Block Design Task Research Articles

Concomitant modulation of BOLD responses in white matter pathways and cortex

In response to a flickering visual stimulus, the BOLD response in primary visual cortex varies with the flickering frequency and is maximal when it is close to 8Hz. In previous studies we demonstrated that BOLD signals in specific white matter (WM) pathways covary with the alternations between stimulus conditions in a block design in similar manner to gray matter (GM) regions. Here we investigated whether WM tracts show varying responses to changes in flicker frequency and are modulated in the same manner as cortical areas. We used a Fourier analysis of BOLD signals to measure the signal amplitude and phase at the fundamental frequency of a block-design task in which flickering visual stimuli alternated with blank presentations, avoiding the assumption of any specific hemodynamic response function. The BOLD responses in WM pathways and the primary visual cortex were evaluated for flicker frequencies varying between 2 and 14Hz. The variations with frequency of BOLD signals in specific WM tracts followed closely those in primary visual cortex, suggesting that variations in cortical activation are directly coupled to corresponding BOLD signals in connected WM tracts. Statistically significant differences in the timings of BOLD responses were also measured between visual cortex and specific WM bundles. These results confirm that when cortical BOLD responses are modulated by selecting different task parameters, relevant WM tracts exhibit corresponding BOLD signals that are also affected.

Action Observation and Execution Differentially Modulate Basal Ganglia-Cortical Activity in Humans

Abstract INTRODUCTION To understand an observed action, without overt execution, the observer is thought to run similar motor plans; indicating a strong coupling between the neural representation of action observation and execution. Imaging studies show activation of basal ganglia (BG) and motor cortex during movement yet comparative studies using direct and invasive human recordings are sparse. We aimed to characterize how movement execution and observation differentially modulate local and inter-regional activity across BG and sensorimotor cortex. METHODS We recorded LFP from globus palidus internus (GPi) and electrocorticography from ipsilateral sensorimotor cortex in 9 PD subjects during deep brain stimulation surgery. Subjects performed block design tasks alternating between 30 s of rest and performing or observing finger tapping with random order. We assessed changes in spectral power, along with pallidocortical coherence and cortical PAC. RESULTS We observed suppression of alpha-beta (9-25 Hz) power in contralateral GPi and sensorimotor cortex during both activities. This power suppression was significantly weaker in the motor cortex during the action observation compared to the execution (P = .02). However pallidal spectral changes in alpha-beta frequencies were not different across tasks (P = .3). Uniquely during the action execution, there was a significant increase in the gamma power (80-200 Hz) at the motor cortex (P < .05). In addition, Pallidocortical beta coherence, and motor cortical beta-gamma PAC were significantly suppressed during action execution (P < .05) and not the observation. CONCLUSION Our results support the functional dissociation within the BG-cortical network during action observation and execution. Although spectral power changes in a-ß in the BG are largely similar across tasks, suppression of BG-cortical functional connectivity is a feature of movement execution. In addition, increase in the cortical gamma power and beta-gamma phase amplitude decoupling only happen during the movement execution, in line with the theory that during movement execution the gamma signal is released from the constraint of beta.

Effects of Mnemonic Strategy Training on Brain Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Left-Hemisphere Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Memory dysfunction is one of the main cognitive impairments caused by stroke, especially associative memory. Therefore, cognitive training, such as face-name mnemonic strategy training, could be an important intervention for this group of patients. The goal of this study was to evaluate the behavioral effects of face-name mnemonic strategy training, along with the neural substrate behind these effects, in the left frontoparietal lobe stroke patients. Volunteers underwent 2 sessions of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during face-name association task: one prior and the other after the cognitive training. The fMRI followed a block design task with three active conditions: trained face-name pairs, untrained face-name pairs, and a couple of repeated face-name pairs. Prior to each fMRI session, volunteers underwent neuropsychological assessment. Training resulted in better performance on delayed memory scores of HVLT-R, and on recognition on a generalization strategy task, as well as better performance in the fMRI task. Also, trained face-name pairs presented higher activation after training in default-mode network regions, such as the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and angular gyrus, as well as in lateral occipital and temporal regions. Similarly, untrained face-name pairs also showed a nonspecific training effect in the right superior parietal cortex, right supramarginal gyrus, anterior intraparietal sulcus, and lateral occipital cortex. A correlation between brain activation and task performance was also found in the angular gyrus, superior parietal cortex, anterior intraparietal sulcus, and lateral occipital cortex. In conclusion, these results suggest that face-name mnemonic strategy training has the potential to improve memory performance and to foster brain activation changes, by the recruitment of contralesional areas from default-mode, frontoparietal, and dorsal attention networks as a possible compensation mechanism.

