions and limbic inhibition (accumbens, orbitofrontal, insula, cingulate) when subjects purposefully inhibited craving (p < 0.001). Comparison between cocaine-cue conditions showed lower metabolism with cognitive inhibition in right orbitofrontal cortex and right accumbens (p < 0.005), which was associated with right inferior frontal activation (r = -0.62, p < 0.005). Decreases in metabolism in brain regions that process the predictive (nucleus accumbens) and motivational value (orbitofrontal cortex) of drug-conditioned stimuli were elicited by instruction to inhibit cue-induced craving. This suggests that cocaine abusers may retain some ability to inhibit craving and that strengthening fronto-accumbal regulation may be therapeutically beneficial in addiction.

Cognitive control of drug craving inhibits brain reward regions in cocaine abusers

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Volkow, N.D.; Fowler, J.; Wang, G.J.; Telang, F.; Logan, J.; Jayne, M.; Ma, Y.; Pradhan, K.; Wong, C.T.; Swanson, J.M.

2010-01-01

Loss of control over drug taking is considered a hallmark of addiction and is critical in relapse. Dysfunction of frontal brain regions involved with inhibitory control may underlie this behavior. We evaluated whether addicted subjects when instructed to purposefully control their craving responses to drug-conditioned stimuli can inhibit limbic brain regions implicated in drug craving. We used PET and 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose to measure brain glucose metabolism (marker of brain function) in 24 cocaine abusers who watched a cocaine-cue video and compared brain activation with and without instructions to cognitively inhibit craving. A third scan was obtained at baseline (without video). Statistical parametric mapping was used for analysis and corroborated with regions of interest. The cocaine-cue video increased craving during the no-inhibition condition (pre 3 {+-} 3, post 6 {+-} 3; p < 0.001) but not when subjects were instructed to inhibit craving (pre 3 {+-} 2, post 3 {+-} 3). Comparisons with baseline showed visual activation for both cocaine-cue conditions and limbic inhibition (accumbens, orbitofrontal, insula, cingulate) when subjects purposefully inhibited craving (p < 0.001). Comparison between cocaine-cue conditions showed lower metabolism with cognitive inhibition in right orbitofrontal cortex and right accumbens (p < 0.005), which was associated with right inferior frontal activation (r = -0.62, p < 0.005). Decreases in metabolism in brain regions that process the predictive (nucleus accumbens) and motivational value (orbitofrontal cortex) of drug-conditioned stimuli were elicited by instruction to inhibit cue-induced craving. This suggests that cocaine abusers may retain some ability to inhibit craving and that strengthening fronto-accumbal regulation may be therapeutically beneficial in addiction.

Aberrant brain regional homogeneity and functional connectivity in middle-aged T2DM patients: a resting-state functional MRI study

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Daihong Liu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM has been associated with cognitive impairment. However, its neurological mechanism remains elusive. Combining regional homogeneity (ReHo and functional connectivity (FC analyses, the present study aimed to investigate brain functional alterations in middle-aged T2DM patients, which could provide complementary information for the neural substrates underlying T2DM-associated brain dysfunction. Twenty-five T2DM patients and 25 healthy controls were involved in neuropsychological testing and structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquisition. ReHo analysis was conducted to determine the peak coordinates of brain regions with abnormal local brain activity synchronization. Then, the identified brain regions were considered as seeds, and FC between these brain regions and global voxels was computed. Finally, the potential correlations between the imaging indices and neuropsychological data were also explored. Compared with healthy controls, T2DM patients exhibited higher ReHo values in the anterior cingulate gyrus and lower ReHo in right fusiform gyrus, right precentral gyrus and right medial orbit of the superior frontal gyrus. Considering these areas as seed regions, T2DM patients displayed aberrant FC, mainly in the frontal and parietal lobes. The pattern of FC alterations in T2DM patients was characterized by decreased connectivity and positive to negative or negative to positive converted connectivity. Digital Span Test forward scores revealed significant correlations with the ReHo values of the right precentral gyrus (ρ = 0.527, p = 0.014 and FC between the right fusiform gyrus and middle temporal gyrus (ρ = -0.437, p = 0.048. Our findings suggest that T2DM patients suffer from cognitive dysfunction related to spatially local and remote brain activity synchronization impairment. The patterns of ReHo and FC alterations shed light on the mechanisms underlying T2DM-associated brain

Regional magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain in autistic individuals

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Hisaoka, S.; Harada, M.; Nishitani, H.; Mori, K.

2001-01-01

We studied the variations in the concentration of metabolites with brain region and age in autistic individuals and normal controls using multiple analysis of covariance. We examined 55 autistic individuals (2-21 years old, 47 male and eight female) and 51 normal children (3 months-15 years old, 26 boys and 25 girls). Single volumes of interest were placed in the frontal, parietal and temporal region on both sides, the brain stem and cingulate gyrus. The concentration of each metabolite was quantified by the water reference method. The concentration of N-acetylaspartate in the temporal regions (Brodmann's areas 41 and 42) in the autistic individuals were significantly lower than those in the controls (P < 0.05), but concentrations in other regions were not significantly different between the autistic individuals and controls. This suggests low density or dysfunction of neurones in Brodmann's areas 41 and 42 in autistic individual, which might be related to the disturbances of the sensory speech centre (Wernicke's area) in autism. (orig.)

Regional magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain in autistic individuals

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Hisaoka, S; Harada, M; Nishitani, H [Dept. of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima (Japan); Mori, K [Dept. of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima (Japan)

2001-06-01

We studied the variations in the concentration of metabolites with brain region and age in autistic individuals and normal controls using multiple analysis of covariance. We examined 55 autistic individuals (2-21 years old, 47 male and eight female) and 51 normal children (3 months-15 years old, 26 boys and 25 girls). Single volumes of interest were placed in the frontal, parietal and temporal region on both sides, the brain stem and cingulate gyrus. The concentration of each metabolite was quantified by the water reference method. The concentration of N-acetylaspartate in the temporal regions (Brodmann's areas 41 and 42) in the autistic individuals were significantly lower than those in the controls (P < 0.05), but concentrations in other regions were not significantly different between the autistic individuals and controls. This suggests low density or dysfunction of neurones in Brodmann's areas 41 and 42 in autistic individual, which might be related to the disturbances of the sensory speech centre (Wernicke's area) in autism. (orig.)

Region based Brain Computer Interface for a home control application.

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Akman Aydin, Eda; Bay, Omer Faruk; Guler, Inan

2015-08-01

Environment control is one of the important challenges for disabled people who suffer from neuromuscular diseases. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) provides a communication channel between the human brain and the environment without requiring any muscular activation. The most important expectation for a home control application is high accuracy and reliable control. Region-based paradigm is a stimulus paradigm based on oddball principle and requires selection of a target at two levels. This paper presents an application of region based paradigm for a smart home control application for people with neuromuscular diseases. In this study, a region based stimulus interface containing 49 commands was designed. Five non-disabled subjects were attended to the experiments. Offline analysis results of the experiments yielded 95% accuracy for five flashes. This result showed that region based paradigm can be used to select commands of a smart home control application with high accuracy in the low number of repetitions successfully. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was not observed between the level accuracies.

Positron-emission tomography of brain regions activated by recognition of familiar music.

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Satoh, M; Takeda, K; Nagata, K; Shimosegawa, E; Kuzuhara, S

2006-05-01

We can easily recognize familiar music by listening to only one or 2 of its opening bars, but the brain regions that participate in this cognitive processing remain undetermined. We used positron-emission tomography (PET) to study changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) that occur during listening to familiar music. We used a PET subtraction technique to elucidate the brain regions associated with the recognition of familiar melodies such as well-known nursery tunes. Nonmusicians performed 2 kinds of musical tasks: judging the familiarity of musical pieces (familiarity task) and detecting deliberately altered notes in the pieces (alteration-detecting task). During the familiarity task, bilateral anterior portions of bilateral temporal lobes, superior temporal regions, and parahippocampal gyri were activated. The alteration-detecting task bilaterally activated regions in the precunei, superior/inferior parietal lobules, and lateral surface of frontal lobes, which seemed to show a correlation with the analysis of music. We hypothesize that during the familiarity task, activated brain regions participate in retrieval from long-term memory and verbal and emotional processing of familiar melodies. Our results reinforced the hypothesis reported in the literature as a result of group and case studies, that temporal lobe regions participate in the recognition of familiar melodies.

On the blood-brain barrier to peptides: [3H]gonadotropin-releasing hormone accumulation by eighteen regions of the rat brain and by anterior pituitary

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Ermisch, A.; Ruehle, H.J.; Klauschenz, E.; Kretzschmar, R.

1984-01-01

After intracarotid injection of [ 3 H]gonadotropin-releasing hormone ([ 3 H]GnRH) the mean accumulation of radioactivity per unit wet weight of 18 brain samples investigated and the anterior pituitary was 0.38 +- 0.11% g -1 of the injected tracer dose. This indicates a low but measurable brain uptake of the peptide. The brain uptake of [ 3 H]GnRH in blood-brain barrier (BBB)-protected regions is 5% of that of separately investigated [ 3 H]OH. In BBB-free regions the accumulation of radioactivity was more than 25-fold higher than in BBB-protected regions. The accumulation of [ 3 H]GnRH among regions with BBB varies less than among regions with leaky endothelia. The data presented for [ 3 H]GnRH are similar to those for other peptides so far investigated. (author)

Notch receptor expression in neurogenic regions of the adult zebrafish brain.

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Vanessa de Oliveira-Carlos

Full Text Available The adult zebrash brain has a remarkable constitutive neurogenic capacity. The regulation and maintenance of its adult neurogenic niches are poorly understood. In mammals, Notch signaling is involved in stem cell maintenance both in embryonic and adult CNS. To better understand how Notch signaling is involved in stem cell maintenance during adult neurogenesis in zebrafish we analysed Notch receptor expression in five neurogenic zones of the adult zebrafish brain. Combining proliferation and glial markers we identified several subsets of Notch receptor expressing cells. We found that 90 [Formula: see text] of proliferating radial glia express notch1a, notch1b and notch3. In contrast, the proliferating non-glial populations of the dorsal telencephalon and hypothalamus rarely express notch3 and about half express notch1a/1b. In the non-proliferating radial glia notch3 is the predominant receptor throughout the brain. In the ventral telencephalon and in the mitotic area of the optic tectum, where cells have neuroepithelial properties, notch1a/1b/3 are expressed in most proliferating cells. However, in the cerebellar niche, although progenitors also have neuroepithelial properties, only notch1a/1b are expressed in a high number of PCNA [Formula: see text] cells. In this region notch3 expression is mostly in Bergmann glia and at low levels in few PCNA [Formula: see text] cells. Additionally, we found that in the proliferation zone of the ventral telencephalon, Notch receptors display an apical high to basal low gradient of expression. Notch receptors are also expressed in subpopulations of oligodendrocytes, neurons and endothelial cells. We suggest that the partial regional heterogeneity observed for Notch expression in progenitor cells might be related to the cellular diversity present in each of these neurogenic niches.

Major Shifts in Glial Regional Identity Are a Transcriptional Hallmark of Human Brain Aging

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Lilach Soreq

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Gene expression studies suggest that aging of the human brain is determined by a complex interplay of molecular events, although both its region- and cell-type-specific consequences remain poorly understood. Here, we extensively characterized aging-altered gene expression changes across ten human brain regions from 480 individuals ranging in age from 16 to 106 years. We show that astrocyte- and oligodendrocyte-specific genes, but not neuron-specific genes, shift their regional expression patterns upon aging, particularly in the hippocampus and substantia nigra, while the expression of microglia- and endothelial-specific genes increase in all brain regions. In line with these changes, high-resolution immunohistochemistry demonstrated decreased numbers of oligodendrocytes and of neuronal subpopulations in the aging brain cortex. Finally, glial-specific genes predict age with greater precision than neuron-specific genes, thus highlighting the need for greater mechanistic understanding of neuron-glia interactions in aging and late-life diseases.

Major Shifts in Glial Regional Identity Are a Transcriptional Hallmark of Human Brain Aging.

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Soreq, Lilach; Rose, Jamie; Soreq, Eyal; Hardy, John; Trabzuni, Daniah; Cookson, Mark R; Smith, Colin; Ryten, Mina; Patani, Rickie; Ule, Jernej

2017-01-10

Gene expression studies suggest that aging of the human brain is determined by a complex interplay of molecular events, although both its region- and cell-type-specific consequences remain poorly understood. Here, we extensively characterized aging-altered gene expression changes across ten human brain regions from 480 individuals ranging in age from 16 to 106 years. We show that astrocyte- and oligodendrocyte-specific genes, but not neuron-specific genes, shift their regional expression patterns upon aging, particularly in the hippocampus and substantia nigra, while the expression of microglia- and endothelial-specific genes increase in all brain regions. In line with these changes, high-resolution immunohistochemistry demonstrated decreased numbers of oligodendrocytes and of neuronal subpopulations in the aging brain cortex. Finally, glial-specific genes predict age with greater precision than neuron-specific genes, thus highlighting the need for greater mechanistic understanding of neuron-glia interactions in aging and late-life diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Region-Specific Defects of Respiratory Capacities in the Ndufs4(KO Mouse Brain.

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Ernst-Bernhard Kayser

Full Text Available Lack of NDUFS4, a subunit of mitochondrial complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, causes Leigh syndrome (LS, a progressive encephalomyopathy. Knocking out Ndufs4, either systemically or in brain only, elicits LS in mice. In patients as well as in KO mice distinct regions of the brain degenerate while surrounding tissue survives despite systemic complex I dysfunction. For the understanding of disease etiology and ultimately for the development of rationale treatments for LS, it appears important to uncover the mechanisms that govern focal neurodegeneration.Here we used the Ndufs4(KO mouse to investigate whether regional and temporal differences in respiratory capacity of the brain could be correlated with neurodegeneration. In the KO the respiratory capacity of synaptosomes from the degeneration prone regions olfactory bulb, brainstem and cerebellum was significantly decreased. The difference was measurable even before the onset of neurological symptoms. Furthermore, neither compensating nor exacerbating changes in glycolytic capacity of the synaptosomes were found. By contrast, the KO retained near normal levels of synaptosomal respiration in the degeneration-resistant/resilient "rest" of the brain. We also investigated non-synaptic mitochondria. The KO expectedly had diminished capacity for oxidative phosphorylation (state 3 respiration with complex I dependent substrate combinations pyruvate/malate and glutamate/malate but surprisingly had normal activity with α-ketoglutarate/malate. No correlation between oxidative phosphorylation (pyruvate/malate driven state 3 respiration and neurodegeneration was found: Notably, state 3 remained constant in the KO while in controls it tended to increase with time leading to significant differences between the genotypes in older mice in both vulnerable and resilient brain regions. Neither regional ROS damage, measured as HNE-modified protein, nor regional complex I stability, assessed by blue native

Automatic detection of the hippocampal region associated with Alzheimer's disease from microscopic images of mice brain

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Albaidhani, Tahseen; Hawkes, Cheryl; Jassim, Sabah; Al-Assam, Hisham

2016-05-01

The hippocampus is the region of the brain that is primarily associated with memory and spatial navigation. It is one of the first brain regions to be damaged when a person suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Recent research in this field has focussed on the assessment of damage to different blood vessels within the hippocampal region from a high throughput brain microscopic images. The ultimate aim of our research is the creation of an automatic system to count and classify different blood vessels such as capillaries, veins, and arteries in the hippocampus region. This work should provide biologists with efficient and accurate tools in their investigation of the causes of Alzheimer's disease. Locating the boundary of the Region of Interest in the hippocampus from microscopic images of mice brain is the first essential stage towards developing such a system. This task benefits from the variation in colour channels and texture between the two sides of the hippocampus and the boundary region. Accordingly, the developed initial step of our research to locating the hippocampus edge uses a colour-based segmentation of the brain image followed by Hough transforms on the colour channel that isolate the hippocampus region. The output is then used to split the brain image into two sides of the detected section of the boundary: the inside region and the outside region. Experimental results on a sufficiently number of microscopic images demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed solution.

Regional gray matter growth, sexual dimorphism, and cerebral asymmetry in the neonatal brain.

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Gilmore, John H; Lin, Weili; Prastawa, Marcel W; Looney, Christopher B; Vetsa, Y Sampath K; Knickmeyer, Rebecca C; Evans, Dianne D; Smith, J Keith; Hamer, Robert M; Lieberman, Jeffrey A; Gerig, Guido

2007-02-07

Although there has been recent interest in the study of childhood and adolescent brain development, very little is known about normal brain development in the first few months of life. In older children, there are regional differences in cortical gray matter development, whereas cortical gray and white matter growth after birth has not been studied to a great extent. The adult human brain is also characterized by cerebral asymmetries and sexual dimorphisms, although very little is known about how these asymmetries and dimorphisms develop. We used magnetic resonance imaging and an automatic segmentation methodology to study brain structure in 74 neonates in the first few weeks after birth. We found robust cortical gray matter growth compared with white matter growth, with occipital regions growing much faster than prefrontal regions. Sexual dimorphism is present at birth, with males having larger total brain cortical gray and white matter volumes than females. In contrast to adults and older children, the left hemisphere is larger than the right hemisphere, and the normal pattern of fronto-occipital asymmetry described in older children and adults is not present. Regional differences in cortical gray matter growth are likely related to differential maturation of sensory and motor systems compared with prefrontal executive function after birth. These findings also indicate that whereas some adult patterns of sexual dimorphism and cerebral asymmetries are present at birth, others develop after birth.

Altered regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia

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Wang Y

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Yanping Wang,1,2 Xiaoling Zhang,2 Qiaobing Guan,2 Lihong Wan,2 Yahui Yi,2 Chun-Feng Liu1 1Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 2Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Jiaxing City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China Abstract: 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. Keywords: trigeminal neuralgia, resting fMRI, brain, chronic pain, local connectivity

Expression of Tau Pathology-Related Proteins in Different Brain Regions: A Molecular Basis of Tau Pathogenesis.

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Hu, Wen; Wu, Feng; Zhang, Yanchong; Gong, Cheng-Xin; Iqbal, Khalid; Liu, Fei

2017-01-01

Microtubule-associated protein tau is hyperphosphorylated and aggregated in affected neurons in Alzheimer disease (AD) brains. The tau pathology starts from the entorhinal cortex (EC), spreads to the hippocampus and frontal and temporal cortices, and finally to all isocortex areas, but the cerebellum is spared from tau lesions. The molecular basis of differential vulnerability of different brain regions to tau pathology is not understood. In the present study, we analyzed brain regional expressions of tau and tau pathology-related proteins. We found that tau was hyperphosphorylated at multiple sites in the frontal cortex (FC), but not in the cerebellum, from AD brain. The level of tau expression in the cerebellum was about 1/4 of that seen in the frontal and temporal cortices in human brain. In the rat brain, the expression level of tau with three microtubule-binding repeats (3R-tau) was comparable in the hippocampus, EC, FC, parietal-temporal cortex (PTC), occipital-temporal cortex (OTC), striatum, thalamus, olfactory bulb (OB) and cerebellum. However, the expression level of 4R-tau was the highest in the EC and the lowest in the cerebellum. Tau phosphatases, kinases, microtubule-related proteins and other tau pathology-related proteins were also expressed in a region-specific manner in the rat brain. These results suggest that higher levels of tau and tau kinases in the EC and low levels of these proteins in the cerebellum may accounts for the vulnerability and resistance of these representative brain regions to the development of tau pathology, respectively. The present study provides the regional expression profiles of tau and tau pathology-related proteins in the brain, which may help understand the brain regional vulnerability to tau pathology in neurodegenerative tauopathies.

Time series analysis of brain regional volume by MR image

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Tanaka, Mika; Tarusawa, Ayaka; Nihei, Mitsuyo; Fukami, Tadanori; Yuasa, Tetsuya; Wu, Jin; Ishiwata, Kiichi; Ishii, Kenji

2010-01-01

The present study proposed a methodology of time series analysis of volumes of frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and cerebellum because such volumetric reports along the process of individual's aging have been scarcely presented. Subjects analyzed were brain images of 2 healthy males and 18 females of av. age of 69.0 y, of which T1-weighted 3D SPGR (spoiled gradient recalled in the steady state) acquisitions with a GE SIGNA EXCITE HD 1.5T machine were conducted for 4 times in the time series of 42-50 months. The image size was 256 x 256 x (86-124) voxels with digitization level 16 bits. As the template for the regions, the standard gray matter atlas (icbn452 a tlas p robability g ray) and its labeled one (icbn.Labels), provided by UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, were used for individual's standardization. Segmentation, normalization and coregistration were performed with the MR imaging software SPM8 (Statistic Parametric Mapping 8). Volumes of regions were calculated as their voxel ratio to the whole brain voxel in percent. It was found that the regional volumes decreased with aging in all above lobes examined and cerebellum in average percent per year of -0.11, -0.07, -0.04, -0.02, and -0.03, respectively. The procedure for calculation of the regional volumes, which has been manually operated hitherto, can be automatically conducted for the individual brain using the standard atlases above. (T.T.)

Regional homogeneity of the resting-state brain activity correlates with individual intelligence.

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Wang, Leiqiong; Song, Ming; Jiang, Tianzi; Zhang, Yunting; Yu, Chunshui

2011-01-25

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging has confirmed that the strengths of the long distance functional connectivity between different brain areas are correlated with individual differences in intelligence. However, the association between the local connectivity within a specific brain region and intelligence during rest remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between local connectivity and intelligence. Fifty-nine right-handed healthy adults participated in the study. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to assess the strength of local connectivity. The associations between ReHo and full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) scores were studied in a voxel-wise manner using partial correlation analysis controlling for age and sex. We found that the FSIQ scores were positively correlated with the ReHo values of the bilateral inferior parietal lobules, middle frontal, parahippocampal and inferior temporal gyri, the right thalamus, superior frontal and fusiform gyri, and the left superior parietal lobule. The main findings are consistent with the parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) of intelligence, supporting the view that general intelligence involves multiple brain regions throughout the brain. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Normal regional brain iron concentration in restless legs syndrome measured by MRI

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Susanne Knake

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Susanne Knake1, Johannes T Heverhagen2, Katja Menzler1, Boris Keil2, Wolfgang H Oertel1, Karin Stiasny-Kolster11Department of Neurology, Center of Nervous Diseases, 2Department of Radiology, Philipps University, Marburg, GermanyAbstract: Using a T2* gradient echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI sequence, regional T2 signal intensity (SI values, a surrogate marker for T2 values, were determined in 12 regions of interest (substantia nigra, pallidum, caudate head, thalamus, occipital white matter, and frontal white matter bilaterally and in two reference regions (cerebrospinal fluid and bone in 12 patients suffering from moderate to severe idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS; mean age 58.5 ± 8.7 years for 12.1 ± 9.1 years and in 12 healthy control subjects (mean age 56.8 ± 10.6 years. Iron deposits shorten T2 relaxation times on T2-weighted MRI. We used regional T2* SI to estimate regional T2-values. A T2-change ratio was calculated for each region of interest relative to the reference regions. We did not find significant differences in any of the investigated brain regions. In addition, serum measures involved in iron metabolism did not correlate with T2 SI values. We could not replicate earlier findings describing reduced regional brain iron concentrations in patients with RLS. Our results do not support the view of substantially impaired regional brain iron in RLS.Keywords: restless legs syndrome, pathophysiology, iron, MRI, substantia nigra

A Method for Automatic Extracting Intracranial Region in MR Brain Image

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Kurokawa, Keiji; Miura, Shin; Nishida, Makoto; Kageyama, Yoichi; Namura, Ikuro

It is well known that temporal lobe in MR brain image is in use for estimating the grade of Alzheimer-type dementia. It is difficult to use only region of temporal lobe for estimating the grade of Alzheimer-type dementia. From the standpoint for supporting the medical specialists, this paper proposes a data processing approach on the automatic extraction of the intracranial region from the MR brain image. The method is able to eliminate the cranium region with the laplacian histogram method and the brainstem with the feature points which are related to the observations given by a medical specialist. In order to examine the usefulness of the proposed approach, the percentage of the temporal lobe in the intracranial region was calculated. As a result, the percentage of temporal lobe in the intracranial region on the process of the grade was in agreement with the visual sense standards of temporal lobe atrophy given by the medical specialist. It became clear that intracranial region extracted by the proposed method was good for estimating the grade of Alzheimer-type dementia.

Regional magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain in autistic individuals

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Hisaoka, S.; Harada, M.; Nishitani, H. [Dept. of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima (Japan); Mori, K. [Dept. of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima (Japan)

2001-06-01

We studied the variations in the concentration of metabolites with brain region and age in autistic individuals and normal controls using multiple analysis of covariance. We examined 55 autistic individuals (2-21 years old, 47 male and eight female) and 51 normal children (3 months-15 years old, 26 boys and 25 girls). Single volumes of interest were placed in the frontal, parietal and temporal region on both sides, the brain stem and cingulate gyrus. The concentration of each metabolite was quantified by the water reference method. The concentration of N-acetylaspartate in the temporal regions (Brodmann's areas 41 and 42) in the autistic individuals were significantly lower than those in the controls (P < 0.05), but concentrations in other regions were not significantly different between the autistic individuals and controls. This suggests low density or dysfunction of neurones in Brodmann's areas 41 and 42 in autistic individual, which might be related to the disturbances of the sensory speech centre (Wernicke's area) in autism. (orig.)

Identifying diagnostically-relevant resting state brain functional connectivity in the ventral posterior complex via genetic data mining in autism spectrum disorder.

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Baldwin, Philip R; Curtis, Kaylah N; Patriquin, Michelle A; Wolf, Varina; Viswanath, Humsini; Shaw, Chad; Sakai, Yasunari; Salas, Ramiro

2016-05-01

Exome sequencing and copy number variation analyses continue to provide novel insight to the biological bases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The growing speed at which massive genetic data are produced causes serious lags in analysis and interpretation of the data. Thus, there is a need to develop systematic genetic data mining processes that facilitate efficient analysis of large datasets. We report a new genetic data mining system, ProcessGeneLists and integrated a list of ASD-related genes with currently available resources in gene expression and functional connectivity of the human brain. Our data-mining program successfully identified three primary regions of interest (ROIs) in the mouse brain: inferior colliculus, ventral posterior complex of the thalamus (VPC), and parafascicular nucleus (PFn). To understand its pathogenic relevance in ASD, we examined the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the homologous ROIs in human brain with other brain regions that were previously implicated in the neuro-psychiatric features of ASD. Among them, the RSFC of the VPC with the medial frontal gyrus (MFG) was significantly more anticorrelated, whereas the RSFC of the PN with the globus pallidus was significantly increased in children with ASD compared with healthy children. Moreover, greater values of RSFC between VPC and MFG were correlated with severity index and repetitive behaviors in children with ASD. No significant RSFC differences were detected in adults with ASD. Together, these data demonstrate the utility of our data-mining program through identifying the aberrant connectivity of thalamo-cortical circuits in children with ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 553-562. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Functional connectome fingerprinting: identifying individuals using patterns of brain connectivity.

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Finn, Emily S; Shen, Xilin; Scheinost, Dustin; Rosenberg, Monica D; Huang, Jessica; Chun, Marvin M; Papademetris, Xenophon; Constable, R Todd

2015-11-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies typically collapse data from many subjects, but brain functional organization varies between individuals. Here we establish that this individual variability is both robust and reliable, using data from the Human Connectome Project to demonstrate that functional connectivity profiles act as a 'fingerprint' that can accurately identify subjects from a large group. Identification was successful across scan sessions and even between task and rest conditions, indicating that an individual's connectivity profile is intrinsic, and can be used to distinguish that individual regardless of how the brain is engaged during imaging. Characteristic connectivity patterns were distributed throughout the brain, but the frontoparietal network emerged as most distinctive. Furthermore, we show that connectivity profiles predict levels of fluid intelligence: the same networks that were most discriminating of individuals were also most predictive of cognitive behavior. Results indicate the potential to draw inferences about single subjects on the basis of functional connectivity fMRI.

Anxiety type modulates immediate versus delayed engagement of attention-related brain regions.

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Spielberg, Jeffrey M; De Leon, Angeline A; Bredemeier, Keith; Heller, Wendy; Engels, Anna S; Warren, Stacie L; Crocker, Laura D; Sutton, Bradley P; Miller, Gregory A

2013-09-01

Background Habituation of the fear response, critical for the treatment of anxiety, is inconsistently observed during exposure to threatening stimuli. One potential explanation for this inconsistency is differential attentional engagement with negatively valenced stimuli as a function of anxiety type. Methods The present study tested this hypothesis by examining patterns of neural habituation associated with anxious arousal, characterized by panic symptoms and immediate engagement with negatively valenced stimuli, versus anxious apprehension, characterized by engagement in worry to distract from negatively valenced stimuli. Results As predicted, the two anxiety types evidenced distinct patterns of attentional engagement. Anxious arousal was associated with immediate activation in attention-related brain regions that habituated over time, whereas anxious apprehension was associated with delayed activation in attention-related brain regions that occurred only after habituation in a worry-related brain region. Conclusions Results further elucidate mechanisms involved in attention to negatively valenced stimuli and indicate that anxiety is a heterogeneous construct with regard to attention to such stimuli.

Molecular and Functional Properties of Regional Astrocytes in the Adult Brain.

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Morel, Lydie; Chiang, Ming Sum R; Higashimori, Haruki; Shoneye, Temitope; Iyer, Lakshmanan K; Yelick, Julia; Tai, Albert; Yang, Yongjie

2017-09-06

The molecular signature and functional properties of astroglial subtypes in the adult CNS remain largely undefined. By using translational ribosome affinity purification followed by RNA-Seq, we profiled astroglial ribosome-associated (presumably translating) mRNAs in major cortical and subcortical brain regions (cortex, hippocampus, caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, and hypothalamus) of BAC aldh1l1 -translational ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) mice (both sexes). We found that the expression of astroglial translating mRNAs closely follows the dorsoventral axis, especially from cortex/hippocampus to thalamus/hypothalamus posteriorly. This region-specific expression pattern of genes, such as synaptogenic modulator sparc and transcriptional factors ( emx2 , lhx2 , and hopx ), was validated by qRT-PCR and immunostaining in brain sections. Interestingly, cortical or subcortical astrocytes selectively promote neurite growth and synaptic activity of neurons only from the same region in mismatched cocultures, exhibiting region-matched astrocyte to neuron communication. Overall, these results generated new molecular signature of astrocyte types in the adult CNS, providing insights into their origin and functional diversity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We investigated the in vivo molecular and functional heterogeneity of astrocytes inter-regionally from adult brain. Our results showed that the expression pattern of ribosome-associated mRNA profiles in astrocytes closely follows the dorsoventral axis, especially posteriorly from cortex/hippocampus to thalamus/hypothalamus. In line with this, our functional results further demonstrated region-selective roles of cortical and subcortical astrocytes in regulating cortical or subcortical neuronal synaptogenesis and maturation. These in vivo studies provide a previously uncharacterized and important molecular atlas for exploring region-specific astroglial functions. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378706-12$15.00/0.

A tensor-based morphometry analysis of regional differences in brain volume in relation to prenatal alcohol exposure.

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Meintjes, E M; Narr, K L; van der Kouwe, A J W; Molteno, C D; Pirnia, T; Gutman, B; Woods, R P; Thompson, P M; Jacobson, J L; Jacobson, S W

2014-01-01

Reductions in brain volumes represent a neurobiological signature of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Less clear is how regional brain tissue reductions differ after normalizing for brain size differences linked with FASD and whether these profiles can predict the degree of prenatal exposure to alcohol. To examine associations of regional brain tissue excesses/deficits with degree of prenatal alcohol exposure and diagnosis with and without correction for overall brain volume, tensor-based morphometry (TBM) methods were applied to structural imaging data from a well-characterized, demographically homogeneous sample of children diagnosed with FASD (n = 39, 9.6-11.0 years) and controls (n = 16, 9.5-11.0 years). Degree of prenatal alcohol exposure was significantly associated with regionally pervasive brain tissue reductions in: (1) the thalamus, midbrain, and ventromedial frontal lobe, (2) the superior cerebellum and inferior occipital lobe, (3) the dorsolateral frontal cortex, and (4) the precuneus and superior parietal lobule. When overall brain size was factored out of the analysis on a subject-by-subject basis, no regions showed significant associations with alcohol exposure. FASD diagnosis was associated with a similar deformation pattern, but few of the regions survived FDR correction. In data-driven independent component analyses (ICA) regional brain tissue deformations successfully distinguished individuals based on extent of prenatal alcohol exposure and to a lesser degree, diagnosis. The greater sensitivity of the continuous measure of alcohol exposure compared with the categorical diagnosis across diverse brain regions underscores the dose dependence of these effects. The ICA results illustrate that profiles of brain tissue alterations may be a useful indicator of prenatal alcohol exposure when reliable historical data are not available and facial features are not apparent.

A tensor-based morphometry analysis of regional differences in brain volume in relation to prenatal alcohol exposure

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E.M. Meintjes

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Reductions in brain volumes represent a neurobiological signature of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD. Less clear is how regional brain tissue reductions differ after normalizing for brain size differences linked with FASD and whether these profiles can predict the degree of prenatal exposure to alcohol. To examine associations of regional brain tissue excesses/deficits with degree of prenatal alcohol exposure and diagnosis with and without correction for overall brain volume, tensor-based morphometry (TBM methods were applied to structural imaging data from a well-characterized, demographically homogeneous sample of children diagnosed with FASD (n = 39, 9.6–11.0 years and controls (n = 16, 9.5–11.0 years. Degree of prenatal alcohol exposure was significantly associated with regionally pervasive brain tissue reductions in: (1 the thalamus, midbrain, and ventromedial frontal lobe, (2 the superior cerebellum and inferior occipital lobe, (3 the dorsolateral frontal cortex, and (4 the precuneus and superior parietal lobule. When overall brain size was factored out of the analysis on a subject-by-subject basis, no regions showed significant associations with alcohol exposure. FASD diagnosis was associated with a similar deformation pattern, but few of the regions survived FDR correction. In data-driven independent component analyses (ICA regional brain tissue deformations successfully distinguished individuals based on extent of prenatal alcohol exposure and to a lesser degree, diagnosis. The greater sensitivity of the continuous measure of alcohol exposure compared with the categorical diagnosis across diverse brain regions underscores the dose dependence of these effects. The ICA results illustrate that profiles of brain tissue alterations may be a useful indicator of prenatal alcohol exposure when reliable historical data are not available and facial features are not apparent.

Major Shifts in Glial Regional Identity Are a Transcriptional Hallmark of Human Brain Aging

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Soreq, Lilach; Rose, Jamie; Soreq, Eyal; Hardy, John; Trabzuni, Daniah; Cookson, Mark R.; Smith, Colin; Ryten, Mina; Patani, Rickie; Ule, Jernej

2017-01-01

Summary Gene expression studies suggest that aging of the human brain is determined by a complex interplay of molecular events, although both its region- and cell-type-specific consequences remain poorly understood. Here, we extensively characterized aging-altered gene expression changes across ten human brain regions from 480 individuals ranging in?age from 16 to 106 years. We show that astrocyte-?and oligodendrocyte-specific genes, but not neuron-specific genes, shift their regional express...

Brain regional uptake of radioactive Sc, Mn, Zn, Se, Rb and Zr tracers into normal mice during aging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amano, R.; Enomoto, S.

2001-01-01

Radioactive multitracer technique was applied to study the brain regional uptake of trace elements by the normal mice during aging. The brain regional radioactivities of 46 Sc, 54 Mn, 65 Zn, 75 Se, 83 Rb and 88 Zr were measured 48 hours after intraperitoneal injection of a solution in normal mice aged 6 to 52 weeks to evaluate the brain regional (corpus striatum, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and pons and medulla) uptakes. The radioactive distributions of 46 Sc, 54 Mn and 88 Zr tracers were variable and region-specific in the brain, while those of 65 Zn, 75 Se and 83 Rb tracers were comparable among all regions of interest. The brain regional uptakes of all tracers slightly increased with age from 10 to 28 weeks, and then remained constant during aging after 28 weeks. These uptake variations may be involved in the functional degenerative process of the blood-brain barrier during aging. (author)

Mitochondrial Complex 1 Activity Measured by Spectrophotometry Is Reduced across All Brain Regions in Ageing and More Specifically in Neurodegeneration.

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Pollard, Amelia Kate; Craig, Emma Louise; Chakrabarti, Lisa

2016-01-01

Mitochondrial function, in particular complex 1 of the electron transport chain (ETC), has been shown to decrease during normal ageing and in neurodegenerative disease. However, there is some debate concerning which area of the brain has the greatest complex 1 activity. It is important to identify the pattern of activity in order to be able to gauge the effect of age or disease related changes. We determined complex 1 activity spectrophotometrically in the cortex, brainstem and cerebellum of middle aged mice (70-71 weeks), a cerebellar ataxic neurodegeneration model (pcd5J) and young wild type controls. We share our updated protocol on the measurements of complex1 activity and find that mitochondrial fractions isolated from frozen tissues can be measured for robust activity. We show that complex 1 activity is clearly highest in the cortex when compared with brainstem and cerebellum (p<0.003). Cerebellum and brainstem mitochondria exhibit similar levels of complex 1 activity in wild type brains. In the aged brain we see similar levels of complex 1 activity in all three-brain regions. The specific activity of complex 1 measured in the aged cortex is significantly decreased when compared with controls (p<0.0001). Both the cerebellum and brainstem mitochondria also show significantly reduced activity with ageing (p<0.05). The mouse model of ataxia predictably has a lower complex 1 activity in the cerebellum, and although reductions are measured in the cortex and brain stem, the remaining activity is higher than in the aged brains. We present clear evidence that complex 1 activity decreases across the brain with age and much more specifically in the cerebellum of the pcd5j mouse. Mitochondrial impairment can be a region specific phenomenon in disease, but in ageing appears to affect the entire brain, abolishing the pattern of higher activity in cortical regions.

Delineation of separate brain regions used for scientific versus engineering modes of thinking

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Patterson, Clair C.

1994-08-01

Powerful, latent abilities for extreme sophistication in abstract rationalization as potential biological adaptive behavioral responses were installed entirely through accident and inadvertence by biological evolution in the Homo sapiens sapiens species of brain. These potentials were never used, either in precursor species as factors in evolutionary increase in hominid brain mass, nor in less sophisticated forms within social environments characterized by Hss tribal brain population densities. Those latent abilities for unnatural biological adaptive behavior were forced to become manifest in various ways by growths in sophistication of communication interactions engendered by large growths in brain population densities brought on by developments in agriculture at the onset of the Holocene. It is proposed that differences probably exist between regions of the Hss brain involved in utilitarian, engineering types of problem conceptualization-solving versus regions of the brain involved in nonutilitarian, artistic-scientific types of problem conceptualization-solving. Populations isolated on separate continents from diffusive contact and influence on cultural developments, and selected for comparison of developments during equivalent stages of technological and social sophistication in matching 4000 year periods, show, at the ends of those periods, marked differences in aesthetic attributes expressed in cosmogonies, music, and writing (nonutilitarian thinking related to science and art). On the other hand the two cultures show virtually identical developments in three major stages of metallurgical technologies (utilitarian thinking related to engineering). Such archaeological data suggest that utilitarian modes of thought may utilize combinations of neuronal circuits in brain regions that are conserved among tribal populations territorially separated from each other for tens of thousands of years. Such conservation may not be true for neuronal circuits involved in

Comparison of Regional Brain Perfusion Levels in Chronically Smoking and Non-Smoking Adults

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Timothy C. Durazzo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Chronic cigarette smoking is associated with numerous abnormalities in brain neurobiology, but few studies specifically investigated the chronic effects of smoking (compared to the acute effects of smoking, nicotine administration, or nicotine withdrawal on cerebral perfusion (i.e., blood flow. Predominately middle-aged male (47 ± 11 years of age smokers (n = 34 and non-smokers (n = 27 were compared on regional cortical perfusion measured by continuous arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance studies at 4 Tesla. Smokers showed significantly lower perfusion than non-smokers in the bilateral medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortices, bilateral inferior parietal lobules, bilateral superior temporal gyri, left posterior cingulate, right isthmus of cingulate, and right supramarginal gyrus. Greater lifetime duration of smoking (adjusted for age was related to lower perfusion in multiple brain regions. The results indicated smokers showed significant perfusion deficits in anterior cortical regions implicated in the development, progression, and maintenance of all addictive disorders. Smokers concurrently demonstrated reduced blood flow in posterior brain regions that show morphological and metabolic aberrations as well as elevated beta amyloid deposition demonstrated by those with early stage Alzheimer disease. The findings provide additional novel evidence of the adverse effects of cigarette smoking on the human brain.

Brain regions for sound processing and song release in a small grasshopper.

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Balvantray Bhavsar, Mit; Stumpner, Andreas; Heinrich, Ralf

2017-05-01

We investigated brain regions - mostly neuropils - that process auditory information relevant for the initiation of response songs of female grasshoppers Chorthippus biguttulus during bidirectional intraspecific acoustic communication. Male-female acoustic duets in the species Ch. biguttulus require the perception of sounds, their recognition as a species- and gender-specific signal and the initiation of commands that activate thoracic pattern generating circuits to drive the sound-producing stridulatory movements of the hind legs. To study sensory-to-motor processing during acoustic communication we used multielectrodes that allowed simultaneous recordings of acoustically stimulated electrical activity from several ascending auditory interneurons or local brain neurons and subsequent electrical stimulation of the recording site. Auditory activity was detected in the lateral protocerebrum (where most of the described ascending auditory interneurons terminate), in the superior medial protocerebrum and in the central complex, that has previously been implicated in the control of sound production. Neural responses to behaviorally attractive sound stimuli showed no or only poor correlation with behavioral responses. Current injections into the lateral protocerebrum, the central complex and the deuto-/tritocerebrum (close to the cerebro-cervical fascicles), but not into the superior medial protocerebrum, elicited species-typical stridulation with high success rate. Latencies and numbers of phrases produced by electrical stimulation were different between these brain regions. Our results indicate three brain regions (likely neuropils) where auditory activity can be detected with two of these regions being potentially involved in song initiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regional differences in actomyosin contraction shape the primary vesicles in the embryonic chicken brain

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Filas, Benjamen A; Oltean, Alina; Majidi, Shabnam; Bayly, Philip V; Taber, Larry A; Beebe, David C

2012-01-01

In the early embryo, the brain initially forms as a relatively straight, cylindrical epithelial tube composed of neural stem cells. The brain tube then divides into three primary vesicles (forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain), as well as a series of bulges (rhombomeres) in the hindbrain. The boundaries between these subdivisions have been well studied as regions of differential gene expression, but the morphogenetic mechanisms that generate these constrictions are not well understood. Here, we show that regional variations in actomyosin-based contractility play a major role in vesicle formation in the embryonic chicken brain. In particular, boundaries did not form in brains exposed to the nonmuscle myosin II inhibitor blebbistatin, whereas increasing contractile force using calyculin or ATP deepened boundaries considerably. Tissue staining showed that contraction likely occurs at the inner part of the wall, as F-actin and phosphorylated myosin are concentrated at the apical side. However, relatively little actin and myosin was found in rhombomere boundaries. To determine the specific physical mechanisms that drive vesicle formation, we developed a finite-element model for the brain tube. Regional apical contraction was simulated in the model, with contractile anisotropy and strength estimated from contractile protein distributions and measurements of cell shapes. The model shows that a combination of circumferential contraction in the boundary regions and relatively isotropic contraction between boundaries can generate realistic morphologies for the primary vesicles. In contrast, rhombomere formation likely involves longitudinal contraction between boundaries. Further simulations suggest that these different mechanisms are dictated by regional differences in initial morphology and the need to withstand cerebrospinal fluid pressure. This study provides a new understanding of early brain morphogenesis. (paper)

Brain region distribution and patterns of bioaccumulative perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates in east greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

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Greaves, Alana K; Letcher, Robert J; Sonne, Christian; Dietz, Rune

2013-03-01

The present study investigated the comparative accumulation of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in eight brain regions of polar bears (Ursus maritimus, n = 19) collected in 2006 from Scoresby Sound, East Greenland. The PFAAs studied were perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs, C(6) -C(15) chain lengths) and sulfonates (C(4) , C(6) , C(8) , and C(10) chain lengths) as well as selected precursors including perfluorooctane sulfonamide. On a wet-weight basis, blood-brain barrier transport of PFAAs occurred for all brain regions, although inner regions of the brain closer to incoming blood flow (pons/medulla, thalamus, and hypothalamus) contained consistently higher PFAA concentrations compared to outer brain regions (cerebellum, striatum, and frontal, occipital, and temporal cortices). For pons/medulla, thalamus, and hypothalamus, the most concentrated PFAAs were perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), ranging from 47 to 58 ng/g wet weight, and perfluorotridecanoic acid, ranging from 43 to 49 ng/g wet weight. However, PFOS and the longer-chain PFCAs (C(10) -C(15) ) were significantly (p  0.05) different among brain regions. The burden of the sum of PFCAs, perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, and perfluorooctane sulfonamide in the brain (average mass, 392 g) was estimated to be 46 µg. The present study demonstrates that both PFCAs and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates cross the blood-brain barrier in polar bears and that wet-weight concentrations are brain region-specific. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Regional brain glucose metabolism and blood flow in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats

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Jakobsen, J.; Nedergaard, M.; Aarslew-Jensen, M.; Diemer, N.H.

