Gray Matter Volume Differences Research Articles

Brain changes correlate with neuropathic pain in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

BackgroundNeuropathic pain (NP) is a highly disturbing sensory experience in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). However, the brain changes in NMOSD patients with NP have rarely been studied. ObjectiveThe aim of the cross-sectional and follow-up longitudinal study was to investigate the brain changes in NMOSD patients with NP. MethodsIn the cross-sectional study, comparisons were performed between groups with NP (W-NP) and without NP (Wo-NP), and age, sex and years of education were adjusted. We compared the voxel-wise whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume, cortical thickness (CT), cortical surface area (CSA) and local gyrification index (LGI). Probabilistic tractography started from regions with significant between-group differences in GM volume, CT, CSA and LGI. We also compared fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD) of the white matter (WM) skeleton using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). In the longitudinal study, the patients were followed for 2.0±0.0 years and underwent the same imaging scanning as the cross-sectional study. Changes of the CT, CSA, LGI and WM were obtained. ResultsPatients in the W-NP group were older than those in the Wo-NP group and showed significantly reduced LGI of the left temporal lobe and adjacent regions(regions of interest, ROIs), which participated in neuropathic pain processing, possibly by emotion and attention control. Probabilistic tractography started from ROIs, and the generated WM tracts showed decreased MD and RD in the W-NP group compared to the Wo-NP group. Using TBSS, both MD and RD decreased in extensive WM skeleton in the right hemisphere of the patients in the W-NP group. Additionally, in the follow-up longitudinal study, compared with patients in the Wo-NP group, patients in the W-NP group showed lower mean reduction rates of LGI of ROIs, and less increase of FA and more increases of MD, AD and RD in the extensive WM skeleton. ConclusionsThese findings support the hypothesis that brain changes might correlate with NP in NMOSD patients and predict the changes related to NP over time.

Right Frontoinsular Cortex: A Potential Imaging Biomarker to Evaluate T2DM-Induced Cognitive Impairment.

Cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with functional and structural abnormalities in the intrinsic brain network. The salience network (SN) is a neurocognitive network that maintains normal cognitive function, but it has received little attention in T2DM. We explored SN changes in patients with T2DM with normal cognitive function (DMCN) and in patients with T2DM with mild cognitive impairment (DMCI). Sixty-five T2DM patients and 31 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a neuropsychological assessment, independent component analysis (ICA), and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis. The ICA extracted the SN for VBM to compare SN functional connectivity (FC) and gray matter (GM) volume (GMV) between groups. A correlation analysis examined the relationship between abnormal FC and GMV and clinical/cognitive variables. Compared with HCs, DMCN patients demonstrated increased FC in the left frontoinsular cortex (FIC), right anterior insula, and putamen, while DMCI patients demonstrated decreased right middle/inferior frontal gyrus FC. Compared with DMCN patients, DMCI patients showed decreased right FIC FC. There was no significant difference in SN GMV in DMCN and DMCI patients compared with HCs. FIC GMV was decreased in the DMCI patients compared with DMCN patients. In addition, right FIC FC and SN GMV positively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. These findings indicate that changes in SN FC, and GMV are complex non-linear processes accompanied by increased cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2DM. The right FIC may be a useful imaging biomarker for supplementary assessment of early cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2DM.

Unimpaired social cognition in adult patients with ADHD: brain volumetric and behavioral results.

The present study aimed to investigate whether adult patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show deficits in social cognition and to identify the structural neural correlates of social cognitive skills in ADHD. Twenty-six adult patients with ADHD and 26 matched healthy control participants performed the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition and underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. We compared theory of mind (ToM) performance between ADHD patients and healthy controls. Using voxel-based morphometry, we further compared gray matter volumes in regions that are critical for social cognition between the two groups and examined whether ToM performance was correlated with brain morphometry measures. We did not observe any between-group differences in ToM abilities or regional gray matter volumes. Across both groups, performance on affective aspects of ToM correlated positively with gray matter volumes in the medial part of the superior frontal gyri, which is typically involved in social cognition. This study is the first to relate brain structure to social cognitive abilities in adult patients with ADHD. Although our sample was small and heterogeneous, with half of the patients showing mild-to-moderate psychiatric comorbidities, our results may encourage longitudinal studies that relate social cognitive development in childhood and adolescence to brain maturation of ADHD patients.