Latent subgroups of cognitive performance in lead- and manganese-exposed Uruguayan children: Examining behavioral signatures

ObjectivesLead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) are confirmed neurotoxins but it is unclear to what extent low-level exposure produces a unique behavioral signature. The objective of this study was to investigate latent cognitive profiles among children (6–8 years) from Montevideo, Uruguay co-exposed to these metals. MethodAmong 345 children, blood Pb and hair Mn were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy and ICP-MS, respectively. Sixteen measures, reflecting multiple domains of cognitive functioning were gathered: (1) three tests from Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB): Intra-Extra Dimensional Shift (IED), Spatial Span (SSP) and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC), (2) ten tasks from Woodcock-Muñoz Achievement Battery, Revised (WM): Visual-Motor Integration, Verbal Comprehension (Vocabulary, Synonyms, Antonyms, Analogies), Visual-Auditory Comprehension, Concept Formation, Visual Spatial Thinking, Number Inversion and Spatial Relations, (3) Bender Gestalt task, and (4) Weschler block design task. Scores were modeled using latent profile analysis (LPA). Association between blood Pb and hair Mn on performance profiles was assessed using ordinal regression, controlling for confounders. An interaction between Pb and Mn was tested. ResultsMean ± SD of blood Pb was 4.1 ± 2.1 μg/dL and 35% of children had blood Pb ≥ 5 μg/dL. Median [5%, 95%] hair Mn level was 0.8 [0.3, 4.1] ppb. Three latent cognitive performance profiles were identified: high (n = 46, 13%), average (n = 209, 61%) and low (n = 90, 26%). Each one-unit increase in blood Pb was associated with a 28% greater likelihood of belonging to a poorer-performing profile. The association was non-linear, with the effect of Pb on profile membership strongest at lower levels of exposure. There was no meaningful interaction between Pb and Mn. ConclusionsA behavioral signature for low-level Pb & Mn exposure was not identified, but the likelihood of membership in low-performing profile was higher at lowest levels of blood Pb. There was no effect measure modification between Pb and Mn. Future research should address how complex environments created by chemical exposures and the social context relate to cognitive performance in young children.

Cortical Processing Related to Intensity of a Modulated Noise Stimulus\u2014a Functional Near-Infrared Study

Sound intensity is a key feature of auditory signals. A profound understanding of cortical processing of this feature is therefore highly desirable. This study investigates whether cortical functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals reflect sound intensity changes and where on the brain cortex maximal intensity-dependent activations are located. The fNIRS technique is particularly suitable for this kind of hearing study, as it runs silently. Twenty-three normal hearing subjects were included and actively participated in a counterbalanced block design task. Four intensity levels of a modulated noise stimulus with long-term spectrum and modulation characteristics similar to speech were applied, evenly spaced from 15 to 90 dB SPL. Signals from auditory processing cortical fields were derived from a montage of 16 optodes on each side of the head. Results showed that fNIRS responses originating from auditory processing areas are highly dependent on sound intensity level: higher stimulation levels led to higher concentration changes. Caudal and rostral channels showed different waveform morphologies, reflecting specific cortical signal processing of the stimulus. Channels overlying the supramarginal and caudal superior temporal gyrus evoked a phasic response, whereas channels over Broca’s area showed a broad tonic pattern. This data set can serve as a foundation for future auditory fNIRS research to develop the technique as a hearing assessment tool in the normal hearing and hearing-impaired populations.