1990-01-01

Brain regional glucose metabolism and regional blood flow were measured from autoradiographs by the uptake of [ 3 H]-2-deoxy-D-glucose and [ 14 C]iodoantipyrine in streptozocin-induced diabetic (STZ-D) rats. After 2 days of diabetes, glucose metabolism in the neocortex, basal ganglia, and white matter increased by 34, 37, and 8%, respectively, whereas blood flow was unchanged. After 4 mo, glucose metabolism in the same three regions was decreased by 32, 43, and 60%. This reduction was paralleled by a statistically nonsignificant reduction in blood flow in neocortex and basal ganglia. It is suggested that the decrease of brain glucose metabolism in STZ-D reflects increased ketone body oxidation and reduction of electrochemical work

Structural covariance of brain region volumes is associated with both structural connectivity and transcriptomic similarity.

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Yee, Yohan; Fernandes, Darren J; French, Leon; Ellegood, Jacob; Cahill, Lindsay S; Vousden, Dulcie A; Spencer Noakes, Leigh; Scholz, Jan; van Eede, Matthijs C; Nieman, Brian J; Sled, John G; Lerch, Jason P

2018-05-18

An organizational pattern seen in the brain, termed structural covariance, is the statistical association of pairs of brain regions in their anatomical properties. These associations, measured across a population as covariances or correlations usually in cortical thickness or volume, are thought to reflect genetic and environmental underpinnings. Here, we examine the biological basis of structural volume covariance in the mouse brain. We first examined large scale associations between brain region volumes using an atlas-based approach that parcellated the entire mouse brain into 318 regions over which correlations in volume were assessed, for volumes obtained from 153 mouse brain images via high-resolution MRI. We then used a seed-based approach and determined, for 108 different seed regions across the brain and using mouse gene expression and connectivity data from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the variation in structural covariance data that could be explained by distance to seed, transcriptomic similarity to seed, and connectivity to seed. We found that overall, correlations in structure volumes hierarchically clustered into distinct anatomical systems, similar to findings from other studies and similar to other types of networks in the brain, including structural connectivity and transcriptomic similarity networks. Across seeds, this structural covariance was significantly explained by distance (17% of the variation, up to a maximum of 49% for structural covariance to the visceral area of the cortex), transcriptomic similarity (13% of the variation, up to maximum of 28% for structural covariance to the primary visual area) and connectivity (15% of the variation, up to a maximum of 36% for structural covariance to the intermediate reticular nucleus in the medulla) of covarying structures. Together, distance, connectivity, and transcriptomic similarity explained 37% of structural covariance, up to a maximum of 63% for structural covariance to the

Symbolic joint entropy reveals the coupling of various brain regions

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Ma, Xiaofei; Huang, Xiaolin; Du, Sidan; Liu, Hongxing; Ning, Xinbao

2018-01-01

The convergence and divergence of oscillatory behavior of different brain regions are very important for the procedure of information processing. Measurements of coupling or correlation are very useful to study the difference of brain activities. In this study, EEG signals were collected from ten subjects under two conditions, i.e. eyes closed state and idle with eyes open. We propose a nonlinear algorithm, symbolic joint entropy, to compare the coupling strength among the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes and between two different states. Instead of decomposing the EEG into different frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta, gamma etc.), the novel algorithm is to investigate the coupling from the entire spectrum of brain wave activities above 4Hz. The coupling coefficients in two states with different time delay steps are compared and the group statistics are presented as well. We find that the coupling coefficient of eyes open state with delay consistently lower than that of eyes close state across the group except for one subject, whereas the results without delay are not consistent. The differences between two brain states with non-zero delay can reveal the intrinsic inter-region coupling better. We also use the well-known Hénon map data to validate the algorithm proposed in this paper. The result shows that the method is robust and has a great potential for other physiologic time series.

Fluoro-Jade and TUNEL staining as useful tools to identify ischemic brain damage following moderate extradural compression of sensorimotor cortex.

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Kundrotiene, Jurgita; Wägner, Anna; Liljequist, Sture

2004-01-01

Cerebral ischemia was produced by moderate compression for 30 min of a specific brain area in the sensorimotor cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats. On day 1, that is 24 h after the transient sensorimotor compression, ischemia-exposed animals displayed a marked focal neurological deficit documented as impaired beam walking performance. This functional disturbance was mainly due to contralateral fore- and hind-limb paresis. As assessed by daily beam walking tests it was shown that there was a spontaneous recovery of motor functions over a period of five to seven days after the ischemic event. Using histopathological analysis (Nissl staining) we have previously reported that the present experimental paradigm does not produce pannecrosis (tissue cavitation) despite the highly reproducible focal neurological deficit. We now show how staining with fluorescent markers for neuronal death, that is Fluoro-Jade and TUNEL, respectively, identifies regional patterns of selective neuronal death. These observations add further support to the working hypothesis that the brain damage caused by cortical compression-induced ischemia consists of scattered, degenerating neurons in specific brain regions. Postsurgical administration of the AMPA receptor specific antagonist, LY326325 (30 mg/kg; i.p., 70 min after compression), not only improved beam walking performance on day 1 to 3, respectively but also significantly reduced the number of Fluoro-Jade stained neurons on day 5. These results suggest that enhanced AMPA/glutamate receptor activity is at least partially responsible for the ischemia-produced brain damage detected by the fluorescent marker Fluoro-Jade.

Molecular regionalization in the compact brain of the meiofaunal annelid Dinophilus gyrociliatus (Dinophilidae

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Alexandra Kerbl

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Annelida is a morphologically diverse animal group that exhibits a remarkable variety in nervous system architecture (e.g., number and location of longitudinal cords, architecture of the brain. Despite this heterogeneity of neural arrangements, the molecular profiles related to central nervous system patterning seem to be conserved even between distantly related annelids. In particular, comparative molecular studies on brain and anterior neural region patterning genes have focused so far mainly on indirect-developing macrofaunal taxa. Therefore, analyses on microscopic, direct-developing annelids are important to attain a general picture of the evolutionary events underlying the vast diversity of annelid neuroanatomy. Results We have analyzed the expression domains of 11 evolutionarily conserved genes involved in brain and anterior neural patterning in adult females of the direct-developing meiofaunal annelid Dinophilus gyrociliatus. The small, compact brain shows expression of dimmed, foxg, goosecoid, homeobrain, nk2.1, orthodenticle, orthopedia, pax6, six3/6 and synaptotagmin-1. Although most of the studied markers localize to specific brain areas, the genes six3/6 and synaptotagmin-1 are expressed in nearly all perikarya of the brain. All genes except for goosecoid, pax6 and nk2.2 overlap in the anterior brain region, while the respective expression domains are more separated in the posterior brain. Conclusions Our findings reveal that the expression patterns of the genes foxg, orthodenticle, orthopedia and six3/6 correlate with those described in Platynereis dumerilii larvae, and homeobrain, nk2.1, orthodenticle and synaptotagmin-1 resemble the pattern of late larvae of Capitella teleta. Although data on other annelids are limited, molecular similarities between adult Dinophilus and larval Platynereis and Capitella suggest an overall conservation of molecular mechanisms patterning the anterior neural regions, independent

Do spotty high intensity regions found in basal ganglia on MRI T2-weighted brain images of elderly subjects indicate gliosis? Comparison of brain MRI T2-weighted images of elderly subjects and necropsy brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murai, Hiroshi; Hattori, Hideyuki; Matsumoto, Masayuki

2001-01-01

Spotty high intensity regions are frequently found on the MRI T2-weighted brain images (T2WI) of elderly people. High intensity regions with a diameter of 3 mm or less have been considered as expanded perivascular space with no pathological implications on radiological diagnosis. However, its morphometrical basis is not clear. We examined the character of the spotty regions using brain MRI of brain screening subjects, and studied morphometrically arteriolosclerosis and perivascular tissue damage using necropsy brains of subjects aged 65 years and over. The size, number and location of the spotty high intensity regions were examined using the brain MRI of 109 T2WI which is used for brain screening at Kanazawa Medical University Hospital. The frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, hippocampus, midbrain and basal ganglia were sampled from 15 subjects aged 65 years and over, and the tissue sections were processed for HE stain, Elastica van Gieson stain and immunostaining with GFAP. We took photographs of brain arterioli and surrounding parenchyma with a digital telescope camera and the degree of arterioscleosis and tissue damage were assessed by measurements with an image analyzer. Spotty high intensity regions on T2WI with a diameter of 3 mm or less were observed in 95.5% subjects aged 65 years and over. 69.4% spotty region was observed in basal ganglia. There was a significant correlation between age and size. In morphometrical examination, at the basal ganglia, the density of GFAP-positive astrocytes in the perivascular tissue had a significant positive correlation with the proportional thickness of the adventitia, which is an index of arteriosclerosis, and a significant negative correlation with the size of the perivascular space. The results suggested that the spotty regions in the brain MRI of elderly people do not represent dilatations of the perivascular space, but is mild brain damage caused by arteriosclerosis. (author)

Role of Prion Replication in the Strain-dependent Brain Regional Distribution of Prions.

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Hu, Ping Ping; Morales, Rodrigo; Duran-Aniotz, Claudia; Moreno-Gonzalez, Ines; Khan, Uffaf; Soto, Claudio

2016-06-10

One intriguing feature of prion diseases is their strain variation. Prion strains are differentiated by the clinical consequences they generate in the host, their biochemical properties, and their potential to infect other animal species. The selective targeting of these agents to specific brain structures have been extensively used to characterize prion strains. However, the molecular basis dictating strain-specific neurotropism are still elusive. In this study, isolated brain structures from animals infected with four hamster prion strains (HY, DY, 139H, and SSLOW) were analyzed for their content of protease-resistant PrP(Sc) Our data show that these strains have different profiles of PrP deposition along the brain. These patterns of accumulation, which were independent of regional PrP(C) production, were not reproduced by in vitro replication when different brain regions were used as substrate for the misfolding-amplification reaction. On the contrary, our results show that in vitro replication efficiency depended exclusively on the amount of PrP(C) present in each part of the brain. Our results suggest that the variable regional distribution of PrP(Sc) in distinct strains is not determined by differences on prion formation, but on other factors or cellular pathways. Our findings may contribute to understand the molecular mechanisms of prion pathogenesis and strain diversity. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Uniform distributions of glucose oxidation and oxygen extraction in gray matter of normal human brain: No evidence of regional differences of aerobic glycolysis.

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Hyder, Fahmeed; Herman, Peter; Bailey, Christopher J; Møller, Arne; Globinsky, Ronen; Fulbright, Robert K; Rothman, Douglas L; Gjedde, Albert

2016-05-01

Regionally variable rates of aerobic glycolysis in brain networks identified by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) imply regionally variable adenosine triphosphate (ATP) regeneration. When regional glucose utilization is not matched to oxygen delivery, affected regions have correspondingly variable rates of ATP and lactate production. We tested the extent to which aerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation power R-fMRI networks by measuring quantitative differences between the oxygen to glucose index (OGI) and the oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) as measured by positron emission tomography (PET) in normal human brain (resting awake, eyes closed). Regionally uniform and correlated OEF and OGI estimates prevailed, with network values that matched the gray matter means, regardless of size, location, and origin. The spatial agreement between oxygen delivery (OEF≈0.4) and glucose oxidation (OGI ≈ 5.3) suggests that no specific regions have preferentially high aerobic glycolysis and low oxidative phosphorylation rates, with globally optimal maximum ATP turnover rates (VATP ≈ 9.4 µmol/g/min), in good agreement with (31)P and (13)C magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements. These results imply that the intrinsic network activity in healthy human brain powers the entire gray matter with ubiquitously high rates of glucose oxidation. Reports of departures from normal brain-wide homogeny of oxygen extraction fraction and oxygen to glucose index may be due to normalization artefacts from relative PET measurements. © The Author(s) 2016.

Comparison of regional gene expression differences in the brains of the domestic dog and human

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Kennerly Erin

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Comparison of the expression profiles of 2,721 genes in the cerebellum, cortex and pituitary gland of three American Staffordshire terriers, one beagle and one fox hound revealed regional expression differences in the brain but failed to reveal marked differences among breeds, or even individual dogs. Approximately 85 per cent (42 of 49 orthologue comparisons of the regional differences in the dog are similar to those that differentiate the analogous human brain regions. A smaller percentage of human differences were replicated in the dog, particularly in the cortex, which may generally be evolving more rapidly than other brain regions in mammals. This study lays the foundation for detailed analysis of the population structure of transcriptional variation as it relates to cognitive and neurological phenotypes in the domestic dog.

Region-selective effects of long-term lithium and carbamazepine administration on cyclic AMP levels in rat brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiborg, Ove; Krueger, Tanja; Jakosen, Soeren N.

1999-01-01

The effect of lithium and carbamazepine in the treatment of bipolar affective disorder is well established. Althougt a number of biochemical effects have been found, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying their therapeutic actions have not been elucidated nor are the target regions in the brain identified. Taken into account the important role of the cyclic AMP second messenger system in the regulation of neuronal exitability and the indications of its involvement in the pathophysiology of bipolar affective disorder, we have focused on the drug effects on cyclic AMP levels. The objectives of this investigation were to measure the effects on basal cyclic AMP levels, and to locate target regions within the rat brain after long-term administration of lithium and carbamazepine. Drug treatments were carried out for a period of 28 days. After either drug treatment the cyclic AMP level was increased 3-4 times in frontal cortex but unchanged in hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala and in cerebellum. In neostratum the cyclic AMP level was decreased to about 30% after treatment with lithium. We suggest the common region-selective effect, observed for both drugs in frontal cortex, to be essential for the therapeutic actions of lithium and carbamazepine. (au)

Individual differences in personality traits reflect structural variance in specific brain regions.

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Gardini, Simona; Cloninger, C Robert; Venneri, Annalena

2009-06-30

Personality dimensions such as novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD) and persistence (PER) are said to be heritable, stable across time and dependent on genetic and neurobiological factors. Recently a better understanding of the relationship between personality traits and brain structures/systems has become possible due to advances in neuroimaging techniques. This Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study investigated if individual differences in these personality traits reflected structural variance in specific brain regions. A large sample of eighty five young adult participants completed the Three-dimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and had their brain imaged with MRI. A voxel-based correlation analysis was carried out between individuals' personality trait scores and grey matter volume values extracted from 3D brain scans. NS correlated positively with grey matter volume in frontal and posterior cingulate regions. HA showed a negative correlation with grey matter volume in orbito-frontal, occipital and parietal structures. RD was negatively correlated with grey matter volume in the caudate nucleus and in the rectal frontal gyrus. PER showed a positive correlation with grey matter volume in the precuneus, paracentral lobule and parahippocampal gyrus. These results indicate that individual differences in the main personality dimensions of NS, HA, RD and PER, may reflect structural variance in specific brain areas.

Changes of brain metabolite concentrations during maturation in different brain regions measured by chemical shift imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bueltmann, Eva; Lanfermann, Heinrich; Naegele, Thomas; Klose, Uwe

2017-01-01

We examined the effect of maturation on the regional distribution of brain metabolite concentrations using multivoxel chemical shift imaging. From our pool of pediatric MRI examinations, we retrospectively selected patients showing a normal cerebral MRI scan or no pathologic signal abnormalities at the level of the two-dimensional 1H MRS-CSI sequence and an age-appropriate global neurological development, except for focal neurological deficits. Seventy-one patients (4.5 months-20 years) were identified. Using LC Model, spectra were evaluated from voxels in the white matter, caudate head, and corpus callosum. The concentration of total N-acetylaspartate increased in all regions during infancy and childhood except in the right caudate head where it remained constant. The concentration of total creatine decreased in the caudate nucleus and splenium and minimally in the frontal white matter and genu. It remained largely constant in the parietal white matter. The concentration of choline-containing compounds had the tendency to decrease in all regions except in the parietal white matter where it remained constant. The concentration of myoinositol decreased slightly in the splenium and right frontal white matter, remained constant on the left side and in the caudate nucleus, and rose slightly in the parietal white matter and genu. CSI determined metabolite concentrations in multiple cerebral regions during routine MRI. The obtained data will be helpful in future pediatric CSI measurements deciding whether the ratios of the main metabolites are within the range of normal values or have to be considered as probably pathologic. (orig.)

Changes of brain metabolite concentrations during maturation in different brain regions measured by chemical shift imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Bültmann, Eva; Nägele, Thomas; Lanfermann, Heinrich; Klose, Uwe

2017-01-01

We examined the effect of maturation on the regional distribution of brain metabolite concentrations using multivoxel chemical shift imaging. From our pool of pediatric MRI examinations, we retrospectively selected patients showing a normal cerebral MRI scan or no pathologic signal abnormalities at the level of the two-dimensional 1H MRS-CSI sequence and an age-appropriate global neurological development, except for focal neurological deficits. Seventy-one patients (4.5 months-20 years) were identified. Using LC Model, spectra were evaluated from voxels in the white matter, caudate head, and corpus callosum. The concentration of total N-acetylaspartate increased in all regions during infancy and childhood except in the right caudate head where it remained constant. The concentration of total creatine decreased in the caudate nucleus and splenium and minimally in the frontal white matter and genu. It remained largely constant in the parietal white matter. The concentration of choline-containing compounds had the tendency to decrease in all regions except in the parietal white matter where it remained constant. The concentration of myoinositol decreased slightly in the splenium and right frontal white matter, remained constant on the left side and in the caudate nucleus, and rose slightly in the parietal white matter and genu. CSI determined metabolite concentrations in multiple cerebral regions during routine MRI. The obtained data will be helpful in future pediatric CSI measurements deciding whether the ratios of the main metabolites are within the range of normal values or have to be considered as probably pathologic.

Changes of brain metabolite concentrations during maturation in different brain regions measured by chemical shift imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bueltmann, Eva; Lanfermann, Heinrich [Hannover Medical School, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Hannover (Germany); Naegele, Thomas [University of Tuebingen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Radiological University Hospital, Tuebingen (Germany); Klose, Uwe [University of Tuebingen, Section of Experimental MR of the CNS, Department of Neuroradiology, Radiological University Hospital, Tuebingen (Germany)

2017-01-15

We examined the effect of maturation on the regional distribution of brain metabolite concentrations using multivoxel chemical shift imaging. From our pool of pediatric MRI examinations, we retrospectively selected patients showing a normal cerebral MRI scan or no pathologic signal abnormalities at the level of the two-dimensional 1H MRS-CSI sequence and an age-appropriate global neurological development, except for focal neurological deficits. Seventy-one patients (4.5 months-20 years) were identified. Using LC Model, spectra were evaluated from voxels in the white matter, caudate head, and corpus callosum. The concentration of total N-acetylaspartate increased in all regions during infancy and childhood except in the right caudate head where it remained constant. The concentration of total creatine decreased in the caudate nucleus and splenium and minimally in the frontal white matter and genu. It remained largely constant in the parietal white matter. The concentration of choline-containing compounds had the tendency to decrease in all regions except in the parietal white matter where it remained constant. The concentration of myoinositol decreased slightly in the splenium and right frontal white matter, remained constant on the left side and in the caudate nucleus, and rose slightly in the parietal white matter and genu. CSI determined metabolite concentrations in multiple cerebral regions during routine MRI. The obtained data will be helpful in future pediatric CSI measurements deciding whether the ratios of the main metabolites are within the range of normal values or have to be considered as probably pathologic. (orig.)

Brain region-specific expression of MeCP2 isoforms correlates with DNA methylation within Mecp2 regulatory elements.

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Carl O Olson

Full Text Available MeCP2 is a critical epigenetic regulator in brain and its abnormal expression or compromised function leads to a spectrum of neurological disorders including Rett Syndrome and autism. Altered expression of the two MeCP2 isoforms, MeCP2E1 and MeCP2E2 has been implicated in neurological complications. However, expression, regulation and functions of the two isoforms are largely uncharacterized. Previously, we showed the role of MeCP2E1 in neuronal maturation and reported MeCP2E1 as the major protein isoform in the adult mouse brain, embryonic neurons and astrocytes. Recently, we showed that DNA methylation at the regulatory elements (REs within the Mecp2 promoter and intron 1 impact the expression of Mecp2 isoforms in differentiating neural stem cells. This current study is aimed for a comparative analysis of temporal, regional and cell type-specific expression of MeCP2 isoforms in the developing and adult mouse brain. MeCP2E2 displayed a later expression onset than MeCP2E1 during mouse brain development. In the adult female and male brain hippocampus, both MeCP2 isoforms were detected in neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Furthermore, MeCP2E1 expression was relatively uniform in different brain regions (olfactory bulb, striatum, cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, brainstem and cerebellum, whereas MeCP2E2 showed differential enrichment in these brain regions. Both MeCP2 isoforms showed relatively similar distribution in these brain regions, except for cerebellum. Lastly, a preferential correlation was observed between DNA methylation at specific CpG dinucleotides within the REs and Mecp2 isoform-specific expression in these brain regions. Taken together, we show that MeCP2 isoforms display differential expression patterns during brain development and in adult mouse brain regions. DNA methylation patterns at the Mecp2 REs may impact this differential expression of Mecp2/MeCP2 isoforms in brain regions. Our results significantly contribute

How specialized are writing-specific brain regions? An fMRI study of writing, drawing and oral spelling.

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Planton, Samuel; Longcamp, Marieke; Péran, Patrice; Démonet, Jean-François; Jucla, Mélanie

2017-03-01

Several brain imaging studies identified brain regions that are consistently involved in writing tasks; the left premotor and superior parietal cortices have been associated with the peripheral components of writing performance as opposed to other regions that support the central, orthographic components. Based on a meta-analysis by Planton, Jucla, Roux, and Demonet (2013), we focused on five such writing areas and questioned the task-specificity and hemispheric lateralization profile of the brain response in an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment where 16 right-handed participants wrote down, spelled out orally object names, and drew shapes from object pictures. All writing-related areas were activated by drawing, and some of them by oral spelling, thus questioning their specialization for written production. The graphemic/motor frontal area (GMFA), a subpart of the superior premotor cortex close to Exner's area (Roux et al., 2009), was the only area with a writing-specific lateralization profile, that is, clear left lateralization during handwriting, and bilateral activity during drawing. Furthermore, the relative lateralization and levels of activation in the superior parietal cortex, ventral premotor cortex, ventral occipitotemporal cortex and right cerebellum across the three tasks brought out new evidence regarding their respective contributions to the writing processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Total regional and global number of synapses in the human brain neocortex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, Y.; Nyengaard, J.R.; Groot, D.M.G. de; Jorgen, H.; Gundersen, G.

2001-01-01

An estimator of the total number of synapses in neocortex of human autopsy brains based on unbiased stereological principles is described. Each randomly chosen cerebral hemisphere was stratified into the four major neocortical regions. Uniform sampling with a varying sampling fraction in each region

Acute and chronic glucocorticoid treatments regulate astrocyte-enriched mRNAs in multiple brain regions in vivo

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Bradley S. Carter

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have primarily interpreted gene expression regulation by glucocorticoids in the brain in terms of impact on neurons; however, less is known about the corresponding impact of glucocorticoids on glia and specifically astrocytes in vivo. Recent microarray experiments have identified glucocorticoid-sensitive mRNAs in primary astrocyte cell culture, including a number of mRNAs that have reported astrocyte-enriched expression patterns relative to other brain cell types. Here, we have tested whether elevations of glucocorticoids regulate a subset of these mRNAs in vivo following acute and chronic corticosterone exposure in adult mice. Acute corticosterone exposure was achieved by a single injection of 10 mg/kg corticosterone, and tissue samples were harvested two hours post-injection. Chronic corticosterone exposure was achieved by administering 10 mg/mL corticosterone via drinking water for two weeks. Gene expression was then assessed in two brain regions associated with glucocorticoid action (prefrontal cortex and hippocampus by qPCR and by in situ hybridization. The majority of measured mRNAs regulated by glucocorticoids in astrocytes in vitro were similarly regulated by acute and/or chronic glucocorticoid exposure in vivo. In addition, the expression levels for mRNAs regulated in at least one corticosterone exposure condition (acute/chronic demonstrated moderate positive correlation between the two conditions by brain region. In situ hybridization analyses suggest that select mRNAs are regulated by chronic corticosterone exposure specifically in astroctyes based on (1 similar general expression patterns between corticosterone-treated and vehicle-treated animals and (2 similar expression patterns to the pan-astrocyte marker Aldh1l1. Our findings demonstrate that glucocorticoids regulate astrocyte-enriched mRNAs in vivo and suggest that glucocorticoids regulate gene expression in the brain in a cell type-dependent fashion.

Analysis of a human brain transcriptome map

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Greene Jonathan R

2002-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome wide transcriptome maps can provide tools to identify candidate genes that are over-expressed or silenced in certain disease tissue and increase our understanding of the structure and organization of the genome. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs from the public dbEST and proprietary Incyte LifeSeq databases were used to derive a transcript map in conjunction with the working draft assembly of the human genome sequence. Results Examination of ESTs derived from brain tissues (excluding brain tumor tissues suggests that these genes are distributed on chromosomes in a non-random fashion. Some regions on the genome are dense with brain-enriched genes while some regions lack brain-enriched genes, suggesting a significant correlation between distribution of genes along the chromosome and tissue type. ESTs from brain tumor tissues have also been mapped to the human genome working draft. We reveal that some regions enriched in brain genes show a significant decrease in gene expression in brain tumors, and, conversely that some regions lacking in brain genes show an increased level of gene expression in brain tumors. Conclusions This report demonstrates a novel approach for tissue specific transcriptome mapping using EST-based quantitative assessment.

Effect of CDP-choline on the biosynthesis of phospholipids in brain regions during hypoxic treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberghina, M.; Viola, M.; Serra, I.; Mistretta, A.; Giuffrida, A.M.

1981-01-01

Acute administration of CDP-choline (i.p. 100 mg/Kg b.w.), 10 min before the intraventricular injection of labeled precursors, [2-3H] glycerol and [1-14C]-palmitate, was able to correct the impairment caused by hypoxic treatment of lipid metabolism in some brain regions, ie, cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, and brainstem. After CDP-choline treatment, an increase of the specific radioactivity of total lipids and of phospholipids was observed in mitochondria purified from the three above-mentioned brain regions of the hypoxic animals, while no effect on the other subcellular fractions was found. CDP-Choline had a stimulating effect particularly on the incorporation of both precursors into mitochondrial PC, PE, and polyglycerophosphatides isolated form the three brain regions examined. The results obtained show that the action of CDP-choline in restoring lipid metabolism was more pronounced in brain mitochondria, which, among subcellular fractions, were the most affected by the hypoxic treatment

Examination of the regional distribution of minor and trace elements in normal human brain by PIXE and chemometric techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maenhaut, W.; Hebbrecht, G.; Reuck, J. de

1993-01-01

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was used to measure two minor and six trace elements, i.e. K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, and Rb, in up to 50 different structures (regions) of brains from Belgian individuals without neurological disorders. The data matrix with the mean dry-weight elemental concentrations and mean wet-to-dry weight ratio (means over 18 brains) for the various structures was subjected to two chemometric techniques, i.e., VARIMAX rotated absolute principal component analysis (APCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis. Three components were identified by APCA: Components 1 and 3 represented aqueous fractions of the brain (respectively the intracellular and extracellular fluid), whereas component 2 apparently represented the solid brain fraction. The elements K, Cu, Zn, Se, and Rb were predominantly attributed to component 1, Ca to component 3, and Fe to component 2. In the hierarchical cluster analysis seven different agglomerative cluster strategies were compared. The dendrograms obtained from the furthest neighbor and Ward's error sum strategy were virtually identical, and they consisted of two large clusters with 30 and 16 structures, respectively. The first cluster included all gray matter structures, while the second comprised all white matter. Furthermore, structures involved in the same physiological function or morphologically similar regions often conglomerated in one subcluster. This strongly suggests that there is some relationship between the trace element profile of a brain structure and its function. (orig.)

Heat Roadmap Europe: Identifying strategic heat synergy regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, U.; Möller, B.; Werner, S.

2014-01-01

This study presents a methodology to assess annual excess heat volumes from fuel combustion activities in energy and industry sector facilities based on carbon dioxide emission data. The aim is to determine regional balances of excess heat relative heat demands for all third level administrative regions in the European Union (EU) and to identify strategic regions suitable for large-scale implementation of district heating. The approach is motivated since the efficiency of current supply structures to meet building heat demands, mainly characterised by direct use of primary energy sources, is low and improvable. District heating is conceived as an urban supply side energy efficiency measure employable to enhance energy system efficiency by increased excess heat recoveries; hereby reducing primary energy demands by fuel substitution. However, the importance of heat has long been underestimated in EU decarbonisation strategies and local heat synergies have often been overlooked in energy models used for such scenarios. Study results indicate that 46% of all excess heat in EU27, corresponding to 31% of total building heat demands, is located within identified strategic regions. Still, a realisation of these rich opportunities will require higher recognition of the heat sector in future EU energy policy. - Highlights: • EU27 energy and industry sector heat recycling resources are mapped and quantified. • Target regions for large-scale implementation of district heating are identified. • 46% of total EU27 excess heat volume is seized in 63 strategic heat synergy regions. • Large urban zones have lead roles to play in transition to sustainability in Europe. • Higher recognition of heat sector is needed in future EU energy policy for realisation

Postmenopausal hormone therapy and regional brain volumes: the WHIMS-MRI Study.

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Resnick, S M; Espeland, M A; Jaramillo, S A; Hirsch, C; Stefanick, M L; Murray, A M; Ockene, J; Davatzikos, C

2009-01-13

To determine whether menopausal hormone therapy (HT) affects regional brain volumes, including hippocampal and frontal regions. Brain MRI scans were obtained in a subset of 1,403 women aged 71-89 years who participated in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS). WHIMS was an ancillary study to the Women's Health Initiative, which consisted of two randomized, placebo-controlled trials: 0.625 mg conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) with or without 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in one daily tablet. Scans were performed, on average, 3.0 years post-trial for the CEE + MPA trial and 1.4 years post-trial for the CEE-Alone trial; average on-trial follow-up intervals were 4.0 years for CEE + MPA and 5.6 years for CEE-Alone. Total brain, ventricular, hippocampal, and frontal lobe volumes, adjusted for age, clinic site, estimated intracranial volume, and dementia risk factors, were the main outcome variables. Compared with placebo, covariate-adjusted mean frontal lobe volume was 2.37 cm(3) lower among women assigned to HT (p = 0.004), mean hippocampal volume was slightly (0.10 cm(3)) lower (p = 0.05), and differences in total brain volume approached significance (p = 0.07). Results were similar for CEE + MPA and CEE-Alone. HT-associated reductions in hippocampal volumes were greatest in women with the lowest baseline Modified Mini-Mental State Examination scores (scores equine estrogens with or without MPA are associated with greater brain atrophy among women aged 65 years and older; however, the adverse effects are most evident in women experiencing cognitive deficits before initiating hormone therapy.

Algorithm to find high density EEG scalp coordinates and analysis of their correspondence to structural and functional regions of the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Giacometti, Paolo; Perdue, Katherine L; Diamond, Solomon G

2014-05-30

Interpretation and analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) measurements relies on the correspondence of electrode scalp coordinates to structural and functional regions of the brain. An algorithm is introduced for automatic calculation of the International 10-20, 10-10, and 10-5 scalp coordinates of EEG electrodes on a boundary element mesh of a human head. The EEG electrode positions are then used to generate parcellation regions of the cerebral cortex based on proximity to the EEG electrodes. The scalp electrode calculation method presented in this study effectively and efficiently identifies EEG locations without prior digitization of coordinates. The average of electrode proximity parcellations of the cortex were tabulated with respect to structural and functional regions of the brain in a population of 20 adult subjects. Parcellations based on electrode proximity and EEG sensitivity were compared. The parcellation regions based on sensitivity and proximity were found to have 44.0 ± 11.3% agreement when demarcated by the International 10-20, 32.4 ± 12.6% by the 10-10, and 24.7 ± 16.3% by the 10-5 electrode positioning system. The EEG positioning algorithm is a fast and easy method of locating EEG scalp coordinates without the need for digitized electrode positions. The parcellation method presented summarizes the EEG scalp locations with respect to brain regions without computation of a full EEG forward model solution. The reference table of electrode proximity versus cortical regions may be used by experimenters to select electrodes that correspond to anatomical and functional regions of interest. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Serotonergic neurotoxic metabolites of ecstasy identified in rat brain.

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Jones, Douglas C; Duvauchelle, Christine; Ikegami, Aiko; Olsen, Christopher M; Lau, Serrine S; de la Torre, Rafael; Monks, Terrence J

2005-04-01

The selective serotonergic neurotoxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) depends on their systemic metabolism. We have recently shown that inhibition of brain endothelial cell gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT) potentiates the neurotoxicity of both MDMA and MDA, indicating that metabolites that are substrates for this enzyme contribute to the neurotoxicity. Consistent with this view, glutathione (GSH) and N-acetylcysteine conjugates of alpha-methyl dopamine (alpha-MeDA) are selective neurotoxicants. However, neurotoxic metabolites of MDMA or MDA have yet to be identified in brain. Using in vivo microdialysis coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy and a high-performance liquid chromatography-coulometric electrode array system, we now show that GSH and N-acetylcysteine conjugates of N-methyl-alpha-MeDA are present in the striatum of rats administered MDMA by subcutaneous injection. Moreover, inhibition of gamma-GT with acivicin increases the concentration of GSH and N-acetylcysteine conjugates of N-methyl-alpha-MeDA in brain dialysate, and there is a direct correlation between the concentrations of metabolites in dialysate and the extent of neurotoxicity, measured by decreases in serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic (5-HIAA) levels. Importantly, the effects of acivicin are independent of MDMA-induced hyperthermia, since acivicin-mediated potentiation of MDMA neurotoxicity occurs in the context of acivicin-mediated decreases in body temperature. Finally, we have synthesized 5-(N-acetylcystein-S-yl)-N-methyl-alpha-MeDA and established that it is a relatively potent serotonergic neurotoxicant. Together, the data support the contention that MDMA-mediated serotonergic neurotoxicity is mediated by the systemic formation of GSH and N-acetylcysteine conjugates of N-methyl-alpha-MeDA (and alpha-MeDA). The mechanisms by which such metabolites access the brain and produce selective

Novel region of interest interrogation technique for diffusion tensor imaging analysis in the canine brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jonathan Y; Middleton, Dana M; Chen, Steven; White, Leonard; Ellinwood, N Matthew; Dickson, Patricia; Vite, Charles; Bradbury, Allison; Provenzale, James M

2017-08-01

Purpose We describe a novel technique for measuring diffusion tensor imaging metrics in the canine brain. We hypothesized that a standard method for region of interest placement could be developed that is highly reproducible, with less than 10% difference in measurements between raters. Methods Two sets of canine brains (three seven-week-old full-brains and two 17-week-old single hemispheres) were scanned ex-vivo on a 7T small-animal magnetic resonance imaging system. Strict region of interest placement criteria were developed and then used by two raters to independently measure diffusion tensor imaging metrics within four different white-matter regions within each specimen. Average values of fractional anisotropy, radial diffusivity, and the three eigenvalues (λ1, λ2, and λ3) within each region in each specimen overall and within each individual image slice were compared between raters by calculating the percentage difference between raters for each metric. Results The mean percentage difference between raters for all diffusion tensor imaging metrics when pooled by each region and specimen was 1.44% (range: 0.01-5.17%). The mean percentage difference between raters for all diffusion tensor imaging metrics when compared by individual image slice was 2.23% (range: 0.75-4.58%) per hemisphere. Conclusion Our results indicate that the technique described is highly reproducible, even when applied to canine specimens of differing age, morphology, and image resolution. We propose this technique for future studies of diffusion tensor imaging analysis in canine brains and for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of canine brain models of human central nervous system disease.

Functional brain activation differences in stuttering identified with a rapid fMRI sequence

Science.gov (United States)

Kraft, Shelly Jo; Choo, Ai Leen; Sharma, Harish; Ambrose, Nicoline G.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether brain activity related to the presence of stuttering can be identified with rapid functional MRI (fMRI) sequences that involved overt and covert speech processing tasks. The long-term goal is to develop sensitive fMRI approaches with developmentally appropriate tasks to identify deviant speech motor and auditory brain activity in children who stutter closer to the age at which recovery from stuttering is documented. Rapid sequences may be preferred for individuals or populations who do not tolerate long scanning sessions. In this report, we document the application of a picture naming and phoneme monitoring task in three minute fMRI sequences with adults who stutter (AWS). If relevant brain differences are found in AWS with these approaches that conform to previous reports, then these approaches can be extended to younger populations. Pairwise contrasts of brain BOLD activity between AWS and normally fluent adults indicated the AWS showed higher BOLD activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right temporal lobe and sensorimotor cortices during picture naming and and higher activity in the right IFG during phoneme monitoring. The right lateralized pattern of BOLD activity together with higher activity in sensorimotor cortices is consistent with previous reports, which indicates rapid fMRI sequences can be considered for investigating stuttering in younger participants. PMID:22133409

Combining region- and network-level brain-behavior relationships in a structural equation model.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolt, Taylor; Prince, Emily B; Nomi, Jason S; Messinger, Daniel; Llabre, Maria M; Uddin, Lucina Q

2018-01-15

Brain-behavior associations in fMRI studies are typically restricted to a single level of analysis: either a circumscribed brain region-of-interest (ROI) or a larger network of brain regions. However, this common practice may not always account for the interdependencies among ROIs of the same network or potentially unique information at the ROI-level, respectively. To account for both sources of information, we combined measurement and structural components of structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches to empirically derive networks from ROI activity, and to assess the association of both individual ROIs and their respective whole-brain activation networks with task performance using three large task-fMRI datasets and two separate brain parcellation schemes. The results for working memory and relational tasks revealed that well-known ROI-performance associations are either non-significant or reversed when accounting for the ROI's common association with its corresponding network, and that the network as a whole is instead robustly associated with task performance. The results for the arithmetic task revealed that in certain cases, an ROI can be robustly associated with task performance, even when accounting for its associated network. The SEM framework described in this study provides researchers additional flexibility in testing brain-behavior relationships, as well as a principled way to combine ROI- and network-levels of analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain Regions Related to Impulsivity Mediate the Effects of Early Adversity on Antisocial Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Scott; Chaarani, Bader; Kan, Kees-Jan; Spechler, Philip A; Orr, Catherine; Banaschewski, Tobias; Barker, Gareth; Bokde, Arun L W; Bromberg, Uli; Büchel, Christian; Cattrell, Anna; Conrod, Patricia J; Desrivières, Sylvane; Flor, Herta; Frouin, Vincent; Gallinat, Jürgen; Gowland, Penny; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Paillère Martinot, Marie-Laure; Artiges, Eric; Nees, Frauke; Papadopoulos-Orfanos, Dimitri; Poustka, Luise; Smolka, Michael N; Jurk, Sarah; Walter, Henrik; Whelan, Robert; Schumann, Gunter; Althoff, Robert R; Garavan, Hugh

2017-08-15

Individual differences in impulsivity and early adversity are known to be strong predictors of adolescent antisocial behavior. However, the neurobiological bases of impulsivity and their relation to antisocial behavior and adversity are poorly understood. Impulsivity was estimated with a temporal discounting task. Voxel-based morphometry was used to determine the brain structural correlates of temporal discounting in a large cohort (n = 1830) of 14- to 15-year-old children. Mediation analysis was then used to determine whether the volumes of brain regions associated with temporal discounting mediate the relation between adverse life events (e.g., family conflict, serious accidents) and antisocial behaviors (e.g., precocious sexual activity, bullying, illicit substance use). Greater temporal discounting (more impulsivity) was associated with 1) lower volume in frontomedial cortex and bilateral insula and 2) greater volume in a subcortical region encompassing the ventral striatum, hypothalamus and anterior thalamus. The volume ratio between these cortical and subcortical regions was found to partially mediate the relation between adverse life events and antisocial behavior. Temporal discounting is related to regions of the brain involved in reward processing and interoception. The results support a developmental imbalance model of impulsivity and are consistent with the idea that negative environmental factors can alter the developing brain in ways that promote antisocial behavior. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A SPECT study of language and brain reorganization three years after pediatric brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu Wong, Stephanie B; Chapman, Sandra B; Cook, Lois G; Anand, Raksha; Gamino, Jacquelyn F; Devous, Michael D

2006-01-01

Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), we investigated brain plasticity in children 3 years after sustaining a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). First, we assessed brain perfusion patterns (i.e., the extent of brain blood flow to regions of the brain) at rest in eight children who suffered severe TBI as compared to perfusion patterns in eight normally developing children. Second, we examined differences in perfusion between children with severe TBI who showed good versus poor recovery in complex discourse skills. Specifically, the children were asked to produce and abstract core meaning for two stories in the form of a lesson. Inconsistent with our predictions, children with severe TBI showed areas of increased perfusion as compared to normally developing controls. Adult studies have shown the reverse pattern with TBI associated with reduced perfusion. With regard to the second aim and consistent with previously identified brain-discourse relations, we found a strong positive association between perfusion in right frontal regions and discourse abstraction abilities, with higher perfusion linked to better discourse outcomes and lower perfusion linked to poorer discourse outcomes. Furthermore, brain-discourse patterns of increased perfusion in left frontal regions were associated with lower discourse abstraction ability. The results are discussed in terms of how brain changes may represent adaptive and maladaptive plasticity. The findings offer direction for future studies of brain plasticity in response to neurocognitive treatments.

Region-selective effects of long-term lithium and carbamazepine administration on cyclic AMP levels in rat brain

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Wiborg, Ove; Krueger, Tanja; Jakosen, Soeren N. [Psychiatric Hospital, Dept. of Biological Psychiatry, Risskov (Denmark)

1999-02-01

The effect of lithium and carbamazepine in the treatment of bipolar affective disorder is well established. Althougt a number of biochemical effects have been found, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying their therapeutic actions have not been elucidated nor are the target regions in the brain identified. Taken into account the important role of the cyclic AMP second messenger system in the regulation of neuronal exitability and the indications of its involvement in the pathophysiology of bipolar affective disorder, we have focused on the drug effects on cyclic AMP levels. The objectives of this investigation were to measure the effects on basal cyclic AMP levels, and to locate target regions within the rat brain after long-term administration of lithium and carbamazepine. Drug treatments were carried out for a period of 28 days. After either drug treatment the cyclic AMP level was increased 3-4 times in frontal cortex but unchanged in hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala and in cerebellum. In neostratum the cyclic AMP level was decreased to about 30% after treatment with lithium. We suggest the common region-selective effect, observed for both drugs in frontal cortex, to be essential for the therapeutic actions of lithium and carbamazepine. (au) 46 refs.