21-Brain network activity during reading and writing of Czech words and nonwords

Introduction We used fMRI to identify the neural networks involved in processing Czech words and nonwords during reading aloud and writing to dictation. Activation in language areas and domain-general networks - dorsal attention (DAN), frontotparietal control (FPC), and default mode network (DMN) - were compared. Methods Twenty-five Czech native speakers performed block design tasks on 3T Siemens Prisma scanner. Forty words and forty nonwords were presented. Passive viewing of checkerboards and simple low-level motor condition were used as baselines. Results For reading and spelling of words, we observed activation in the language network. During reading and spelling of nonwords, stronger activation of visual word-form area (VWFA), language regions and additional recruitment of DAN and FPC were observed. The deactivations in DMN were stronger for nonwords than for words in both tasks. Conclusion Despite the fact that reading and spelling differ in sensory input and motor output, they both engage left-lateralized components of the language network implicated in orthographic (VWFA) and phonological processing. Nonwords are more difficult than real words and therefore produce stronger activation within the task positive regions and higher level of deactivations in DMN.

Multiband multi-echo simultaneous ASL/BOLD for task-induced functional MRI.

Typical simultaneous blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequences acquire two echoes, one perfusion-sensitive and one BOLD-sensitive. However, for ASL, spatial resolution and brain coverage are limited due to the T1 decay of the labeled blood. This study applies a sequence combining a multiband acquisition with four echoes for simultaneous BOLD and pseudo-continuous ASL (pCASL) echo planar imaging (MBME ASL/BOLD) for block-design task-fMRI. A multiband acceleration of four was employed to increase brain coverage and reduce slice-timing effects on the ASL signal. Multi-echo independent component analysis (MEICA) was implemented to automatically denoise the BOLD signal by regressing non-BOLD components. This technique led to increased temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) and BOLD sensitivity. The MEICA technique was also modified to denoise the ASL signal by regressing artifact and BOLD signals from the first echo time-series. The MBME ASL/BOLD sequence was applied to a finger-tapping task functional MRI (fMRI) experiment. Signal characteristics and activation were evaluated using single echo BOLD, combined ME BOLD, combined ME BOLD after MEICA denoising, perfusion-weighted (PW), and perfusion-weighted after MEICA denoising time-series. The PW data was extracted using both surround subtraction and high-pass filtering followed by demodulation. In addition, the CBF/BOLD response ratio and CBF/BOLD coupling were analyzed. Results showed that the MEICA denoising procedure significantly improved the BOLD signal, leading to increased BOLD sensitivity, tSNR, and activation statistics compared to conventional single echo BOLD data. At the same time, the denoised PW data showed increased tSNR and activation statistics compared to the non-denoised PW data. CBF/BOLD coupling was also increased using the denoised ASL and BOLD data. Our preliminary data suggest that the MBME ASL/BOLD sequence can be employed to collect whole-brain task-fMRI with improved data quality for both BOLD and PW time series, thus improving the results of block-design task fMRI.

Cognitive processes in patients with different structure of anxiety disorders

To study the relationship between cognitive functions and psychopathological disturbances in anxiety disorders. WAIS, the modified Witkin's Embedded figures test, a symptom scale (Yu.A. Aleksandrovsky et al. 1984) were administered to 111 patients, including 37 with generalized anxiety disorders (GAD, ICD-10 F41.1), 36 with anxiety-phobic disorders (AFD, ICD-10 F40) and 38 with anxiety-hypochondriac disorders (AHD, ICD-10 F45.2), and to 114 healthy people. A distinct trend towards an increase of cognitive impairment depending on an increase in the complicity of psychopathological picture was observed as follows: GAD - AFD - AHD. A decrease in visual-motor coordination and visual attention was found in patients with GAD. In AFD patients, besides disturbances characteristic of GAD, there was a decrease on the WAIS Vocabulary subtest. In AHD patients, there was a decrease in analytic and synthetic abilities. The heterogeneity of changes in cognitive processes and the structure of their correlations with psychopathological symptoms in anxiety disorders was revealed as follows: a decrease in some parameters of cognitive processes in anxiety disorders with mild structure, an increase in cognitive dysfunction and in a number of correlations in anxiety disorders with more complex psychopathological picture, higher scores on the WAIS Block design task.