Brain Regions Underlying Word Finding Difficulties in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Science.gov (United States)

Trebuchon-Da Fonseca, Agnes; Guedj, Eric; Alario, F-Xavier; Laguitton, Virginie; Mundler, Olivier; Chauvel, Patrick; Liegeois-Chauvel, Catherine

2009-01-01

Word finding difficulties are often reported by epileptic patients with seizures originating from the language dominant cerebral hemisphere, for example, in temporal lobe epilepsy. Evidence regarding the brain regions underlying this deficit comes from studies of peri-operative electro-cortical stimulation, as well as post-surgical performance.…

Regional volumes and spatial volumetric distribution of gray matter in the gender dysphoric brain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoekzema, E.; Schagen, S.E.E.; Kreukels, B.P.C.; Veltman, D.J.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.T.; Delemarre-van d Waal, H.A.; Bakkera, J.

2015-01-01

The sexual differentiation of the brain is primarily driven by gonadal hormones during fetal development. Leading theories on the etiology of gender dysphoria (GD) involve deviations herein. To examine whether there are signs of a sex-atypical brain development in GD, we quantified regional neural

Regional volumes and spatial volumetric distribution of gray matter in the gender dysphoric brain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoekzema, Elseline; Schagen, Sebastian E E; Kreukels, Baudewijntje P C; Veltman, Dick J; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Delemarre-van de Waal, Henriette; Bakker, J.

The sexual differentiation of the brain is primarily driven by gonadal hormones during fetal development. Leading theories on the etiology of gender dysphoria (GD) involve deviations herein. To examine whether there are signs of a sex-atypical brain development in GD, we quantified regional neural

Region-specific changes in presynaptic agmatine and glutamate levels in the aged rat brain.

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Jing, Y; Liu, P; Leitch, B

2016-01-15

During the normal aging process, the brain undergoes a range of biochemical and structural alterations, which may contribute to deterioration of sensory and cognitive functions. Age-related deficits are associated with altered efficacy of synaptic neurotransmission. Emerging evidence indicates that levels of agmatine, a putative neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain, are altered in a region-specific manner during the aging process. The gross tissue content of agmatine in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of aged rat brains is decreased whereas levels in the temporal cortex (TE) are increased. However, it is not known whether these changes in gross tissue levels are also mirrored by changes in agmatine levels at synapses and thus could potentially contribute to altered synaptic function with age. In the present study, agmatine levels in presynaptic terminals in the PFC and TE regions (300 terminals/region) of young (3month; n=3) and aged (24month; n=3) brains of male Sprague-Dawley rats were compared using quantitative post-embedding immunogold electron-microscopy. Presynaptic levels of agmatine were significantly increased in the TE region (60%; pagmatine and glutamate were co-localized in the same synaptic terminals, and quantitative analyses revealed significantly reduced glutamate levels in agmatine-immunopositive synaptic terminals in both regions in aged rats compared to young animals. This study, for the first time, demonstrates differential effects of aging on agmatine and glutamate in the presynaptic terminals of PFC and TE. Future research is required to understand the functional significance of these changes and the underlying mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regional Brain Activation during Meditation Shows Time and Practice Effects: An Exploratory FMRI Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Baron Short

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Meditation involves attentional regulation and may lead to increased activity in brain regions associated with attention such as dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined whether DLPFC and ACC were activated during meditation. Subjects who meditate were recruited and scanned on a 3.0 Tesla scanner. Subjects meditated for four sessions of 12 min and performed four sessions of a 6 min control task. Individual and group t-maps were generated of overall meditation response versus control response and late meditation response versus early meditation response for each subject and time courses were plotted. For the overall group (n = 13, and using an overall brain analysis, there were no statistically significant regional activations of interest using conservative thresholds. A region of interest analysis of the entire group time courses of DLPFC and ACC were statistically more active throughout meditation in comparison to the control task. Moreover, dividing the cohort into short (n = 8 and long-term (n = 5 practitioners (>10 years revealed that the time courses of long-term practitioners had significantly more consistent and sustained activation in the DLPFC and the ACC during meditation versus control in comparison to short-term practitioners. The regional brain activations in the more practised subjects may correlate with better sustained attention and attentional error monitoring. In summary, brain regions associated with attention vary over the time of a meditation session and may differ between long- and short-term meditation practitioners.

Longitudinal Regional Brain Development and Clinical Risk Factors in Extremely Preterm Infants.

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Kersbergen, Karina J; Makropoulos, Antonios; Aljabar, Paul; Groenendaal, Floris; de Vries, Linda S; Counsell, Serena J; Benders, Manon J N L

2016-11-01

To investigate third-trimester extrauterine brain growth and correlate this with clinical risk factors in the neonatal period, using serially acquired brain tissue volumes in a large, unselected cohort of extremely preterm born infants. Preterm infants (gestational age regions covering the entire brain. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine the influence of clinical variables on volumes at both scans, as well as on volumetric growth. MRIs at term equivalent age were available for 210 infants and serial data were available for 131 infants. Growth over these 10 weeks was greatest for the cerebellum, with an increase of 258%. Sex, birth weight z-score, and prolonged mechanical ventilation showed global effects on brain volumes on both scans. The effect of brain injury on ventricular size was already visible at 30 weeks, whereas growth data and volumes at term-equivalent age revealed the effect of brain injury on the cerebellum. This study provides data about third-trimester extrauterine volumetric brain growth in preterm infants. Both global and local effects of several common clinical risk factors were found to influence serial volumetric measurements, highlighting the vulnerability of the human brain, especially in the presence of brain injury, during this period. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aberrant regional brain activities in alcohol dependence: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

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Tu XZ

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Xianzhu Tu,1 Juanjuan Wang,2 Xuming Liu,3 Jiyong Zheng4 1Department of Psychiatry, Seventh People’s Hospital of Wenzhou City, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Radiology, The Third Clinical Institute Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Imaging, The Affiliated Huai’an No 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China Objective: Whether moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits remains controversial, but the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption on behavior and brain function are well recognized. The aim of this study was to investigate alcohol-induced regional brain activities and their relationships with behavioral factors. Subjects and methods: A total of 29 alcohol-dependent subjects (9 females and 20 males and 29 status-matched healthy controls (11 females and 18 males were recruited. Severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire (SADQ and alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT were used to evaluate the severity of alcohol craving. Regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis was used to explore the alcohol-induced regional brain changes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve was used to investigate the ability of regional brain activities to distinguish alcohol-dependent subjects from healthy controls. Pearson correlations were used to investigate the relationships between alcohol-induced ReHo differences and behavioral factors. Results: Alcohol-dependent subjects related to healthy controls showed higher ReHo areas in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG, bilateral medial frontal gyrus (MFG, left precentral gyrus (PG, bilateral middle temporal gyrus (MTG, and right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG and lower ReHo areas in

Acetamiprid Accumulates in Different Amounts in Murine Brain Regions

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Hayato Terayama

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Neonicotinoids such as acetamiprid (ACE belong to a new and widely used single class of pesticides. Neonicotinoids mimic the chemical structure of nicotine and share agonist activity with the nicotine acetylcholine receptor (nAchR. Neonicotinoids are widely considered to be safe in humans; however, they have recently been implicated in a number of human health disorders. A wide range of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders associated with high doses of neonicotinoids administered to animals have also been reported. Consequently, we used a mouse model to investigate the response of the central nervous system to ACE treatment. Our results show that exposure to ACE-containing water for three or seven days (decuple and centuple of no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL/day caused a decrease in body weight in 10-week old A/JJmsSlc (A/J mice. However, the treatments did not affect brain histology or expression of CD34. ACE concentrations were significantly higher in the midbrain of ACE-treated mice than that of the normal and vehicle groups. Expression levels of α7, α4, and β2 nAChRs were found to be low in the olfactory bulb and midbrain of normal mice. Furthermore, in the experimental group (centuple ACE-containing water for seven days, β2 nAChR expression decreased in many brain regions. Information regarding the amount of accumulated ACE and expression levels of the acetylcholine receptor in each region of the brain is important for understanding any clinical symptoms that may be associated with ACE exposure.

Restraint of appetite and reduced regional brain volumes in anorexia nervosa: a voxel-based morphometric study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brooks Samantha J

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI studies of people with anorexia nervosa (AN have shown differences in brain structure. This study aimed to provide preliminary extensions of this data by examining how different levels of appetitive restraint impact on brain volume. Methods Voxel based morphometry (VBM, corrected for total intracranial volume, age, BMI, years of education in 14 women with AN (8 RAN and 6 BPAN and 21 women (HC was performed. Correlations between brain volume and dietary restraint were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. Results Increased right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC and reduced right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left cerebellum and right posterior cingulate volumes in AN compared to HC. RAN compared to BPAN had reduced left orbitofrontal cortex, right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and left cerebellum. Age negatively correlated with right DLPFC volume in HC but not in AN; dietary restraint and BMI predicted 57% of variance in right DLPFC volume in AN. Conclusions In AN, brain volume differences were found in appetitive, somatosensory and top-down control brain regions. Differences in regional GMV may be linked to levels of appetitive restraint, but whether they are state or trait is unclear. Nevertheless, these discrete brain volume differences provide candidate brain regions for further structural and functional study in people with eating disorders.

Combined glutamate and glutamine levels in pain-processing brain regions are associated with individual pain sensitivity.

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Zunhammer, Matthias; Schweizer, Lauren M; Witte, Vanessa; Harris, Richard E; Bingel, Ulrike; Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias

2016-10-01

The relationship between glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the living human brain and pain sensitivity is unknown. Combined glutamine/glutamate (Glx), as well as GABA levels can be measured in vivo with single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed at determining whether Glx and/or GABA levels in pain-related brain regions are associated with individual differences in pain sensitivity. Experimental heat, cold, and mechanical pain thresholds were obtained from 39 healthy, drug-free individuals (25 men) according to the quantitative sensory testing protocol and summarized into 1 composite measure of pain sensitivity. The Glx levels were measured using point-resolved spectroscopy at 3 T, within a network of pain-associated brain regions comprising the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, the mid-cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the thalamus. GABA levels were measured using GABA-edited spectroscopy (Mescher-Garwood point-resolved spectroscopy) within the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the mid-cingulate cortex. Glx and/or GABA levels correlated positively across all brain regions. Gender, weekly alcohol consumption, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with Glx and/or GABA levels. A linear regression analysis including all these factors indicated that Glx levels pooled across pain-related brain regions were positively associated with pain sensitivity, whereas no appreciable relationship with GABA was found. In sum, we show that the levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and its precursor glutamine across pain-related brain regions are positively correlated with individual pain sensitivity. Future studies will have to determine whether our findings also apply to clinical populations.

Knock-In Mice with NOP-eGFP Receptors Identify Receptor Cellular and Regional Localization.

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Ozawa, Akihiko; Brunori, Gloria; Mercatelli, Daniela; Wu, Jinhua; Cippitelli, Andrea; Zou, Bende; Xie, Xinmin Simon; Williams, Melissa; Zaveri, Nurulain T; Low, Sarah; Scherrer, Grégory; Kieffer, Brigitte L; Toll, Lawrence

2015-08-19

The nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOP) receptor, the fourth member of the opioid receptor family, is involved in many processes common to the opioid receptors including pain and drug abuse. To better characterize receptor location and trafficking, knock-in mice were created by inserting the gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) into the NOP receptor gene (Oprl1) and producing mice expressing a functional NOP-eGFP C-terminal fusion in place of the native NOP receptor. The NOP-eGFP receptor was present in brain of homozygous knock-in animals in concentrations somewhat higher than in wild-type mice and was functional when tested for stimulation of [(35)S]GTPγS binding in vitro and in patch-clamp electrophysiology in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons and hippocampal slices. Inhibition of morphine analgesia was equivalent when tested in knock-in and wild-type mice. Imaging revealed detailed neuroanatomy in brain, spinal cord, and DRG and was generally consistent with in vitro autoradiographic imaging of receptor location. Multicolor immunohistochemistry identified cells coexpressing various spinal cord and DRG cellular markers, as well as coexpression with μ-opioid receptors in DRG and brain regions. Both in tissue slices and primary cultures, the NOP-eGFP receptors appear throughout the cell body and in processes. These knock-in mice have NOP receptors that function both in vitro and in vivo and appear to be an exceptional tool to study receptor neuroanatomy and correlate with NOP receptor function. The NOP receptor, the fourth member of the opioid receptor family, is involved in pain, drug abuse, and a number of other CNS processes. The regional and cellular distribution has been difficult to determine due to lack of validated antibodies for immunohistochemical analysis. To provide a new tool for the investigation of receptor localization, we have produced knock-in mice with a fluorescent-tagged NOP receptor in place of the native NOP receptor. These

Regional differences in gene expression and promoter usage in aged human brains

KAUST Repository

Pardo, Luba M.

2013-02-19

To characterize the promoterome of caudate and putamen regions (striatum), frontal and temporal cortices, and hippocampi from aged human brains, we used high-throughput cap analysis of gene expression to profile the transcription start sites and to quantify the differences in gene expression across the 5 brain regions. We also analyzed the extent to which methylation influenced the observed expression profiles. We sequenced more than 71 million cap analysis of gene expression tags corresponding to 70,202 promoter regions and 16,888 genes. More than 7000 transcripts were differentially expressed, mainly because of differential alternative promoter usage. Unexpectedly, 7% of differentially expressed genes were neurodevelopmental transcription factors. Functional pathway analysis on the differentially expressed genes revealed an overrepresentation of several signaling pathways (e.g., fibroblast growth factor and wnt signaling) in hippocampus and striatum. We also found that although 73% of methylation signals mapped within genes, the influence of methylation on the expression profile was small. Our study underscores alternative promoter usage as an important mechanism for determining the regional differences in gene expression at old age.

Altered relationships between rCBF in different brain regions of never-treated schizophrenics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabri, O.; Schreckenberger, M.; Cremerius, U.; Dickmann, C.; Schulz, G.; Zimny, M.; Buell, U.; Erkwoh, R.; Owega, A.; Sass, H.

1997-01-01

Aim of this study was to investigate the relations between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of different brain regions in acute schizophrenia and following neuroleptic treatment. Methods: Twenty-two never-treated, acute schizophrenic patients were examined with HMPAO brain SPECT and assessed psychopathologically, and reexamined following neuroleptic treatment (over 96.8 days) and psychopathological remission. rCBF was determined by region/cerebellar count quotients obtained from 98 irregular regions of interest (ROIs), summed up to 11 ROIs on each hemisphere. In acute schizophrenics, interregional rCBF correlations of each ROI to every other ROI were compared to the interregional correlations following neuroleptic treatment and to those of controls. Results: All significant correlations of rCBF ratios of different brain regions were exclusively positive in controls and patients. In controls, all ROIs of one hemisphere except the mesial temporal ROI correlated significantly to its contralateral ROI. Each hemisphere showed significant frontal-temporal correlations, as well as cortical-subcortical and some cortico-limbic. In contrast, in acute schizophrenics nearly every ROI correlated significantly with every other ROI, without a grouping or relation of the rCBF of certain ROIs as in controls. After neuroleptic treatment and clinical improvement, this diffuse pattern of correlations remained. Conclusions: These results indicate differences in the neuronal interplay between regions in schizophrenic and healthy subjects. In nevertreated schizophrenics, diffuse interregional rCBF correlations can be seen as a sign of change and dysfunction of the systems regulating specificity and diversity of the neuronal functions. Neuroleptic therapy and psychopathologic remission showed no normalizing effect on interregional correlations. (orig.) [de

Main effect and interactions of brain regions and gender in the calculation of volumetric asymmetry indices in healthy human brains: ANCOVA analyses of in vivo 3T MRI data.

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Roldan-Valadez, Ernesto; Rios, Camilo; Suarez-May, Marcela A; Favila, Rafel; Aguilar-Castañeda, Erika

2013-12-01

Macroanatomical right-left hemispheric differences in the brain are termed asymmetries, although there is no clear information on the global influence of gender and brain-regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the main effects and interactions of these variables on the measurement of volumetric asymmetry indices (VAIs). Forty-seven healthy young-adult volunteers (23 males, 24 females) agreed to undergo brain magnetic resonance imaging in a 3T scanner. Image post processing using voxel-based volumetry allowed the calculation of 54 VAIs from the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes, limbic system, basal ganglia, and cerebellum for each cerebral hemisphere. Multivariate ANCOVA analysis calculated the main effects and interactions on VAIs of gender and brain regions controlling the effect of age. The only significant finding was the main effect of brain regions (F (6, 9373.605) 44.369, P gender and brain regions (F (6, 50.517) .239, P = .964). Volumetric asymmetries are present across all brain regions, with larger values found in the limbic system and parietal lobe. The absence of a significant influence of gender and age in the evaluation of the numerous measurements generated by multivariate analyses in this study should not discourage researchers to report and interpret similar results, as this topic still deserves further assessment. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Age- and gender-related regional variations of human brain cortical thickness, complexity, and gradient in the third decade.

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Creze, Maud; Versheure, Leslie; Besson, Pierre; Sauvage, Chloe; Leclerc, Xavier; Jissendi-Tchofo, Patrice

2014-06-01

Brain functional and cytoarchitectural maturation continue until adulthood, but little is known about the evolution of the regional pattern of cortical thickness (CT), complexity (CC), and intensity or gradient (CG) in young adults. We attempted to detect global and regional age- and gender-related variations of brain CT, CC, and CG, in 28 healthy young adults (19-33 years) using a three-dimensional T1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging sequence and surface-based methods. Whole brain interindividual variations of CT and CG were similar to that in the literature. As a new finding, age- and gender-related variations significantly affected brain complexity (P gender), all in the right hemisphere. Regions of interest analyses showed age and gender significant interaction (P left inferior parietal. In addition, we found significant inverse correlations between CT and CC and between CT and CG over the whole brain and markedly in precentral and occipital areas. Our findings differ in details from previous reports and may correlate with late brain maturation and learning plasticity in young adults' brain in the third decade. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Specific Regional and Age-Related Small Noncoding RNA Expression Patterns Within Superior Temporal Gyrus of Typical Human Brains Are Less Distinct in Autism Brains.

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Stamova, Boryana; Ander, Bradley P; Barger, Nicole; Sharp, Frank R; Schumann, Cynthia M

2015-12-01

Small noncoding RNAs play a critical role in regulating messenger RNA throughout brain development and when altered could have profound effects leading to disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We assessed small noncoding RNAs, including microRNA and small nucleolar RNA, in superior temporal sulcus association cortex and primary auditory cortex in typical and ASD brains from early childhood to adulthood. Typical small noncoding RNA expression profiles were less distinct in ASD, both between regions and changes with age. Typical micro-RNA coexpression associations were absent in ASD brains. miR-132, miR-103, and miR-320 micro-RNAs were dysregulated in ASD and have previously been associated with autism spectrum disorders. These diminished region- and age-related micro-RNA expression profiles are in line with previously reported findings of attenuated messenger RNA and long noncoding RNA in ASD brain. This study demonstrates alterations in superior temporal sulcus in ASD, a region implicated in social impairment, and is the first to demonstrate molecular alterations in the primary auditory cortex. © The Author(s) 2015.

Regional brain glucose use in unstressed rats after two days of starvation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mans, A.M.; Davis, D.W.; Hawkins, R.A.

1987-01-01

Regional brain glucose use was measured in conscious, unrestrained, fed rats and after 2 days of starvation, using quantitative autoradiography and [6- 14 C]glucose. Plasma glucose, lactate, and ketone body concentrations and brain glucose and lactate content were measured in separate groups of rats. Glucose concentrations were lower in starved rats in both plasma and brain; plasma ketone body concentrations were elevated. Glucose use was found to be lower throughout the brain by about 12%. While some areas seemed to be affected more than others, statistical analysis showed that none were exceptionally different. The results could not be explained by increased loss of 14 C as lactate or pyruvate during the experimental period, because the arteriovenous differences of these species were insignificant. The calculated contribution by ketone bodies to the total energy consumption was between 3 and 9% for the brain as a whole in the starved rats and could, therefore, partially account for the depression seen in glucose use. It was concluded that glucose oxidation is slightly depressed throughout the brain after 2 days of starvation

Deficits in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow on Brain SPECT Predict Treatment Resistant Depression.

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Amen, Daniel G; Taylor, Derek V; Meysami, Somayeh; Raji, Cyrus A

2018-03-22

Depression remains an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, yet few neuroimaging biomarkers are available to identify treatment response in depression. To analyze and compare functional perfusion neuroimaging in persons with treatment resistant depression (TRD) compared to those experiencing full remission. A total of 951 subjects from a community psychiatry cohort were scanned with perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain in both resting and task related settings. Of these, 78% experienced either full remission (n = 506) or partial remission (n = 237) and 11% were minimally responsive (n = 103) or non-responsive (11%. n = 106). Severity of depression symptoms were used to define these groups with changes in the Beck Depression Inventory prior to and following treatment. Voxel-based analyses of brain SPECT images from full remission compared to the worsening group was conducted with the statistical parametric mapping software, version 8 (SPM 8). Multiple comparisons were accounted for with a false discovery rate (p <  0.001). Persons with depression that worsened following treatment had reduced cerebral perfusion compared to full remission in the multiple regions including the bilateral frontal lobes, right hippocampus, left precuneus, and cerebellar vermis. Such differences were observed on both resting and concentration SPECT scans. Our findings identify imaging-based biomarkers in persons with depression related to treatment response. These findings have implications in understanding both depression to prognosis and its role as a risk factor for dementia.

Protein profiles of serum, brain regions and hypophyses of pubertal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effects of dietary fumonisin B1 (FB1 ), a toxin produced mainly by Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum that grow on maize worldwide, on protein profiles of serum, brain regions and hypophyses were studied in 24 male Large White weanling pigs randomly divided into four groups (n = 6). In a completely ...

Financial literacy is associated with medial brain region functional connectivity in old age.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, S Duke; Boyle, Patricia A; Yu, Lei; Fleischman, Debra A; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Leurgans, Sue; Bennett, David A

2014-01-01

Financial literacy refers to the ability to access and utilize financial information in ways that promote better outcomes. In old age, financial literacy has been associated with a wide range of positive characteristics; however, the neural correlates remain unclear. Recent work has suggested greater co-activity between anterior-posterior medial brain regions is associated with better brain functioning. We hypothesized financial literacy would be associated with this pattern. We assessed whole-brain functional connectivity to a posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) seed region of interest (ROI) in 138 participants of the Rush Memory and Aging Project. Results revealed financial literacy was associated with greater functional connectivity between the PCC and three regions: the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the left postcentral gyrus, and the right precuneus. Results also revealed financial literacy was associated negatively with functional connectivity between the PCC and left caudate. Post hoc analyses showed the PCC-vmPFC relationship accounted for the most variance in a regression model adjusted for all four significant functional connectivity relationships, demographic factors, and global cognition. These findings provide information on the neural mechanisms associated with financial literacy in old age. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cortical region of interest definition on SPECT brain images using X-ray CT registration

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Tzourio, N.; Sutton, D. (Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Orsay (France). Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot); Joliot, M. (Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Orsay (France). Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot INSERM, Orsay (France)); Mazoyer, B.M. (Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Orsay (France). Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot Antenne d' Information Medicale, C.H.U. Bichat, Paris (France)); Charlot, V. (Hopital Louis Mourier, Colombes (France). Service de Psychiatrie); Salamon, G. (CHU La Timone, Marseille (France). Service de Neuroradiologie)

1992-11-01

We present a method for brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) analysis based on individual registration of anatomical (CT) and functional ([sup 133]Xe regional cerebral blood flow) images and on the definition of three-dimensional functional regions of interest. Registration of CT and SPECT is performed through adjustment of CT-defined cortex limits to the SPECT image. Regions are defined by sectioning a cortical ribbon on the CT images, copied over the SPECT images and pooled through slices to give 3D cortical regions of interest. The proposed method shows good intra- and interobserver reproducibility (regional intraclass correlation coefficient [approx equal]0.98), and good accuracy in terms of repositioning ([approx equal]3.5 mm) as compared to the SPECT image resolution (14 mm). The method should be particularly useful for analysing SPECT studies when variations in brain anatomy (normal or abnormal) must be accounted for. (orig.).

Region-specific maturation of cerebral cortex in human fetal brain: diffusion tensor imaging and histology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trivedi, Richa; Gupta, Rakesh K.; Saksena, Sona; Husain, Nuzhat; Srivastava, Savita; Rathore, Ram K.S.; Sarma, Manoj K.; Malik, Gyanendra K.; Das, Vinita; Pradhan, Mandakini; Pandey, Chandra M.; Narayana, Ponnada A.

2009-01-01

In this study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemical analysis in different cortical regions in fetal brains at different gestational age (GA) were performed. DTI was performed on 50 freshly aborted fetal brains with GA ranging from 12 to 42 weeks to compare age-related fractional anisotropy (FA) changes in different cerebral cortical regions that include frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes at the level of thalami. GFAP immunostaining was performed and the percentage of GFAP-positive areas was quantified. The cortical FA values in the frontal lobe peaked at around 26 weeks of GA, occipital and temporal lobes at around 20 weeks, and parietal lobe at around 23 weeks. A significant, but modest, positive correlation (r=0.31, p=0.02) was observed between cortical FA values and percentage area of GFAP expression in cortical region around the time period during which the migrational events are at its peak, i.e., GA ≤ 28 weeks for frontal cortical region and GA≤22 weeks for rest of the lobes. The DTI-derived FA quantification with its GFAP immunohistologic correlation in cortical regions of the various lobes of the cerebral hemispheres supports region-specific migrational and maturational events in human fetal brain. (orig.)

Region-specific maturation of cerebral cortex in human fetal brain: diffusion tensor imaging and histology

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Trivedi, Richa; Gupta, Rakesh K.; Saksena, Sona [Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Lucknow, UP (India); Husain, Nuzhat; Srivastava, Savita [CSM Medical University, Department of Pathology, Lucknow (India); Rathore, Ram K.S.; Sarma, Manoj K. [Indian Institute of Technology, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Kanpur (India); Malik, Gyanendra K. [CSM Medical University, Department of Pediatrics, Lucknow (India); Das, Vinita [CSM Medical University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lucknow (India); Pradhan, Mandakini [Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Genetics, Lucknow (India); Pandey, Chandra M. [Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Biostatistics, Lucknow (India); Narayana, Ponnada A. [University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, Houston, TX (United States)

2009-09-15

In this study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemical analysis in different cortical regions in fetal brains at different gestational age (GA) were performed. DTI was performed on 50 freshly aborted fetal brains with GA ranging from 12 to 42 weeks to compare age-related fractional anisotropy (FA) changes in different cerebral cortical regions that include frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes at the level of thalami. GFAP immunostaining was performed and the percentage of GFAP-positive areas was quantified. The cortical FA values in the frontal lobe peaked at around 26 weeks of GA, occipital and temporal lobes at around 20 weeks, and parietal lobe at around 23 weeks. A significant, but modest, positive correlation (r=0.31, p=0.02) was observed between cortical FA values and percentage area of GFAP expression in cortical region around the time period during which the migrational events are at its peak, i.e., GA {<=} 28 weeks for frontal cortical region and GA{<=}22 weeks for rest of the lobes. The DTI-derived FA quantification with its GFAP immunohistologic correlation in cortical regions of the various lobes of the cerebral hemispheres supports region-specific migrational and maturational events in human fetal brain. (orig.)

Amygdala-enriched genes identified by microarray technology are restricted to specific amygdaloid subnuclei

OpenAIRE

Zirlinger, M.; Kreiman, Gabriel; Anderson, D. J.

2001-01-01

Microarray technology represents a potentially powerful method for identifying cell type- and regionally restricted genes expressed in the brain. Here we have combined a microarray analysis of differential gene expression among five selected brain regions, including the amygdala, cerebellum, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, and periaqueductal gray, with in situ hybridization. On average, 0.3% of the 34,000 genes interrogated were highly enriched in each of the five regions...

Metabolic enhancer piracetam attenuates rotenone induced oxidative stress: a study in different rat brain regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Dinesh Kumar; Joshi, Neeraj; Raju, Kunumuri Sivarama; Wahajuddin, Muhammad; Singh, Rama Kant; Singh, Sarika

2015-01-01

Piracetam is clinically being used nootropic drug but the details of its neuroprotective mechanism are not well studied. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of piracetam on rotenone induced oxidative stress by using both ex vivo and in vivo test systems. Rats were treated with piracetam (600 mg/kg b.w. oral) for seven constitutive days prior to rotenone administration (intracerebroventricular, 12 µg) in rat brain. Rotenone induced oxidative stress was assessed after 1 h and 24 h of rotenone administration. Ex vivo estimations were performed by using two experimental designs. In one experimental design the rat brain homogenate was treated with rotenone (1 mM, 2 mM and 4 mM) and rotenone+piracetam (10 mM) for 1 h. While in second experimental design the rats were pretreated with piracetam for seven consecutive days. On eighth day the rats were sacrificed, brain homogenate was prepared and treated with rotenone (1 mM, 2 mM and 4mM) for 1h. After treatment the glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were estimated in brain homogenate. In vivo study showed that pretreatment of piracetam offered significant protection against rotenone induced decreased GSH and increased MDA level though the protection was region specific. But the co-treatment of piracetam with rotenone did not offer significant protection against rotenone induced oxidative stress in ex vivo study. Whereas ex vivo experiments in rat brain homogenate of piracetam pretreated rats, showed the significant protection against rotenone induced oxidative stress. Findings indicated that pretreatment of piracetam significantly attenuated the rotenone induced oxidative stress though the protection was region specific. Piracetam treatment to rats led to its absorption and accumulation in different brain regions as assessed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. In conclusion, study indicates the piracetam is able to enhance the antioxidant capacity in brain cells

Mapping the regional influence of genetics on brain structure variability--a tensor-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, Caroline C; Leporé, Natasha; Pennec, Xavier; Lee, Agatha D; Barysheva, Marina; Madsen, Sarah K; Avedissian, Christina; Chou, Yi-Yu; de Zubicaray, Greig I; McMahon, Katie L; Wright, Margaret J; Toga, Arthur W; Thompson, Paul M

2009-10-15

Genetic and environmental factors influence brain structure and function profoundly. The search for heritable anatomical features and their influencing genes would be accelerated with detailed 3D maps showing the degree to which brain morphometry is genetically determined. As part of an MRI study that will scan 1150 twins, we applied Tensor-Based Morphometry to compute morphometric differences in 23 pairs of identical twins and 23 pairs of same-sex fraternal twins (mean age: 23.8+/-1.8 SD years). All 92 twins' 3D brain MRI scans were nonlinearly registered to a common space using a Riemannian fluid-based warping approach to compute volumetric differences across subjects. A multi-template method was used to improve volume quantification. Vector fields driving each subject's anatomy onto the common template were analyzed to create maps of local volumetric excesses and deficits relative to the standard template. Using a new structural equation modeling method, we computed the voxelwise proportion of variance in volumes attributable to additive (A) or dominant (D) genetic factors versus shared environmental (C) or unique environmental factors (E). The method was also applied to various anatomical regions of interest (ROIs). As hypothesized, the overall volumes of the brain, basal ganglia, thalamus, and each lobe were under strong genetic control; local white matter volumes were mostly controlled by common environment. After adjusting for individual differences in overall brain scale, genetic influences were still relatively high in the corpus callosum and in early-maturing brain regions such as the occipital lobes, while environmental influences were greater in frontal brain regions that have a more protracted maturational time-course.

Regional cerebral blood flow and brain atrophy in senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, Kazunori; Kobayashi, Shoutai; Yamaguchi, Shuhei; Kitani, Mituhiro; Tsunematsu, Tokugoro

1987-01-01

To investigate the relationship between the reduction of cerebal blood flow and brain atrophy in SDAT, these were measured in 13 cases of senile dementia of Alzheimer type, and compared to 15 cases of multi-infarct Dementia, 39 cases of lacunar infarction without dementia (non-demented CVD group) and 69 cases of aged normal control. Brain atrophy was evaluated by two-dimensional method on CT film by digitizer and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured by 133 Xe inhalation method. The degree of brain atrophy in SDAT was almost similar of that of MID. But it was more severe than that of non-demented group. MID showed the lowest rCBF among these groups. SDAT showed significantly lower rCBF than that of aged control, but rCBF in SDAT was equal to that of lacunar stroke without dementia. Focal reduction of cerebral blood flow in bilateral fronto-parietal and left occipital regions were observed in SDAT. Verbal intelligence score (Hasegawa's score) correlated with rCBF and brain atrophy index in MID, and a tendency of correlation between rCBF and brain atrophy in MID was also observed. However, there was no correlation among those indices in SDAT. These findings suggest that the loss of brain substance dose not correspond to the reduction of rCBF in SDAT and simultaneous measurement of rCBF and brain atrophy was useful to differ SDAT from MID. (author)

Glucose metabolism in different regions of the rat brain under hypokinetic stress influence

Science.gov (United States)

Konitzer, K.; Voigt, S.

1980-01-01

Glucose metabolism in rats kept under long term hypokinetic stress was studied in 7 brain regions. Determination was made of the regional levels of glucose, lactate, glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, gamma-aminobutyrate and the incorporation of C-14 from plasma glucose into these metabolites, in glycogen and protein. From the content and activity data the regional glucose flux was approximated quantitatively. Under normal conditions the activity gradient cortex and frontal pole cerebellum, thalamus and mesencephalon, hypothalamus and pons and medulla is identical with that of the regional blood supply (measured with I131 serum albumin as the blood marker). Within the first days of immobilization a functional hypoxia occurred in all brain regions and the utilization of cycle amino acids for protein synthesis was strongly diminished. After the first week of stress the capillary volumes of all regions increased, aerobic glucose metabolism was enhanced (factors 1.3 - 2.0) and the incorporation of glucose C-14 via cycle amino acids into protein was considerably potentiated. The metabolic parameters normalized between the 7th and 11th week of stress. Blood supply and metabolic rate increased most in the hypothalamus.

40 CFR 255.10 - Criteria for identifying regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... institutional gaps or inadequacies are found, regions should be identified keeping in mind which agencies would... section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, with underground injection control agencies...

Morphological brain measures of cortico-limbic inhibition related to resilience.

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Gupta, Arpana; Love, Aubrey; Kilpatrick, Lisa A; Labus, Jennifer S; Bhatt, Ravi; Chang, Lin; Tillisch, Kirsten; Naliboff, Bruce; Mayer, Emeran A

2017-09-01

Resilience is the ability to adequately adapt and respond to homeostatic perturbations. Although resilience has been associated with positive health outcomes, the neuro-biological basis of resilience is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to identify associations between regional brain morphology and trait resilience with a focus on resilience-related morphological differences in brain regions involved in cortico-limbic inhibition. The relationship between resilience and measures of affect were also investigated. Forty-eight healthy subjects completed structural MRI scans. Self-reported resilience was measured using the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale. Segmentation and regional parcellation of images was performed to yield a total of 165 regions. Gray matter volume (GMV), cortical thickness, surface area, and mean curvature were calculated for each region. Regression models were used to identify associations between morphology of regions belonging to executive control and emotional arousal brain networks and trait resilience (total and subscales) while controlling for age, sex, and total GMV. Correlations were also conducted between resilience scores and affect scores. Significant associations were found between GM changes in hypothesized brain regions (subparietal sulcus, intraparietal sulcus, amygdala, anterior mid cingulate cortex, and subgenual cingulate cortex) and resilience scores. There were significant positive correlations between resilience and positive affect and negative correlations with negative affect. Resilience was associated with brain morphology of regions involved in cognitive and affective processes related to cortico-limbic inhibition. Brain signatures associated with resilience may be a biomarker of vulnerability to disease. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Repeated verum but not placebo acupuncture normalizes connectivity in brain regions dysregulated in chronic pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Egorova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Acupuncture, an ancient East Asian therapy, is aimed at rectifying the imbalance within the body caused by disease. Studies evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture with neuroimaging tend to concentrate on brain regions within the pain matrix, associated with acute pain. We, however, focused on the effect of repeated acupuncture treatment specifically on brain regions known to support functions dysregulated in chronic pain disorders. Transition to chronic pain is associated with increased attention to pain, emotional rumination, nociceptive memory and avoidance learning, resulting in brain connectivity changes, specifically affecting the periaqueductal gray (PAG, medial frontal cortex (MFC and bilateral hippocampus (Hpc. We demonstrate that the PAG–MFC and PAG–Hpc connectivity in patients with chronic pain due to knee osteoarthritis indeed correlates with clinical severity scores and further show that verum acupuncture-induced improvement in pain scores (compared to sham is related to the modulation of PAG–MFC and PAG–Hpc connectivity in the predicted direction. This study shows that repeated verum acupuncture might act by restoring the balance in the connectivity of the key pain brain regions, altering pain-related attention and memory.

Aging-induced changes in brain regional serotonin receptor binding: Effect of Carnosine.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, S; Poddar, M K

2016-04-05

Monoamine neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-HT) has its own specific receptors in both pre- and post-synapse. In the present study the role of carnosine on aging-induced changes of [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding in different brain regions in a rat model was studied. The results showed that during aging (18 and 24 months) the [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding was reduced in hippocampus, hypothalamus and pons-medulla with a decrease in their both Bmax and KD but in cerebral cortex the [(3)H]-5-HT binding was increased with the increase of its only Bmax. The aging-induced changes in [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding with carnosine (2.0 μg/kg/day, intrathecally, for 21 consecutive days) attenuated in (a) 24-month-aged rats irrespective of the brain regions with the attenuation of its Bmax except hypothalamus where both Bmax and KD were significantly attenuated, (b) hippocampus and hypothalamus of 18-month-aged rats with the attenuation of its Bmax, and restored toward the [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding that observed in 4-month-young rats. The decrease in pons-medullary [(3)H]-5-HT binding including its Bmax of 18-month-aged rats was promoted with carnosine without any significant change in its cerebral cortex. The [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding with the same dosages of carnosine in 4-month-young rats (a) increased in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus with the increase in their only Bmax whereas (b) decreased in hypothalamus and pons-medulla with a decrease in their both Bmax and KD. These results suggest that carnosine treatment may (a) play a preventive role in aging-induced brain region-specific changes in serotonergic activity (b) not be worthy in 4-month-young rats in relation to the brain regional serotonergic activity. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain, conscious experience and the observing self

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baars, Bernard J.; Ramsøy, Thomas; Laureys, Steven

2003-01-01

Conscious perception, like the sight of a coffee cup, seems to involve the brain identifying a stimulus. But conscious input activates more brain regions than are needed to identify coffee cups and faces. It spreads beyond sensory cortex to frontoparietal association areas, which do not serve...... as properties of the subject, rather than the object, of experience - the 'observing self' that appears to be needed to maintain the conscious state...

Brain development in rodents and humans: Identifying benchmarks of maturation and vulnerability to injury across species

Science.gov (United States)

Semple, Bridgette D.; Blomgren, Klas; Gimlin, Kayleen; Ferriero, Donna M.; Noble-Haeusslein, Linda J.

2013-01-01

Hypoxic-ischemic and traumatic brain injuries are leading causes of long-term mortality and disability in infants and children. Although several preclinical models using rodents of different ages have been developed, species differences in the timing of key brain maturation events can render comparisons of vulnerability and regenerative capacities difficult to interpret. Traditional models of developmental brain injury have utilized rodents at postnatal day 7–10 as being roughly equivalent to a term human infant, based historically on the measurement of post-mortem brain weights during the 1970s. Here we will examine fundamental brain development processes that occur in both rodents and humans, to delineate a comparable time course of postnatal brain development across species. We consider the timing of neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, gliogenesis, oligodendrocyte maturation and age-dependent behaviors that coincide with developmentally regulated molecular and biochemical changes. In general, while the time scale is considerably different, the sequence of key events in brain maturation is largely consistent between humans and rodents. Further, there are distinct parallels in regional vulnerability as well as functional consequences in response to brain injuries. With a focus on developmental hypoxicischemic encephalopathy and traumatic brain injury, this review offers guidelines for researchers when considering the most appropriate rodent age for the developmental stage or process of interest to approximate human brain development. PMID:23583307

Brain metabolism in patients with freezing of gait after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Seo Yeon; Lee, Sang Chul; Kim, Na Young; An, Young-Sil; Kim, Yong Wook

2017-11-01

Movement disorders are 1 of the long-term neurological complications that can occur after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI). However, freezing of gait (FOG) after HIBI is rare. The aim of this study was to examine the brain metabolism of patients with FOG after HIBI using F-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (F-18 FDG PET).We consecutively enrolled 11 patients with FOG after HIBI. The patients' overall brain metabolism was measured by F-18 FDG PET, and we compared their regional brain metabolic activity with that from 15 healthy controls using a voxel-by-voxel-based statistical mapping analysis. Additionally, we correlated each patient's FOG severity with the brain metabolism using a covariance analysis.Patients with FOG had significantly decreased brain glucose metabolism in the midbrain, bilateral thalamus, bilateral cingulate gyri, right supramarginal gyrus, right angular gyrus, right paracentral lobule, and left precentral gyrus (PFDR-corrected brain metabolism were noted in patients with FOG. The covariance analysis identified significant correlations between the FOG severity and the brain metabolism in the right lingual gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, and bilateral cerebellar crus I (Puncorrected brain regions in the gait-related neural network, including the cerebral cortex, subcortical structures, brainstem, and cerebellum, may significantly contribute to the development of FOG in HIBI. Moreover, the FOG severity may be associated with the visual cortex and cerebellar regions.

Regional amino acid transport into brain during diabetes: Effect of plasma amino acids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mans, A.M.; DeJoseph, M.R.; Davis, D.W.; Hawkins, R.A.

1987-01-01

Transport of phenylalanine and lysine into the brain was measured in 4-wk streptozotocin-diabetic rats to assess the effect on the neutral and basic amino acid transport systems at the blood-brain barrier. Amino acid concentrations in plasma and brain were also measured. Regional permeability-times-surface area (PS) products and influx were determined using a continuous infusion method and quantitative autoradiography. The PS of phenylalanine was decreased by an average of 40% throughout the entire brain. Influx was depressed by 35%. The PS of lysine was increased by an average of 44%, but the influx was decreased by 27%. Several plasma neutral amino acids (branched chain) were increased, whereas all basic amino acids were decreased. Brain tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, methionine, and lysine contents were markedly decreased. The transport changes were almost entirely accounted for by the alterations in the concentrations of the plasma amino acids that compete for the neutral and basic amino acid carriers. The reduced influx could be responsible for the low brain content of some essential amino acids, with possibly deleterious consequences for brain functions

Behavioral stress alters corticolimbic microglia in a sex- and brain region-specific manner.