A polygenic risk score analysis of psychosis endophenotypes across brain functional, structural, and cognitive domains.

This large multi‐center study investigates the relationships between genetic risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and multi‐modal endophenotypes for psychosis. The sample included 4,242 individuals; 1,087 patients with psychosis, 822 unaffected first‐degree relatives of patients, and 2,333 controls. Endophenotypes included the P300 event‐related potential (N = 515), lateral ventricular volume (N = 798), and the cognitive measures block design (N = 3,089), digit span (N = 1,437), and the Ray Auditory Verbal Learning Task (N = 2,406). Data were collected across 11 sites in Europe and Australia; all genotyping and genetic analyses were done at the same laboratory in the United Kingdom. We calculated polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder separately, and used linear regression to test whether polygenic scores influenced the endophenotypes. Results showed that higher polygenic scores for schizophrenia were associated with poorer performance on the block design task and explained 0.2% (p = 0.009) of the variance. Associations in the same direction were found for bipolar disorder scores, but this was not statistically significant at the 1% level (p = 0.02). The schizophrenia score explained 0.4% of variance in lateral ventricular volumes, the largest across all phenotypes examined, although this was not significant (p = 0.063). None of the remaining associations reached significance after correction for multiple testing (with alpha at 1%). These results indicate that common genetic variants associated with schizophrenia predict performance in spatial visualization, providing additional evidence that this measure is an endophenotype for the disorder with shared genetic risk variants. The use of endophenotypes such as this will help to characterize the effects of common genetic variation in psychosis.

Improving temporal resolution in fMRI using a 3D spiral acquisition and low rank plus sparse (L+S) reconstruction

Rapid whole-brain dynamic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is of particular interest in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI). Faster acquisitions with higher temporal sampling of the BOLD time-course provide several advantages including increased sensitivity in detecting functional activation, the possibility of filtering out physiological noise for improving temporal SNR, and freezing out head motion. Generally, faster acquisitions require undersampling of the data which results in aliasing artifacts in the object domain. A recently developed low-rank (L) plus sparse (S) matrix decomposition model (L+S) is one of the methods that has been introduced to reconstruct images from undersampled dynamic MRI data. The L+S approach assumes that the dynamic MRI data, represented as a space-time matrix M, is a linear superposition of L and S components, where L represents highly spatially and temporally correlated elements, such as the image background, while S captures dynamic information that is sparse in an appropriate transform domain. This suggests that L+S might be suited for undersampled task or slow event-related fMRI acquisitions because the periodic nature of the BOLD signal is sparse in the temporal Fourier transform domain and slowly varying low-rank brain background signals, such as physiological noise and drift, will be predominantly low-rank. In this work, as a proof of concept, we exploit the L+S method for accelerating block-design fMRI using a 3D stack of spirals (SoS) acquisition where undersampling is performed in the kz−t domain. We examined the feasibility of the L+S method to accurately separate temporally correlated brain background information in the L component while capturing periodic BOLD signals in the S component. We present results acquired in control human volunteers at 3T for both retrospective and prospectively acquired fMRI data for a visual activation block-design task. We show that a SoS fMRI acquisition with an acceleration of four and L+S reconstruction can achieve a brain coverage of 40 slices at 2mm isotropic resolution and 64 x 64 matrix size every 500ms.