Science.gov (United States)

Bollinger, Justin L; Collins, Kaitlyn E; Patel, Rushi; Wellman, Cara L

2017-01-01

Women are more susceptible to numerous stress-linked psychological disorders (e.g., depression) characterized by dysfunction of corticolimbic brain regions critical for emotion regulation and cognitive function. Although sparsely investigated, a number of studies indicate sex differences in stress effects on neuronal structure, function, and behaviors associated with these regions. We recently demonstrated a basal sex difference in- and differential effects of stress on- microglial activation in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The resident immune cells of the brain, microglia are implicated in synaptic and dendritic plasticity, and cognitive-behavioral function. Here, we examined the effects of acute (3h/day, 1 day) and chronic (3h/day, 10 days) restraint stress on microglial density and morphology, as well as immune factor expression in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and dorsal hippocampus (DHC) in male and female rats. Microglia were visualized, classified based on their morphology, and stereologically counted. Microglia-associated transcripts (CD40, iNOS, Arg1, CX3CL1, CX3CR1, CD200, and CD200R) were assessed in brain punches from each region. Expression of genes linked with cellular stress, neuroimmune state, and neuron-microglia communication varied between unstressed male and female rats in a region-specific manner. In OFC, chronic stress upregulated a wider variety of immune factors in females than in males. Acute stress increased microglia-associated transcripts in BLA in males, whereas chronic stress altered immune factor expression in BLA more broadly in females. In DHC, chronic stress increased immune factor expression in males but not females. Moreover, acute and chronic stress differentially affected microglial morphological activation state in male and female rats across all brain regions investigated. In males, chronic stress altered microglial activation in a pattern consistent with microglial involvement in stress

Behavioral stress alters corticolimbic microglia in a sex- and brain region-specific manner

Science.gov (United States)

Bollinger, Justin L.; Collins, Kaitlyn E.; Patel, Rushi

2017-01-01

Women are more susceptible to numerous stress-linked psychological disorders (e.g., depression) characterized by dysfunction of corticolimbic brain regions critical for emotion regulation and cognitive function. Although sparsely investigated, a number of studies indicate sex differences in stress effects on neuronal structure, function, and behaviors associated with these regions. We recently demonstrated a basal sex difference in- and differential effects of stress on- microglial activation in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The resident immune cells of the brain, microglia are implicated in synaptic and dendritic plasticity, and cognitive-behavioral function. Here, we examined the effects of acute (3h/day, 1 day) and chronic (3h/day, 10 days) restraint stress on microglial density and morphology, as well as immune factor expression in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and dorsal hippocampus (DHC) in male and female rats. Microglia were visualized, classified based on their morphology, and stereologically counted. Microglia-associated transcripts (CD40, iNOS, Arg1, CX3CL1, CX3CR1, CD200, and CD200R) were assessed in brain punches from each region. Expression of genes linked with cellular stress, neuroimmune state, and neuron-microglia communication varied between unstressed male and female rats in a region-specific manner. In OFC, chronic stress upregulated a wider variety of immune factors in females than in males. Acute stress increased microglia-associated transcripts in BLA in males, whereas chronic stress altered immune factor expression in BLA more broadly in females. In DHC, chronic stress increased immune factor expression in males but not females. Moreover, acute and chronic stress differentially affected microglial morphological activation state in male and female rats across all brain regions investigated. In males, chronic stress altered microglial activation in a pattern consistent with microglial involvement in stress

Regional differences in gene expression and promoter usage in aged human brains

KAUST Repository

Pardo, Luba M.; Rizzu, Patrizia; Francescatto, Margherita; Vitezic, Morana; Leday, Gwenaë l G.R.; Sanchez, Javier Simon; Khamis, Abdullah M.; Takahashi, Hazuki; van de Berg, Wilma D.J.; Medvedeva, Yulia A.; van de Wiel, Mark A.; Daub, Carsten O.; Carninci, Piero; Heutink, Peter

2013-01-01

To characterize the promoterome of caudate and putamen regions (striatum), frontal and temporal cortices, and hippocampi from aged human brains, we used high-throughput cap analysis of gene expression to profile the transcription start sites

Reversible and regionally selective downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB1 receptors in chronic daily cannabis smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirvonen, J; Goodwin, R S; Li, C-T; Terry, G E; Zoghbi, S S; Morse, C; Pike, V W; Volkow, N D; Huestis, M A; Innis, R B

2012-06-01

Chronic cannabis (marijuana, hashish) smoking can result in dependence. Rodent studies show reversible downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB(1) (cannabinoid receptor type 1) receptors after chronic exposure to cannabis. However, whether downregulation occurs in humans who chronically smoke cannabis is unknown. Here we show, using positron emission tomography imaging, reversible and regionally selective downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB(1) receptors in human subjects who chronically smoke cannabis. Downregulation correlated with years of cannabis smoking and was selective to cortical brain regions. After ∼4 weeks of continuously monitored abstinence from cannabis on a secure research unit, CB(1) receptor density returned to normal levels. This is the first direct demonstration of cortical cannabinoid CB(1) receptor downregulation as a neuroadaptation that may promote cannabis dependence in human brain.

Brain regions with mirror properties: a meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Molenberghs, Pascal; Cunnington, Ross; Mattingley, Jason B

2012-01-01

Mirror neurons in macaque area F5 fire when an animal performs an action, such as a mouth or limb movement, and also when the animal passively observes an identical or similar action performed by another individual. Brain-imaging studies in humans conducted over the last 20 years have repeatedly attempted to reveal analogous brain regions with mirror properties in humans, with broad and often speculative claims about their functional significance across a range of cognitive domains, from language to social cognition. Despite such concerted efforts, the likely neural substrates of these mirror regions have remained controversial, and indeed the very existence of a distinct subcategory of human neurons with mirroring properties has been questioned. Here we used activation likelihood estimation (ALE), to provide a quantitative index of the consistency of patterns of fMRI activity measured in human studies of action observation and action execution. From an initial sample of more than 300 published works, data from 125 papers met our strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis revealed 14 separate clusters in which activation has been consistently attributed to brain regions with mirror properties, encompassing 9 different Brodmann areas. These clusters were located in areas purported to show mirroring properties in the macaque, such as the inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus and the adjacent ventral premotor cortex, but surprisingly also in regions such as the primary visual cortex, cerebellum and parts of the limbic system. Our findings suggest a core network of human brain regions that possess mirror properties associated with action observation and execution, with additional areas recruited during tasks that engage non-motor functions, such as auditory, somatosensory and affective components. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Age- and Brain Region-Specific Differences in Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in Brown Norway Rats

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Differences in various mitochondrial bioenergetics parameters in different brain regions in different age groups. This dataset is associated with the following...

Regional Brain Shrinkage over Two Years: Individual Differences and Effects of Pro-Inflammatory Genetic Polymorphisms

Science.gov (United States)

Persson, N.; Ghisletta, P.; Dahle, C.L.; Bender, A.R.; Yang, Y.; Yuan, P.; Daugherty, A.M.; Raz, N.

2014-01-01

We examined regional changes in brain volume in healthy adults (N = 167, age 19-79 years at baseline; N = 90 at follow-up) over approximately two years. With latent change score models, we evaluated mean change and individual differences in rates of change in 10 anatomically-defined and manually-traced regions of interest (ROIs): lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), orbital frontal cortex (OF), prefrontal white matter (PFw), hippocampus (HC), parahippocampal gyrus (PhG), caudate nucleus (Cd), putamen (Pt), insula (In), cerebellar hemispheres (CbH), and primary visual cortex (VC). Significant mean shrinkage was observed in the HC, CbH, In, OF, and the PhG, and individual differences in change were noted in all regions, except the OF. Pro-inflammatory genetic variants mediated shrinkage in PhG and CbH. Carriers of two T alleles of interleukin-1β (IL-1βC-511T, rs16944) and a T allele of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFRC677T, rs1801133) polymorphisms showed increased PhG shrinkage. No effects of a pro-inflammatory polymorphism for C-reactive protein (CRP-286C>A>T, rs3091244) or apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 allele were noted. These results replicate the pattern of brain shrinkage observed in previous studies, with a notable exception of the LPFC thus casting doubt on the unique importance of prefrontal cortex in aging. Larger baseline volumes of CbH and In were associated with increased shrinkage, in conflict with the brain reserve hypothesis. Contrary to previous reports, we observed no significant linear effects of age and hypertension on regional brain shrinkage. Our findings warrant further investigation of the effects of neuroinflammation on structural brain change throughout the lifespan. PMID:25264227

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Concurrent Urodynamic Testing Identifies Brain Structures Involved in Micturition Cycle in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khavari, Rose; Karmonik, Christof; Shy, Michael; Fletcher, Sophie; Boone, Timothy

2017-02-01

Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, which is common in patients with multiple sclerosis, has a significant impact on quality of life. In this study we sought to determine brain activity processes during the micturition cycle in female patients with multiple sclerosis and neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. We report brain activity on functional magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous urodynamic testing in 23 ambulatory female patients with multiple sclerosis. Individual functional magnetic resonance imaging activation maps at strong desire to void and at initiation of voiding were calculated and averaged at Montreal Neuroimaging Institute. Areas of significant activation were identified in these average maps. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients with elicitable neurogenic detrusor overactivity or detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. Group analysis of all patients at strong desire to void yielded areas of activation in regions associated with executive function (frontal gyrus), emotional regulation (cingulate gyrus) and motor control (putamen, cerebellum and precuneus). Comparison of the average change in activation between previously reported healthy controls and patients with multiple sclerosis showed predominantly stronger, more focal activation in the former and lower, more diffused activation in the latter. Patients with multiple sclerosis who had demonstrable neurogenic detrusor overactivity and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia showed a trend toward distinct brain activation at full urge and at initiation of voiding respectively. We successfully studied brain activation during the entire micturition cycle in female patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction and multiple sclerosis using a concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging/urodynamic testing platform. Understanding the central neural processes involved in specific parts of micturition in patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction may identify areas

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.

Theory of Mind Performance in Children Correlates with Functional Specialization of a Brain Region for Thinking about Thoughts

Science.gov (United States)

Gweon, Hyowon; Dodell-Feder, David; Bedny, Marina; Saxe, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Thinking about other people's thoughts recruits a specific group of brain regions, including the temporo-parietal junctions (TPJ), precuneus (PC), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The same brain regions were recruited when children (N = 20, 5-11 years) and adults (N = 8) listened to descriptions of characters' mental states, compared to…

Brain Connectivity Networks and the Aesthetic Experience of Music.

Science.gov (United States)

Reybrouck, Mark; Vuust, Peter; Brattico, Elvira

2018-06-12

Listening to music is above all a human experience, which becomes an aesthetic experience when an individual immerses himself/herself in the music, dedicating attention to perceptual-cognitive-affective interpretation and evaluation. The study of these processes where the individual perceives, understands, enjoys and evaluates a set of auditory stimuli has mainly been focused on the effect of music on specific brain structures, as measured with neurophysiology and neuroimaging techniques. The very recent application of network science algorithms to brain research allows an insight into the functional connectivity between brain regions. These studies in network neuroscience have identified distinct circuits that function during goal-directed tasks and resting states. We review recent neuroimaging findings which indicate that music listening is traceable in terms of network connectivity and activations of target regions in the brain, in particular between the auditory cortex, the reward brain system and brain regions active during mind wandering.

Global and regional brain mean diffusivity changes in patients with heart failure.

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Woo, Mary A; Palomares, Jose A; Macey, Paul M; Fonarow, Gregg C; Harper, Ronald M; Kumar, Rajesh

2015-04-01

Heart failure (HF) patients show gray and white matter changes in multiple brain sites, including autonomic and motor coordination areas. It is unclear whether the changes represent acute or chronic tissue pathology, a distinction necessary for understanding pathological processes that can be resolved with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based mean diffusivity (MD) procedures. We collected four DTI series from 16 HF (age 55.1 ± 7.8 years, 12 male) and 26 control (49.7 ± 10.8 years, 17 male) subjects with a 3.0-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. MD maps were realigned, averaged, normalized, and smoothed. Global and regional MD values from autonomic and motor coordination sites were calculated by using normalized MD maps and brain masks; group MD values and whole-brain smoothed MD maps were compared by analysis of covariance (covariates; age and gender). Global brain MD (HF vs. controls, units × 10(-6) mm(2) /sec, 1103.8 ± 76.6 vs. 1035.9 ± 69.4, P = 0.038) and regional autonomic and motor control site values (left insula, 1,085.4 ± 95.7 vs. 975.7 ± 65.4, P = 0.001; right insula, 1,050.2 ± 100.6 vs. 965.7 ± 58.4, P = 0.004; left hypothalamus, 1,419.6 ± 165.2 vs. 1,234.9 ± 136.3, P = 0.002; right hypothalamus, 1,446.5 ± 178.8 vs. 1,273.3 ± 136.9, P = 0.004; left cerebellar cortex, 889.1 ± 81.9 vs. 796.6 ± 46.8, P right cerebellar cortex, 797.8 ± 50.8 vs. 750.3 ± 27.5, P = 0.001; cerebellar deep nuclei, 1,236.1 ± 193.8 vs. 1,071.7 ± 107.1, P = 0.002) were significantly higher in HF vs. control subjects, indicating chronic tissue changes. Whole-brain comparisons showed increased MD values in HF subjects, including limbic, basal-ganglia, thalamic, solitary tract nucleus, frontal, and cerebellar regions. Brain injury occurs in autonomic and motor control areas, which may contribute to deficient function in HF patients. The chronic tissue changes likely

Bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis for identifying systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources from electroencephalographic or magnetoencephalographic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Chella, Federico; Pizzella, Vittorio; Zappasodi, Filippo; Nolte, Guido; Marzetti, Laura

2016-05-01

Brain cognitive functions arise through the coordinated activity of several brain regions, which actually form complex dynamical systems operating at multiple frequencies. These systems often consist of interacting subsystems, whose characterization is of importance for a complete understanding of the brain interaction processes. To address this issue, we present a technique, namely the bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis (biPISA), for analyzing systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources when multichannel electroencephalographic (EEG) or magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data are available. Specifically, the biPISA makes it possible to identify one or many subsystems of cross-frequency interacting sources by decomposing the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra between EEG or MEG signals, based on the assumption that interactions are pairwise. Thanks to the properties of the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra, biPISA is also robust to spurious interactions arising from mixing artifacts, i.e., volume conduction or field spread, which always affect EEG or MEG functional connectivity estimates. This method is an extension of the pairwise interacting source analysis (PISA), which was originally introduced for investigating interactions at the same frequency, to the study of cross-frequency interactions. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated in simulations for up to three interacting source pairs and for real MEG recordings of spontaneous brain activity. Simulations show that the performances of biPISA in estimating the phase difference between the interacting sources are affected by the increasing level of noise rather than by the number of the interacting subsystems. The analysis of real MEG data reveals an interaction between two pairs of sources of central mu and beta rhythms, localizing in the proximity of the left and right central sulci.

Effects of feedborne fusarium mycotoxins on brain regional neurochemistry of turkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Girish, C K; MacDonald, E J; Scheinin, M; Smith, T K

2008-07-01

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on brain regional neurochemistry of turkeys. The possible preventative effect of a poly-meric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent (GMA) was also determined. Forty-five 1-d-old male turkey poults were fed wheat-, corn-, and soybean meal-based diets up to wk 6, formulated with control grains, contaminated grains, or contaminated grains + 0.2% GMA. Deoxynivalenol was the major contaminant, and the concentrations were 2.2 and 3.3 mg/kg of feed during starter and grower phases, respectively. Concentrations of brain monoamine neurotransmitters and metabolites were measured in discrete regions of the brain including the pons, hypothalamus, and cortex by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Neurotransmitters and metabolites analyzed included norepinephrine, dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). The concentration of 5-HIAA and the 5-HIAA:5-HT-ratio were significantly decreased in pons after feeding contaminated grains. Dietary supplementation with GMA prevented these effects. In the pons, a significant positive correlation (r = 0.52, P effects on the concentrations of neurotransmitters and metabolites in hypothalamus and cortex. It was concluded that consumption of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins adversely altered the pons serotonergic system of turkeys. Supplementation with GMA partially inhibited these effects.

Regional distribution of TL-201 in the brain and spinal cord after injection into the cerebrospinal fluid: Imaging of brain tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, D.V.; Rubertone, J.; Vincent, S.; Brady, L.W. Jr.

1986-01-01

Radiotracers are typically employed to evaluate the brain ventricular space; however, there are no agents designed to be taken up into specific neuronal regions after injection into the cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). The authors report studies in which T1-201 was stereotaxically administered into the lateral or fourth ventricles of Sprague-Dawley rats. Brains were removed (n = 42) 2-6 hours after injection and sectioned for apposition to autoradiographic film. Specific uptake was observed in active neurons of the diencephalon, mesencephalon, cerebellum, brain stem, and spinal gray matter. Astrocytoma cell implants into the caudate nucleus of Sprague-Dawley rats induced histologically confirmed brain tumors (n = 5). Significant localization of T1-201 was observed in the tumor 4 hours after injection into the lateral ventricle. These findings suggest that T1-201 may be useful for delineating specific neuronal function via CSF circulation and for imaging actively growing brain tumors

Brain region's relative proximity as marker for Alzheimer's disease based on structural MRI

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erleben, Lene Lillemark; Sørensen, Lauge Emil; Pai, Akshay Sadananda Uppinakudru

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disease and the most common type of dementia. It cannot be prevented, cured or drastically slowed, even though AD research has increased in the past 5-10 years. Instead of focusing on the brain volume or on the single...... brain structures like hippocampus, this paper investigates the relationship and proximity between regions in the brain and uses this information as a novel way of classifying normal control (NC), mild cognitive impaired (MCI), and AD subjects.METHODS:A longitudinal cohort of 528 subjects (170 NC, 240...... to whole brain and hippocampus volume.RESULTS:We found that both our markers was able to significantly classify the subjects. The surface connectivity marker showed the best results with an area under the curve (AUC) at 0.877 (p...

Types of traumatic brain injury and regional cerebral blood flow assessed by 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamakami, I; Yamaura, A; Isobe, K

1993-01-01

To investigate the relationship between focal and diffuse traumatic brain injury (TBI) and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), rCBF changes in the first 24 hours post-trauma were studied in 12 severe head trauma patients using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 99mtechnetium-hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime. Patients were classified as focal or diffuse TBI based on x-ray computed tomographic (X-CT) findings and neurological signs. In six patients with focal damage, SPECT demonstrated 1) perfusion defect (focal severe ischemia) in the brain region larger than the brain contusion by X-CT, 2) hypoperfusion (focal CBF reduction) in the brain region without abnormality by X-CT, and 3) localized hyperperfusion (focal CBF increase) in the surgically decompressed brain after decompressive craniectomy. Focal damage may be associated with a heterogeneous CBF change by causing various focal CBF derangements. In six patients with diffuse damage, SPECT revealed hypoperfusion in only one patient. Diffuse damage may be associated with a homogeneous CBF change by rarely causing focal CBF derangements. The type of TBI, focal or diffuse, determines the type of CBF change, heterogeneous or homogeneous, in the acute severe head trauma patient.

Types of traumatic brain injury and regional cerebral blood flow assessed by 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamakami, Iwao; Yamaura, Akira; Isobe, Katsumi

1993-01-01

To investigate the relationship between focal and diffuse traumatic brain injury (TBI) and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), rCBF changes in the first 24 hours post-trauma were studied in 12 severe head trauma patients using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 99m technetium-hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime (HMPAO). Patients were classified as focal or diffuse TBI based on x-ray computed tomographic (X-CT) findings and neurological signs. In six patients with focal damage, SPECT demonstrated: 1) perfusion defect (focal severe ischemia) in the brain region larger than the brain contusion by X-CT, 2) hypoperfusion (focal CBF reduction) in the brain region without abnormality by X-CT, and 3) localized hyperperfusion (focal CBF increase) in the surgically decompressed brain after decompressive craniectomy. Focal damage may be associated with a heterogeneous CBF change by causing various focal CBF derangements. In six patients with diffuse damage, SPECT revealed hypoperfusion in only one patient. Diffuse damage may be associated with a homogeneous CBF change by rarely causing focal CBF derangements. The type of TBI, focal or diffuse, determines the type of CBF change, heterogeneous or homogeneous, in the acute severe head trauma patient. (author)

Machine Learning Classification of Cirrhotic Patients with and without Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy Based on Regional Homogeneity of Intrinsic Brain Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qiu-Feng; Chen, Hua-Jun; Liu, Jun; Sun, Tao; Shen, Qun-Tai

2016-01-01

Machine learning-based approaches play an important role in examining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in a multivariate manner and extracting features predictive of group membership. This study was performed to assess the potential for measuring brain intrinsic activity to identify minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in cirrhotic patients, using the support vector machine (SVM) method. Resting-state fMRI data were acquired in 16 cirrhotic patients with MHE and 19 cirrhotic patients without MHE. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) method was used to investigate the local synchrony of intrinsic brain activity. Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) was used to define MHE condition. SVM-classifier was then applied using leave-one-out cross-validation, to determine the discriminative ReHo-map for MHE. The discrimination map highlights a set of regions, including the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insular cortex, inferior parietal lobule, precentral and postcentral gyri, superior and medial temporal cortices, and middle and inferior occipital gyri. The optimized discriminative model showed total accuracy of 82.9% and sensitivity of 81.3%. Our results suggested that a combination of the SVM approach and brain intrinsic activity measurement could be helpful for detection of MHE in cirrhotic patients.

Brain regional distributions of the minor and trace elements, Na, Mg, Cl, K, Mn, Zn, Rb and Br, in young and aged mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amano, R.; Oishi, S.; Ishie, M.; Kimura, M.

2001-01-01

Brain regional cerebral concentrations of minor and trace elements, Na, Mg, Cl, K, Mn, Zn, Rb and Br were determined in young and aged mice, by instrumental neutron activation analysis for small amounts of regional (corpus striatum, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, midbrain, pons and medulla olfactory bulb) samples. Significant age-related differences were found for Mn concentration in all brain regions: The Mn concentration of the young brain was higher than those of aged brain, in addition, Zn was distributed heterogeneously, and highly concentrated in cerebral cortex and hippocampus regions in both young and aged mice. These results suggest that, in the aged brain, Mn is required less than in the young brain, on the other hand, Zn is required equally in both young and aged brains. (author)

Using Spatial Semantics and Interactions to Identify Urban Functional Regions

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Yandong Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The spatial structures of cities have changed dramatically with rapid socio-economic development in ways that are not well understood. To support urban structural analysis and rational planning, we propose a framework to identify urban functional regions and quantitatively explore the intensity of the interactions between them, thus increasing the understanding of urban structures. A method for the identification of functional regions via spatial semantics is proposed, which involves two steps: (1 the study area is classified into three types of functional regions using taxi origin/destination (O/D flows; and (2 the spatial semantics for the three types of functional regions are demonstrated based on point-of-interest (POI categories. To validate the existence of urban functional regions, we explored the intensity of interactions quantitatively between them. A case study using POI data and taxi trajectory data from Beijing validates the proposed framework. The results show that the proposed framework can be used to identify urban functional regions and promotes an enhanced understanding of urban structures.

High-resolution temporal and regional mapping of MAPT expression and splicing in human brain development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hefti, Marco M; Farrell, Kurt; Kim, SoongHo; Bowles, Kathryn R; Fowkes, Mary E; Raj, Towfique; Crary, John F

2018-01-01

The microtubule associated protein tau plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. Recent studies suggest that tau also plays a role in disorders of neuronal connectivity, including epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. Animal studies have shown that the MAPT gene, which codes for the tau protein, undergoes complex pre-mRNA alternative splicing to produce multiple isoforms during brain development. Human data, particularly on temporal and regional variation in tau splicing during development are however lacking. In this study, we present the first detailed examination of the temporal and regional sequence of MAPT alternative splicing in the developing human brain. We used a novel computational analysis of large transcriptomic datasets (total n = 502 patients), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blotting to examine tau expression and splicing in post-mortem human fetal, pediatric and adult brains. We found that MAPT exons 2 and 10 undergo abrupt shifts in expression during the perinatal period that are unique in the canonical human microtubule-associated protein family, while exon 3 showed small but significant temporal variation. Tau isoform expression may be a marker of neuronal maturation, temporally correlated with the onset of axonal growth. Immature brain regions such as the ganglionic eminence and rhombic lip had very low tau expression, but within more mature regions, there was little variation in tau expression or splicing. We thus demonstrate an abrupt, evolutionarily conserved shift in tau isoform expression during the human perinatal period that may be due to tau expression in maturing neurons. Alternative splicing of the MAPT pre-mRNA may play a vital role in normal brain development across multiple species and provides a basis for future investigations into the developmental and pathological functions of the tau protein.

Dynamic brain glucose metabolism identifies anti-correlated cortical-cerebellar networks at rest.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomasi, Dardo G; Shokri-Kojori, Ehsan; Wiers, Corinde E; Kim, Sunny W; Demiral, Şukru B; Cabrera, Elizabeth A; Lindgren, Elsa; Miller, Gregg; Wang, Gene-Jack; Volkow, Nora D

2017-12-01

It remains unclear whether resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) networks are associated with underlying synchrony in energy demand, as measured by dynamic 2-deoxy-2-[ 18 F]fluoroglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). We measured absolute glucose metabolism, temporal metabolic connectivity (t-MC) and rfMRI patterns in 53 healthy participants at rest. Twenty-two rfMRI networks emerged from group independent component analysis (gICA). In contrast, only two anti-correlated t-MC emerged from FDG-PET time series using gICA or seed-voxel correlations; one included frontal, parietal and temporal cortices, the other included the cerebellum and medial temporal regions. Whereas cerebellum, thalamus, globus pallidus and calcarine cortex arose as the strongest t-MC hubs, the precuneus and visual cortex arose as the strongest rfMRI hubs. The strength of the t-MC linearly increased with the metabolic rate of glucose suggesting that t-MC measures are strongly associated with the energy demand of the brain tissue, and could reflect regional differences in glucose metabolism, counterbalanced metabolic network demand, and/or differential time-varying delivery of FDG. The mismatch between metabolic and functional connectivity patterns computed as a function of time could reflect differences in the temporal characteristics of glucose metabolism as measured with PET-FDG and brain activation as measured with rfMRI.

A Means for the Scintigraphic Imaging of Regional Brain Dynamics. Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Regional Cerebral Blood Volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potchen, E. J.; Bentley, R.; Gerth, W.; Hill, R. L.; Davis, D. O. [Washington University School Of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States)

1969-05-15

The use of freely diffusable inert radioactive gas as a washout indicator to measure regional cerebral blood flow has become a standardized kinetic procedure in many laboratories. Recent investigations with this technique have led us to conclude that we can reliably distinguish regional flow with perfusion against regional flow without perfusion from the early portion of the curve. Based on a detailed study of the early curve kinetics in patients with and without cerebral vascular disease we have defined the sampling duration necessary for application of the Anger gamma camera imaging process to regional changes in cerebral radioactivity. Using a standard camera and a small computer, a procedure has been developed and based upon entire field to determine the time of maximum height followed by analysis of the data in a matrix. This will permit a contour plot presentation of calculated regional cerebral blood flow in millilitres per 100 grams perfused brain per minute. In addition, we propose to augment this data by the display of regional non-perfusion blood flow versus regional cerebral flow with perfusion. Preliminary investigation on sampling duration, and Compton scattering were prerequisite to clinical scintigraphy of regional cerebral blood flow. In addition, the method of interface for the conventional Anger gamma camera to digital computers used in this procedure are discussed. Applications to further assess regional cerebral dynamics by scintigraphy are presented. (author)

Mercury distribution and speciation in different brain regions of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostertag, Sonja K.; Stern, Gary A.; Wang, Feiyue; Lemes, Marcos; Chan, Hing Man

2013-01-01

The toxicokinetics of mercury (Hg) in key species of Arctic ecosystem are poorly understood. We sampled five brain regions (frontal lobe, temporal lobe, cerebellum, brain stem and spinal cord) from beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) harvested in 2006, 2008, and 2010 from the eastern Beaufort Sea, Canada, and measured total Hg (HgT) and total selenium (SeT) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), mercury analyzer or cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, and the chemical forms using a high performance liquid chromatography ICP-MS. At least 14% of the beluga whales had HgT concentrations higher than the levels of observable adverse effect (6.0 mg kg −1 wet weight (ww)) in primates. The concentrations of HgT differed between brain regions; median concentrations (mg kg −1 ww) were 2.34 (0.06 to 22.6, 81) (range, n) in temporal lobe, 1.84 (0.12 to 21.9, 77) in frontal lobe, 1.84 (0.05 to 16.9, 83) in cerebellum, 1.25 (0.02 to 11.1, 77) in spinal cord and 1.32 (0.13 to 15.2, 39) in brain stem. Total Hg concentrations in the cerebellum increased with age (p −1 ww) was positively associated with HgT concentration, and the percent MeHg (4 to 109%) decreased exponentially with increasing HgT concentration in the spinal cord, cerebellum, frontal lobe and temporal lobe. There was a positive association between SeT and HgT in all brain regions (p < 0.05) suggesting that Se may play a role in the detoxification of Hg in the brain. The concentration of HgT in the cerebellum was significantly associated with HgT in other organs. Therefore, HgT concentrations in organs that are frequently sampled in bio-monitoring studies could be used to estimate HgT concentrations in the cerebellum, which is the target organ of MeHg toxicity. - Highlights: • Mercury concentrations were highest in the temporal lobe of beluga whales. • Selenium and mercury concentrations were strongly correlated. • Total mercury concentrations in the cerebellum increased with

Background field removal using a region adaptive kernel for quantitative susceptibility mapping of human brain

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Jinsheng; Bao, Lijun; Li, Xu; van Zijl, Peter C. M.; Chen, Zhong

2017-08-01

Background field removal is an important MR phase preprocessing step for quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). It separates the local field induced by tissue magnetic susceptibility sources from the background field generated by sources outside a region of interest, e.g. brain, such as air-tissue interface. In the vicinity of air-tissue boundary, e.g. skull and paranasal sinuses, where large susceptibility variations exist, present background field removal methods are usually insufficient and these regions often need to be excluded by brain mask erosion at the expense of losing information of local field and thus susceptibility measures in these regions. In this paper, we propose an extension to the variable-kernel sophisticated harmonic artifact reduction for phase data (V-SHARP) background field removal method using a region adaptive kernel (R-SHARP), in which a scalable spherical Gaussian kernel (SGK) is employed with its kernel radius and weights adjustable according to an energy "functional" reflecting the magnitude of field variation. Such an energy functional is defined in terms of a contour and two fitting functions incorporating regularization terms, from which a curve evolution model in level set formation is derived for energy minimization. We utilize it to detect regions of with a large field gradient caused by strong susceptibility variation. In such regions, the SGK will have a small radius and high weight at the sphere center in a manner adaptive to the voxel energy of the field perturbation. Using the proposed method, the background field generated from external sources can be effectively removed to get a more accurate estimation of the local field and thus of the QSM dipole inversion to map local tissue susceptibility sources. Numerical simulation, phantom and in vivo human brain data demonstrate improved performance of R-SHARP compared to V-SHARP and RESHARP (regularization enabled SHARP) methods, even when the whole paranasal sinus regions

Multivoxel 1H-MR spectroscopy in evaluating perienhancement region of brain tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Maosheng; Pan Zhiyong; Cao Zhijian; Wang Wei; Zheng Meijun; Ni Guibao

2003-01-01

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in evaluating the metabolic changes in perienhancement area of brain tumors. Methods: Fifty-one intracranial tumor patients were recruited in this study with 24 astrocytomas [grade II(8), III(7), IV(9)], 15 metastases, and 12 meningiomas. Multivoxel proton MRS was performed on a 1.5 TMR scanner using point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) sequence with TE of 144 ms and TR of 1000 ms. Spectra of three voxels were taken from A) enhanced, solid part of the tumor, B) perienhancement region (PER, with T 2 hyperintense areas), and C) corresponding contralateral normal appearing white matter, and those regions were evaluated in every patients. Fitted areas in the spectrum for N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), lipid/ lactate, and myo-Inositol (mI) metabolite peaks were measured and NAA/Cho, NAA/Cr, Cho/Cho (normal), Cho/Cr (n) ratios were calculated for each voxel (0.562 cm 3 in size). One way ANOVA (SPSS 11.0 for windows, Chicago, Ill.) was used for statistical analysis in metabolic ratio's difference among the brain tumors. Results: In voxel A (MRS from the solid enhanced part of the lesion), the ratios of NAA/Cho and Cho/Cho (n) changed significantly by comparing with that of normal control brain tissues, but there was no significant difference among gliomas, metastases, and meningiomas (P>0.05). On the contrary, in voxel B of MRS from perienhancement region, NAA/Cho, Cho/Cho (n), and Cho/Cr (n) ratios revealed strong correlations between metabolite concentrations and tumor types, allowing the differentiation of glial tumors from both metastases and meningiomas (P<0.05). The mean values of PER for glial tumor, metastasis, and meningiomas were 0.89, 1.31, and 1.32 for NAA/Cho; 1.54, 1.78, and 1.87 for NAA/Cr; 1.47, 1.01, and 0.96 for Cho/Cho (n); and 1.75, 1.13 and, 1.21 for Cho/Cr (n), respectively. Conclusion: Evaluation of brain tumors and

Pain sensitivity is inversely related to regional grey matter density in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Emerson, Nichole M; Zeidan, Fadel; Lobanov, Oleg V; Hadsel, Morten S; Martucci, Katherine T; Quevedo, Alexandre S; Starr, Christopher J; Nahman-Averbuch, Hadas; Weissman-Fogel, Irit; Granovsky, Yelena; Yarnitsky, David; Coghill, Robert C

2014-03-01

Pain is a highly personal experience that varies substantially among individuals. In search of an anatomical correlate of pain sensitivity, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate the relationship between grey matter density across the whole brain and interindividual differences in pain sensitivity in 116 healthy volunteers (62 women, 54 men). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and psychophysical data from 10 previous functional MRI studies were used. Age, sex, unpleasantness ratings, scanner sequence, and sensory testing location were added to the model as covariates. Regression analysis of grey matter density across the whole brain and thermal pain intensity ratings at 49°C revealed a significant inverse relationship between pain sensitivity and grey matter density in bilateral regions of the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, intraparietal sulcus, and inferior parietal lobule. Unilateral regions of the left primary somatosensory cortex also exhibited this inverse relationship. No regions showed a positive relationship to pain sensitivity. These structural variations occurred in areas associated with the default mode network, attentional direction and shifting, as well as somatosensory processing. These findings underscore the potential importance of processes related to default mode thought and attention in shaping individual differences in pain sensitivity and indicate that pain sensitivity can potentially be predicted on the basis of brain structure. Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Regional specificity in deltamethrin induced cytochrome P450 expression in rat brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, Sanjay; Johri, Ashu; Dhawan, Alok; Seth, Prahlad K.; Parmar, Devendra

2006-01-01

Oral administration of deltamethrin (5 mg/kg x 7 or 15 or 21 days) was found to produce a time-dependent increase in the mRNA expression of xenobiotic metabolizing cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), 1A2 and CYP2B1, 2B2 isoenzymes in rat brain. RT-PCR studies further showed that increase in the mRNA expression of these CYP isoenzymes observed after 21 days of exposure was region specific. Hippocampus exhibited maximum increase in the mRNA expression of CYP1A1, which was followed by pons-medulla, cerebellum and hypothalamus. The mRNA expression of CYP2B1 also exhibited maximum increase in the hypothalamus and hippocampus followed by almost similar increase in midbrain and cerebellum. In contrast, mRNA expression of CYP1A2 and CYP2B2, the constitutive isoenzymes exhibited relatively higher increase in pons-medulla, cerebellum and frontal cortex. Immunoblotting studies carried out with polyclonal antibody raised against rat liver CYP1A1/1A2 or CYP2B1/2B2 isoenzymes also showed increase in immunoreactivity comigrating with CYP1A1/1A2 or 2B1/2B2 in the microsomal fractions isolated from hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebellum of rat treated with deltamethrin. Though the exact relationship of the xenobiotic metabolizing CYPs with the physiological function of the brain is yet to be clearly understood, the increase in the mRNA expression of the CYPs in the brain regions that regulate specific brain functions affected by deltamethrin have further indicated that modulation of these CYPs could be associated with the various endogenous functions of the brain

Coastal upwelling ecosystems are often identified as regions ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

spamer

... are often identified as regions susceptible to seasonal blooms of harmful ... that the bay acts as a net importer of bottom water and net exporter of surface waters over a synoptic cycle. This ... waves or wind stress on the surface friction layer.

Recurrent activity in higher order, modality non-specific brain regions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lou, Hans Olav Christensen; Joensson, Morten; Biermann-Ruben, Katja

2011-01-01

It has been proposed that the workings of the brain are mainly intrinsically generated recurrent neuronal activity, with sensory inputs as modifiers of such activity in both sensory and higher order modality non-specific regions. This is supported by the demonstration of recurrent neuronal activity...... in the visual system as a response to visual stimulation. In contrast recurrent activity has never been demonstrated before in higher order modality non-specific regions. Using magneto-encephalography and Granger causality analysis, we tested in a paralimbic network the hypothesis that stimulation may enhance...... causal recurrent interaction between higher-order, modality non-specific regions. The network includes anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate/medial parietal cortices together with pulvinar thalami, a network known to be effective in autobiographic memory retrieval and self...

Regional distribution of enkephalinase in rat brain by autoradiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waksman, G.; Hamel, E.; Besselievre, R.; Fournie-Zaluski, M.C.; Roques, B.P.; Bouboutou, R.

1984-01-01

The first visualization of enkephalinase (neutral metalloendopeptidase, E.C.3.4.24.11) in rat brain was obtained by autoradiography, using a new tritiated inhibitor: [ 3 H]N-[(R, S) 3-(N-hydroxy) carboxamido-2-benzyl propanoyl]-glycine ( 3 H-HCBP-Gly). The preliminary analysis of sections clearly showed a discrete localization of enkephalinase in enkephalin enriched regions, such as caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra. Moreover 3 H-HCBP-Gly binding also occured in choroid plexus and spinal cord [fr

Machine Learning Classification to Identify the Stage of Brain-Computer Interface Therapy for Stroke Rehabilitation Using Functional Connectivity

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Rosaleena Mohanty

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Interventional therapy using brain-computer interface (BCI technology has shown promise in facilitating motor recovery in stroke survivors; however, the impact of this form of intervention on functional networks outside of the motor network specifically is not well-understood. Here, we investigated resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC in stroke participants undergoing BCI therapy across stages, namely pre- and post-intervention, to identify discriminative functional changes using a machine learning classifier with the goal of categorizing participants into one of the two therapy stages. Twenty chronic stroke participants with persistent upper-extremity motor impairment received neuromodulatory training using a closed-loop neurofeedback BCI device, and rs-functional MRI (rs-fMRI scans were collected at four time points: pre-, mid-, post-, and 1 month post-therapy. To evaluate the peak effects of this intervention, rs-FC was analyzed from two specific stages, namely pre- and post-therapy. In total, 236 seeds spanning both motor and non-motor regions of the brain were computed at each stage. A univariate feature selection was applied to reduce the number of features followed by a principal component-based data transformation used by a linear binary support vector machine (SVM classifier to classify each participant into a therapy stage. The SVM classifier achieved a cross-validation accuracy of 92.5% using a leave-one-out method. Outside of the motor network, seeds from the fronto-parietal task control, default mode, subcortical, and visual networks emerged as important contributors to the classification. Furthermore, a higher number of functional changes were observed to be strengthening from the pre- to post-therapy stage than the ones weakening, both of which involved motor and non-motor regions of the brain. These findings may provide new evidence to support the potential clinical utility of BCI therapy as a form of stroke

Radioreceptor assay of opioid peptides in selected canine brain regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desiderio, D.M.; Takeshita, H.

1985-01-01

A radioreceptor assay using the opioid delta receptor-preferring ligand D- 2 ala, D- 5 leu leucine enkephalin ( 3 H-DADL) and the broader-specificity ligand 3 H-etorphine was used to measure five HPLC-purified neuropeptide fractions derived from the peptide-rich fraction of tissue homogenates of nine anatomical regions of the canine brain. The receptoractive peptides studied were methionine enkephalin, alpha-neo-endorphin, dynorphin 1-8, methionine enkephalin-Arg-Phe, and leucine enkephalin. These peptides derive from two larger precursors: proenkephalin A, which contains methionine enkephalin, leucine enkephalin, methionine enkephalin-Arg-Phe; and proenkephalin B, which contains alpha-neo-endorphin and dynorphin 1-8. Receptoractive peptides were measured in the peptide-rich fraction derived from homogenates of canine hypothalamus, pituitary, caudate nucleus, amygdala, hippocampus, mid-brain, thalamus, pons-medulla, and cortex

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

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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

The Effects of Dietary Fat and Iron Interaction on Brain Regional Iron Contents and Stereotypical Behaviors in Male C57BL/6J Mice

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Lumei Liu

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Adequate brain iron levels are essential for enzyme activities, myelination, and neurotransmitter synthesis in the brain. Although systemic iron deficiency has been found in genetically or dietary-induced obese subjects, the effects of obesity-associated iron dysregulation in brain regions have not been examined. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of dietary fat and iron interaction on brain regional iron contents and regional-associated behavior patterns in a mouse model. Thirty C57BL/6J male weanling mice were randomly assigned to six dietary treatment groups (n=5 with varying fat (control/high and iron (control/high/low contents. The stereotypical behaviors were measured during the 24th week. Blood, liver, and brain tissues were collected at the end of the 24th week. Brains were dissected into the hippocampus, midbrain, striatum, and thalamus regions. Iron contents and ferritin-H (FtH protein and mRNA expressions in these regions were measured. Correlations between stereotypical behaviors and brain regional iron contents were analyzed at the 5% significance level. Results showed that high-fat diet altered the stereotypical behaviors such as inactivity and total distance traveled (P<0.05. The high-fat diet altered brain iron contents and ferritin-H (FtH protein and mRNA expressions in a regional-specific manner: 1 high-fat diet significantly decreased the brain iron content in the striatum (P<0.05, but not other regions; and 2 thalamus has a more distinct change in FtH mRNA expression compared to other regions. Furthermore, high-fat diet resulted in a significant decreased total distance traveled and a significant correlation between iron content and sleeping in midbrain (P<0.05. Dietary iron also decreased brain iron content and FtH protein expression in a regionally specific manner. The effect of interaction between dietary fat and iron was observed in brain iron content and behaviors. All these findings will lay

Time-dependent regional brain distribution of methadone and naltrexone in the treatment of opioid addiction.

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Teklezgi, Belin G; Pamreddy, Annapurna; Baijnath, Sooraj; Kruger, Hendrik G; Naicker, Tricia; Gopal, Nirmala D; Govender, Thavendran

2018-02-14

Opioid addiction is a serious public health concern with severe health and social implications; therefore, extensive therapeutic efforts are required to keep users drug free. The two main pharmacological interventions, in the treatment of addiction, involve management with methadone an mu (μ)-opioid agonist and treatment with naltrexone, μ-opioid, kappa (κ)-opioid and delta (δ)-opioid antagonist. MET and NAL are believed to help individuals to derive maximum benefit from treatment and undergo a full recovery. The aim of this study was to determine the localization and distribution of MET and NAL, over a 24-hour period in rodent brain, in order to investigate the differences in their respective regional brain distributions. This would provide a better understanding of the role of each individual drug in the treatment of addiction, especially NAL, whose efficacy is controversial. Tissue distribution was determined by using mass spectrometric imaging (MSI), in combination with quantification via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. MSI image analysis showed that MET was highly localized in the striatal and hippocampal regions, including the nucleus caudate, putamen and the upper cortex. NAL was distributed with high intensities in the mesocorticolimbic system including areas of the cortex, caudate putamen and ventral pallidum regions. Our results demonstrate that MET and NAL are highly localized in the brain regions with a high density of μ-receptors, the primary sites of heroin binding. These areas are strongly implicated in the development of addiction and are the major pathways that mediate brain stimulation during reward. © 2018 Society for the Study of Addiction.