Local and global processing in block design tasks in children with dyslexia or nonverbal learning disability

Visuo-constructive and perceptual abilities have been poorly investigated in children with learning disabilities. The present study focused on local or global visuospatial processing in children with nonverbal learning disability (NLD) and dyslexia compared with typically-developing (TD) controls. Participants were presented with a modified block design task (BDT), in both a typical visuo-constructive version that involves reconstructing figures from blocks, and a perceptual version in which respondents must rapidly match unfragmented figures with a corresponding fragmented target figure. The figures used in the tasks were devised by manipulating two variables: the perceptual cohesiveness and the task uncertainty, stimulating global or local processes.Our results confirmed that children with NLD had more problems with the visuo-constructive version of the task, whereas those with dyslexia showed only a slight difficulty with the visuo-constructive version, but were in greater difficulty with the perceptual version, especially in terms of response times. These findings are interpreted in relation to the slower visual processing speed of children with dyslexia, and to the visuo-constructive problems and difficulty in using flexibly-experienced global vs local processes of children with NLD. The clinical and educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Optimizing fMRI preprocessing pipelines for block-design tasks as a function of age

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a powerful neuroimaging tool, which is often hampered by significant noise confounds. There is evidence that our ability to detect activations in task fMRI is highly dependent on the preprocessing steps used to control noise and artifact. However, the vast majority of studies examining preprocessing pipelines in fMRI have focused on young adults. Given the widespread use of fMRI for characterizing the neurobiology of aging, it is critical to examine how the impact of preprocessing choices varies as a function of age. In this study, we employ the NPAIRS cross-validation framework, which optimizes pipelines based on metrics of prediction accuracy (P) and spatial reproducibility (R), to compare the effects of pipeline optimization between young (21–33 years) and older (61–82 years) cohorts, for three different block-design contrasts. Motion is shown to be a greater issue in the older cohort, and we introduce new statistical approaches to control for potential biases due to head motion during pipeline optimization. In comparison, data-driven methods of physiological noise correction show comparable benefits for both young and old cohorts. Using our optimization framework, we demonstrate that the optimal pipelines tend to be highly similar across age cohorts. In addition, there is a comparable, significant benefit of pipeline optimization across age cohorts, for (P, R) metrics and independent validation measures of activation overlap (both between-subject, within-session and within-subject, between-session). The choice of task contrast consistently shows a greater impact than the age cohort, for (P, R) metrics and activation overlap. Finally, adaptive pipeline optimization per task run shows improved sensitivity to age-related changes in brain activity, particularly for weaker, more complex cognitive contrasts. The current study provides the first detailed examination of preprocessing pipelines across age cohorts, demonstrating a significant benefit of adaptive pipeline optimization across age groups.

Autism spectrum traits and visual processing in young adults with very low birth weight: the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight adults.

Visual processing problems may be one underlying factor for cognitive impairments related to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We examined associations between ASD-traits (Autism-Spectrum Quotient) and visual processing performance (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test; Block Design task of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III) in young adults (mean age=25.0, s.d.=2.1 years) born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) (n=101) or at term (n=104). A higher level of ASD-traits was associated with slower global visual processing speed among the preterm VLBW, but not among the term-born group (P<0.04 for interaction). Our findings suggest that the associations between ASD-traits and visual processing may be restricted to individuals born preterm, and related specifically to global, not local visual processing. Our findings point to cumulative social and neurocognitive problems in those born preterm at VLBW.

Alcohol Gel Ingestion Among Homeless Eastern and Central Europeans in London: Assessing the Effects on Cognitive Functioning and Psychological Health

ABSTRACTBackground: Intentional consumption of alcohol-based hand gels has been reported especially amongst non-UK national, alcohol dependent, homeless individuals in London. Whilst alcohol misuse is known to be associated with impaired cognitive functioning and mental health problems, the effects of additional ingestion of alcohol gel are unknown. Objectives: To explore cognitive and psychological functioning in users who intentionally ingest alcohol gel compared with ethyl-alcohol only misusers and controls. Methods: Male, Central and Eastern European alcohol only misusers, (n = 14; mean age 39 years), alcohol gel users (n = 14; mean age 43 years) and controls (n = 12; mean age 31 years) were recruited from a London Homeless Service during 2013/14. Alcohol misusers, alcohol gel users and controls were compared on the Forwards and Backwards Digit Span Test; Block Design test; Retrospective and Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) and the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Alcohol gel users performed significantly worse on the Block Design task (p < .01) and PRMQ (p < .01) relative to both alcohol only and control groups, and significantly worse on the digit span relative to controls (p = .01). Both alcohol misusing groups scored comparatively on digit span backwards (p < .01), with both groups performing significantly worse than controls. The alcohol gel group reported significantly higher levels of anxiety relative to controls (p = .02). Conclusions: Whilst there could be constitutional differences between alcohol misusers who additionally abuse alcohol gel, the findings suggest that alcohol gel ingestion may have a greater impact on psychological functioning than traditional alcohol misuse.

Psychometric Properties of the Shipley Block Design Task: A Study With Jamaican Young Adults

We examined the structure of the new Block Patterns (BP) test from the Shipley Institute of Living Scale–Second Edition in a sample of Jamaican young adults. To date, very little has been published on the properties of this subtest’s items and scores. The BP test is similar in design to the Block Design subtest found in many cognitive ability assessments but uses a matching format that minimizes the need for excess materials and time. We analyzed the BP items using item response theory (IRT) methods. Although designed to measure a single construct, the analyses from this study found that the BP subtest is likely measuring more than a single construct, which confounds the interpretation of the instrument’s scores. Before the subtest is used clinically, more research should be done to purposefully investigate the effects of ancillary variables on its scores.

Changes of brain pain center and default mode network an electro acupuncture in Weizhong and Dachangshu acupoints: a task-fMRI study

To investigate the functional brain pain center and default mode network response to electro acupuncture stimulate in weizhong acupoints(BL40) and dachangshu acupoints(BL25). During January to February 2015, volunteers were enrolled in this study from the staff and student interns of Gansu Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. A total of 20 healthy, right-handed subjects, male 9, female 11, age (23±3) years, participated in this study. Block design task functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) 3.0 T was performed in all subjects by electro acupuncture stimulating at BL40 and BL25 from the same experienced acupuncturist.The needle connected electric acupuncture apparatus through tow long coaxial-cable. A block design with five 120 s blocks of rest time (OFF block, electric acupuncture turn off ) interspersed between five 60 s blocks of stimulation (ON block, electric acupuncture turn on) fMRI scan. Magnetic resonance data of brain function was collected and FSL(fMRI Software Library) software was used to analyze the data. All subjects' data were analyzed except 2 cases whose head movement were more than 2 mm. Activated brain function regions by electro acupuncture stimulate included temporal lobe lateral sulcus, lobus insularis, thalamus, supramarginal gyrus, prefrontal medial frontal gyrus. Negative activated brain regions included middle frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, cingulate cortex abdominal segment, parietal cortex.The functional pain central and default mode network were changed when electro acupuncture stimulate in(BL40) and(BL25). There are several brain activation regions and negative activated brain regions when administering electro acupuncture stimulation at BL40 and BL25.

Abstract 12095: Altered Brain Functional Connectivity During Valsalva Maneuver in Heart Failure

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) patients have abnormal autonomic (ANS) activity, which is linked to damage in specific gray matter brain regions (such as the insulae). Abnormal ANS activity in HF may be due to changes in both structural injury and functional connectivity (FC; temporal correlations between neural structures which indicate connection status and sequence of activation). While insular/brain structural injury has been reported in HF, FC has not been explored. Hypothesis: FC between brain regions during an autonomic challenge will be less in HF in comparison to controls. Methods: We collected functional MRI data with Valsalva maneuver block design task in 12 HF (age 55.6±8.1 years; Females 3; BMI 25.2±3.8 kg/m2; LVEF, 26.7±11.5%) and 33 controls (51.6±5.5 years; Females 13; BMI 25.7±3.2 kg/m2), using a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. Group independent component analysis was applied to identify individual task-related FC maps, which were compared between HF and controls (ANCOVA; covariates, age and gender; P&lt;0.005) Results: No significant differences in age, gender, or BMI emerged between the two groups (P&gt;0.05). Decreased FC in HF (Figure 1; p&lt;0.005) were found in the left supramarginal gyrus/inferior parietal lobule, left middle temporal gyrus, bilateral thalamus, left fusiform gyrus, left ligual gyrus, right precuneus, left hippocampus, and left insula. However, increased FC in HF compared to controls were found in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, left cerebellar cortex, and right insula (P&lt;0.005). Conclusions: These findings suggest that autonomic, cognitive, and affective deficits in HF may be related to altered FC. The outcomes likely result from the prominent structural changes in both axons and nuclear structures reported earlier in HF. Future interventions may need to address structural and functional deficits in both gray and white matter regions in HF.