MAPT expression and splicing is differentially regulated by brain region: relation to genotype and implication for tauopathies

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Trabzuni, Daniah; Wray, Selina; Vandrovcova, Jana; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Walker, Robert; Smith, Colin; Luk, Connie; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Dillman, Allissa; Hernandez, Dena G.; Arepalli, Sampath; Singleton, Andrew B.; Cookson, Mark R.; Pittman, Alan M.; de Silva, Rohan; Weale, Michael E.; Hardy, John; Ryten, Mina

2012-01-01

The MAPT (microtubule-associated protein tau) locus is one of the most remarkable in neurogenetics due not only to its involvement in multiple neurodegenerative disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, Parksinson's disease and possibly Alzheimer's disease, but also due its genetic evolution and complex alternative splicing features which are, to some extent, linked and so all the more intriguing. Therefore, obtaining robust information regarding the expression, splicing and genetic regulation of this gene within the human brain is of immense importance. In this study, we used 2011 brain samples originating from 439 individuals to provide the most reliable and coherent information on the regional expression, splicing and regulation of MAPT available to date. We found significant regional variation in mRNA expression and splicing of MAPT within the human brain. Furthermore, at the gene level, the regional distribution of mRNA expression and total tau protein expression levels were largely in agreement, appearing to be highly correlated. Finally and most importantly, we show that while the reported H1/H2 association with gene level expression is likely to be due to a technical artefact, this polymorphism is associated with the expression of exon 3-containing isoforms in human brain. These findings would suggest that contrary to the prevailing view, genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases at the MAPT locus are likely to operate by changing mRNA splicing in different brain regions, as opposed to the overall expression of the MAPT gene. PMID:22723018

Regional differences in brain volume predict the acquisition of skill in a complex real-time strategy videogame.

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Basak, Chandramallika; Voss, Michelle W; Erickson, Kirk I; Boot, Walter R; Kramer, Arthur F

2011-08-01

Previous studies have found that differences in brain volume among older adults predict performance in laboratory tasks of executive control, memory, and motor learning. In the present study we asked whether regional differences in brain volume as assessed by the application of a voxel-based morphometry technique on high resolution MRI would also be useful in predicting the acquisition of skill in complex tasks, such as strategy-based video games. Twenty older adults were trained for over 20 h to play Rise of Nations, a complex real-time strategy game. These adults showed substantial improvements over the training period in game performance. MRI scans obtained prior to training revealed that the volume of a number of brain regions, which have been previously associated with subsets of the trained skills, predicted a substantial amount of variance in learning on the complex game. Thus, regional differences in brain volume can predict learning in complex tasks that entail the use of a variety of perceptual, cognitive and motor processes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Common brain regions underlying different arithmetic operations as revealed by conjunct fMRI-BOLD activation.

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Fehr, Thorsten; Code, Chris; Herrmann, Manfred

2007-10-03

The issue of how and where arithmetic operations are represented in the brain has been addressed in numerous studies. Lesion studies suggest that a network of different brain areas are involved in mental calculation. Neuroimaging studies have reported inferior parietal and lateral frontal activations during mental arithmetic using tasks of different complexities and using different operators (addition, subtraction, etc.). Indeed, it has been difficult to compare brain activation across studies because of the variety of different operators and different presentation modalities used. The present experiment examined fMRI-BOLD activity in participants during calculation tasks entailing different arithmetic operations -- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division -- of different complexities. Functional imaging data revealed a common activation pattern comprising right precuneus, left and right middle and superior frontal regions during all arithmetic operations. All other regional activations were operation specific and distributed in prominently frontal, parietal and central regions when contrasting complex and simple calculation tasks. The present results largely confirm former studies suggesting that activation patterns due to mental arithmetic appear to reflect a basic anatomical substrate of working memory, numerical knowledge and processing based on finger counting, and derived from a network originally related to finger movement. We emphasize that in mental arithmetic research different arithmetic operations should always be examined and discussed independently of each other in order to avoid invalid generalizations on arithmetics and involved brain areas.

An evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging.

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Nielsen, Jared A; Zielinski, Brandon A; Ferguson, Michael A; Lainhart, Janet E; Anderson, Jeffrey S

2013-01-01

Lateralized brain regions subserve functions such as language and visuospatial processing. It has been conjectured that individuals may be left-brain dominant or right-brain dominant based on personality and cognitive style, but neuroimaging data has not provided clear evidence whether such phenotypic differences in the strength of left-dominant or right-dominant networks exist. We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried within the same individuals. Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1011 individuals between the ages of 7 and 29. For each subject, functional lateralization was measured for each pair of 7266 regions covering the gray matter at 5-mm resolution as a difference in correlation before and after inverting images across the midsagittal plane. The difference in gray matter density between homotopic coordinates was used as a regressor to reduce the effect of structural asymmetries on functional lateralization. Nine left- and 11 right-lateralized hubs were identified as peaks in the degree map from the graph of significantly lateralized connections. The left-lateralized hubs included regions from the default mode network (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and temporoparietal junction) and language regions (e.g., Broca Area and Wernicke Area), whereas the right-lateralized hubs included regions from the attention control network (e.g., lateral intraparietal sulcus, anterior insula, area MT, and frontal eye fields). Left- and right-lateralized hubs formed two separable networks of mutually lateralized regions. Connections involving only left- or only right-lateralized hubs showed positive correlation across subjects, but only for connections sharing a node. Lateralization of brain connections appears to be a local rather than global property of brain networks, and our data are not consistent with a whole-brain phenotype of greater "left-brained" or greater "right-brained" network strength

Regional cerebral blood flow in the patient with brain tumor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchida, Shohei

1993-01-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with xenon-enhanced CT (Xe-CT) in 21 cases of intracranial tumors (13 meningiomas, 5 gliomas, 3 metastatic brain tumors). Peritumoral edema was graded as mild, moderate or severe based on the extent of edema on CT and MRI. According to intratumoral blood flow distribution patterns, three patterns were classified as central type with relatively high blood flow at the center of the tumor, homogeneous type with an almost homogeneous blood flow distribution, and marginal type with relatively high blood flow at the periphery of the tumor. High grade astrocytoma and metastatic brain tumor showed marginal type blood flow and moderate or severe edema except in one case. Five meningiomas with severe peritumoral edema revealed marginal type blood flow and four with mild peritumoral edema showed central type blood flow, except for one case. No correlation was found between the extent of peritumoral edema and histological subtype, tumor size, location, duration of clinical history, vascularization on angiogram, and mean blood flow in the tumor. These results suggest that blood flow distribution patterns within the tumor may affect the extension of peritumoral edema. Pre- and postoperative rCBFs were evaluated with Xe-CT and IMP-SPECT in 7 cases, mean rCBF of peritumoral edema was 6.2 ml/100 g/min preoperatively, and discrepancy between rCBF on Xe-CT and that on IMP-SPECT was shown in the remote cortical region ipsilateral to the tumor. Postoperative rCBF revealed an improved blood flow in both adjacent and remote areas, suggesting that the decreased blood flow associated with brain tumors might be relieved after surgery. (author) 53 refs

Rapid eye movement sleep deprivation induces an increase in acetylcholinesterase activity in discrete rat brain regions

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Benedito M.A.C.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Some upper brainstem cholinergic neurons (pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei are involved in the generation of rapid eye movement (REM sleep and project rostrally to the thalamus and caudally to the medulla oblongata. A previous report showed that 96 h of REM sleep deprivation in rats induced an increase in the activity of brainstem acetylcholinesterase (Achase, the enzyme which inactivates acetylcholine (Ach in the synaptic cleft. There was no change in the enzyme's activity in the whole brain and cerebrum. The components of the cholinergic synaptic endings (for example, Achase are not uniformly distributed throughout the discrete regions of the brain. In order to detect possible regional changes we measured Achase activity in several discrete rat brain regions (medulla oblongata, pons, thalamus, striatum, hippocampus and cerebral cortex after 96 h of REM sleep deprivation. Naive adult male Wistar rats were deprived of REM sleep using the flower-pot technique, while control rats were left in their home cages. Total, membrane-bound and soluble Achase activities (nmol of thiocholine formed min-1 mg protein-1 were assayed photometrically. The results (mean ± SD obtained showed a statistically significant (Student t-test increase in total Achase activity in the pons (control: 147.8 ± 12.8, REM sleep-deprived: 169.3 ± 17.4, N = 6 for both groups, P<0.025 and thalamus (control: 167.4 ± 29.0, REM sleep-deprived: 191.9 ± 15.4, N = 6 for both groups, P<0.05. Increases in membrane-bound Achase activity in the pons (control: 171.0 ± 14.7, REM sleep-deprived: 189.5 ± 19.5, N = 6 for both groups, P<0.05 and soluble enzyme activity in the medulla oblongata (control: 147.6 ± 16.3, REM sleep-deprived: 163.8 ± 8.3, N = 6 for both groups, P<0.05 were also observed. There were no statistically significant differences in the enzyme's activity in the other brain regions assayed. The present findings show that the increase in Achase activity

Long-term global and regional brain volume changes following severe traumatic brain injury: A longitudinal study with clinical correlates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sidaros, Annette; Skimminge, Arnold Jesper Møller; Liptrot, Matthew George

2009-01-01

with percent brain volume change (%BVC) ranging between − 0.6% and − 9.4% (mean − 4.0%). %BVC correlated significantly with injury severity, functional status at both scans, and with 1-year outcome. Moreover, %BVC improved prediction of long-term functional status over and above what could be predicted using......Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in neurodegenerative changes that progress for months, perhaps even years post-injury. However, there is little information on the spatial distribution and the clinical significance of this late atrophy. In 24 patients who had sustained severe TBI we acquired 3D...... scan time point using SIENAX. Regional distribution of atrophy was evaluated using tensor-based morphometry (TBM). At the first scan time point, brain parenchymal volume was reduced by mean 8.4% in patients as compared to controls. During the scan interval, patients exhibited continued atrophy...

Types of traumatic brain injury and regional cerebral blood flow assessed by [sup 99m]Tc-HMPAO SPECT

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Yamakami, Iwao; Yamaura, Akira; Isobe, Katsumi [Chiba Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine

1993-01-01

To investigate the relationship between focal and diffuse traumatic brain injury (TBI) and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), rCBF changes in the first 24 hours post-trauma were studied in 12 severe head trauma patients using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [sup 99m]technetium-hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime (HMPAO). Patients were classified as focal or diffuse TBI based on x-ray computed tomographic (X-CT) findings and neurological signs. In six patients with focal damage, SPECT demonstrated: (1) perfusion defect (focal severe ischemia) in the brain region larger than the brain contusion by X-CT, (2) hypoperfusion (focal CBF reduction) in the brain region without abnormality by X-CT, and (3) localized hyperperfusion (focal CBF increase) in the surgically decompressed brain after decompressive craniectomy. Focal damage may be associated with a heterogeneous CBF change by causing various focal CBF derangements. In six patients with diffuse damage, SPECT revealed hypoperfusion in only one patient. Diffuse damage may be associated with a homogeneous CBF change by rarely causing focal CBF derangements. The type of TBI, focal or diffuse, determines the type of CBF change, heterogeneous or homogeneous, in the acute severe head trauma patient. (author).

In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals region specific metabolic responses to SIV infection in the macaque brain

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Joo Chan-Gyu

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS studies of HIV-infected humans have demonstrated significant metabolic abnormalities that vary by brain region, but the causes are poorly understood. Metabolic changes in the frontal cortex, basal ganglia and white matter in 18 SIV-infected macaques were investigated using MRS during the first month of infection. Results Changes in the N-acetylaspartate (NAA, choline (Cho, myo-inositol (MI, creatine (Cr and glutamine/glutamate (Glx resonances were quantified both in absolute terms and relative to the creatine resonance. Most abnormalities were observed at the time of peak viremia, 2 weeks post infection (wpi. At that time point, significant decreases in NAA and NAA/Cr, reflecting neuronal injury, were observed only in the frontal cortex. Cr was significantly elevated only in the white matter. Changes in Cho and Cho/Cr were similar across the brain regions, increasing at 2 wpi, and falling below baseline levels at 4 wpi. MI and MI/Cr levels were increased across all brain regions. Conclusion These data best support the hypothesis that different brain regions have variable intrinsic vulnerabilities to neuronal injury caused by the AIDS virus.

Brain networks that track musical structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Janata, Petr

2005-12-01

As the functional neuroimaging literature grows, it becomes increasingly apparent that music and musical activities engage diverse regions of the brain. In this paper I discuss two studies to illustrate that exactly which brain areas are observed to be responsive to musical stimuli and tasks depends on the tasks and the methods used to describe the tasks and the stimuli. In one study, subjects listened to polyphonic music and were asked to either orient their attention selectively to individual instruments or in a divided or holistic manner across multiple instruments. The network of brain areas that was recruited changed subtly with changes in the task instructions. The focus of the second study was to identify brain regions that follow the pattern of movement of a continuous melody through the tonal space defined by the major and minor keys of Western tonal music. Such an area was identified in the rostral medial prefrontal cortex. This observation is discussed in the context of other neuroimaging studies that implicate this region in inwardly directed mental states involving decisions about the self, autobiographical memory, the cognitive regulation of emotion, affective responses to musical stimuli, and familiarity judgments about musical stimuli. Together with observations that these regions are among the last to atrophy in Alzheimer disease, and that these patients appear to remain responsive to autobiographically salient musical stimuli, very early evidence is emerging from the literature for the hypothesis that the rostral medial prefrontal cortex is a node that is important for binding music with memories within a broader music-responsive network.

Brain mediators of the effects of noxious heat on pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Atlas, Lauren Y; Lindquist, Martin A; Bolger, Niall; Wager, Tor D

2014-08-01

Recent human neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of either noxious stimulus intensity or reported pain. Although useful, analyzing brain relationships with stimulus intensity and behavior separately does not address how sensation and pain are linked in the central nervous system. In this study, we used multi-level mediation analysis to identify brain mediators of pain--regions in which trial-by-trial responses to heat explained variability in the relationship between noxious stimulus intensity (across 4 levels) and pain. This approach has the potential to identify multiple circuits with complementary roles in pain genesis. Brain mediators of noxious heat effects on pain included targets of ascending nociceptive pathways (anterior cingulate, insula, SII, and medial thalamus) and also prefrontal and subcortical regions not associated with nociceptive pathways per se. Cluster analysis revealed that mediators were grouped into several distinct functional networks, including the following: somatosensory, paralimbic, and striatal-cerebellar networks that increased with stimulus intensity; and 2 networks co-localized with "default mode" regions in which stimulus intensity-related decreases mediated increased pain. We also identified "thermosensory" regions that responded to increasing noxious heat but did not predict pain reports. Finally, several regions did not respond to noxious input, but their activity predicted pain; these included ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cerebellar regions, and supplementary motor cortices. These regions likely underlie both nociceptive and non-nociceptive processes that contribute to pain, such as attention and decision-making processes. Overall, these results elucidate how multiple distinct brain systems jointly contribute to the central generation of pain. Copyright © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radioreceptor assay of opioid peptides in selected canine brain regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desiderio, D.M.; Takeshita, H.

1985-09-01

A radioreceptor assay using the opioid delta receptor-preferring ligand D-/sup 2/ala, D-/sup 5/leu leucine enkephalin (/sup 3/H-DADL) and the broader-specificity ligand /sup 3/H-etorphine was used to measure five HPLC-purified neuropeptide fractions derived from the peptide-rich fraction of tissue homogenates of nine anatomical regions of the canine brain. The receptoractive peptides studied were methionine enkephalin, alpha-neo-endorphin, dynorphin 1-8, methionine enkephalin-Arg-Phe, and leucine enkephalin. These peptides derive from two larger precursors: proenkephalin A, which contains methionine enkephalin, leucine enkephalin, methionine enkephalin-Arg-Phe; and proenkephalin B, which contains alpha-neo-endorphin and dynorphin 1-8. Receptoractive peptides were measured in the peptide-rich fraction derived from homogenates of canine hypothalamus, pituitary, caudate nucleus, amygdala, hippocampus, mid-brain, thalamus, pons-medulla, and cortex.

Regional cerebral blood flow in various types of brain tumor. Effect of the space-occupying lesion on blood flow in brain tissue close to and remote from tumor site

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuroda, K; Skyhøj Olsen, T; Lassen, N A

1982-01-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 23 patients with brain tumors using the 133Xe intra-carotid injection method and a 254 channel gamma camera. The glioblastomas (4) and astrocytomas (4) all showed hyperemia in the tumor and tumor-near region. This was also seen in several...... meningiomas (4 of 7 cases) in which most of the tumor itself did not receive any isotope. Brain metastases (6) usually had a low flow in the tumor and tumor-near region. The glioblastomas tended to show markedly bending 133Xe wash-out curves pointing to pronounced heterogeneity of blood flow. Most of the flow...... maps, regardless of the tumor types, showed widespread abnormalities of rCBF not only in the tumor region but also in the region remote from the tumor. It is concluded that measurement of rCBF cannot yield accurate differential diagnostic information, but that the widespread derangement of the brain...

Predictive modeling of neuroanatomic structures for brain atrophy detection

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xintao; Guo, Lei; Nie, Jingxin; Li, Kaiming; Liu, Tianming

2010-03-01

In this paper, we present an approach of predictive modeling of neuroanatomic structures for the detection of brain atrophy based on cross-sectional MRI image. The underlying premise of applying predictive modeling for atrophy detection is that brain atrophy is defined as significant deviation of part of the anatomy from what the remaining normal anatomy predicts for that part. The steps of predictive modeling are as follows. The central cortical surface under consideration is reconstructed from brain tissue map and Regions of Interests (ROI) on it are predicted from other reliable anatomies. The vertex pair-wise distance between the predicted vertex and the true one within the abnormal region is expected to be larger than that of the vertex in normal brain region. Change of white matter/gray matter ratio within a spherical region is used to identify the direction of vertex displacement. In this way, the severity of brain atrophy can be defined quantitatively by the displacements of those vertices. The proposed predictive modeling method has been evaluated by using both simulated atrophies and MRI images of Alzheimer's disease.

Genomic Regions Affecting Cheese Making Properties Identified in Danish Holsteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Vivi Raundahl; Bertelsen, Henriette Pasgaard; Poulsen, Nina Aagaard

The cheese renneting process is affected by a number of factors associated to milk composition and a number of Danish Holsteins has previously been identified to have poor milk coagulation ability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify genomic regions affecting the technological...

Effect of cadmium exposure on lipids, lipid peroxidation and metal distribution in rat brain regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hussain, T; Ali, M M; Chandra, S V

1985-01-01

Effect of cadmium treatment on brain lipids, lipid peroxidation and distribution of Zn, Cu and Fe in rat brain regions was investigated. Adult male rats were exposed to Cd (100 ppm Cd as cadmium acetate) in drinking water for 30 days. The Cd exposure resulted in a significant decrease in the phospholipid content and an increase in the lipid peroxidation in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. The total lipid content was not affected in any of the regions but a significant decrease in cholesterol and cerebroside contents were observed only in the cerebral cortex. A positive correlation between the increase in lipid peroxidation and decrease in the phospholipid content in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum was observed. A maximum accumulation of Cd occurred in the cerebral cortex. The Cu and Fe contents were significantly increased but the Zn levels decreased in the Cd-treated rats in all but the midbrain region. Results suggest that the increased peroxidation decomposition of structural lipids and the altered distribution of the essential trace metals in brain may play a significant role in Cd-induced neurotoxicity. 27 references, 2 tables.

Stimulatory effect of the D2 antagonist sulpiride on glucose utilization in dopaminergic regions of rat brain

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Pizzolato, G; Soncrant, T T; Larson, D M; Rapoport, S I

1987-08-01

Local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) was measured, using the quantitative autoradiographic (/sup 14/C)2-deoxy-D-glucose method, in 56 brain regions of 3-month-old, awake Fischer-344 rats, after intraperitoneal administration of sulpiride (SULP) 100 mg/kg. SULP, an atypical neuroleptic, is a selective antagonist of D2 dopamine receptors. LCGU was reduced in a few nondopaminergic regions at 1 h after drug administration. Thereafter, SULP progressively elevated LCGU in many other regions. At 3 h, LCGU was elevated in 23% of the regions examined, most of which are related to the CNS dopaminergic system (caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, lateral habenula, median eminence, paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus). Increases of LCGU were observed also in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, lateral geniculate, and inferior olive. These effects of SULP on LCGU differ from the effects of the typical neuroleptic haloperidol, which produces widespread decreases in LCGU in the rat brain. Selective actions on different subpopulations of dopamine receptors may explain the different effects of the two neuroleptics on brain metabolism, which correspond to their different clinical and behavioral actions.

Rapid transport of CCL11 across the blood-brain barrier: regional variation and importance of blood cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Michelle A; Morofuji, Yoichi; Owen, Joshua B; Banks, William A

2014-06-01

Increased blood levels of the eotaxin chemokine C-C motif ligand 11 (CCL11) in aging were recently shown to negatively regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis. How circulating CCL11 could affect the central nervous system (CNS) is not clear, but one possibility is that it can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, we show that CCL11 undergoes bidirectional transport across the BBB. Transport of CCL11 from blood into whole brain (influx) showed biphasic kinetics, with a slow phase preceding a rapid phase of uptake. We found that the slow phase was explained by binding of CCL11 to cellular components in blood, whereas the rapid uptake phase was mediated by direct interactions with the BBB. CCL11, even at high doses, did not cause BBB disruption. All brain regions except striatum showed a delayed rapid-uptake phase. Striatum had only an early rapid-uptake phase, which was the fastest of any brain region. We also observed a slow but saturable transport system for CCL11 from brain to blood. C-C motif ligand 3 (CCR3), an important receptor for CCL11, did not facilitate CCL11 transport across the BBB, although high concentrations of a CCR3 inhibitor increased brain uptake without causing BBB disruption. Our results indicate that CCL11 in the circulation can access many regions of the brain outside of the neurogenic niche via transport across the BBB. This suggests that blood-borne CCL11 may have important physiologic functions in the CNS and implicates the BBB as an important regulator of physiologic versus pathologic effects of this chemokine.

BRAIN NETWORKS. Correlated gene expression supports synchronous activity in brain networks.

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Richiardi, Jonas; Altmann, Andre; Milazzo, Anna-Clare; Chang, Catie; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Banaschewski, Tobias; Barker, Gareth J; Bokde, Arun L W; Bromberg, Uli; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia; Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Flor, Herta; Frouin, Vincent; Gallinat, Jürgen; Garavan, Hugh; Gowland, Penny; Heinz, Andreas; Lemaître, Hervé; Mann, Karl F; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Nees, Frauke; Paus, Tomáš; Pausova, Zdenka; Rietschel, Marcella; Robbins, Trevor W; Smolka, Michael N; Spanagel, Rainer; Ströhle, Andreas; Schumann, Gunter; Hawrylycz, Mike; Poline, Jean-Baptiste; Greicius, Michael D

2015-06-12

During rest, brain activity is synchronized between different regions widely distributed throughout the brain, forming functional networks. However, the molecular mechanisms supporting functional connectivity remain undefined. We show that functional brain networks defined with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging can be recapitulated by using measures of correlated gene expression in a post mortem brain tissue data set. The set of 136 genes we identify is significantly enriched for ion channels. Polymorphisms in this set of genes significantly affect resting-state functional connectivity in a large sample of healthy adolescents. Expression levels of these genes are also significantly associated with axonal connectivity in the mouse. The results provide convergent, multimodal evidence that resting-state functional networks correlate with the orchestrated activity of dozens of genes linked to ion channel activity and synaptic function. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Insulin action in the human brain: evidence from neuroimaging studies.

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Kullmann, S; Heni, M; Fritsche, A; Preissl, H

2015-06-01

Thus far, little is known about the action of insulin in the human brain. Nonetheless, recent advances in modern neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or magnetoencephalography (MEG), have made it possible to investigate the action of insulin in the brain in humans, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of brain insulin resistance and obesity. Using MEG, the clinical relevance of the action of insulin in the brain was first identified, linking cerebral insulin resistance with peripheral insulin resistance, genetic predisposition and weight loss success in obese adults. Although MEG is a suitable tool for measuring brain activity mainly in cortical areas, fMRI provides high spatial resolution for cortical as well as subcortical regions. Thus, the action of insulin can be detected within all eating behaviour relevant regions, which include regions deeply located within the brain, such as the hypothalamus, midbrain and brainstem, as well as regions within the striatum. In this review, we outline recent advances in the field of neuroimaging aiming to investigate the action of insulin in the human brain using different routes of insulin administration. fMRI studies have shown a significant insulin-induced attenuation predominantly in the occipital and prefrontal cortical regions and the hypothalamus, successfully localising insulin-sensitive brain regions in healthy, mostly normal-weight individuals. However, further studies are needed to localise brain areas affected by insulin resistance in obese individuals, which is an important prerequisite for selectively targeting brain insulin resistance in obesity. © 2015 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

A voxelwise approach to determine consensus regions-of-interest for the study of brain network plasticity

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Sarah M. Rajtmajer

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Despite exciting advances in the functional imaging of the brain, it remains a challenge to define regions of interest (ROIs that do not require investigator supervision and permit examination of change in networks over time (or plasticity. Plasticity is most readily examined by maintaining ROIs constant via seed-based and anatomical-atlas based techniques, but these approaches are not data-driven, requiring definition based on prior experience (e.g. choice of seed-region, anatomical landmarks. These approaches are limiting especially when functional connectivity may evolve over time in areas that are finer than known anatomical landmarks or in areas outside predetermined seeded regions. An ideal method would permit investigators to study network plasticity due to learning, maturation effects, or clinical recovery via multiple time point data that can be compared to one another in the same ROI while also preserving the voxel-level data in those ROIs at each time point. Data-driven approaches (e.g., whole-brain voxelwise approaches ameliorate concerns regarding investigator bias, but the fundamental problem of comparing the results between distinct data sets remains. In this paper we propose an approach, aggregate-initialized label propagation (AILP, which allows for data at separate time points to be compared for examining developmental processes resulting in network change (plasticity. To do so, we use a whole-brain modularity approach to parcellate the brain into anatomically constrained functional modules at separate time points and then apply the AILP algorithm to form a consensus set of ROIs for examining change over time. To demonstrate its utility, we make use of a known dataset of individuals with traumatic brain injury sampled at two time points during the first year of recovery and show how the AILP procedure can be applied to select regions of interest to be used in a graph theoretical analysis of plasticity.

Lutein Is Differentially Deposited across Brain Regions following Formula or Breast Feeding of Infant Rhesus Macaques.

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Jeon, Sookyoung; Ranard, Katherine M; Neuringer, Martha; Johnson, Emily E; Renner, Lauren; Kuchan, Matthew J; Pereira, Suzette L; Johnson, Elizabeth J; Erdman, John W

2018-01-01

Lutein, a yellow xanthophyll, selectively accumulates in primate retina and brain. Lutein may play a critical role in neural and retinal development, but few studies have investigated the impact of dietary source on its bioaccumulation in infants. We explored the bioaccumulation of lutein in infant rhesus macaques following breastfeeding or formula-feeding. From birth to 6 mo of age, male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were either breastfed (BF) (n = 8), fed a formula supplemented with lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene, and lycopene (237, 19.0, 74.2, and 338 nmol/kg, supplemented formula-fed; SF) (n = 8), or fed a formula with low amounts of these carotenoids (38.6, 2.3, 21.5, and 0 nmol/kg, unsupplemented formula-fed; UF) (n = 7). The concentrations of carotenoids in serum and tissues were analyzed by HPLC. At 6 mo of age, the BF group exhibited significantly higher lutein concentrations in serum, all brain regions, macular and peripheral retina, adipose tissue, liver, and other tissues compared to both formula-fed groups (P Lutein concentrations were higher in the SF group than in the UF group in serum and all tissues, with the exception of macular retina. Lutein was differentially distributed across brain areas, with the highest concentrations in the occipital cortex, regardless of the diet. Zeaxanthin was present in all brain regions but only in the BF infants; it was present in both retinal regions in all groups but was significantly enhanced in BF infants compared to either formula group (P lutein concentrations compared to unsupplemented formula, concentrations were still well below those in BF infants. Regardless of diet, occipital cortex showed selectively higher lutein deposition than other brain regions, suggesting lutein's role in visual processing in early life. © 2018 American Society for Nutrition. All rights reserved.

Background field removal using a region adaptive kernel for quantitative susceptibility mapping of human brain.

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Fang, Jinsheng; Bao, Lijun; Li, Xu; van Zijl, Peter C M; Chen, Zhong

2017-08-01

Background field removal is an important MR phase preprocessing step for quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). It separates the local field induced by tissue magnetic susceptibility sources from the background field generated by sources outside a region of interest, e.g. brain, such as air-tissue interface. In the vicinity of air-tissue boundary, e.g. skull and paranasal sinuses, where large susceptibility variations exist, present background field removal methods are usually insufficient and these regions often need to be excluded by brain mask erosion at the expense of losing information of local field and thus susceptibility measures in these regions. In this paper, we propose an extension to the variable-kernel sophisticated harmonic artifact reduction for phase data (V-SHARP) background field removal method using a region adaptive kernel (R-SHARP), in which a scalable spherical Gaussian kernel (SGK) is employed with its kernel radius and weights adjustable according to an energy "functional" reflecting the magnitude of field variation. Such an energy functional is defined in terms of a contour and two fitting functions incorporating regularization terms, from which a curve evolution model in level set formation is derived for energy minimization. We utilize it to detect regions of with a large field gradient caused by strong susceptibility variation. In such regions, the SGK will have a small radius and high weight at the sphere center in a manner adaptive to the voxel energy of the field perturbation. Using the proposed method, the background field generated from external sources can be effectively removed to get a more accurate estimation of the local field and thus of the QSM dipole inversion to map local tissue susceptibility sources. Numerical simulation, phantom and in vivo human brain data demonstrate improved performance of R-SHARP compared to V-SHARP and RESHARP (regularization enabled SHARP) methods, even when the whole paranasal sinus regions

Regional cholinesterase activity in white-throated sparrow brain is differentially affected by acephate (Orthene®)

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Vyas, N.B.; Kuenzel, W.J.; Hill, E.F.; Romo, G.A.; Komaragiri, M.V.S.

1996-01-01

Effects of a 14-day dietary exposure to an organophosphorus pesticide, acephate (acetylphosphoramidothioic acid O,S-dimethyl ester), were determined on cholinesterase activity in three regions (basal ganglia, hippocampus, and hypothalamus) of the white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, brain. All three regions experienced depressed cholinesterase activity between 0.5–2 ppm acephate. The regions exhibited cholinesterase recovery at 2–16 ppm acephate; however, cholinesterase activity dropped and showed no recovery at higher dietary levels (>16 ppm acephate). Evidence indicates that the recovery is initiated by the magnitude of depression, not the duration. In general, as acephate concentration increased, differences in ChE activity among brain regions decreased. Three terms are introduced to describe ChE response to acephate exposure: 1) ChE resistance threshold, 2) ChE compensation threshold, and 3) ChE depression threshold. It is hypothesized that adverse effects to birds in the field may occur at pesticide exposure levels customarily considered negligible.

The hierarchical brain network for face recognition.

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Zhen, Zonglei; Fang, Huizhen; Liu, Jia

2013-01-01

Numerous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified multiple cortical regions that are involved in face processing in the human brain. However, few studies have characterized the face-processing network as a functioning whole. In this study, we used fMRI to identify face-selective regions in the entire brain and then explore the hierarchical structure of the face-processing network by analyzing functional connectivity among these regions. We identified twenty-five regions mainly in the occipital, temporal and frontal cortex that showed a reliable response selective to faces (versus objects) across participants and across scan sessions. Furthermore, these regions were clustered into three relatively independent sub-networks in a face-recognition task on the basis of the strength of functional connectivity among them. The functionality of the sub-networks likely corresponds to the recognition of individual identity, retrieval of semantic knowledge and representation of emotional information. Interestingly, when the task was switched to object recognition from face recognition, the functional connectivity between the inferior occipital gyrus and the rest of the face-selective regions were significantly reduced, suggesting that this region may serve as an entry node in the face-processing network. In sum, our study provides empirical evidence for cognitive and neural models of face recognition and helps elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying face recognition at the network level.

Bilingualism alters brain functional connectivity between "control" regions and "language" regions: Evidence from bimodal bilinguals.

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Li, Le; Abutalebi, Jubin; Zou, Lijuan; Yan, Xin; Liu, Lanfang; Feng, Xiaoxia; Wang, Ruiming; Guo, Taomei; Ding, Guosheng

2015-05-01

Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed that bilingualism induces both structural and functional neuroplasticity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the left caudate nucleus (LCN), both of which are associated with cognitive control. Since these "control" regions should work together with other language regions during language processing, we hypothesized that bilingualism may also alter the functional interaction between the dACC/LCN and language regions. Here we tested this hypothesis by exploring the functional connectivity (FC) in bimodal bilinguals and monolinguals using functional MRI when they either performed a picture naming task with spoken language or were in resting state. We found that for bimodal bilinguals who use spoken and sign languages, the FC of the dACC with regions involved in spoken language (e.g. the left superior temporal gyrus) was stronger in performing the task, but weaker in the resting state as compared to monolinguals. For the LCN, its intrinsic FC with sign language regions including the left inferior temporo-occipital part and right inferior and superior parietal lobules was increased in the bilinguals. These results demonstrate that bilingual experience may alter the brain functional interaction between "control" regions and "language" regions. For different control regions, the FC alters in different ways. The findings also deepen our understanding of the functional roles of the dACC and LCN in language processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Age-and Brain Region-Specific Differences in Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in Brown Norway Rats

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Mitochondria are central regulators of energy homeostasis and play a pivotal role in mechanisms of cellular senescence. The objective of the present study was to evaluate mitochondrial bio­-energetic parameters in five brain regions [brainstem (BS), frontal cortex (FC), cerebellu...

Associations between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and development at 2 years of age in preterm children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lind, Annika; Parkkola, Riitta; Lehtonen, Liisa; Maunu, Jonna; Lapinleimu, Helena; Munck, Petriina; Haataja, Leena

2011-01-01

Altered brain volumes and associations between volumes and developmental outcomes have been reported in prematurely born children. To assess which regional brain volumes are different in very low birth weight (VLBW) children without neurodevelopmental impairments ([NDI] cerebral palsy, hearing loss, blindness and significantly delayed cognitive performance) compared with VLBW children with NDI, and to evaluate the association between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and cognitive development and neurological performance at a corrected age of 2 years. The study group consisted of a regional cohort of 164 VLBW children, divided into one group of children without NDI (n = 148) and one group of children with NDI (n = 16). Brain (MRI) was performed at term-equivalent age, from which brain volumes were manually analysed. Cognitive development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II), and neurological performance with the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination at the corrected age of 2 years. The volumes of total brain tissue, cerebrum, frontal lobes, basal ganglia and thalami, and cerebellum were significantly smaller, and the volume of the ventricles significantly larger, in the children with NDI than in those without NDI. Even in children without NDI, a smaller cerebellar volume was significantly correlated with poor neurological performance at 2 years of corrected age. Volumetric analysis at brain MRI can provide an additional parameter for early prediction of outcome in VLBW children. (orig.)

Associations between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and development at 2 years of age in preterm children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lind, Annika [Turku University Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Turku (Finland); Aabo Akademi University, Department of Psychology, Turku (Finland); Parkkola, Riitta [University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Turku PET Center, PO Box 52, Turku (Finland); Lehtonen, Liisa; Maunu, Jonna; Lapinleimu, Helena [University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Turku (Finland); Munck, Petriina [Turku University Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Turku (Finland); University of Turku, Department of Psychology, Turku (Finland); Haataja, Leena [University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Turku (Finland)

2011-08-15

Altered brain volumes and associations between volumes and developmental outcomes have been reported in prematurely born children. To assess which regional brain volumes are different in very low birth weight (VLBW) children without neurodevelopmental impairments ([NDI] cerebral palsy, hearing loss, blindness and significantly delayed cognitive performance) compared with VLBW children with NDI, and to evaluate the association between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and cognitive development and neurological performance at a corrected age of 2 years. The study group consisted of a regional cohort of 164 VLBW children, divided into one group of children without NDI (n = 148) and one group of children with NDI (n = 16). Brain (MRI) was performed at term-equivalent age, from which brain volumes were manually analysed. Cognitive development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II), and neurological performance with the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination at the corrected age of 2 years. The volumes of total brain tissue, cerebrum, frontal lobes, basal ganglia and thalami, and cerebellum were significantly smaller, and the volume of the ventricles significantly larger, in the children with NDI than in those without NDI. Even in children without NDI, a smaller cerebellar volume was significantly correlated with poor neurological performance at 2 years of corrected age. Volumetric analysis at brain MRI can provide an additional parameter for early prediction of outcome in VLBW children. (orig.)

Cannabis cue-induced brain activation correlates with drug craving in limbic and visual salience regions: Preliminary results

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Charboneau, Evonne J.; Dietrich, Mary S.; Park, Sohee; Cao, Aize; Watkins, Tristan J; Blackford, Jennifer U; Benningfield, Margaret M.; Martin, Peter R.; Buchowski, Maciej S.; Cowan, Ronald L.

2013-01-01

Craving is a major motivator underlying drug use and relapse but the neural correlates of cannabis craving are not well understood. This study sought to determine whether visual cannabis cues increase cannabis craving and whether cue-induced craving is associated with regional brain activation in cannabis-dependent individuals. Cannabis craving was assessed in 16 cannabis-dependent adult volunteers while they viewed cannabis cues during a functional MRI (fMRI) scan. The Marijuana Craving Questionnaire was administered immediately before and after each of three cannabis cue-exposure fMRI runs. FMRI blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal intensity was determined in regions activated by cannabis cues to examine the relationship of regional brain activation to cannabis craving. Craving scores increased significantly following exposure to visual cannabis cues. Visual cues activated multiple brain regions, including inferior orbital frontal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, superior temporal pole, and occipital cortex. Craving scores at baseline and at the end of all three runs were significantly correlated with brain activation during the first fMRI run only, in the limbic system (including amygdala and hippocampus) and paralimbic system (superior temporal pole), and visual regions (occipital cortex). Cannabis cues increased craving in cannabis-dependent individuals and this increase was associated with activation in the limbic, paralimbic, and visual systems during the first fMRI run, but not subsequent fMRI runs. These results suggest that these regions may mediate visually cued aspects of drug craving. This study provides preliminary evidence for the neural basis of cue-induced cannabis craving and suggests possible neural targets for interventions targeted at treating cannabis dependence. PMID:24035535

Improving Brain Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI Segmentation via a Novel Algorithm based on Genetic and Regional Growth

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Javadpour A.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Regarding the importance of right diagnosis in medical applications, various methods have been exploited for processing medical images solar. The method of segmentation is used to analyze anal to miscall structures in medical imaging. Objective: This study describes a new method for brain Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI segmentation via a novel algorithm based on genetic and regional growth. Methods: Among medical imaging methods, brains MRI segmentation is important due to high contrast of non-intrusive soft tissue and high spatial resolution. Size variations of brain tissues are often accompanied by various diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. As our knowledge about the relation between various brain diseases and deviation of brain anatomy increases, MRI segmentation is exploited as the first step in early diagnosis. In this paper, regional growth method and auto-mate selection of initial points by genetic algorithm is used to introduce a new method for MRI segmentation. Primary pixels and similarity criterion are automatically by genetic algorithms to maximize the accuracy and validity in image segmentation. Results: By using genetic algorithms and defining the fixed function of image segmentation, the initial points for the algorithm were found. The proposed algorithms are applied to the images and results are manually selected by regional growth in which the initial points were compared. The results showed that the proposed algorithm could reduce segmentation error effectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that the proposed algorithm could reduce segmentation error effectively and help us to diagnose brain diseases.

Regional differences in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pro-peptide, proBDNF and preproBDNF in the brain confer stress resilience.

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Yang, Bangkun; Yang, Chun; Ren, Qian; Zhang, Ji-Chun; Chen, Qian-Xue; Shirayama, Yukihiko; Hashimoto, Kenji

2016-12-01

Using learned helplessness (LH) model of depression, we measured protein expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pro-peptide, BDNF precursors (proBDNF and preproBDNF) in the brain regions of LH (susceptible) and non-LH rats (resilience). Expression of preproBDNF, proBDNF and BDNF pro-peptide in the medial prefrontal cortex of LH rats, but not non-LH rats, was significantly higher than control rats, although expression of these proteins in the nucleus accumbens of LH rats was significantly lower than control rats. This study suggests that regional differences in conversion of BDNF precursors into BDNF and BDNF pro-peptide by proteolytic cleavage may contribute to stress resilience.

The effects of aerobic exercise on the structure and function of DMN-related brain regions: a systematic review.

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Li, Mo-Yi; Huang, Mao-Mao; Li, Shu-Zhen; Tao, Jing; Zheng, Guo-Hua; Chen, Li-Dian

2017-07-01

Physical activity may play a role in both the prevention and slowing of brain volume loss and may be beneficial in terms of improving the functional connectivity of brain regions. But much less is known about the potential benefit of aerobic exercise for the structure and function of the default mode network (DMN) brain regions. This systematic review examines the effects of aerobic exercise on the structure and function of DMN brain regions in human adulthood. Seven electronic databases were searched for prospective controlled studies published up to April 2015. The quality of the selected studies was evaluated with the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias. RevMan 5.3 software was applied for data analysis. Finally, 14 studies with 631 participants were identified. Meta-analysis revealed that aerobic exercise could significantly increase right hippocampal volume (SMD = 0.26, 95% CI 0.01-0.51, p = 0.04, I 2 = 7%, 4 studies), and trends of similar effects were observed in the total (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI -0.17 to 0.41, p = 0.43, I 2 = 0%, 5 studies), left (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.37, p = 0.33, I 2 = 14%, 4 studies), left anterior (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.40, p = 0.41, I 2 = 74%, 2 studies) and right anterior (SMD = 0.10, 95% CI -0.17 to 0.38, p = 0.46, I 2 = 76%, 4 studies) hippocampal volumes compared to the no-exercise interventions. A few studies reported that relative to no-exercise interventions, aerobic exercise could significantly decrease the atrophy of the medial temporal lobe, slow the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) volume loss, increase functional connectivity within the hippocampus and improve signal activation in the cingulate gyrus and ACC. The current review suggests that aerobic exercise may have positive effects on the right hippocampus and potentially beneficial effects on the overall and other parts of the hippocampus, the cingulate cortex and the medial temporal areas of the DMN. Moreover, aerobic exercise may

An edge-centric perspective on the human connectome: link communities in the brain.

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de Reus, Marcel A; Saenger, Victor M; Kahn, René S; van den Heuvel, Martijn P

2014-10-05

Brain function depends on efficient processing and integration of information within a complex network of neural interactions, known as the connectome. An important aspect of connectome architecture is the existence of community structure, providing an anatomical basis for the occurrence of functional specialization. Typically, communities are defined as groups of densely connected network nodes, representing clusters of brain regions. Looking at the connectome from a different perspective, instead focusing on the interconnecting links or edges, we find that the white matter pathways between brain regions also exhibit community structure. Eleven link communities were identified: five spanning through the midline fissure, three through the left hemisphere and three through the right hemisphere. We show that these link communities are consistently identifiable and investigate the network characteristics of their underlying white matter pathways. Furthermore, examination of the relationship between link communities and brain regions revealed that the majority of brain regions participate in multiple link communities. In particular, the highly connected and central hub regions showed a rich level of community participation, supporting the notion that these hubs play a pivotal role as confluence zones in which neural information from different domains merges. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Quantitative evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow by visual stimulation in 99mTc-HMPAO brain SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juh, R. H.; Suh, T. S.; Chung, Y. A.

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual activation and quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow. Visual activation was known to increase regional cerebral blood flow in the visual cortex in occipital lobe. We evaluated that change in the distribution of 99mTc-HMPAO (Hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) to reflect in regional cerebral blood flow. The six volunteers were injected with 925 MBq (mean ages: 26.75 years, n=6, 3men, 3women) underwent MRI and 99mTc- HMPAO SPECT during a rest state with closed eyes and visual stimulated with 8 Hz LED. We delineate the region of interest and calculated the mean count per voxel in each of the fifteen slices to quantitative analysis. The ROI to whole brain ratio and regional index was calculated pixel to pixel subtraction visual non-activation image from visual activation image and constructed brain map using a statistical parameter map (SPM99). The mean regional cerebral blood flow was increased due to visual stimulation. The increase rate of the mean regional cerebral blood flow which of the activation region in primary visual cortex of occipital lobe was 32.50±5.67%. The significant activation sites using a statistical parameter of brain constructed a rendering image and image fusion with SPECT and MRI. Visual activation was revealed significant increase through quantitative analysis in visual cortex. Activation region was certified in Talairach coordinate and primary visual cortex (Ba17),visual association area (Ba18,19) of Brodmann

Quantitative evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow by visual stimulation in 99mTc- HMPAO brain SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juh, Ra Hyeong; Suh, Tae Suk; Kwark, Chul Eun; Choe, Bo Young; Lee, Hyoung Koo; Chung, Yong An; Kim, Sung Hoon; Chung, Soo Kyo

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual activation and quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow. Visual activation was known to increase regional cerebral blood flow in the visual cortex in occipital lobe. We evaluated that change in the distribution of '9 9m Tc-HMPAO (Hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) to reflect in regional cerebral blood flow. The six volunteers were injected with 925 MBq (mean ages: 26.75 years, n=6, 3men, 3women) underwent MRI and 99m Tc-HMPAO SPECT during a rest state with closed eyes and visual stimulated with 8 Hz LED. We delineate the region of interest and calculated the mean count per voxel in each of the fifteen slices to quantitative analysis. The ROI to whole brain ratio and regional index was calculated pixel to pixel subtraction visual non-activation image from visual activation image and constructed brain map using a statistical parameter map(SPM99). The mean regional cerebral blood flow was increased due to visual stimulation. The increase rate of the mean regional cerebral blood flow which of the activation region in primary visual cortex of occipital lobe was 32.50±5.67%. The significant activation sites using a statistical parameter of brain constructed a rendering image and image fusion with SPECT and MRI. Visual activation was revealed significant increase through quantitative analysis in visual cortex. Activation region was certified in Talairach coordinate and primary visual cortex (Ba17),visual association area (Ba18,19) of Brodmann

Identification of alterations associated with age in the clustering structure of functional brain networks.

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Guzman, Grover E C; Sato, Joao R; Vidal, Maciel C; Fujita, Andre

2018-01-01

Initial studies using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on the trajectories of the brain network from childhood to adulthood found evidence of functional integration and segregation over time. The comprehension of how healthy individuals' functional integration and segregation occur is crucial to enhance our understanding of possible deviations that may lead to brain disorders. Recent approaches have focused on the framework wherein the functional brain network is organized into spatially distributed modules that have been associated with specific cognitive functions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the clustering structure of brain networks evolves during development. To address this hypothesis, we defined a measure of how well a brain region is clustered (network fitness index), and developed a method to evaluate its association with age. Then, we applied this method to a functional magnetic resonance imaging data set composed of 397 males under 31 years of age collected as part of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange Consortium. As results, we identified two brain regions for which the clustering change over time, namely, the left middle temporal gyrus and the left putamen. Since the network fitness index is associated with both integration and segregation, our finding suggests that the identified brain region plays a role in the development of brain systems.

Social defeat promotes a reactive endothelium in a brain region-dependent manner with increased expression of key adhesion molecules, selectins and chemokines associated with the recruitment of myeloid cells to the brain.

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Sawicki, C M; McKim, D B; Wohleb, E S; Jarrett, B L; Reader, B F; Norden, D M; Godbout, J P; Sheridan, J F

2015-08-27

Repeated social defeat (RSD) in mice causes myeloid cell trafficking to the brain that contributes to the development of prolonged anxiety-like behavior. Myeloid cell recruitment following RSD occurs in regions where neuronal and microglia activation is observed. Thus, we hypothesized that crosstalk between neurons, microglia, and endothelial cells contributes to brain myeloid cell trafficking via chemokine signaling and vascular adhesion molecules. Here we show that social defeat caused an exposure- and brain region-dependent increase in several key adhesion molecules and chemokines involved in the recruitment of myeloid cells. For example, RSD induced distinct patterns of adhesion molecule expression that may explain brain region-dependent myeloid cell trafficking. VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 mRNA expression were increased in an exposure-dependent manner. Furthermore, RSD-induced VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 protein expression were localized to the vasculature of brain regions implicated in fear and anxiety responses, which spatially corresponded to previously reported patterns of myeloid cell trafficking. Next, mRNA expression of additional adhesion molecules (E- and P-selectin, PECAM-1) and chemokines (CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL12, CCL2) were determined in the brain. Social defeat induced an exposure-dependent increase in mRNA levels of E-selectin, CXCL1, and CXCL2 that increased with additional days of social defeat. While CXCL12 was unaffected by RSD, CCL2 expression was increased by six days of social defeat. Last, comparison between enriched CD11b(+) cells (microglia/macrophages) and enriched GLAST-1(+)/CD11b(-) cells (astrocytes) revealed RSD increased mRNA expression of IL-1β, CCL2, and CXCL2 in microglia/macrophages but not in astrocytes. Collectively, these data indicate that key mediators of leukocyte recruitment were increased in the brain vasculature following RSD in an exposure- and brain region-dependent manner. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights

The V1-V3 region of a brain-derived HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein determines macrophage tropism, low CD4 dependence, increased fusogenicity and altered sensitivity to entry inhibitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martín-García Julio

2008-10-01

from the same individual; however, we found that their phenotypes were not affected. Conclusion We have identified that the V1-V3 region of a brain-derived envelope glycoprotein seems to play a crucial role in determining not only the low CD4 dependence and increased macrophage tropism, but also the augmented fusogenicity and reduced sensitivity to T-1249 and BMS-378806. By contrast, increased sensitivity to HNG-105 mostly correlated with low CD4 dependence and macrophage tropism but was not determined by the presence of the brain's V1-V3 region, confirming that viral determinants of phenotypic changes in brain-derived envelope glycoproteins are likely complex and context-dependent.

Intrinsic brain networks normalize with treatment in pediatric complex regional pain syndrome

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Becerra, Lino; Sava, Simona; Simons, Laura E.; Drosos, Athena M.; Sethna, Navil; Berde, Charles; Lebel, Alyssa A.; Borsook, David

2014-01-01

Pediatric complex regional pain syndrome (P-CRPS) offers a unique model of chronic neuropathic pain as it either resolves spontaneously or through therapeutic interventions in most patients. Here we evaluated brain changes in well-characterized children and adolescents with P-CRPS by measuring resting state networks before and following a brief (median = 3 weeks) but intensive physical and psychological treatment program, and compared them to matched healthy controls. Differences in intrinsic brain networks were observed in P-CRPS compared to controls before treatment (disease state) with the most prominent differences in the fronto-parietal, salience, default mode, central executive, and sensorimotor networks. Following treatment, behavioral measures demonstrated a reduction of symptoms and improvement of physical state (pain levels and motor functioning). Correlation of network connectivities with spontaneous pain measures pre- and post-treatment indicated concomitant reductions in connectivity in salience, central executive, default mode and sensorimotor networks (treatment effects). These results suggest a rapid alteration in global brain networks with treatment and provide a venue to assess brain changes in CRPS pre- and post-treatment, and to evaluate therapeutic effects. PMID:25379449

Intrinsic brain networks normalize with treatment in pediatric complex regional pain syndrome

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Lino Becerra

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Pediatric complex regional pain syndrome (P-CRPS offers a unique model of chronic neuropathic pain as it either resolves spontaneously or through therapeutic interventions in most patients. Here we evaluated brain changes in well-characterized children and adolescents with P-CRPS by measuring resting state networks before and following a brief (median = 3 weeks but intensive physical and psychological treatment program, and compared them to matched healthy controls. Differences in intrinsic brain networks were observed in P-CRPS compared to controls before treatment (disease state with the most prominent differences in the fronto-parietal, salience, default mode, central executive, and sensorimotor networks. Following treatment, behavioral measures demonstrated a reduction of symptoms and improvement of physical state (pain levels and motor functioning. Correlation of network connectivities with spontaneous pain measures pre- and post-treatment indicated concomitant reductions in connectivity in salience, central executive, default mode and sensorimotor networks (treatment effects. These results suggest a rapid alteration in global brain networks with treatment and provide a venue to assess brain changes in CRPS pre- and post-treatment, and to evaluate therapeutic effects.

Regional brain changes occurring during disobedience to "experts" in financial decision-making.

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Victoria Y M Suen

Full Text Available It is well recognized that individuals follow "Expert" advice, even when flawed and offers no advantage, and sometimes leads to disadvantages. The neurobiology underlying this is uncertain, and in particular there is an incomplete understanding of which brain regions are most involved when individuals chose to disobey an expert. To study this we examined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI differences during an investment game where subjects received differentially credible investment advice. Participants (n = 42; 32 males played an investment game, in which they could Buy or Not Buy a sequence of stocks. The better they did, the more money they made. Participants received either "Expert" advice or "Peer" advice. Those receiving Expert advice were told the advice came from a certified financial "Expert". Those receiving Peer Advice were told the advice was that of the student administering the scans, who deliberately dressed and acted casually. Both streams of advice were predetermined and identical. The advice was scripted to be helpful initially, but progressively worse as the task continued, becoming 100% wrong by the end of the task. Subjects receiving Expert Advice followed the advice significantly longer on average, even though this was progressively worse advice. Thus, following Expert advice had poorer consequences for individuals, but this did not dissuade them from continuing to follow the advice. In contrast, when subjects disobeyed Expert advice they exhibited significant anterior cingulate cortex (ACC and superior frontal gyrus activation relative to those disobeying Peer advice. These findings may suggest that in subjects who defy authority, or believe they are doing so (in this case by disobeying an "Expert" there is increased activation of these two brain regions. This may have relevance to several areas of behavior, and the potential role of these two brain regions in regard to disobedience behavior requires further

Regional volumes and spatial volumetric distribution of gray matter in the gender dysphoric brain.

OpenAIRE

Hoekzema, Elseline; Schagen, Sebastian E. E.; Kreukels, Baudewijntje P. C.; Veltman, Dick J.; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T.; Delemarre-van de Waal, Henriette; Bakker, Julie

2015-01-01

The sexual differentiation of the brain is primarily driven by gonadal hormones during fetal development. Leading theories on the etiology of gender dysphoria (GD) involve deviations herein. To examine whether there are signs of a sex-atypical brain development in GD, we quantified regional neural gray matter (GM) volumes in 55 female-to-male and 38 male-to-female adolescents, 44 boys and 52 girls without GD and applied both univariate and multivariate analyses. In girls, more GM volume was o...

An evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging.

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Jared A Nielsen

Full Text Available Lateralized brain regions subserve functions such as language and visuospatial processing. It has been conjectured that individuals may be left-brain dominant or right-brain dominant based on personality and cognitive style, but neuroimaging data has not provided clear evidence whether such phenotypic differences in the strength of left-dominant or right-dominant networks exist. We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried within the same individuals. Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1011 individuals between the ages of 7 and 29. For each subject, functional lateralization was measured for each pair of 7266 regions covering the gray matter at 5-mm resolution as a difference in correlation before and after inverting images across the midsagittal plane. The difference in gray matter density between homotopic coordinates was used as a regressor to reduce the effect of structural asymmetries on functional lateralization. Nine left- and 11 right-lateralized hubs were identified as peaks in the degree map from the graph of significantly lateralized connections. The left-lateralized hubs included regions from the default mode network (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and temporoparietal junction and language regions (e.g., Broca Area and Wernicke Area, whereas the right-lateralized hubs included regions from the attention control network (e.g., lateral intraparietal sulcus, anterior insula, area MT, and frontal eye fields. Left- and right-lateralized hubs formed two separable networks of mutually lateralized regions. Connections involving only left- or only right-lateralized hubs showed positive correlation across subjects, but only for connections sharing a node. Lateralization of brain connections appears to be a local rather than global property of brain networks, and our data are not consistent with a whole-brain phenotype of greater "left-brained" or greater "right-brained

Hypothyroidism coordinately and transiently affects myelin protein gene expression in most rat brain regions during postnatal development.

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Ibarrola, N; Rodríguez-Peña, A

1997-03-28

To assess the role of thyroid hormone on myelin gene expression, we have studied the effect of hypothyroidism on the mRNA steady state levels for the major myelin protein genes: myelin basic protein (MBP), proteolipid protein (PLP), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and 2':3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) in different rat brain regions, during the first postnatal month. We found that hypothyroidism reduces the levels of every myelin protein transcript, with striking differences between the different brain regions. Thus, in the more caudal regions, the effect of hypothyroidism was extremely modest, being only evident at the earlier stages of myelination. In contrast, in the striatum and the cerebral cortex the important decrease in the myelin protein transcripts is maintained beyond the first postnatal month. Therefore, thyroid hormone modulates in a synchronous fashion the expression of the myelin genes and the length of its effect depends on the brain region. On the other hand, hyperthyroidism leads to an increase of the major myelin protein transcripts above control values. Finally, lack of thyroid hormone does not change the expression of the oligodendrocyte progenitor-specific gene, the platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha.

Associations between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and development at 2 years of age in preterm children.

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Lind, Annika; Parkkola, Riitta; Lehtonen, Liisa; Munck, Petriina; Maunu, Jonna; Lapinleimu, Helena; Haataja, Leena

2011-08-01

Altered brain volumes and associations between volumes and developmental outcomes have been reported in prematurely born children. To assess which regional brain volumes are different in very low birth weight (VLBW) children without neurodevelopmental impairments ([NDI] cerebral palsy, hearing loss, blindness and significantly delayed cognitive performance) compared with VLBW children with NDI, and to evaluate the association between regional brain volumes at term-equivalent age and cognitive development and neurological performance at a corrected age of 2 years. The study group consisted of a regional cohort of 164 VLBW children, divided into one group of children without NDI (n = 148) and one group of children with NDI (n = 16). Brain (MRI) was performed at term-equivalent age, from which brain volumes were manually analysed. Cognitive development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II), and neurological performance with the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination at the corrected age of 2 years. The volumes of total brain tissue, cerebrum, frontal lobes, basal ganglia and thalami, and cerebellum were significantly smaller, and the volume of the ventricles significantly larger, in the children with NDI than in those without NDI. Even in children without NDI, a smaller cerebellar volume was significantly correlated with poor neurological performance at 2 years of corrected age. Volumetric analysis at brain MRI can provide an additional parameter for early prediction of outcome in VLBW children.

Pseudotyped Lentiviral Vectors for Retrograde Gene Delivery into Target Brain Regions

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Kenta Kobayashi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Gene transfer through retrograde axonal transport of viral vectors offers a substantial advantage for analyzing roles of specific neuronal pathways or cell types forming complex neural networks. This genetic approach may also be useful in gene therapy trials by enabling delivery of transgenes into a target brain region distant from the injection site of the vectors. Pseudotyping of a lentiviral vector based on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 with various fusion envelope glycoproteins composed of different combinations of rabies virus glycoprotein (RV-G and vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G enhances the efficiency of retrograde gene transfer in both rodent and nonhuman primate brains. The most recently developed lentiviral vector is a pseudotype with fusion glycoprotein type E (FuG-E, which demonstrates highly efficient retrograde gene transfer in the brain. The FuG-E–pseudotyped vector permits powerful experimental strategies for more precisely investigating the mechanisms underlying various brain functions. It also contributes to the development of new gene therapy approaches for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, by delivering genes required for survival and protection into specific neuronal populations. In this review article, we report the properties of the FuG-E–pseudotyped vector, and we describe the application of the vector to neural circuit analysis and the potential use of the FuG-E vector in gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

Correlation Networks for Identifying Changes in Brain Connectivity during Epileptiform Discharges and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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Elsa Siggiridou

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The occurrence of epileptiform discharges (ED in electroencephalographic (EEG recordings of patients with epilepsy signifies a change in brain dynamics and particularly brain connectivity. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS has been recently acknowledged as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can be used in focal epilepsy for therapeutic purposes. In this case study, it is investigated whether simple time-domain connectivity measures, namely cross-correlation and partial cross-correlation, can detect alterations in the connectivity structure estimated from selected EEG channels before and during ED, as well as how this changes with the application of TMS. The correlation for each channel pair is computed on non-overlapping windows of 1 s duration forming weighted networks. Further, binary networks are derived by thresholding or statistical significance tests (parametric and randomization tests. The information for the binary networks is summarized by statistical network measures, such as the average degree and the average path length. Alterations of brain connectivity before, during and after ED with or without TMS are identified by statistical analysis of the network measures at each state.

Activation of Erk and JNK MAPK pathways by acute swim stress in rat brain regions

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Salvadore Christopher

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs have been shown to participate in a wide array of cellular functions. A role for some MAPKs (e.g., extracellular signal-regulated kinase, Erk1/2 has been documented in response to certain physiological stimuli, such as ischemia, visceral pain and electroconvulsive shock. We recently demonstrated that restraint stress activates the Erk MAPK pathway, but not c-Jun-N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK or p38MAPK, in several rat brain regions. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a different stressor, acute forced swim stress, on the phosphorylation (P state of these MAPKs in the hippocampus, neocortex, prefrontal cortex, amygdala and striatum. In addition, effects on the phosphorylation state of the upstream activators of the MAPKs, their respective MAPK kinases (MAPKKs; P-MEK1/2, P-MKK4 and P-MKK3/6, were determined. Finally, because the Erk pathway can activate c-AMP response element (CRE binding (CREB protein, and swim stress has recently been reported to enhance CREB phosphorylation, changes in P-CREB were also examined. Results A single 15 min session of forced swimming increased P-Erk2 levels 2–3-fold in the neocortex, prefrontal cortex and striatum, but not in the hippocampus or amygdala. P-JNK levels (P-JNK1 and/or P-JNK2/3 were increased in all brain regions about 2–5-fold, whereas P-p38MAPK levels remained essentially unchanged. Surprisingly, levels of the phosphorylated MAPKKs, P-MEK1/2 and P-MKK4 (activators of the Erk and JNK pathways, respectively were increased in all five brain regions, and much more dramatically (P-MEK1/2, 4.5 to > 100-fold; P-MKK4, 12 to ~300-fold. Consistent with the lack of forced swim on phosphorylation of p38MAPK, there appeared to be no change in levels of its activator, P-MKK3/6. P-CREB was increased in all but cortical (prefrontal, neocortex areas. Conclusions Swim stress specifically and markedly

Effects of traumatic brain injury on regional cerebral blood flow in rats as measured with radiolabeled microspheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamakami, I.; McIntosh, T.K.

1989-01-01

To clarify the effect of experimental brain injury on regional CBF (rCBF), repeated rCBF measurements were performed using radiolabeled microspheres in rats subjected to fluid-percussion traumatic brain injury. Three consecutive microsphere injections in six uninjured control rats substantiated that the procedure induces no significant changes in hemodynamic variables or rCBF. Animals were subjected to left parietal fluid-percussion brain injury of moderate severity (2.1-2.4 atm) and rCBF values were determined (a) prior to injury and 15 min and 1 h following injury (n = 7); and (b) prior to injury and 30 min and 2 h following injury (n = 7). At 15 min post injury, there was a profound reduction of rCBF in all brain regions studied (p less than 0.01). Although rCBF in the hindbrain had recovered to near-normal by 30 min post injury, rCBF in both injured and contralateral (uninjured) forebrain areas remained significantly suppressed up to 1 h post injury. At 2 h post injury, recovery of rCBF to near-normal values was observed in all brain regions except the focal area of injury (left parietal cortex) where rCBF remained significantly depressed (p less than 0.01). This prolonged focal oligemia at the injury site was associated with the development of reproducible cystic necrosis in the left parietotemporal cortex at 4 weeks post injury. Our results demonstrate that acute changes in rCBF occur following experimental traumatic brain injury in rats and that rCBF remains significantly depressed up to 2 h post injury in the area circumscribing the trauma site

Differential effects of ethanol on regional glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmitter pathways in mouse brain.

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Tiwari, Vivek; Veeraiah, Pandichelvam; Subramaniam, Vaidyanathan; Patel, Anant Bahadur

2014-03-01

This study investigates the effects of ethanol on neuronal and astroglial metabolism using (1)H-[(13)C]-NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with infusion of [1,6-(13)C2]/[1-(13)C]glucose or [2-(13)C]acetate, respectively. A three-compartment metabolic model was fitted to the (13)C turnover of GluC3 , GluC4, GABAC 2, GABAC 3, AspC3 , and GlnC4 from [1,6-(13)C2 ]glucose to determine the rates of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) and neurotransmitter cycle associated with glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. The ratio of neurotransmitter cycle to TCA cycle fluxes for glutamatergic and GABAegic neurons was obtained from the steady-state [2-(13)C]acetate experiment and used as constraints during the metabolic model fitting. (1)H MRS measurement suggests that depletion of ethanol from cerebral cortex follows zero order kinetics with rate 0.18 ± 0.04 μmol/g/min. Acute exposure of ethanol reduces the level of glutamate and aspartate in cortical region. GlnC4 labeling was found to be unchanged from a 15 min infusion of [2-(13)C]acetate suggesting that acute ethanol exposure does not affect astroglial metabolism in naive mice. Rates of TCA and neurotransmitter cycle associated with glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons were found to be significantly reduced in cortical and subcortical regions. Acute exposure of ethanol perturbs the level of neurometabolites and decreases the excitatory and inhibitory activity differentially across the regions of brain. Depletion of ethanol and its effect on brain functions were measured using (1)H and (1)H-[(13)C]-NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with infusion of (13)C-labeled substrates. Ethanol depletion from brain follows zero order kinetics. Ethanol perturbs level of glutamate, and the excitatory and inhibitory activity in mice brain. © 2013 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Regional volumes and spatial volumetric distribution of gray matter in the gender dysphoric brain.

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Hoekzema, Elseline; Schagen, Sebastian E E; Kreukels, Baudewijntje P C; Veltman, Dick J; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Delemarre-van de Waal, Henriette; Bakker, Julie

2015-05-01

The sexual differentiation of the brain is primarily driven by gonadal hormones during fetal development. Leading theories on the etiology of gender dysphoria (GD) involve deviations herein. To examine whether there are signs of a sex-atypical brain development in GD, we quantified regional neural gray matter (GM) volumes in 55 female-to-male and 38 male-to-female adolescents, 44 boys and 52 girls without GD and applied both univariate and multivariate analyses. In girls, more GM volume was observed in the left superior medial frontal cortex, while boys had more volume in the bilateral superior posterior hemispheres of the cerebellum and the hypothalamus. Regarding the GD groups, at whole-brain level they differed only from individuals sharing their gender identity but not from their natal sex. Accordingly, using multivariate pattern recognition analyses, the GD groups could more accurately be automatically discriminated from individuals sharing their gender identity than those sharing their natal sex based on spatially distributed GM patterns. However, region of interest analyses indicated less GM volume in the right cerebellum and more volume in the medial frontal cortex in female-to-males in comparison to girls without GD, while male-to-females had less volume in the bilateral cerebellum and hypothalamus than natal boys. Deviations from the natal sex within sexually dimorphic structures were also observed in the untreated subsamples. Our findings thus indicate that GM distribution and regional volumes in GD adolescents are largely in accordance with their respective natal sex. However, there are subtle deviations from the natal sex in sexually dimorphic structures, which can represent signs of a partial sex-atypical differentiation of the brain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mercury distribution and speciation in different brain regions of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ostertag, Sonja K., E-mail: ostertag@unbc.ca [Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, V2N 4Z9 (Canada); Stern, Gary A., E-mail: Gary.Stern@dfo-mpo.gc.ca [Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6 (Canada); Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2 (Canada); Wang, Feiyue, E-mail: feiyue.wang@ad.umanitoba.ca [Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2 (Canada); Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2 (Canada); Lemes, Marcos, E-mail: Marcos.lemes@ad.umanitoba.ca [Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2 (Canada); Chan, Hing Man, E-mail: laurie.chan@uottawa.ca [Center for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, 1N 6N5 (Canada)

2013-07-01

The toxicokinetics of mercury (Hg) in key species of Arctic ecosystem are poorly understood. We sampled five brain regions (frontal lobe, temporal lobe, cerebellum, brain stem and spinal cord) from beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) harvested in 2006, 2008, and 2010 from the eastern Beaufort Sea, Canada, and measured total Hg (HgT) and total selenium (SeT) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), mercury analyzer or cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, and the chemical forms using a high performance liquid chromatography ICP-MS. At least 14% of the beluga whales had HgT concentrations higher than the levels of observable adverse effect (6.0 mg kg{sup −1} wet weight (ww)) in primates. The concentrations of HgT differed between brain regions; median concentrations (mg kg{sup −1} ww) were 2.34 (0.06 to 22.6, 81) (range, n) in temporal lobe, 1.84 (0.12 to 21.9, 77) in frontal lobe, 1.84 (0.05 to 16.9, 83) in cerebellum, 1.25 (0.02 to 11.1, 77) in spinal cord and 1.32 (0.13 to 15.2, 39) in brain stem. Total Hg concentrations in the cerebellum increased with age (p < 0.05). Between 35 and 45% of HgT was water-soluble, of which, 32 to 41% was methyl mercury (MeHg) and 59 to 68% was labile inorganic Hg. The concentration of MeHg (range: 0.03 to 1.05 mg kg{sup −1} ww) was positively associated with HgT concentration, and the percent MeHg (4 to 109%) decreased exponentially with increasing HgT concentration in the spinal cord, cerebellum, frontal lobe and temporal lobe. There was a positive association between SeT and HgT in all brain regions (p < 0.05) suggesting that Se may play a role in the detoxification of Hg in the brain. The concentration of HgT in the cerebellum was significantly associated with HgT in other organs. Therefore, HgT concentrations in organs that are frequently sampled in bio-monitoring studies could be used to estimate HgT concentrations in the cerebellum, which is the target organ of MeHg toxicity. - Highlights: �

Brain cortical characteristics of lifetime cognitive ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Simon R; Bastin, Mark E; Ritchie, Stuart J; Dickie, David Alexander; Liewald, Dave C; Muñoz Maniega, Susana; Redmond, Paul; Royle, Natalie A; Pattie, Alison; Valdés Hernández, Maria; Corley, Janie; Aribisala, Benjamin S; McIntosh, Andrew M; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Deary, Ian J

2018-01-01

Regional cortical brain volume is the product of surface area and thickness. These measures exhibit partially distinct trajectories of change across the brain's cortex in older age, but it is unclear which cortical characteristics at which loci are sensitive to cognitive ageing differences. We examine associations between change in intelligence from age 11 to 73 years and regional cortical volume, surface area, and thickness measured at age 73 years in 568 community-dwelling older adults, all born in 1936. A relative positive change in intelligence from 11 to 73 was associated with larger volume and surface area in selective frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions (r cognitive ageing and a thinner cortex for any region. Interestingly, thickness and surface area were phenotypically independent across bilateral lateral temporal loci, whose surface area was significantly related to change in intelligence. These findings suggest that associations between regional cortical volume and cognitive ageing differences are predominantly driven by surface area rather than thickness among healthy older adults. Regional brain surface area has been relatively underexplored, and is a potentially informative biomarker for identifying determinants of cognitive ageing differences.

Brain network disturbance related to posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury in veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Spielberg, Jeffrey M; McGlinchey, Regina E; Milberg, William P; Salat, David H

2015-08-01

Understanding the neural causes and consequences of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a high research priority, given the high rates of associated disability and suicide. Despite remarkable progress in elucidating the brain mechanisms of PTSD and mTBI, a comprehensive understanding of these conditions at the level of brain networks has yet to be achieved. The present study sought to identify functional brain networks and topological properties (measures of network organization and function) related to current PTSD severity and mTBI. Graph theoretic tools were used to analyze resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 208 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn, all of whom had experienced a traumatic event qualifying for PTSD criterion A. Analyses identified brain networks and topological network properties linked to current PTSD symptom severity, mTBI, and the interaction between PTSD and mTBI. Two brain networks were identified in which weaker connectivity was linked to higher PTSD re-experiencing symptoms, one of which was present only in veterans with comorbid mTBI. Re-experiencing was also linked to worse functional segregation (necessary for specialized processing) and diminished influence of key regions on the network, including the hippocampus. Findings of this study demonstrate that PTSD re-experiencing symptoms are linked to weakened connectivity in a network involved in providing contextual information. A similar relationship was found in a separate network typically engaged in the gating of working memory, but only in veterans with mTBI. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development of an MRI rating scale for multiple brain regions: comparison with volumetrics and with voxel-based morphometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, R.R.; Williams, Guy B.; Scahill, Victoria L.; Graham, Kim S.; Graham, Andrew; Hodges, John R.

2009-01-01

We aimed to devise a rating method for key frontal and temporal brain regions validated against quantitative volumetric methods and applicable to a range of dementia syndromes. Four standardised coronal MR images from 36 subjects encompassing controls and cases with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) were used. After initial pilot studies, 15 regions produced good intra- and inter-rater reliability. We then validated the ratings against manual volumetry and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and compared ratings across the subject groups. Validation against both manual volumetry (for both frontal and temporal lobes), and against whole brain VBM, showed good correlation with visual ratings for the majority of the brain regions. Comparison of rating scores across disease groups showed involvement of the anterior fusiform gyrus, anterior hippocampus and temporal pole in semantic dementia, while anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal regions were involved in behavioural variant FTD. This simple visual rating can be used as an alternative to highly technical methods of quantification, and may be superior when dealing with single cases or small groups. (orig.)

Development of an MRI rating scale for multiple brain regions: comparison with volumetrics and with voxel-based morphometry

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Davies, R.R.; Williams, Guy B. [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Scahill, Victoria L.; Graham, Kim S. [Cardiff University, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge and Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Graham, Andrew [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Cardiff University, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge and Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Hodges, John R. [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Cardiff University, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge and Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Cognitive Neurology, Sydney, NSW (Australia)

2009-08-15

We aimed to devise a rating method for key frontal and temporal brain regions validated against quantitative volumetric methods and applicable to a range of dementia syndromes. Four standardised coronal MR images from 36 subjects encompassing controls and cases with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) were used. After initial pilot studies, 15 regions produced good intra- and inter-rater reliability. We then validated the ratings against manual volumetry and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and compared ratings across the subject groups. Validation against both manual volumetry (for both frontal and temporal lobes), and against whole brain VBM, showed good correlation with visual ratings for the majority of the brain regions. Comparison of rating scores across disease groups showed involvement of the anterior fusiform gyrus, anterior hippocampus and temporal pole in semantic dementia, while anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal regions were involved in behavioural variant FTD. This simple visual rating can be used as an alternative to highly technical methods of quantification, and may be superior when dealing with single cases or small groups. (orig.)

Automated selection of brain regions for real-time fMRI brain-computer interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Lührs, Michael; Sorger, Bettina; Goebel, Rainer; Esposito, Fabrizio

2017-02-01

Objective. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) implemented with real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) use fMRI time-courses from predefined regions of interest (ROIs). To reach best performances, localizer experiments and on-site expert supervision are required for ROI definition. To automate this step, we developed two unsupervised computational techniques based on the general linear model (GLM) and independent component analysis (ICA) of rt-fMRI data, and compared their performances on a communication BCI. Approach. 3 T fMRI data of six volunteers were re-analyzed in simulated real-time. During a localizer run, participants performed three mental tasks following visual cues. During two communication runs, a letter-spelling display guided the subjects to freely encode letters by performing one of the mental tasks with a specific timing. GLM- and ICA-based procedures were used to decode each letter, respectively using compact ROIs and whole-brain distributed spatio-temporal patterns of fMRI activity, automatically defined from subject-specific or group-level maps. Main results. Letter-decoding performances were comparable to supervised methods. In combination with a similarity-based criterion, GLM- and ICA-based approaches successfully decoded more than 80% (average) of the letters. Subject-specific maps yielded optimal performances. Significance. Automated solutions for ROI selection may help accelerating the translation of rt-fMRI BCIs from research to clinical applications.

A systems biology strategy to identify molecular mechanisms of action and protein indicators of traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chenggang; Boutté, Angela; Yu, Xueping; Dutta, Bhaskar; Feala, Jacob D; Schmid, Kara; Dave, Jitendra; Tawa, Gregory J; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2015-02-01

The multifactorial nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI), especially the complex secondary tissue injury involving intertwined networks of molecular pathways that mediate cellular behavior, has confounded attempts to elucidate the pathology underlying the progression of TBI. Here, systems biology strategies are exploited to identify novel molecular mechanisms and protein indicators of brain injury. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis of four distinct high-throughput gene expression studies involving different animal models of TBI. By using canonical pathways and a large human protein-interaction network as a scaffold, we separately overlaid the gene expression data from each study to identify molecular signatures that were conserved across the different studies. At 24 hr after injury, the significantly activated molecular signatures were nonspecific to TBI, whereas the significantly suppressed molecular signatures were specific to the nervous system. In particular, we identified a suppressed subnetwork consisting of 58 highly interacting, coregulated proteins associated with synaptic function. We selected three proteins from this subnetwork, postsynaptic density protein 95, nitric oxide synthase 1, and disrupted in schizophrenia 1, and hypothesized that their abundance would be significantly reduced after TBI. In a penetrating ballistic-like brain injury rat model of severe TBI, Western blot analysis confirmed our hypothesis. In addition, our analysis recovered 12 previously identified protein biomarkers of TBI. The results suggest that systems biology may provide an efficient, high-yield approach to generate testable hypotheses that can be experimentally validated to identify novel mechanisms of action and molecular indicators of TBI. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Neuroscience Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A comparative antibody analysis of Pannexin1 expression in four rat brain regions reveals varying subcellular localizations

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Angela C Cone

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Pannexin1 (Panx1 channels release cytosolic ATP in response to signaling pathways. Panx1 is highly expressed in the central nervous system. We used four antibodies with different Panx1 anti-peptide epitopes to analyze four regions of rat brain. These antibodies labeled the same bands in Western blots and had highly similar patterns of immunofluorescence in tissue culture cells expressing Panx1, but Western blots of brain lysates from Panx1 knockout and control mice showed different banding patterns. Localizations of Panx1 in brain slices were generated using automated wide-field mosaic confocal microscopy for imaging large regions of interest while retaining maximum resolution for examining cell populations and compartments. We compared Panx1 expression over the cerebellum, hippocampus with adjacent cortex, thalamus and olfactory bulb. While Panx1 localizes to the same neuronal cell types, subcellular localizations differ. Two antibodies with epitopes against the intracellular loop and one against the carboxy terminus preferentially labeled cell bodies, while an antibody raised against an N-terminal peptide highlighted neuronal processes more than cell bodies. These labeling patterns may be a reflection of different cellular and subcellular localizations of full-length and/or modified Panx1 channels where each antibody is highlighting unique or differentially accessible Panx1 populations. However, we cannot rule out that one or more of these antibodies have specificity issues. All data associated with experiments from these four antibodies are presented in a manner that allows them to be compared and our claims thoroughly evaluated, rather than eliminating results that were questionable. Each antibody is given a unique identifier through the NIF Antibody Registry that can be used to track usage of individual antibodies across papers and all image and metadata are made available in the public repository, the Cell Centered Database, for on

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I Affects Brain Structure in Prefrontal and Motor Cortex

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Pleger, Burkhard; Draganski, Bogdan; Schwenkreis, Peter; Lenz, Melanie; Nicolas, Volkmar; Maier, Christoph; Tegenthoff, Martin

2014-01-01

The complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a rare but debilitating pain disorder that mostly occurs after injuries to the upper limb. A number of studies indicated altered brain function in CRPS, whereas possible influences on brain structure remain poorly investigated. We acquired structural magnetic resonance imaging data from CRPS type I patients and applied voxel-by-voxel statistics to compare white and gray matter brain segments of CRPS patients with matched controls. Patients and controls were statistically compared in two different ways: First, we applied a 2-sample ttest to compare whole brain white and gray matter structure between patients and controls. Second, we aimed to assess structural alterations specifically of the primary somatosensory (S1) and motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the CRPS affected side. To this end, MRI scans of patients with left-sided CRPS (and matched controls) were horizontally flipped before preprocessing and region-of-interest-based group comparison. The unpaired ttest of the “non-flipped” data revealed that CRPS patients presented increased gray matter density in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The same test applied to the “flipped” data showed further increases in gray matter density, not in the S1, but in the M1 contralateral to the CRPS-affected limb which were inversely related to decreased white matter density of the internal capsule within the ipsilateral brain hemisphere. The gray-white matter interaction between motor cortex and internal capsule suggests compensatory mechanisms within the central motor system possibly due to motor dysfunction. Altered gray matter structure in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex may occur in response to emotional processes such as pain-related suffering or elevated analgesic top-down control. PMID:24416397

Complex regional pain syndrome type I affects brain structure in prefrontal and motor cortex.

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Burkhard Pleger

Full Text Available The complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS is a rare but debilitating pain disorder that mostly occurs after injuries to the upper limb. A number of studies indicated altered brain function in CRPS, whereas possible influences on brain structure remain poorly investigated. We acquired structural magnetic resonance imaging data from CRPS type I patients and applied voxel-by-voxel statistics to compare white and gray matter brain segments of CRPS patients with matched controls. Patients and controls were statistically compared in two different ways: First, we applied a 2-sample ttest to compare whole brain white and gray matter structure between patients and controls. Second, we aimed to assess structural alterations specifically of the primary somatosensory (S1 and motor cortex (M1 contralateral to the CRPS affected side. To this end, MRI scans of patients with left-sided CRPS (and matched controls were horizontally flipped before preprocessing and region-of-interest-based group comparison. The unpaired ttest of the "non-flipped" data revealed that CRPS patients presented increased gray matter density in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The same test applied to the "flipped" data showed further increases in gray matter density, not in the S1, but in the M1 contralateral to the CRPS-affected limb which were inversely related to decreased white matter density of the internal capsule within the ipsilateral brain hemisphere. The gray-white matter interaction between motor cortex and internal capsule suggests compensatory mechanisms within the central motor system possibly due to motor dysfunction. Altered gray matter structure in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex may occur in response to emotional processes such as pain-related suffering or elevated analgesic top-down control.

Correlation of individual differences in schizotypal personality traits with amphetamine-induced dopamine release in striatal and extrastriatal brain regions.

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Woodward, Neil D; Cowan, Ronald L; Park, Sohee; Ansari, M Sib; Baldwin, Ronald M; Li, Rui; Doop, Mikisha; Kessler, Robert M; Zald, David H

2011-04-01

Schizotypal personality traits are associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders demonstrate increased dopamine transmission in the striatum. The authors sought to determine whether individual differences in normal variation in schizotypal traits are correlated with dopamine transmission in the striatum and in extrastriatal brain regions. Sixty-three healthy volunteers with no history of psychiatric illness completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and underwent positron emission tomography imaging with [(18)F]fallypride at baseline and after administration of oral d-amphetamine (0.43 mg/kg). Dopamine release, quantified by subtracting each participant's d-amphetamine scan from his or her baseline scan, was correlated with Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire total and factor scores using region-of-interest and voxel-wise analyses. Dopamine release in the striatum was positively correlated with overall schizotypal traits. The association was especially robust in the associative subdivision of the striatum. Voxel-wise analyses identified additional correlations between dopamine release and schizotypal traits in the left middle frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus. Exploratory analyses of Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire factor scores revealed correlations between dopamine release and disorganized schizotypal traits in the striatum, thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, insula, and inferior frontal cortex. The association between dopamine signaling and psychosis phenotypes extends to individual differences in normal variation in schizotypal traits and involves dopamine transmission in both striatal and extrastriatal brain regions. Amphetamine-induced dopamine release may be a useful endophenotype for investigating the genetic basis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The overlapping community structure of structural brain network in young healthy individuals.

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Kai Wu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Community structure is a universal and significant feature of many complex networks in biology, society, and economics. Community structure has also been revealed in human brain structural and functional networks in previous studies. However, communities overlap and share many edges and nodes. Uncovering the overlapping community structure of complex networks remains largely unknown in human brain networks. Here, using regional gray matter volume, we investigated the structural brain network among 90 brain regions (according to a predefined anatomical atlas in 462 young, healthy individuals. Overlapped nodes between communities were defined by assuming that nodes (brain regions can belong to more than one community. We demonstrated that 90 brain regions were organized into 5 overlapping communities associated with several well-known brain systems, such as the auditory/language, visuospatial, emotion, decision-making, social, control of action, memory/learning, and visual systems. The overlapped nodes were mostly involved in an inferior-posterior pattern and were primarily related to auditory and visual perception. The overlapped nodes were mainly attributed to brain regions with higher node degrees and nodal efficiency and played a pivotal role in the flow of information through the structural brain network. Our results revealed fuzzy boundaries between communities by identifying overlapped nodes and provided new insights into the understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of the human brain. This study provides the first report of the overlapping community structure of the structural network of the human brain.

Effect of prolonged exposure to diesel engine exhaust on proinflammatory markers in different regions of the rat brain.

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Gerlofs-Nijland, Miriam E; van Berlo, Damien; Cassee, Flemming R; Schins, Roel P F; Wang, Kate; Campbell, Arezoo

2010-05-17

The etiology and progression of neurodegenerative disorders depends on the interactions between a variety of factors including: aging, environmental exposures, and genetic susceptibility factors. Enhancement of proinflammatory events appears to be a common link in different neurological impairments, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. Studies have shown a link between exposure to particulate matter (PM), present in air pollution, and enhancement of central nervous system proinflammatory markers. In the present study, the association between exposure to air pollution (AP), derived from a specific source (diesel engine), and neuroinflammation was investigated. To elucidate whether specific regions of the brain are more susceptible to exposure to diesel-derived AP, various loci of the brain were separately analyzed. Rats were exposed for 6 hrs a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks to diesel engine exhaust (DEE) using a nose-only exposure chamber. The day after the final exposure, the brain was dissected into the following regions: cerebellum, frontal cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb and tubercles, and the striatum. Baseline levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1alpha) were dependent on the region analyzed and increased in the striatum after exposure to DEE. In addition, baseline level of activation of the transcription factors (NF-kappaB) and (AP-1) was also region dependent but the levels were not significantly altered after exposure to DEE. A similar, though not significant, trend was seen with the mRNA expression levels of TNF-alpha and TNF Receptor-subtype I (TNF-RI). Our results indicate that different brain regions may be uniquely responsive to changes induced by exposure to DEE. This study once more underscores the role of neuroinflammation in response to ambient air pollution, however, it is valuable to assess if and to

Effect of prolonged exposure to diesel engine exhaust on proinflammatory markers in different regions of the rat brain

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Wang Kate

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The etiology and progression of neurodegenerative disorders depends on the interactions between a variety of factors including: aging, environmental exposures, and genetic susceptibility factors. Enhancement of proinflammatory events appears to be a common link in different neurological impairments, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. Studies have shown a link between exposure to particulate matter (PM, present in air pollution, and enhancement of central nervous system proinflammatory markers. In the present study, the association between exposure to air pollution (AP, derived from a specific source (diesel engine, and neuroinflammation was investigated. To elucidate whether specific regions of the brain are more susceptible to exposure to diesel-derived AP, various loci of the brain were separately analyzed. Rats were exposed for 6 hrs a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks to diesel engine exhaust (DEE using a nose-only exposure chamber. The day after the final exposure, the brain was dissected into the following regions: cerebellum, frontal cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb and tubercles, and the striatum. Results Baseline levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α and interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α were dependent on the region analyzed and increased in the striatum after exposure to DEE. In addition, baseline level of activation of the transcription factors (NF-κB and (AP-1 was also region dependent but the levels were not significantly altered after exposure to DEE. A similar, though not significant, trend was seen with the mRNA expression levels of TNF-α and TNF Receptor-subtype I (TNF-RI. Conclusions Our results indicate that different brain regions may be uniquely responsive to changes induced by exposure to DEE. This study once more underscores the role of neuroinflammation in response to ambient air pollution

Task-based core-periphery organization of human brain dynamics.