NIMG-14IDENTIFICATION OF TRUE FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY USING RADIOMIC TEXTURE ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONAL MRI ECHO PLANNAR IMAGING

BACKGROUND: FMRI maps commonly show multiple areas of false positive activity. We aimed to identify areas of true fMRI activation by using complex MRI texture analysis (TA) of raw EPI data, thus enhancing the identification of true activity. METHODS: 12 right handed healthy volunteers were recruited (IRB approved). All scans were performed on a 3.0T GE MR scanner. FMRI consisted of a high resolution 3D T1 weighted structural scan and a gradient echo EPI functional scan. FMRI data analysis was performed using SPM8 software for a sentence completion block design task. T map for each individual was displayed using xjview toolbox and thresholded individually to optimize visualization of language area. Each activity cluster was selected and saved. Board-certified neuroradiologists and neuroscientists classified different clusters into two separate groups Expected (E) and Non Expected (NE) based on their anatomical locations. TA was performed using the mean EPI volume for each individual, and 20 invariant texture features were obtained. Efficacy of TA in fMRI was assessed by decision tree and validated using a 4 fold cross validation. RESULTS: fMRI areas of activity in individual scans were identified based on their texture features with 95.3% accuracy, sensitivity 95.3% and specificity 95.3%. Sum of Variance, Cluster shade, sum of average and information measure of correlation were the most important texture features. These features had higher texture values in the NE ROIs indicating more homogeneous areas. Texture features were able to significantly differentiate areas of true versus false activity. CONCLUSIONS: Extracted features indicated that true activity has more heterogeneous texture compared to non-expected activity Quantitative TA of functional MRI using texture feature can enhance the accuracy and sensitivity of the test to true activity and help eliminate false activation

Cortical representation of facial and tongue movements: atask functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) mapping can present the activated cortical area during movement, while little is known about precise location in facial and tongue movements. To investigate the representation of facial and tongue movements by task fMRI. Twenty right-handed healthy subjects were underwent block design task fMRI examination. Task movements included lip pursing, cheek bulging, grinning and vertical tongue excursion. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) was applied to analysis the data. One-sample t-test was used to calculate the common activation area between facial and tongue movements. Also, paired t-test was used to test for areas of over- or underactivation in tongue movement compared with each group of facial movements. The common areas within facial and tongue movements suggested the similar motor circuits of activation in both movements. Prior activation in tongue movement was situated laterally and inferiorly in sensorimotor area relative to facial movements. Prior activation of tongue movement was investigated in left superior parietal lobe relative to lip pursing. Also, prior activation in bilateral cuneus lobe in grinning compared with tongue movement was detected.

Benefits of extending and adjusting the level of difficulty on computerized cognitive training for children with intellectual disabilities.

Training on working memory (WM) improves attention and WM in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and memory impairments. However, for children with intellectual disabilities (ID), the results have been less encouraging. In this preliminary study it was hypothesized that children with ID would benefit from an extended amount of training and that the level of difficulty during training would affect the outcome. We included 21 children with mild or moderate ID aged 8–13 years. They went through between 37 and 50 training sessions with an adaptive computerized program on WM and non-verbal reasoning (NVR). The children were divided into two subgroups with different difficulty levels during training. The transfer to untrained cognitive tests was compared to the results of 22 children with ID training only 25 sessions, and to a control group. We found that the training group with the extended training program improved significantly on a block design task measuring NVR and on a WM task compared to the control group. There was also a significantly larger improvement on block design relative to the training group with the shorter training time. The children that received easier training tasks also improved significantly more on a verbal WM task compared to children with more demanding tasks. In conclusion, these preliminary data suggest that children with ID might benefit from cognitive training with longer training periods and less demanding tasks, compared to children without disabilities.