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Danielle S Bassett

Full Text Available As a person learns a new skill, distinct synapses, brain regions, and circuits are engaged and change over time. In this paper, we develop methods to examine patterns of correlated activity across a large set of brain regions. Our goal is to identify properties that enable robust learning of a motor skill. We measure brain activity during motor sequencing and characterize network properties based on coherent activity between brain regions. Using recently developed algorithms to detect time-evolving communities, we find that the complex reconfiguration patterns of the brain's putative functional modules that control learning can be described parsimoniously by the combined presence of a relatively stiff temporal core that is composed primarily of sensorimotor and visual regions whose connectivity changes little in time and a flexible temporal periphery that is composed primarily of multimodal association regions whose connectivity changes frequently. The separation between temporal core and periphery changes over the course of training and, importantly, is a good predictor of individual differences in learning success. The core of dynamically stiff regions exhibits dense connectivity, which is consistent with notions of core-periphery organization established previously in social networks. Our results demonstrate that core-periphery organization provides an insightful way to understand how putative functional modules are linked. This, in turn, enables the prediction of fundamental human capacities, including the production of complex goal-directed behavior.

Regional Differences in Brain Volume Predict the Acquisition of Skill in a Complex Real-Time Strategy Videogame

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Basak, Chandramallika; Voss, Michelle W.; Erickson, Kirk I.; Boot, Walter R.; Kramer, Arthur F.

2011-01-01

Previous studies have found that differences in brain volume among older adults predict performance in laboratory tasks of executive control, memory, and motor learning. In the present study we asked whether regional differences in brain volume as assessed by the application of a voxel-based morphometry technique on high resolution MRI would also…

Training of verbal creativity modulates brain activity in regions associated with language‐ and memory‐related demands

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Benedek, Mathias; Koschutnig, Karl; Pirker, Eva; Berger, Elisabeth; Meister, Sabrina; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.; Papousek, Ilona; Weiss, Elisabeth M.

2015-01-01

Abstract This functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was designed to investigate changes in functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation as a result of a computerized, 3‐week verbal creativity training. The training was composed of various verbal divergent thinking exercises requiring participants to train approximately 20 min per day. Fifty‐three participants were tested three times (psychometric tests and fMRI assessment) with an intertest‐interval of 4 weeks each. Participants were randomly assigned to two different training groups, which received the training time‐delayed: The first training group was trained between the first and the second test, while the second group accomplished the training between the second and the third test session. At the behavioral level, only one training group showed improvements in different facets of verbal creativity right after the training. Yet, functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation were strikingly similar across both training groups. Whole‐brain voxel‐wise analyses (along with supplementary region of interest analyses) revealed that the training was associated with activity changes in well‐known creativity‐related brain regions such as the left inferior parietal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus, which have been shown as being particularly sensitive to the originality facet of creativity in previous research. Taken together, this study demonstrates that continuous engagement in a specific complex cognitive task like divergent thinking is associated with reliable changes of activity patterns in relevant brain areas, suggesting more effective search, retrieval, and integration from internal memory representations as a result of the training. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4104–4115, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26178653

Brain spontaneous fluctuations in sensorimotor regions were directly related to eyes open and eyes closed: evidences from a machine learning approach

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Bishan eLiang

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have demonstrated that the difference between resting-state brain activations depends on whether the subject was eyes open (EO or eyes closed (EC. However, whether the spontaneous fluctuations are directly related to these two different resting states are still largely unclear. In the present study, we acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 24 healthy subjects (11 males, 20.17 ± 2.74 years under the EO and EC states. The amplitude of the spontaneous brain activity in low-frequency band was subsequently investigated by using the metric of fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF for each subject under each state. A support vector machine (SVM analysis was then applied to evaluate whether the category of resting states could be determined from the brain spontaneous fluctuations. We demonstrated that these two resting states could be decoded from the identified pattern of brain spontaneous fluctuations, predominantly based on fALFF in the sensorimotor module. Specifically, we observed prominent relationships between increased fALFF for EC and decreased fALFF for EO in sensorimotor regions. Overall, the present results indicate that a SVM performs well in the discrimination between the brain spontaneous fluctuations of distinct resting states and provide new insight into the neural substrate of the resting states during EC and EO.

Auditory motion in the sighted and blind: Early visual deprivation triggers a large-scale imbalance between auditory and "visual" brain regions.

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Dormal, Giulia; Rezk, Mohamed; Yakobov, Esther; Lepore, Franco; Collignon, Olivier

2016-07-01

How early blindness reorganizes the brain circuitry that supports auditory motion processing remains controversial. We used fMRI to characterize brain responses to in-depth, laterally moving, and static sounds in early blind and sighted individuals. Whole-brain univariate analyses revealed that the right posterior middle temporal gyrus and superior occipital gyrus selectively responded to both in-depth and laterally moving sounds only in the blind. These regions overlapped with regions selective for visual motion (hMT+/V5 and V3A) that were independently localized in the sighted. In the early blind, the right planum temporale showed enhanced functional connectivity with right occipito-temporal regions during auditory motion processing and a concomitant reduced functional connectivity with parietal and frontal regions. Whole-brain searchlight multivariate analyses demonstrated higher auditory motion decoding in the right posterior middle temporal gyrus in the blind compared to the sighted, while decoding accuracy was enhanced in the auditory cortex bilaterally in the sighted compared to the blind. Analyses targeting individually defined visual area hMT+/V5 however indicated that auditory motion information could be reliably decoded within this area even in the sighted group. Taken together, the present findings demonstrate that early visual deprivation triggers a large-scale imbalance between auditory and "visual" brain regions that typically support the processing of motion information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitative evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow by visual stimulation in {sup 99m}Tc- HMPAO brain SPECT

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Juh, Ra Hyeong; Suh, Tae Suk; Kwark, Chul Eun; Choe, Bo Young; Lee, Hyoung Koo; Chung, Yong An; Kim, Sung Hoon; Chung, Soo Kyo [College of Medicine, The Catholic Univ. of Seoul, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-06-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual activation and quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow. Visual activation was known to increase regional cerebral blood flow in the visual cortex in occipital lobe. We evaluated that change in the distribution of '9{sup 9m}Tc-HMPAO (Hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) to reflect in regional cerebral blood flow. The six volunteers were injected with 925 MBq (mean ages: 26.75 years, n=6, 3men, 3women) underwent MRI and {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO SPECT during a rest state with closed eyes and visual stimulated with 8 Hz LED. We delineate the region of interest and calculated the mean count per voxel in each of the fifteen slices to quantitative analysis. The ROI to whole brain ratio and regional index was calculated pixel to pixel subtraction visual non-activation image from visual activation image and constructed brain map using a statistical parameter map(SPM99). The mean regional cerebral blood flow was increased due to visual stimulation. The increase rate of the mean regional cerebral blood flow which of the activation region in primary visual cortex of occipital lobe was 32.50{+-}5.67%. The significant activation sites using a statistical parameter of brain constructed a rendering image and image fusion with SPECT and MRI. Visual activation was revealed significant increase through quantitative analysis in visual cortex. Activation region was certified in Talairach coordinate and primary visual cortex (Ba17),visual association area (Ba18,19) of Brodmann.

Quantitative evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow by visual stimulation in {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO brain SPECT

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Juh, R. H.; Suh, T. S.; Chung, Y. A. [The Catholic Univ., of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-07-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual activation and quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow. Visual activation was known to increase regional cerebral blood flow in the visual cortex in occipital lobe. We evaluated that change in the distribution of 99mTc-HMPAO (Hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) to reflect in regional cerebral blood flow. The six volunteers were injected with 925 MBq (mean ages: 26.75 years, n=6, 3men, 3women) underwent MRI and 99mTc- HMPAO SPECT during a rest state with closed eyes and visual stimulated with 8 Hz LED. We delineate the region of interest and calculated the mean count per voxel in each of the fifteen slices to quantitative analysis. The ROI to whole brain ratio and regional index was calculated pixel to pixel subtraction visual non-activation image from visual activation image and constructed brain map using a statistical parameter map (SPM99). The mean regional cerebral blood flow was increased due to visual stimulation. The increase rate of the mean regional cerebral blood flow which of the activation region in primary visual cortex of occipital lobe was 32.50{+-}5.67%. The significant activation sites using a statistical parameter of brain constructed a rendering image and image fusion with SPECT and MRI. Visual activation was revealed significant increase through quantitative analysis in visual cortex. Activation region was certified in Talairach coordinate and primary visual cortex (Ba17),visual association area (Ba18,19) of Brodmann.

Reversible and regionally selective downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB1 receptors in chronic daily cannabis smokers

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Hirvonen, J; Goodwin, RS; Li, C-T; Terry, GE; Zoghbi, SS; Morse, C; Pike, VW; Volkow, ND; Huestis, MA; Innis, RB

2011-01-01

Chronic cannabis (marijuana, hashish) smoking can result in dependence. Rodent studies show reversible downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB1 (cannabinoid receptor type 1) receptors after chronic exposure to cannabis. However, whether downregulation occurs in humans who chronically smoke cannabis is unknown. Here we show, using positron emission tomography imaging, reversible and regionally selective downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB1 receptors in human subjects who chronically smoke ca...

Connectome analysis for pre-operative brain mapping in neurosurgery

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Hart, Michael G.; Price, Stephen J.; Suckling, John

2016-01-01

Abstract Object: Brain mapping has entered a new era focusing on complex network connectivity. Central to this is the search for the connectome or the brains ‘wiring diagram’. Graph theory analysis of the connectome allows understanding of the importance of regions to network function, and the consequences of their impairment or excision. Our goal was to apply connectome analysis in patients with brain tumours to characterise overall network topology and individual patterns of connectivity alterations. Methods: Resting-state functional MRI data were acquired using multi-echo, echo planar imaging pre-operatively from five participants each with a right temporal–parietal–occipital glioblastoma. Complex networks analysis was initiated by parcellating the brain into anatomically regions amongst which connections were identified by retaining the most significant correlations between the respective wavelet decomposed time-series. Results: Key characteristics of complex networks described in healthy controls were preserved in these patients, including ubiquitous small world organization. An exponentially truncated power law fit to the degree distribution predicted findings of general network robustness to injury but with a core of hubs exhibiting disproportionate vulnerability. Tumours produced a consistent reduction in local and long-range connectivity with distinct patterns of connection loss depending on lesion location. Conclusions: Connectome analysis is a feasible and novel approach to brain mapping in individual patients with brain tumours. Applications to pre-surgical planning include identifying regions critical to network function that should be preserved and visualising connections at risk from tumour resection. In the future one could use such data to model functional plasticity and recovery of cognitive deficits. PMID:27447756

Connectome analysis for pre-operative brain mapping in neurosurgery.

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Hart, Michael G; Price, Stephen J; Suckling, John

2016-10-01

Brain mapping has entered a new era focusing on complex network connectivity. Central to this is the search for the connectome or the brains 'wiring diagram'. Graph theory analysis of the connectome allows understanding of the importance of regions to network function, and the consequences of their impairment or excision. Our goal was to apply connectome analysis in patients with brain tumours to characterise overall network topology and individual patterns of connectivity alterations. Resting-state functional MRI data were acquired using multi-echo, echo planar imaging pre-operatively from five participants each with a right temporal-parietal-occipital glioblastoma. Complex networks analysis was initiated by parcellating the brain into anatomically regions amongst which connections were identified by retaining the most significant correlations between the respective wavelet decomposed time-series. Key characteristics of complex networks described in healthy controls were preserved in these patients, including ubiquitous small world organization. An exponentially truncated power law fit to the degree distribution predicted findings of general network robustness to injury but with a core of hubs exhibiting disproportionate vulnerability. Tumours produced a consistent reduction in local and long-range connectivity with distinct patterns of connection loss depending on lesion location. Connectome analysis is a feasible and novel approach to brain mapping in individual patients with brain tumours. Applications to pre-surgical planning include identifying regions critical to network function that should be preserved and visualising connections at risk from tumour resection. In the future one could use such data to model functional plasticity and recovery of cognitive deficits.

Functional connections between activated and deactivated brain regions mediate emotional interference during externally directed cognition.

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Di Plinio, Simone; Ferri, Francesca; Marzetti, Laura; Romani, Gian Luca; Northoff, Georg; Pizzella, Vittorio

2018-04-24

Recent evidence shows that task-deactivations are functionally relevant for cognitive performance. Indeed, higher cognitive engagement has been associated with higher suppression of activity in task-deactivated brain regions - usually ascribed to the Default Mode Network (DMN). Moreover, a negative correlation between these regions and areas actively engaged by the task is associated with better performance. DMN regions show positive modulation during autobiographical, social, and emotional tasks. However, it is not clear how processing of emotional stimuli affects the interplay between the DMN and executive brain regions. We studied this interplay in an fMRI experiment using emotional negative stimuli as distractors. Activity modulations induced by the emotional interference of negative stimuli were found in frontal, parietal, and visual areas, and were associated with modulations of functional connectivity between these task-activated areas and DMN regions. A worse performance was predicted both by lower activity in the superior parietal cortex and higher connectivity between visual areas and frontal DMN regions. Connectivity between right inferior frontal gyrus and several DMN regions in the left hemisphere was related to the behavioral performance. This relation was weaker in the negative than in the neutral condition, likely suggesting less functional inhibitions of DMN regions during emotional processing. These results show that both executive and DMN regions are crucial for the emotional interference process and suggest that DMN connections are related to the interplay between externally-directed and internally-focused processes. Among DMN regions, superior frontal gyrus may be a key node in regulating the interference triggered by emotional stimuli. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Alterations in Brain and Behaviour

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Guerri, Consuelo; Bazinet, Alissa; Riley, Edward P.

2009-01-01

The term ‘Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)’ refers to the range of disabilities that may result from prenatal alcohol exposure. This article reviews the effects of ethanol on the developing brain and its long-term structural and neurobehavioural consequences. Brain imaging, neurobehavioural and experimental studies demonstrate the devastating consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure on the developing central nervous system (CNS), identifying specific brain regions affected, the range...

Water diffusion reveals networks that modulate multiregional morphological plasticity after repetitive brain stimulation.

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Abe, Mitsunari; Fukuyama, Hidenao; Mima, Tatsuya

2014-03-25

Repetitive brain stimulation protocols induce plasticity in the stimulated site in brain slice models. Recent evidence from network models has indicated that additional plasticity-related changes occur in nonstimulated remote regions. Despite increasing use of brain stimulation protocols in experimental and clinical settings, the neural substrates underlying the additional effects in remote regions are unknown. Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) probes water diffusion and can be used to estimate morphological changes in cortical tissue that occur with the induction of plasticity. Using DWI techniques, we estimated morphological changes induced by application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left primary motor cortex (M1). We found that rTMS altered water diffusion in multiple regions including the left M1. Notably, the change in water diffusion was retained longest in the left M1 and remote regions that had a correlation of baseline fluctuations in water diffusion before rTMS. We conclude that synchronization of water diffusion at rest between stimulated and remote regions ensures retention of rTMS-induced changes in water diffusion in remote regions. Synchronized fluctuations in the morphology of cortical microstructures between stimulated and remote regions might identify networks that allow retention of plasticity-related morphological changes in multiple regions after brain stimulation protocols. These results increase our understanding of the effects of brain stimulation-induced plasticity on multiregional brain networks. DWI techniques could provide a tool to evaluate treatment effects of brain stimulation protocols in patients with brain disorders.

Air pollutant sulfur dioxide-induced alterations on the levels of lipids, lipid peroxidation and lipase activity in various regions of the rat brain

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Haider, S S; Hasan, M; Khan, N H

1982-07-01

The exposure of rats to SO/sub 2/ (10 p.p.m.) for one hour daily for 30 days caused depletion of total lipids in all brain areas. The contents of phospholipid were elevated in cerebellum and brain stem, but were depleted in cerebral hemisphere. Cholesterol levels showed an increase in various brain regions. On the other hand, gangliosides were increased in cerebellum and brain stem, but were decreased in cerebral hemisphere. Interestingly, cholesterol/phospholipid ratio was increased in different regions of the brain. Lipase activity was elevated in cerebral hemisphere. Lipid peroxidation showed marked increment in whole brain and in all the brain areas studied. The results suggest that SO/sub 2/-exposure induces degradation of lipids. Interestingly, the lipid contents are affected differentially in the various parts of the brain.

Hemispheric Asymmetry of Human Brain Anatomical Network Revealed by Diffusion Tensor Tractography

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Ni Shu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The topological architecture of the cerebral anatomical network reflects the structural organization of the human brain. Recently, topological measures based on graph theory have provided new approaches for quantifying large-scale anatomical networks. However, few studies have investigated the hemispheric asymmetries of the human brain from the perspective of the network model, and little is known about the asymmetries of the connection patterns of brain regions, which may reflect the functional integration and interaction between different regions. Here, we utilized diffusion tensor imaging to construct binary anatomical networks for 72 right-handed healthy adult subjects. We established the existence of structural connections between any pair of the 90 cortical and subcortical regions using deterministic tractography. To investigate the hemispheric asymmetries of the brain, statistical analyses were performed to reveal the brain regions with significant differences between bilateral topological properties, such as degree of connectivity, characteristic path length, and betweenness centrality. Furthermore, local structural connections were also investigated to examine the local asymmetries of some specific white matter tracts. From the perspective of both the global and local connection patterns, we identified the brain regions with hemispheric asymmetries. Combined with the previous studies, we suggested that the topological asymmetries in the anatomical network may reflect the functional lateralization of the human brain.

Regional glucose utilization and blood flow in experimental brain tumors studied by double tracer autoradiography

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Kato, A.; Sako, K.; Diksic, M.; Yamamoto, Y.L.; Feindel, W.

1985-01-01

Coupling of regional glucose utilization (GLU) and blood flow (CBF) was examined in rats with implanted brain tumors (AA ascites tumor) by quantitative double tracer autoradiography using YF-2-fluorodeoxyglucose and 14C-iodoantipyrine. Four to 13 days after implantation, the animals were injected with the two tracers to obtain autoradiograms from the same brain section before and after the decay of YF. The autoradiograms were then analyzed by an image processor to obtain a metabolic coupling index (MCI = GLU/CBF). In the tumor, high GLU and low CBF were uncoupled to give a high MCI which implied anerobic glycolysis. In large tumors, the CBF was even lower. In the peri-tumoral region, GLU was reduced and reduction was lowest around the larger tumors. CBF in the peri-tumoral region was also reduced, but this reduction became less as the distance from the tumor margin increased. The GLU and CBF of white matter was little influenced by the presence of tumors except for some reduction in these values in relation to the larger tumors. The MCI in the tumor was higher than in the cortex of the same as well as the opposite hemisphere. These findings indicate that the metabolism and blood flow of the tumor and surrounding brain are variable and directly related to tumor size.

Early developmental gene enhancers affect subcortical volumes in the adult human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Martin; Guadalupe, Tulio; Franke, Barbara; Hibar, Derrek P; Renteria, Miguel E; Stein, Jason L; Thompson, Paul M; Francks, Clyde; Vernes, Sonja C; Fisher, Simon E

2016-05-01

Genome-wide association screens aim to identify common genetic variants contributing to the phenotypic variability of complex traits, such as human height or brain morphology. The identified genetic variants are mostly within noncoding genomic regions and the biology of the genotype-phenotype association typically remains unclear. In this article, we propose a complementary targeted strategy to reveal the genetic underpinnings of variability in subcortical brain volumes, by specifically selecting genomic loci that are experimentally validated forebrain enhancers, active in early embryonic development. We hypothesized that genetic variation within these enhancers may affect the development and ultimately the structure of subcortical brain regions in adults. We tested whether variants in forebrain enhancer regions showed an overall enrichment of association with volumetric variation in subcortical structures of >13,000 healthy adults. We observed significant enrichment of genomic loci that affect the volume of the hippocampus within forebrain enhancers (empirical P = 0.0015), a finding which robustly passed the adjusted threshold for testing of multiple brain phenotypes (cutoff of P < 0.0083 at an alpha of 0.05). In analyses of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we identified an association upstream of the ID2 gene with rs7588305 and variation in hippocampal volume. This SNP-based association survived multiple-testing correction for the number of SNPs analyzed but not for the number of subcortical structures. Targeting known regulatory regions offers a way to understand the underlying biology that connects genotypes to phenotypes, particularly in the context of neuroimaging genetics. This biology-driven approach generates testable hypotheses regarding the functional biology of identified associations. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1788-1800, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anomalous brain functional connectivity contributing to poor adaptive behavior in Down syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Pujol, Jesus; del Hoyo, Laura; Blanco-Hinojo, Laura; de Sola, Susana; Macià, Dídac; Martínez-Vilavella, Gerard; Amor, Marta; Deus, Joan; Rodríguez, Joan; Farré, Magí; Dierssen, Mara; de la Torre, Rafael

2015-03-01

Research in Down syndrome has substantially progressed in the understanding of the effect of gene overexpression at the molecular level, but there is a paucity of information on the ultimate consequences on overall brain functional organization. We have assessed the brain functional status in Down syndrome using functional connectivity MRI. Resting-state whole-brain connectivity degree maps were generated in 20 Down syndrome individuals and 20 control subjects to identify sites showing anomalous synchrony with other areas. A subsequent region-of-interest mapping served to detail the anomalies and to assess their potential contribution to poor adaptive behavior. Down syndrome individuals showed higher regional connectivity in a ventral brain system involving the amygdala/anterior temporal region and the ventral aspect of both the anterior cingulate and frontal cortices. By contrast, lower functional connectivity was identified in dorsal executive networks involving dorsal prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices and posterior insula. Both functional connectivity increases and decreases contributed to account for patient scoring on adaptive behavior related to communication skills. The data overall suggest a distinctive functional organization with system-specific anomalies associated with reduced adaptive efficiency. Opposite effects were identified on distinct frontal and anterior temporal structures and relative sparing of posterior brain areas, which is generally consistent with Down syndrome cognitive profile. Relevantly, measurable connectivity changes, as a marker of the brain functional anomaly, could have a role in the development of therapeutic strategies addressed to improve the quality of life in Down syndrome individuals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Region-specific reduction in brain volume in young adults with perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bregant, Tina; Rados, Milan; Vasung, Lana; Derganc, Metka; Evans, Alan C; Neubauer, David; Kostovic, Ivica

2013-11-01

A severe form of perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) carries a high risk of perinatal death and severe neurological sequelae while in mild HIE only discrete cognitive disorders may occur. To compare total brain volumes and region-specific cortical measurements between young adults with mild-moderate perinatal HIE and a healthy control group of the same age. MR imaging was performed in a cohort of 14 young adults (9 males, 5 females) with a history of mild or moderate perinatal HIE. The control group consisted of healthy participants, matched with HIE group by age and gender. Volumetric analysis was done after the processing of MR images using a fully automated CIVET pipeline. We measured gyrification indexes, total brain volume, volume of grey and white matter, and of cerebrospinal fluid. We also measured volume, thickness and area of the cerebral cortex in the parietal, occipital, frontal, and temporal lobe, and of the isthmus cinguli, parahippocampal and cingulated gyrus, and insula. The HIE patient group showed smaller absolute volumetric data. Statistically significant (p right hemisphere, of cortical areas in the right temporal lobe and parahippocampal gyrus, of cortical volumes in the right temporal lobe and of cortical thickness in the right isthmus of the cingulate gyrus were found. Comparison between the healthy group and the HIE group of the same gender showed statistically significant changes in the male HIE patients, where a significant reduction was found in whole brain volume; left parietal, bilateral temporal, and right parahippocampal gyrus cortical areas; and bilateral temporal lobe cortical volume. Our analysis of total brain volumes and region-specific corticometric parameters suggests that mild-moderate forms of perinatal HIE lead to reductions in whole brain volumes. In the study reductions were most pronounced in temporal lobe and parahippocampal gyrus. Copyright © 2013 European Paediatric Neurology Society. All rights reserved.

Brain hypoxia imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Ho Chun [Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2007-04-15

The measurement of pathologically low levels of tissue pO{sub 2} is an important diagnostic goal for determining the prognosis of many clinically important diseases including cardiovascular insufficiency, stroke and cancer. The target tissues nowadays have mostly been tumors or the myocardium, with less attention centered on the brain. Radiolabelled nitroimidazole or derivatives may be useful in identifying the hypoxic cells in cerebrovascular disease or traumatic brain injury, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. In acute stroke, the target of therapy is the severely hypoxic but salvageable tissue. {sup 18}F-MISO PET and {sup 99m}Tc-EC-metronidazole SPECT in patients with acute ischemic stroke identified hypoxic tissues and ischemic penumbra, and predicted its outcome. A study using {sup 123}I-IAZA in patient with closed head injury detected the hypoxic tissues after head injury. Up till now these radiopharmaceuticals have drawbacks due to its relatively low concentration with hypoxic tissues associated with/without low blood-brain barrier permeability and the necessity to wait a long time to achieve acceptable target to background ratios for imaging in acute ischemic stroke. It is needed to develop new hypoxic marker exhibiting more rapid localization in the hypoxic region in the brain. And then, the hypoxic brain imaging with imidazoles or non-imidazoles may be very useful in detecting the hypoxic tissues, determining therapeutic strategies and developing therapeutic drugs in several neurological disease, especially, in acute ischemic stroke.

Enkephalin dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (enkephalinase) activity: selective radioassay, properties, and regional distribution in human brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llorens, C.; Malfroy, B.; Schwartz, J.C.; Gacel, G.; Roques, B.P.; Roy, J.; Morgat, J.L.; Javoy-Agid, F.; Agid, Y.

1982-01-01

The compound [ 3 H-Tyr 1 ,D-Ala 2 ,Leu-OH 5 ]enkephalin has been synthesised as a potentially selective substrate for enkephalin dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (enkephalinase) activity in brain. Incubations in the presence of homogenates and particulate fractions from rodent and human brain result in the formation of [ 3 H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly, which can be conveniently isolated by polystyrene bead column chromatography. The enzyme activity responsible for the hydrolysis of the Gly 3 -Phe 4 amide bond of this substrate displays close resemblance to that hydrolysing the natural enkephalins at the same level. In addition, enkephalinase activity characterised in postmortem human brain is closely similar to that in rodent brain, with regard to optimal pH and apparent affinities of various substrates and inhibitors, including the potent compound thiorphan. Enkephalinase activity is distributed in a highly heterogeneous fashion among regions of human brain, the highest levels being found in globus pallidus and pars reticulata of the substantia nigra. This distribution is poorly correlated with that of opiate receptor binding sites but displays some resemblance to that of reported Met 5 -enkephalin levels. (author)

A cross-sectional MRI study of brain regional atrophy and clinical characteristics of temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

2012-02-01

PURPOSE: Applying a cross-sectional design, we set out to further characterize the significance of extrahippocampal brain atrophy in a large sample of \\'sporadic\\' mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE+HS). By evaluating the influence of epilepsy chronicity on structural atrophy, this work represents an important step towards the characterization of MRI-based volumetric measurements as genetic endophenotypes for this condition. METHODS: Using an automated brain segmentation technique, MRI-based volume measurements of several brain regions were compared between 75 patients with \\'sporadic\\' MTLE+HS and 50 healthy controls. Applying linear regression models, we examined the relationship between structural atrophy and important clinical features of MTLE+HS, including disease duration, lifetime number of partial and generalized seizures, and history of initial precipitating insults (IPIs). RESULTS: Significant volume loss was detected in ipsilateral hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, and cerebral white matter (WM). In addition, contralateral hippocampal and bilateral cerebellar grey matter (GM) volume loss was observed in left MTLE+HS patients. Hippocampal, amygdalar, and cerebral WM volume loss correlated with duration of epilepsy. This correlation was stronger in patients with prior IPIs history. Further, cerebral WM, cerebellar GM, and contralateral hippocampal volume loss correlated with lifetime number of generalized seizures. CONCLUSION: Our findings confirm that multiple brain regions beyond the hippocampus are involved in the pathogenesis of MTLE+HS. IPIs are an important factor influencing the rate of regional atrophy but our results also support a role for processes related to epilepsy chronicity. The consequence of epilepsy chronicity on candidate brain regions has important implications on their application as genetic endophenotypes.

Brain imaging and brain function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokoloff, L.

1985-01-01

This book is a survey of the applications of imaging studies of regional cerebral blood flow and metabolism to the investigation of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Contributors review imaging techniques and strategies for measuring regional cerebral blood flow and metabolism, for mapping functional neural systems, and for imaging normal brain functions. They then examine the applications of brain imaging techniques to the study of such neurological and psychiatric disorders as: cerebral ischemia; convulsive disorders; cerebral tumors; Huntington's disease; Alzheimer's disease; depression and other mood disorders. A state-of-the-art report on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and central nervous system rounds out the book's coverage

Prognostic index to identify patients who may not benefit from whole brain radiotherapy for multiple brain metastases from lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundaresan, P.; Yeghiaian, R.; Gebski, V.

2010-01-01

Full text: Palliative whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is often recommended in the management of multiple brain metastases. Allowing for WBRT waiting time, duration of the WBRT course and time to clinical response, it may take 6 weeks from the point of initial assessment for a benefit from WBRT to manifest. Patients who die within 6 weeks ('early death') may not benefit from WBRT and may instead experience a decline in quality of life. This study aimed to develop a prognostic index (PI) that identifies the subset of patients with lung cancer with multiple brain metastases who may not benefit from WBRT because of'early death'. The medical records of patients with lung cancer who had WBRT recommended for multiple brain metastases over a 10-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified as either having died within 6 weeks or having lived beyond 6 weeks. Potential prognostic indicators were evaluated for correlation with 'early death'. A PI was constructed by modelling the survival classification to determine the contribution of these factors towards shortened survival. Of the 275 patients recommended WBRT, 64 (23.22%) died within 6 weeks. The main prognostic factor predicting early death was Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status >2. Patients with a high PI score (>13) were at higher risk of'early death'. Twenty-three per cent of patients died prior to benefit from WBRT. ECOG status was the most predictive for 'early death'. Other factors may also contribute towards a poor outcome. With further refinement and validation, the PI could be a valuable clinical decision tool.

High permeability cores to optimize the stimulation of deeply located brain regions using transcranial magnetic stimulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvador, R; Miranda, P C; Roth, Y; Zangen, A

2009-01-01

Efficient stimulation of deeply located brain regions with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) poses many challenges, arising from the fact that the induced field decays rapidly and becomes less focal with depth. We propose a new method to improve the efficiency of TMS of deep brain regions that combines high permeability cores, to increase focality and field intensity, with a coil specifically designed to induce a field that decays slowly with increasing depth. The performance of the proposed design was investigated using the finite element method to determine the total electric field induced by this coil/core arrangement on a realistically shaped homogeneous head model. The calculations show that the inclusion of the cores increases the field's magnitude by as much as 25% while also decreasing the field's decay with depth along specific directions. The focality, as measured by the area where the field's norm is greater than 1/√2 of its maximum value, is also improved by as much as 15% with some core arrangements. The coil's inductance is not significantly increased by the cores. These results show that the presence of the cores might make this specially designed coil even more suited for the effective stimulation of deep brain regions.

High permeability cores to optimize the stimulation of deeply located brain regions using transcranial magnetic stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Salvador, R.; Miranda, P. C.; Roth, Y.; Zangen, A.

2009-05-01

Efficient stimulation of deeply located brain regions with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) poses many challenges, arising from the fact that the induced field decays rapidly and becomes less focal with depth. We propose a new method to improve the efficiency of TMS of deep brain regions that combines high permeability cores, to increase focality and field intensity, with a coil specifically designed to induce a field that decays slowly with increasing depth. The performance of the proposed design was investigated using the finite element method to determine the total electric field induced by this coil/core arrangement on a realistically shaped homogeneous head model. The calculations show that the inclusion of the cores increases the field's magnitude by as much as 25% while also decreasing the field's decay with depth along specific directions. The focality, as measured by the area where the field's norm is greater than 1/\\sqrt 2 of its maximum value, is also improved by as much as 15% with some core arrangements. The coil's inductance is not significantly increased by the cores. These results show that the presence of the cores might make this specially designed coil even more suited for the effective stimulation of deep brain regions.

High permeability cores to optimize the stimulation of deeply located brain regions using transcranial magnetic stimulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salvador, R; Miranda, P C [Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon (Portugal); Roth, Y [Advanced Technology Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer (Israel); Zangen, A [Neurobiology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)], E-mail: rnsalvador@fc.ul.pt

2009-05-21

Efficient stimulation of deeply located brain regions with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) poses many challenges, arising from the fact that the induced field decays rapidly and becomes less focal with depth. We propose a new method to improve the efficiency of TMS of deep brain regions that combines high permeability cores, to increase focality and field intensity, with a coil specifically designed to induce a field that decays slowly with increasing depth. The performance of the proposed design was investigated using the finite element method to determine the total electric field induced by this coil/core arrangement on a realistically shaped homogeneous head model. The calculations show that the inclusion of the cores increases the field's magnitude by as much as 25% while also decreasing the field's decay with depth along specific directions. The focality, as measured by the area where the field's norm is greater than 1/{radical}2 of its maximum value, is also improved by as much as 15% with some core arrangements. The coil's inductance is not significantly increased by the cores. These results show that the presence of the cores might make this specially designed coil even more suited for the effective stimulation of deep brain regions.

Simultaneous Assessment of White Matter Changes in Microstructure and Connectedness in the Blind Brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reislev, Nina Linde; Dyrby, Tim Bjørn; Siebner, Hartwig Roman

2016-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human brain has provided converging evidence that visual deprivation induces regional changes in white matter (WM) microstructure. It remains unclear how these changes modify network connections between brain regions. Here we used diffusion-weighted MRI......) assessed the connectedness of each voxel with the rest of the brain. ACM yielded reduced anatomical connectivity in the corpus callosum in individuals with congenital but not late-onset blindness. ACM did not identify any brain region where blindness resulted in increased anatomical connectivity. DTI...... revealed widespread microstructural differences as indexed by a reduced regional fractional anisotropy (FA). Blind individuals showed lower FA in the primary visual and the ventral visual processing stream relative to sighted controls regardless of the blindness onset. The results show that visual...

Adapting Parcellation Schemes to Study Fetal Brain Connectivity in Serial Imaging Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cheng, Xi; Wilm, Jakob; Seshamani, Sharmishtaa

2013-01-01

A crucial step in studying brain connectivity is the definition of the Regions Of Interest (ROI's) which are considered as nodes of a network graph. These ROI's identified in structural imaging reflect consistent functional regions in the anatomies being compared. However in serial studies...... of the developing fetal brain such functional and associated structural markers are not consistently present over time. In this study we adapt two non-atlas based parcellation schemes to study the development of connectivity networks of a fetal monkey brain using Diffusion Weighted Imaging techniques. Results...... demonstrate that the fetal brain network exhibits small-world characteristics and a pattern of increased cluster coefficients and decreased global efficiency. These findings may provide a route to creating a new biomarker for healthy fetal brain development....

Region of interest evaluation of SPECT image reconstruction methods using a realistic brain phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Weishi; Glick, S.J.; Soares, E.J.

1996-01-01

A realistic numerical brain phantom, developed by Zubal et al, was used for a region-of-interest evaluation of the accuracy and noise variance of the following SPECT reconstruction methods: (1) Maximum-Likelihood reconstruction using the Expectation-Maximization (ML-EM) algorithm; (2) an EM algorithm using ordered-subsets (OS-EM); (3) a re-scaled block iterative EM algorithm (RBI-EM); and (4) a filtered backprojection algorithm that uses a combination of the Bellini method for attenuation compensation and an iterative spatial blurring correction method using the frequency-distance principle (FDP). The Zubal phantom was made from segmented MRI slices of the brain, so that neuro-anatomical structures are well defined and indexed. Small regions-of-interest (ROIs) from the white matter, grey matter in the center of the brain and grey matter from the peripheral area of the brain were selected for the evaluation. Photon attenuation and distance-dependent collimator blurring were modeled. Multiple independent noise realizations were generated for two different count levels. The simulation study showed that the ROI bias measured for the EM-based algorithms decreased as the iteration number increased, and that the OS-EM and RBI-EM algorithms (16 and 64 subsets were used) achieved the equivalent accuracy of the ML-EM algorithm at about the same noise variance, with much fewer number of iterations. The Bellini-FDP restoration algorithm converged fast and required less computation per iteration. The ML-EM algorithm had a slightly better ROI bias vs. variance trade-off than the other algorithms

Region-specific expression of mitochondrial complex I genes during murine brain development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefanie Wirtz

Full Text Available Mutations in the nuclear encoded subunits of mitochondrial complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase may cause circumscribed cerebral lesions ranging from degeneration of the striatal and brainstem gray matter (Leigh syndrome to leukodystrophy. We hypothesized that such pattern of regional pathology might be due to local differences in the dependence on complex I function. Using in situ hybridization we investigated the relative expression of 33 nuclear encoded complex I subunits in different brain regions of the mouse at E11.5, E17.5, P1, P11, P28 and adult (12 weeks. With respect to timing and relative intensity of complex I gene expression we found a highly variant pattern in different regions during development. High average expression levels were detected in periods of intense neurogenesis. In cerebellar Purkinje and in hippocampal CA1/CA3 pyramidal neurons we found a second even higher peak during the period of synaptogenesis and maturation. The extraordinary dependence of these structures on complex I gene expression during synaptogenesis is in accord with our recent findings that gamma oscillations--known to be associated with higher cognitive functions of the mammalian brain--strongly depend on the complex I activity. However, with the exception of the mesencephalon, we detected only average complex I expression levels in the striatum and basal ganglia, which does not explain the exquisite vulnerability of these structures in mitochondrial disorders.

The Importance of the Brain Neuro-Programming Technologies in National and Regional Security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasyl H. Fatkhutdinov

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The authors’ understanding of neuro-programming is the result of the impact on the human brain of information and communication technology (including educational one, through which in the human brain the programs of manifestation in the ontogenesis of internal creative potentials are written. This article summarizes the history of the formation of key neuro-programming technologies of the human brain as well as proves that the changes in the society’s worldview are caused by the possibilities and quality of neuro-programming technologies that society uses. Having influence over worldview stereotypes and behaviour set by the society, neuro-programming technologies essentially ensure the national security of any state and the peaceful coexistence of states in the regions and on the planet as a whole. Using historical and philosophical methods, methods of conceptualization, systematization, modeling, etc., the authors have come to the conclusion that the modern world lies in a confrontation of security strategies, in which neuro-programming technologies play a key role.

Leptin Receptor Deficiency is Associated With Upregulation of Cannabinoid 1 Receptors in Limbic Brain Regions

Science.gov (United States)

THANOS, PANAYOTIS K.; RAMALHETE, ROBERTO C.; MICHAELIDES, MICHAEL; PIYIS, YIANNI K.; WANG, GENE-JACK; VOLKOW, NORA D.

2009-01-01

Leptin receptor dysfunction results in overeating and obesity. Leptin regulates hypothalamic signaling that underlies the motivation to hyperphagia, but the interaction between leptin and cannabinoid signaling is poorly understood. We evaluated the role of cannabinoid 1 receptors (CB1R) in overeating and the effects of food deprivation on CB1R in the brain. One-month-old Zucker rats were divided into unrestricted and restricted (fed 70% of unrestricted rats) diet groups and maintained until adulthood (4 months). Levels of relative binding sites of CB1R (CB1R binding levels) were assessed using [3H] SR141716A in vitro autoradiography. These levels were higher (except cerebellum and hypothalamus) at 4 months than at 1 month of age. One month CB1R binding levels for most brain regions did not differ between Ob and Lean (Le) rats (except in frontal and cingulate cortices in Le and in the hypothalamus in Ob). Four month Ob rats had higher CB1R binding levels than Le in most brain regions and food restriction was associated with higher CB1R levels in all brain regions in Ob, but not in Le rats. CB1R binding levels increased between adolescence and young adulthood which we believe was influenced by leptin and food availability. The high levels of CB1R in Ob rats suggest that leptin's inhibition of food-intake is in part mediated by downregulation of CB1R and that leptin interferes with CB1R upregulation under food-deprivation conditions. These results are consistent with prior findings showing increased levels of endogenous cannabinoids in the Ob rats corroborating the regulation of cannabinoid signaling by leptin. PMID:18563836

Artifact suppression and analysis of brain activities with electroencephalography signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rashed-Al-Mahfuz, Md; Islam, Md Rabiul; Hirose, Keikichi; Molla, Md Khademul Islam

2013-06-05

Brain-computer interface is a communication system that connects the brain with computer (or other devices) but is not dependent on the normal output of the brain (i.e., peripheral nerve and muscle). Electro-oculogram is a dominant artifact which has a significant negative influence on further analysis of real electroencephalography data. This paper presented a data adaptive technique for artifact suppression and brain wave extraction from electroencephalography signals to detect regional brain activities. Empirical mode decomposition based adaptive thresholding approach was employed here to suppress the electro-oculogram artifact. Fractional Gaussian noise was used to determine the threshold level derived from the analysis data without any training. The purified electroencephalography signal was composed of the brain waves also called rhythmic components which represent the brain activities. The rhythmic components were extracted from each electroencephalography channel using adaptive wiener filter with the original scale. The regional brain activities were mapped on the basis of the spatial distribution of rhythmic components, and the results showed that different regions of the brain are activated in response to different stimuli. This research analyzed the activities of a single rhythmic component, alpha with respect to different motor imaginations. The experimental results showed that the proposed method is very efficient in artifact suppression and identifying individual motor imagery based on the activities of alpha component.

A system architecture for sharing de-identified, research-ready brain scans and health information across clinical imaging centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chervenak, Ann L; van Erp, Theo G M; Kesselman, Carl; D'Arcy, Mike; Sobell, Janet; Keator, David; Dahm, Lisa; Murry, Jim; Law, Meng; Hasso, Anton; Ames, Joseph; Macciardi, Fabio; Potkin, Steven G

2012-01-01

Progress in our understanding of brain disorders increasingly relies on the costly collection of large standardized brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data sets. Moreover, the clinical interpretation of brain scans benefits from compare and contrast analyses of scans from patients with similar, and sometimes rare, demographic, diagnostic, and treatment status. A solution to both needs is to acquire standardized, research-ready clinical brain scans and to build the information technology infrastructure to share such scans, along with other pertinent information, across hospitals. This paper describes the design, deployment, and operation of a federated imaging system that captures and shares standardized, de-identified clinical brain images in a federation across multiple institutions. In addition to describing innovative aspects of the system architecture and our initial testing of the deployed infrastructure, we also describe the Standardized Imaging Protocol (SIP) developed for the project and our interactions with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) regarding handling patient data in the federated environment.

Huntington's disease accelerates epigenetic aging of human brain and disrupts DNA methylation levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Steve; Langfelder, Peter; Kwak, Seung; Aaronson, Jeff; Rosinski, Jim; Vogt, Thomas F; Eszes, Marika; Faull, Richard L M; Curtis, Maurice A; Waldvogel, Henry J; Choi, Oi-Wa; Tung, Spencer; Vinters, Harry V; Coppola, Giovanni; Yang, X William

2016-07-01

Age of Huntington's disease (HD) motoric onset is strongly related to the number of CAG trinucleotide repeats in the huntingtin gene, suggesting that biological tissue age plays an important role in disease etiology. Recently, a DNA methylation based biomarker of tissue age has been advanced as an epigenetic aging clock. We sought to inquire if HD is associated with an accelerated epigenetic age. DNA methylation data was generated for 475 brain samples from various brain regions of 26 HD cases and 39 controls. Overall, brain regions from HD cases exhibit a significant epigenetic age acceleration effect (p=0.0012). A multivariate model analysis suggests that HD status increases biological age by 3.2 years. Accelerated epigenetic age can be observed in specific brain regions (frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and cingulate gyrus). After excluding controls, we observe a negative correlation (r=-0.41, p=5.5×10-8) between HD gene CAG repeat length and the epigenetic age of HD brain samples. Using correlation network analysis, we identify 11 co-methylation modules with a significant association with HD status across 3 broad cortical regions. In conclusion, HD is associated with an accelerated epigenetic age of specific brain regions and more broadly with substantial changes in brain methylation levels.

Incorporating 3D-printing technology in the design of head-caps and electrode drives for recording neurons in multiple brain regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Headley, Drew B; DeLucca, Michael V; Haufler, Darrell; Paré, Denis

2015-04-01

Recent advances in recording and computing hardware have enabled laboratories to record the electrical activity of multiple brain regions simultaneously. Lagging behind these technical advances, however, are the methods needed to rapidly produce microdrives and head-caps that can flexibly accommodate different recording configurations. Indeed, most available designs target single or adjacent brain regions, and, if multiple sites are targeted, specially constructed head-caps are used. Here, we present a novel design style, for both microdrives and head-caps, which takes advantage of three-dimensional printing technology. This design facilitates targeting of multiple brain regions in various configurations. Moreover, the parts are easily fabricated in large quantities, with only minor hand-tooling and finishing required. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Stability of whole brain and regional network topology within and between resting and cognitive states.

Science.gov (United States)

Rzucidlo, Justyna K; Roseman, Paige L; Laurienti, Paul J; Dagenbach, Dale

2013-01-01

Graph-theory based analyses of resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data have been used to map the network organization of the brain. While numerous analyses of resting state brain organization exist, many questions remain unexplored. The present study examines the stability of findings based on this approach over repeated resting state and working memory state sessions within the same individuals. This allows assessment of stability of network topology within the same state for both rest and working memory, and between rest and working memory as well. fMRI scans were performed on five participants while at rest and while performing the 2-back working memory task five times each, with task state alternating while they were in the scanner. Voxel-based whole brain network analyses were performed on the resulting data along with analyses of functional connectivity in regions associated with resting state and working memory. Network topology was fairly stable across repeated sessions of the same task, but varied significantly between rest and working memory. In the whole brain analysis, local efficiency, Eloc, differed significantly between rest and working memory. Analyses of network statistics for the precuneus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex revealed significant differences in degree as a function of task state for both regions and in local efficiency for the precuneus. Conversely, no significant differences were observed across repeated sessions of the same state. These findings suggest that network topology is fairly stable within individuals across time for the same state, but also fluid between states. Whole brain voxel-based network analyses may prove to be a valuable tool for exploring how functional connectivity changes in response to task demands.

Neuroimaging meta-analysis of cannabis use studies reveals convergent functional alterations in brain regions supporting cognitive control and reward processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanes, Julio A; Riedel, Michael C; Ray, Kimberly L; Kirkland, Anna E; Bird, Ryan T; Boeving, Emily R; Reid, Meredith A; Gonzalez, Raul; Robinson, Jennifer L; Laird, Angela R; Sutherland, Matthew T

2018-03-01

Lagging behind rapid changes to state laws, societal views, and medical practice is the scientific investigation of cannabis's impact on the human brain. While several brain imaging studies have contributed important insight into neurobiological alterations linked with cannabis use, our understanding remains limited. Here, we sought to delineate those brain regions that consistently demonstrate functional alterations among cannabis users versus non-users across neuroimaging studies using the activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis framework. In ancillary analyses, we characterized task-related brain networks that co-activate with cannabis-affected regions using data archived in a large neuroimaging repository, and then determined which psychological processes may be disrupted via functional decoding techniques. When considering convergent alterations among users, decreased activation was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and limbic areas and was linked with cognitive control processes. Similarly, decreased activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which co-activated with frontal and occipital areas and linked with attention-related processes. Conversely, increased activation among users was observed in the striatum, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and other limbic areas and linked with reward processing. These meta-analytic outcomes indicate that cannabis use is linked with differential, region-specific effects across the brain.

How the human brain goes virtual: distinct cortical regions of the person-processing network are involved in self-identification with virtual agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganesh, Shanti; van Schie, Hein T; de Lange, Floris P; Thompson, Evan; Wigboldus, Daniël H J

2012-07-01

Millions of people worldwide engage in online role-playing with their avatar, a virtual agent that represents the self. Previous behavioral studies have indicated that many gamers identify more strongly with their avatar than with their biological self. Through their avatar, gamers develop social networks and learn new social-cognitive skills. The cognitive neurosciences have yet to identify the neural processes that underlie self-identification with these virtual agents. We applied functional neuroimaging to 22 long-term online gamers and 21 nongaming controls, while they rated personality traits of self, avatar, and familiar others. Strikingly, neuroimaging data revealed greater avatar-referential cortical activity in the left inferior parietal lobe, a region associated with self-identification from a third-person perspective. The magnitude of this brain activity correlated positively with the propensity to incorporate external body enhancements into one's bodily identity. Avatar-referencing furthermore recruited greater activity in the rostral anterior cingulate gyrus, suggesting relatively greater emotional self-involvement with one's avatar. Post-scanning behavioral data revealed superior recognition memory for avatar relative to others. Interestingly, memory for avatar positively covaried with play duration. These findings significantly advance our knowledge about the brain's plasticity to self-identify with virtual agents and the human cognitive-affective potential to live and learn in virtual worlds.

Tartrazine induced neurobiochemical alterations in rat brain sub-regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, Diksha; Vyas, Krati; Singh, Shakuntala; John, P J; Soni, Inderpal

2018-03-01

Tartrazine is a synthetic lemon yellow azo dye primarily used as a food coloring. The present study aimed to screen the neurobiochemical effects of Tartrazine in Wistar rats after administering the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) level. Tartrazine (7.5 mg/kg b.w.) was administered to 21 day old weanling rats through oral gavage once daily for 40 consecutive days. On 41st day, the animals were sacrificed and brain sub regions namely, frontal cortex, corpus striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum were used to determine activities of anti-oxidant enzymes viz. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione-Stransferase (GST), Glutathione Reductase (GR) and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and levels of lipid peroxides using Thio-barbituric Acid Reactive Substance (TBARS) assay. Our investigation showed a significant decrease in SOD and CAT activity, whereas there occurred a decline in GST and GR activity with an increase in GPx activity to counteract the oxidative damage caused by significantly increased levels of lipid peroxides. The possible mechanism of this oxidative damage might be attributed to the production of sulphanilc acid as a metabolite in azofission of tartrazine. It may be concluded that the ADI levels of food azo dyes adversely affect and alter biochemical markers of brain tissue and cause oxidative damage. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain anatomical networks in early human brain development.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Yong; Shi, Feng; Smith, Jeffrey Keith; Lin, Weili; Gilmore, John H; Shen, Dinggang

2011-02-01

Recent neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that human brain networks have economic small-world topology and modular organization, enabling efficient information transfer among brain regions. However, it remains largely unknown how the small-world topology and modular organization of human brain networks emerge and develop. Using longitudinal MRI data of 28 healthy pediatric subjects, collected at their ages of 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years, we analyzed development patterns of brain anatomical networks derived from morphological correlations of brain regional volumes. The results show that the brain network of 1-month-olds has the characteristically economic small-world topology and nonrandom modular organization. The network's cost efficiency increases with the brain development to 1 year and 2 years, so does the modularity, providing supportive evidence for the hypothesis that the small-world topology and the modular organization of brain networks are established during early brain development to support rapid synchronization and information transfer with minimal rewiring cost, as well as to balance between local processing and global integration of information. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Effect of time period after boric acid injection on {sup 10}B absorption in different regions of adult male rat's brain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baghban Khojasteh, Nasrin, E-mail: khojasteh.nasrin@gmail.com [Nuclear Engineering Department, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Poonak Sq. PO Box 14515-775, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Pazirandeh, Ali [Nuclear Engineering Department, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Poonak Sq. PO Box 14515-775, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Jameie, Behnam [Nuclear Engineering Department, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Poonak Sq. PO Box 14515-775, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Laboratory of Basic Science and Neuroscience, Basic Science Dept, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Science, Pardis-e-Hemmat,Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Goodarzi, Samereh [Nuclear Engineering Department, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Poonak Sq. PO Box 14515-775, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-06-15

Distribution of {sup 10}B in different regions of rat normal brain was studied. Two groups were chosen as control and trial. Trial group received 2 ml of neutral boron compound. 2, 4 and 6 h after the injection brain removed, coronal sections of forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain were sandwiched between two pieces of polycarbonate. Autoradiography plots of {sup 10}B distribution showed significant differences in three regions with the highest {sup 10}B concentration in the forebrain during 4 h after injection. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Normal tissue tolerance is very important in BNCT. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This study has been done to determine {sup 10}B distribution in three anatomical regions of rat normal brain. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer These specific regions of brain have not been studied in previous BNCT projects. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We found significant differences in {sup 10}B distribution between these three regions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In different time periods after neutral boron compound injection, there has been a significant difference in boron absorption.

Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures

Science.gov (United States)

Hibar, Derrek P.; Stein, Jason L.; Renteria, Miguel E.; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Desrivières, 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.; Olde Loohuis, Loes M.; Luciano, Michelle; Macare, Christine; Mather, Karen A.; Mattheisen, Manuel; Milaneschi, Yuri; Nho, Kwangsik; Papmeyer, Martina; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Risacher, Shannon L.; Roiz-Santiañez, Roberto; Rose, Emma J.; Salami, Alireza; Sämann, 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.; Pütz, 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; Göring, 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.; Meisenzahl, Eva; Melle, Ingrid; Mohnke, Sebastian; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mostert, Jeanette C.; Mühleisen, Thomas W.; Nalls, Michael A.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Nilsson, Lars G.; Nöthen, 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.; Valdés Hernández, 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; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hosten, Norbert; Kahn, René S.; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Müller-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.; Völzke, 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; Fernández, Guillén; Fisher, Simon E.; Francks, Clyde; Glahn, David C.; Grabe, Hans J.; Gruber, Oliver; Hardy, John; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.; Jönsson, 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 influences1. Subcortical brain regions form circuits with cortical areas to coordinate movement2, learning, memory3 and motivation4, and altered circuits can lead to abnormal behaviour and disease2. To investigate how common genetic variants affect the structure of these brain regions, here we conduct genome-wide association studies of the volumes of seven subcortical regions and the intracranial volume derived from magnetic resonance images of 30,717 individuals from 50 cohorts. We identify five novel genetic variants influencing the volumes of the putamen and caudate nucleus. We also find stronger evidence for three loci with previously established influences on hippocampal volume5 and intracranial volume6. These variants show specific volumetric effects on brain structures rather than global effects across structures. The strongest effects were found for the putamen, where a novel intergenic locus with replicable influence on volume (rs945270; P = 1.08 × 10−33; 0.52% variance explained) showed evidence of altering the expression of the KTN1 gene in both brain and blood tissue. Variants influencing putamen volume clustered near developmental genes that regulate apoptosis, axon guidance and vesicle transport. Identification of these genetic variants provides insight into the causes of variability inhuman brain development, and may help to determine mechanisms of neuropsychiatric dysfunction. PMID:25607358

Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hibar, Derrek P; Stein, Jason L; Renteria, Miguel E; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Desrivières, 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; Olde Loohuis, Loes M; Luciano, Michelle; Macare, Christine; Mather, Karen A; Mattheisen, Manuel; Milaneschi, Yuri; Nho, Kwangsik; Papmeyer, Martina; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Risacher, Shannon L; Roiz-Santiañez, Roberto; Rose, Emma J; Salami, Alireza; Sämann, 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; Pütz, 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; Göring, 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; Meisenzahl, Eva; Melle, Ingrid; Mohnke, Sebastian; Montgomery, Grant W; Mostert, Jeanette C; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Nalls, Michael A; Nichols, Thomas E; Nilsson, Lars G; Nöthen, 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; Valdés Hernández, 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; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hosten, Norbert; Kahn, René S; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Müller-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; Völzke, 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; Fernández, Guillén; Fisher, Simon E; Francks, Clyde; Glahn, David C; Grabe, Hans J; Gruber, Oliver; Hardy, John; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Jönsson, 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

2015-04-09

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 genetic variants affect the structure of these brain regions, here we conduct genome-wide association studies of the volumes of seven subcortical regions and the intracranial volume derived from magnetic resonance images of 30,717 individuals from 50 cohorts. We identify five novel genetic variants influencing the volumes of the putamen and caudate nucleus. We also find stronger evidence for three loci with previously established influences on hippocampal volume and intracranial volume. These variants show specific volumetric effects on brain structures rather than global effects across structures. The strongest effects were found for the putamen, where a novel intergenic locus with replicable influence on volume (rs945270; P = 1.08 × 10(-33); 0.52% variance explained) showed evidence of altering the expression of the KTN1 gene in both brain and blood tissue. Variants influencing putamen volume clustered near developmental genes that regulate apoptosis, axon guidance and vesicle transport. Identification of these genetic variants provides insight into the causes of variability in human brain development, and may help to determine mechanisms of neuropsychiatric dysfunction.

Correlations between regional cerebral blood flow and age-related brain atrophy: a quantitative study with computed tomography and the xenon-133 inhalation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, T.; Hatazawa, J.; Kubota, K.; Abe, Y.; Fujiwara, T.; Matsuzawa, T.

1983-01-01

One hundred and two subjects (40 men and 62 women) neither having a history of neurologic deficits nor showing organic lesions on computed tomographic examination of the brain were studied. Ages of the subjects ranged from 26 to 81 years. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured by the xenon-133 inhalation method, and the volume percentage of brain with respect to the cranial cavity (craniocerebral index) was calculated by means of computer programs. Regional cerebral blood flow was computed as the fast component of two-compartmental analysis and as the initial slope index value. The percentage of each subject's craniocerebral index in relation to the standard for subjects with non-atrophied brains (brain volume index) was calculated as the indicator of brain atrophy. Both the mean brain fast component values and the mean brain initial slope index values correlated closely with the brain volume index in the elderly. Low cerebral blood flow values coincided with loss of brain substance in the final stage of age-related brain atrophy, but not in the intermediate stage

Integrated Analysis and Visualization of Group Differences in Structural and Functional Brain Connectivity: Applications in Typical Ageing and Schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn D Langen

Full Text Available Structural and functional brain connectivity are increasingly used to identify and analyze group differences in studies of brain disease. This study presents methods to analyze uni- and bi-modal brain connectivity and evaluate their ability to identify differences. Novel visualizations of significantly different connections comparing multiple metrics are presented. On the global level, "bi-modal comparison plots" show the distribution of uni- and bi-modal group differences and the relationship between structure and function. Differences between brain lobes are visualized using "worm plots". Group differences in connections are examined with an existing visualization, the "connectogram". These visualizations were evaluated in two proof-of-concept studies: (1 middle-aged versus elderly subjects; and (2 patients with schizophrenia versus controls. Each included two measures derived from diffusion weighted images and two from functional magnetic resonance images. The structural measures were minimum cost path between two anatomical regions according to the "Statistical Analysis of Minimum cost path based Structural Connectivity" method and the average fractional anisotropy along the fiber. The functional measures were Pearson's correlation and partial correlation of mean regional time series. The relationship between structure and function was similar in both studies. Uni-modal group differences varied greatly between connectivity types. Group differences were identified in both studies globally, within brain lobes and between regions. In the aging study, minimum cost path was highly effective in identifying group differences on all levels; fractional anisotropy and mean correlation showed smaller differences on the brain lobe and regional levels. In the schizophrenia study, minimum cost path and fractional anisotropy showed differences on the global level and within brain lobes; mean correlation showed small differences on the lobe level. Only

Identify fracture-critical regions inside the proximal femur using statistical parametric mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenjun; Kornak, John; Harris, Tamara; Keyak, Joyce; Li, Caixia; Lu, Ying; Cheng, Xiaoguang; Lang, Thomas

2009-01-01

We identified regions inside the proximal femur that are most strongly associated with hip fracture. Bone densitometry based on such fracture-critical regions showed improved power in discriminating fracture patients from controls. Introduction Hip fractures typically occur in lateral falls, with focal mechanical failure of the sub-volumes of tissue in which the applied stress exceeds the strength. In this study, we describe a new methodology to identify proximal femoral tissue elements with highest association with hip fracture. We hypothesize that bone mineral density (BMD) measured in such sub-volumes discriminates hip fracture risk better than BMD in standard anatomic regions such as the femoral neck and trochanter. Materials and Methods We employed inter-subject registration to transform hip QCT images of 37 patients with hip fractures and 38 age-matched controls into a voxel-based statistical atlas. Within voxels, we performed t-tests between the two groups to identify the regions which differed most. We then randomly divided the 75 scans into a training set and a test set. From the training set, we derived a fracture-driven region of interest (ROI) based on association with fracture. In the test set, we measured BMD in this ROI to determine fracture discrimination efficacy using ROC analysis. Additionally, we compared the BMD distribution differences between the 29 patients with neck fractures and the 8 patients with trochanteric fractures. Results By evaluating fracture discrimination power based on ROC analysis, the fracture-driven ROI had an AUC (area under curve) of 0.92, while anatomic ROIs (including the entire proximal femur, the femoral neck, trochanter and their cortical and trabecular compartments) had AUC values between 0.78 and 0.87. We also observed that the neck fracture patients had lower BMD (p=0.014) in a small region near the femoral neck and the femoral head, and patients with trochanteric fractures had lower BMD in trochanteric regions

Using perturbations to identify the brain circuits underlying active vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Wurtz, Robert H

2015-09-19

The visual and oculomotor systems in the brain have been studied extensively in the primate. Together, they can be regarded as a single brain system that underlies active vision--the normal vision that begins with visual processing in the retina and extends through the brain to the generation of eye movement by the brainstem. The system is probably one of the most thoroughly studied brain systems in the primate, and it offers an ideal opportunity to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the series of perturbation techniques that have been used to study it. The perturbations have been critical in moving from correlations between neuronal activity and behaviour closer to a causal relation between neuronal activity and behaviour. The same perturbation techniques have also been used to tease out neuronal circuits that are related to active vision that in turn are driving behaviour. The evolution of perturbation techniques includes ablation of both cortical and subcortical targets, punctate chemical lesions, reversible inactivations, electrical stimulation, and finally the expanding optogenetic techniques. The evolution of perturbation techniques has supported progressively stronger conclusions about what neuronal circuits in the brain underlie active vision and how the circuits themselves might be organized.

Brain reward region responsivity of adolescents with and without parental substance use disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Stice, Eric; Yokum, Sonja

2014-09-01

The present study tested the competing hypotheses that adolescents at risk for future substance abuse and dependence by virtue of parental substance use disorders show either weaker or stronger responsivity of brain regions implicated in reward relative to youth without parental history of substance use disorders. Adolescents (n = 52) matched on demographics with and without parental substance use disorders, as determined by diagnostic interviews, who denied substance use in the past year were compared on functional MRI (fMRI) paradigms assessing neural response to receipt and anticipated receipt of monetary and food reward. Parental-history-positive versus -negative adolescents showed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral putamen, and less activation in the fusiform gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus in response to anticipating winning money, as well as greater activation in the left midbrain and right paracentral lobule, and less activation in the right middle frontal gyrus in response to milkshake receipt. Results indicate that adolescents at risk for future onset of substance use disorders show elevated responsivity of brain regions implicated in reward, extending results from 2 smaller prior studies that found that individuals with versus without parental alcohol use disorders showed greater reward region response to anticipated monetary reward and pictures of alcohol. Collectively, results provide support for the reward surfeit model of substance use disorders, rather than the reward deficit model.

Brain activity dynamics in human parietal regions during spontaneous switches in bistable perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Megumi, Fukuda; Bahrami, Bahador; Kanai, Ryota; Rees, Geraint

2015-02-15

The neural mechanisms underlying conscious visual perception have been extensively investigated using bistable perception paradigms. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies suggest that the right anterior superior parietal (r-aSPL) and the right posterior superior parietal lobule (r-pSPL) have opposite roles in triggering perceptual reversals. It has been proposed that these two areas are part of a hierarchical network whose dynamics determine perceptual switches. However, how these two parietal regions interact with each other and with the rest of the brain during bistable perception is not known. Here, we investigated such a model by recording brain activity using fMRI while participants viewed a bistable structure-from-motion stimulus. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we found that resolving such perceptual ambiguity was specifically associated with reciprocal interactions between these parietal regions and V5/MT. Strikingly, the strength of bottom-up coupling between V5/MT to r-pSPL and from r-pSPL to r-aSPL predicted individual mean dominance duration. Our findings are consistent with a hierarchical predictive coding model of parietal involvement in bistable perception and suggest that visual information processing underlying spontaneous perceptual switches can be described as changes in connectivity strength between parietal and visual cortical regions. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Altered cortical hubs in functional brain networks in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xujing; Zhang, Jiuquan; Zhang, Youxue; Chen, Heng; Li, Rong; Wang, Jian; Chen, Huafu

2015-11-01

Cortical hubs are highly connected nodes in functional brain networks that play vital roles in the efficient transfer of information across brain regions. Although altered functional connectivity has been found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the changing pattern in functional network hubs in ALS remains unknown. In this study, we applied a voxel-wise method to investigate the changing pattern of cortical hubs in ALS. Through resting-state fMRI, we constructed whole-brain voxel-wise functional networks by measuring the temporal correlations of each pair of brain voxels and identified hubs using the graph theory method. Specifically, a functional connectivity strength (FCS) map was derived from the data on 20 patients with ALS and 20 healthy controls. The brain regions with high FCS values were regarded as functional network hubs. Functional hubs were found mainly in the bilateral precuneus, parietal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and in several visual regions and temporal areas in both groups. Within the hub regions, the ALS patients exhibited higher FCS in the prefrontal cortex compared with the healthy controls. The FCS value in the significantly abnormal hub regions was correlated with clinical variables. Results indicated the presence of altered cortical hubs in the ALS patients and could therefore shed light on the pathophysiology mechanisms underlying ALS.

Identifying regions of interest in medical images using self-organizing maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Wei-Guang; Chang, Ping-Lin

2012-10-01

Advances in data acquisition, processing and visualization techniques have had a tremendous impact on medical imaging in recent years. However, the interpretation of medical images is still almost always performed by radiologists. Developments in artificial intelligence and image processing have shown the increasingly great potential of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). Nevertheless, it has remained challenging to develop a general approach to process various commonly used types of medical images (e.g., X-ray, MRI, and ultrasound images). To facilitate diagnosis, we recommend the use of image segmentation to discover regions of interest (ROI) using self-organizing maps (SOM). We devise a two-stage SOM approach that can be used to precisely identify the dominant colors of a medical image and then segment it into several small regions. In addition, by appropriately conducting the recursive merging steps to merge smaller regions into larger ones, radiologists can usually identify one or more ROIs within a medical image.

Opiate antagonist binding sites in discrete brain regions of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmani, N.H.; Gulati, A.; Bhargava, H.N.

1991-01-01

The binding of 3 H-naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, to membranes of discrete brain regions and spinal cord of 10 week old spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats was determined. The brain regions examined were hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midbrain and cortex. 3 H-Naltrexone bound to membranes of brain regions and spinal cord at a single high affinity site with an apparent dissociation constant value of 3 nM. The highest density of 3 H-naltrexone binding sites were in hippocampus and lowest in the cerebral cortex. The receptor density (B max value) and apparent dissociation constant (K d value) values of 3 H-naltrexone to bind to opiate receptors on the membranes of amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midgrain, cortex and spinal cord of WKY and SHR rates did not differ. The B max value of 3 H-naltrexone binding to membranes of hypothalamus of SHR rates was 518% higher than WKY rats but the K d values in the two strains did not differ. It is concluded that SHR rats have higher density of opiate receptors labeled with 3 H-naltrexone in the hypothalamus only, in comparison with WKY rats, and that such a difference in the density of opiate receptors may be related to the elevated blood pressure in SHR rats

Regional ADC values of the normal brain: differences due to age, gender, and laterality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naganawa, Shinji; Ishigaki, Takeo [Department of Radiology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Shouwa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550 (Japan); Sato, Kimihide; Katagiri, Toshio; Mimura, Takeo [Department of Radiology, First Kamiida General Hospital (Japan)

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of measurement for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in normal brain, to clarify the effect of aging on ADC values, to compare ADC values between men and women, and to compare ADC values between right and left sides of the brain. To evaluate the stability of measurements, five normal volunteers (four men and one woman) were examined five times on different days. Then, 294 subjects with normal MR imaging (147 men and 147 women; age range 20-89 years) were measured. The ADC measurement in normal volunteers was stable. The ADC values stayed within the 5% deviation of average values in all volunteers (mean{+-}standard deviation 2.3{+-}1.2%). The ADC values gradually increased by aging in all regions. In thalamus, no significant difference was seen between right and left in the subjects under 60 years; however, right side showed higher values in the subjects over 60 years (p<0.01). In the subjects under 60 years, women showed higher values in right frontal, bilateral thalamus, and temporal (p<0.01); however, in the subjects over 60 years, no region showed difference between men and women. The knowledge obtained in this study may be helpful to understand the developmental and aging mechanisms of normal brain and may be useful for the future quantitative study as a reference. (orig.)

Regional ADC values of the normal brain: differences due to age, gender, and laterality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naganawa, Shinji; Ishigaki, Takeo; Sato, Kimihide; Katagiri, Toshio; Mimura, Takeo

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of measurement for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in normal brain, to clarify the effect of aging on ADC values, to compare ADC values between men and women, and to compare ADC values between right and left sides of the brain. To evaluate the stability of measurements, five normal volunteers (four men and one woman) were examined five times on different days. Then, 294 subjects with normal MR imaging (147 men and 147 women; age range 20-89 years) were measured. The ADC measurement in normal volunteers was stable. The ADC values stayed within the 5% deviation of average values in all volunteers (mean±standard deviation 2.3±1.2%). The ADC values gradually increased by aging in all regions. In thalamus, no significant difference was seen between right and left in the subjects under 60 years; however, right side showed higher values in the subjects over 60 years (p<0.01). In the subjects under 60 years, women showed higher values in right frontal, bilateral thalamus, and temporal (p<0.01); however, in the subjects over 60 years, no region showed difference between men and women. The knowledge obtained in this study may be helpful to understand the developmental and aging mechanisms of normal brain and may be useful for the future quantitative study as a reference. (orig.)

Regional Brain Glucose Hypometabolism in Young Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Possible Link to Mild Insulin Resistance.

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Castellano, Christian-Alexandre; Baillargeon, Jean-Patrice; Nugent, Scott; Tremblay, Sébastien; Fortier, Mélanie; Imbeault, Hélène; Duval, Julie; Cunnane, Stephen C

2015-01-01

To investigate whether cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglu) is altered in normal weight young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who exhibit mild insulin resistance. Seven women with PCOS were compared to eleven healthy female controls of similar age, education and body mass index. Regional brain glucose uptake was quantified using FDG with dynamic positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and its potential relationship with insulin resistance assessed using the updated homeostasis model assessment (HOMA2-IR). A battery of cognitive tests was administered to evaluate working memory, attention and executive function. The PCOS group had 10% higher fasting glucose and 40% higher HOMA2-IR (p ≤ 0.035) compared to the Controls. The PCOS group had 9-14% lower CMRglu in specific regions of the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices (p ≤ 0.018). A significant negative relation was found between the CMRglu and HOMA2-IR mainly in the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices as well as in the hippocampus and the amygdala (p ≤ 0.05). Globally, cognitive performance was normal in both groups but scores on the PASAT test of working memory tended to be low in the PCOS group. The PCOS group exhibited a pattern of low regional CMRglu that correlated inversely with HOMA2-IR in several brain regions and which resembled the pattern seen in aging and early Alzheimer's disease. These results suggest that a direct association between mild insulin resistance and brain glucose hypometabolism independent of overweight or obesity can exist in young adults in their 20s. Further investigation of the influence of insulin resistance on brain glucose metabolism and cognition in younger and middle-aged adults is warranted.

Regional Brain Glucose Hypometabolism in Young Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Possible Link to Mild Insulin Resistance.

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Christian-Alexandre Castellano

Full Text Available To investigate whether cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglu is altered in normal weight young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS who exhibit mild insulin resistance.Seven women with PCOS were compared to eleven healthy female controls of similar age, education and body mass index. Regional brain glucose uptake was quantified using FDG with dynamic positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and its potential relationship with insulin resistance assessed using the updated homeostasis model assessment (HOMA2-IR. A battery of cognitive tests was administered to evaluate working memory, attention and executive function.The PCOS group had 10% higher fasting glucose and 40% higher HOMA2-IR (p ≤ 0.035 compared to the Controls. The PCOS group had 9-14% lower CMRglu in specific regions of the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices (p ≤ 0.018. A significant negative relation was found between the CMRglu and HOMA2-IR mainly in the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices as well as in the hippocampus and the amygdala (p ≤ 0.05. Globally, cognitive performance was normal in both groups but scores on the PASAT test of working memory tended to be low in the PCOS group.The PCOS group exhibited a pattern of low regional CMRglu that correlated inversely with HOMA2-IR in several brain regions and which resembled the pattern seen in aging and early Alzheimer's disease. These results suggest that a direct association between mild insulin resistance and brain glucose hypometabolism independent of overweight or obesity can exist in young adults in their 20s. Further investigation of the influence of insulin resistance on brain glucose metabolism and cognition in younger and middle-aged adults is warranted.

Training of verbal creativity modulates brain activity in regions associated with language- and memory-related demands.

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Fink, Andreas; Benedek, Mathias; Koschutnig, Karl; Pirker, Eva; Berger, Elisabeth; Meister, Sabrina; Neubauer, Aljoscha C; Papousek, Ilona; Weiss, Elisabeth M

2015-10-01

This functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was designed to investigate changes in functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation as a result of a computerized, 3-week verbal creativity training. The training was composed of various verbal divergent thinking exercises requiring participants to train approximately 20 min per day. Fifty-three participants were tested three times (psychometric tests and fMRI assessment) with an intertest-interval of 4 weeks each. Participants were randomly assigned to two different training groups, which received the training time-delayed: The first training group was trained between the first and the second test, while the second group accomplished the training between the second and the third test session. At the behavioral level, only one training group showed improvements in different facets of verbal creativity right after the training. Yet, functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation were strikingly similar across both training groups. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses (along with supplementary region of interest analyses) revealed that the training was associated with activity changes in well-known creativity-related brain regions such as the left inferior parietal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus, which have been shown as being particularly sensitive to the originality facet of creativity in previous research. Taken together, this study demonstrates that continuous engagement in a specific complex cognitive task like divergent thinking is associated with reliable changes of activity patterns in relevant brain areas, suggesting more effective search, retrieval, and integration from internal memory representations as a result of the training. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Multimodal Approach for Determining Brain Networks by Jointly Modeling Functional and Structural Connectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenqiong eXue

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Recent innovations in neuroimaging technology have provided opportunities for researchers to investigate connectivity in the human brain by examining the anatomical circuitry as well as functional relationships between brain regions. Existing statistical approaches for connectivity generally examine resting-state or task-related functional connectivity (FC between brain regions or separately examine structural linkages. As a means to determine brain networks, we present a unified Bayesian framework for analyzing FC utilizing the knowledge of associated structural connections, which extends an approach by Patel et al.(2006a that considers only functional data. We introduce an FC measure that rests upon assessments of functional coherence between regional brain activity identified from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI data. Our structural connectivity (SC information is drawn from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI data, which is used to quantify probabilities of SC between brain regions. We formulate a prior distribution for FC that depends upon the probability of SC between brain regions, with this dependence adhering to structural-functional links revealed by our fMRI and DTI data. We further characterize the functional hierarchy of functionally connected brain regions by defining an ascendancy measure that compares the marginal probabilities of elevated activity between regions. In addition, we describe topological properties of the network, which is composed of connected region pairs, by performing graph theoretic analyses. We demonstrate the use of our Bayesian model using fMRI and DTI data from a study of auditory processing. We further illustrate the advantages of our method by comparisons to methods that only incorporate functional information.

Spatial distribution of resting-state BOLD regional homogeneity as a predictor of brain glucose uptake: A study in healthy aging.

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Bernier, Michaël; Croteau, Etienne; Castellano, Christian-Alexandre; Cunnane, Stephen C; Whittingstall, Kevin

2017-04-15

Positron emission tomography using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG) is the primary imaging modality used to measure glucose metabolism in the brain (CMRGlu). CMRGlu has been used as a biomarker of brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, but the complexity and invasive nature of PET often limits its use in research. There is therefore great interest in developing non-invasive metrics for estimating brain CMRGlu. We therefore investigated resting state fMRI metrics such as regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional global connectivity (Closeness) with multiple analytical approaches to determine their relationship to CMRGlu. We investigated this relation in two distinct cognitively healthy populations separated by age (27 young adults and 35 older adults). Overall, we found that both regionally and across participants, ReHo strongly correlated with CMRGlu in healthy young and older adults. Moreover, ReHo demonstrated the same age-related differences as CMRGlu throughout all cortical regions, particularly in the default network and frontal areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resolving anatomical and functional structure in human brain organization: identifying mesoscale organization in weighted network representations.

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Lohse, Christian; Bassett, Danielle S; Lim, Kelvin O; Carlson, Jean M

2014-10-01

Human brain anatomy and function display a combination of modular and hierarchical organization, suggesting the importance of both cohesive structures and variable resolutions in the facilitation of healthy cognitive processes. However, tools to simultaneously probe these features of brain architecture require further development. We propose and apply a set of methods to extract cohesive structures in network representations of brain connectivity using multi-resolution techniques. We employ a combination of soft thresholding, windowed thresholding, and resolution in community detection, that enable us to identify and isolate structures associated with different weights. One such mesoscale structure is bipartivity, which quantifies the extent to which the brain is divided into two partitions with high connectivity between partitions and low connectivity within partitions. A second, complementary mesoscale structure is modularity, which quantifies the extent to which the brain is divided into multiple communities with strong connectivity within each community and weak connectivity between communities. Our methods lead to multi-resolution curves of these network diagnostics over a range of spatial, geometric, and structural scales. For statistical comparison, we contrast our results with those obtained for several benchmark null models. Our work demonstrates that multi-resolution diagnostic curves capture complex organizational profiles in weighted graphs. We apply these methods to the identification of resolution-specific characteristics of healthy weighted graph architecture and altered connectivity profiles in psychiatric disease.

A Neural Region of Abstract Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Nelson; Li, Dawei; Moffitt, Amanda; Becker, Theresa M.; Martin, Elizabeth A.; Saults, J. Scott; Christ, Shawn E.

2011-01-01

Over 350 years ago, Descartes proposed that the neural basis of consciousness must be a brain region in which sensory inputs are combined. Using fMRI, we identified at least one such area for working memory, the limited information held in mind, described by William James as the trailing edge of consciousness. Specifically, a region in the left…

Stability of whole brain and regional network topology within and between resting and cognitive states.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna K Rzucidlo

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Graph-theory based analyses of resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI data have been used to map the network organization of the brain. While numerous analyses of resting state brain organization exist, many questions remain unexplored. The present study examines the stability of findings based on this approach over repeated resting state and working memory state sessions within the same individuals. This allows assessment of stability of network topology within the same state for both rest and working memory, and between rest and working memory as well. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: fMRI scans were performed on five participants while at rest and while performing the 2-back working memory task five times each, with task state alternating while they were in the scanner. Voxel-based whole brain network analyses were performed on the resulting data along with analyses of functional connectivity in regions associated with resting state and working memory. Network topology was fairly stable across repeated sessions of the same task, but varied significantly between rest and working memory. In the whole brain analysis, local efficiency, Eloc, differed significantly between rest and working memory. Analyses of network statistics for the precuneus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex revealed significant differences in degree as a function of task state for both regions and in local efficiency for the precuneus. Conversely, no significant differences were observed across repeated sessions of the same state. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that network topology is fairly stable within individuals across time for the same state, but also fluid between states. Whole brain voxel-based network analyses may prove to be a valuable tool for exploring how functional connectivity changes in response to task demands.

Understanding intercellular communication in the brain: Identified ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The transmission of information between nerve cells in the brain takes place at specialized sites of ... period of 10 days, and the giant chromosomes of larval salivary glands. ... extensive use of Drosophila in order to assay the effects of the genetic changes in ... the muscle responds only to a small percentage of the stimuli.

Anatomical and functional assemblies of brain BOLD oscillations

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Baria, Alexis T.; Baliki, Marwan N.; Parrish, Todd; Apkarian, A. Vania

2011-01-01

Brain oscillatory activity has long been thought to have spatial properties, the details of which are unresolved. Here we examine spatial organizational rules for the human brain oscillatory activity as measured by blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD). Resting state BOLD signal was transformed into frequency space (Welch’s method), averaged across subjects, and its spatial distribution studied as a function of four frequency bands, spanning the full bandwidth of BOLD. The brain showed anatomically constrained distribution of power for each frequency band. This result was replicated on a repository dataset of 195 subjects. Next, we examined larger-scale organization by parceling the neocortex into regions approximating Brodmann Areas (BAs). This indicated that BAs of simple function/connectivity (unimodal), vs. complex properties (transmodal), are dominated by low frequency BOLD oscillations, and within the visual ventral stream we observe a graded shift of power to higher frequency bands for BAs further removed from the primary visual cortex (increased complexity), linking frequency properties of BOLD to hodology. Additionally, BOLD oscillation properties for the default mode network demonstrated that it is composed of distinct frequency dependent regions. When the same analysis was performed on a visual-motor task, frequency-dependent global and voxel-wise shifts in BOLD oscillations could be detected at brain sites mostly outside those identified with general linear modeling. Thus, analysis of BOLD oscillations in full bandwidth uncovers novel brain organizational rules, linking anatomical structures and functional networks to characteristic BOLD oscillations. The approach also identifies changes in brain intrinsic properties in relation to responses to external inputs. PMID:21613505

Brain region-specific perfluoroalkylated sulfonate (PFSA) and carboxylic acid (PFCA) accumulation and neurochemical biomarker responses in east Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

Science.gov (United States)

Eggers Pedersen, Kathrine; Basu, Niladri; Letcher, Robert; Greaves, Alana K; Sonne, Christian; Dietz, Rune; Styrishave, Bjarne

2015-04-01

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is a growing class of contaminants in the Arctic environment, and include the established perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs; especially perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)) and carboxylic acids (PFCAs). PFSAs and PFCAs of varying chain length have been reported to bioaccumulate in lipid rich tissues of the brain among other tissues such as liver, and can reach high concentrations in top predators including the polar bear. PFCA and PFSA bioaccummulation in the brain has the potential to pose neurotoxic effects and therefore we conducted a study to investigate if variations in neurochemical transmitter systems i.e. the cholinergic, glutaminergic, dopaminergic and GABAergic, could be related to brain-specific bioaccumulation of PFASs in East Greenland polar bears. Nine brain regions from nine polar bears were analyzed for enzyme activity (monoamine oxidase (MAO), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutamine synthetase (GS)) and receptor density (dopamine-2 (D2), muscarinic cholinergic (mAChR) and gamma-butyric acid type A (GABA-A)) along with PFSA and PFCA concentrations. Average brain ∑PFSA concentration was 25ng/g ww where PFOS accounted for 91%. Average ∑PFCA concentration was 88ng/g ww where PFUnDA, PFDoDA and PFTrDA combined accounted for 79%. The highest concentrations of PFASs were measured in brain stem, cerebellum and hippocampus. Correlative analyses were performed both across and within brain regions. Significant positive correlations were found between PFASs and MAO activity in occipital lobe (e.g. ∑PFCA; rp=0.83, p=0.041, n=6) and across brain regions (e.g. ∑PFCA; rp=0.47, p=0.001, ∑PFSA; rp=0.44, p>0.001; n=50). GABA-A receptor density was positively correlated with two PFASs across brain regions (PFOS; rp=0.33, p=0.02 and PFDoDA; rp=0.34, p=0.014; n=52). Significant negative correlations were found between mAChR density and PFASs in cerebellum (e.g. ∑PFCA; rp=-0.95, p=0.013, n=5) and across brain regions (e.g. �

Brain alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex: kinetic properties, regional distribution, and effects of inhibitors.

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Lai, J C; Cooper, A J

1986-11-01

The substrate and cofactor requirements and some kinetic properties of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC; EC 1.2.4.2, EC 2.3.1.61, and EC 1.6.4.3) in purified rat brain mitochondria were studied. Brain mitochondrial KGDHC showed absolute requirement for alpha-ketoglutarate, CoA and NAD, and only partial requirement for added thiamine pyrophosphate, but no requirement for Mg2+ under the assay conditions employed in this study. The pH optimum was between 7.2 and 7.4, but, at pH values below 7.0 or above 7.8, KGDHC activity decreased markedly. KGDHC activity in various brain regions followed the rank order: cerebral cortex greater than cerebellum greater than or equal to midbrain greater than striatum = hippocampus greater than hypothalamus greater than pons and medulla greater than olfactory bulb. Significant inhibition of brain mitochondrial KGDHC was noted at pathological concentrations of ammonia (0.2-2 mM). However, the purified bovine heart KGDHC and KGDHC activity in isolated rat heart mitochondria were much less sensitive to inhibition. At 5 mM both beta-methylene-D,L-aspartate and D,L-vinylglycine (inhibitors of cerebral glucose oxidation) inhibited the purified heart but not the brain mitochondrial enzyme complex. At approximately 10 microM, calcium slightly stimulated (by 10-15%) the brain mitochondrial KGDHC. At concentrations above 100 microM, calcium (IC50 = 1 mM) inhibited both brain mitochondrial and purified heart KGDHC. The present results suggest that some of the kinetic properties of the rat brain mitochondrial KGDHC differ from those of the purified bovine heart and rat heart mitochondrial enzyme complexes. They also suggest that the inhibition of KGDHC by ammonia and the consequent effect on the citric acid cycle fluxes may be of pathophysiological and/or pathogenetic importance in hyperammonemia and in diseases (e.g., hepatic encephalopathy, inborn errors of urea metabolism, Reye's syndrome) where hyperammonemia is a

Acute and chronic changes in brain activity with deep brain stimulation for refractory depression.

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Conen, Silke; Matthews, Julian C; Patel, Nikunj K; Anton-Rodriguez, José; Talbot, Peter S

2018-04-01

Deep brain stimulation is a potential option for patients with treatment-refractory depression. Deep brain stimulation benefits have been reported when targeting either the subgenual cingulate or ventral anterior capsule/nucleus accumbens. However, not all patients respond and optimum stimulation-site is uncertain. We compared deep brain stimulation of the subgenual cingulate and ventral anterior capsule/nucleus accumbens separately and combined in the same seven treatment-refractory depression patients, and investigated regional cerebral blood flow changes associated with acute and chronic deep brain stimulation. Deep brain stimulation-response was defined as reduction in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score from baseline of ≥50%, and remission as a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score ≤8. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow were assessed using [ 15 O]water positron emission tomography. Remitters had higher relative regional cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex at baseline and all subsequent time-points compared to non-remitters and non-responders, with prefrontal cortex regional cerebral blood flow generally increasing with chronic deep brain stimulation. These effects were consistent regardless of stimulation-site. Overall, no significant regional cerebral blood flow changes were apparent when deep brain stimulation was acutely interrupted. Deep brain stimulation improved treatment-refractory depression severity in the majority of patients, with consistent changes in local and distant brain regions regardless of target stimulation. Remission of depression was reached in patients with higher baseline prefrontal regional cerebral blood flow. Because of the small sample size these results are preliminary and further evaluation is necessary to determine whether prefrontal cortex regional cerebral blood flow could be a predictive biomarker of treatment response.