Effects of Gray Matter Normalization on Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Middle‐Aged Adults at Elevated Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

Cerebrovascular reactivity is a measure of cerebrovascular health and attenuated cerebrovascular reactivity is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Gray matter (GM) atrophy occurs with advancing age and is greater in individuals with AD compared to age-matched controls. Normalizing cerebrovascular reactivity to GM to account for individual differences in GM volume may provide a more accurate measure of cerebrovascular reactivity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of GM normalization on cerebrovascular reactivity in middle-aged adults with and without a family history of AD. Seventy-five adults with a family history of AD (FH, n = 50, men = 17, women = 33, age = 62 ± 4 yrs) and without a family history of AD (NoFH, n = 25, men = 7, women = 18, age = 63 ± 4 yrs) participated in this study. Family history of AD was determined using a validated Dementia Questionnaire or autopsy report when available. To determine brain volumes, participants underwent a T1-weighted scan on a 3T MRI scanner. GM was segmented in SPM12 and normalized to intracranial volume. Cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia was measured by continuously recording middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv) with a transcranial Doppler ultrasound, mean arterial pressure (MAP) with a finometer, and end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) with a nasal cannula during stepwise elevations of CO2. Cerebrovascular conductance index (CVCi) was calculated using the equation (MCAv/MAP)*100. Cerebrovascular reactivity was calculated as the linear relationship between the change in ETCO2 and the change in MCAv or CVCi. GM normalization was performed by dividing reactivity slopes by GM volume. There were no differences in MCAv reactivity (FH: 2.1 ± 0.1 cm/s/mmHg vs. NoFH: 1.9 ± 0.2 cm/s/mmHg; p > 0.05) between groups; however, there was a trend for greater CVCi reactivity in adults with a family history of AD (FH: 1.5 ± 0.1 cm/s/mmHg2 vs. NoFH: 1.2 ± 0.1 cm/s/mmHg2; p = 0.09). There were no differences in GM volume (FH: 0.47 ± 0.03 l vs. NoFH: 0.46 ± 0.03 l; p > 0.05) between groups. After normalizing for GM, there were no differences in normalized MCAv reactivity (FH: 4.4 ± 0.2 cm/s/mmHg/l vs. NoFH: 4.0 ± 0.3 cm/s/mmHg/l; p > 0.05) between groups. The trend for greater CVCi reactivity in adults with a family history of AD persisted after normalizing for GM (FH: 3.2 ± 0.2 cm/s/mmHg2/l vs. NoFH: 2.5 ± 0.3 cm/s/mmHg2/l; p = 0.09). Normalized MCAv and CVCi reactivity were greater than MCAv and CVCi reactivity (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that GM normalization yields greater cerebrovascular reactivity slopes compared to raw slopes; however, GM normalization did not impact the effect of a family history of AD on cerebrovascular reactivity. Normalization of cerebrovascular reactivity values during accelerating GM atrophy with advancing age and AD progression may be important when evaluating cerebrovascular health.

Sex differences in Brain Structure in individuals with knee osteoarthritis pain.

There is evidence of sex differences in the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain as well as in experimental pain sensitivity. However, the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to these sex differences are poorly understood, especially with respect to brain structure. The aim of the present study is to examine sex differences in brain structure in persons with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain. Participants (mean age=58 years) with KOA pain (n=146, 65% female) completed demographic, self-reported and experimental pain assessments including temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation along with a 3T high-resolution, T1-weighted anatomical scan at 2 study sites in the US. FreeSurfer software (v.7.1.0, http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu ) was used to examine sex differences in gray matter volume and cortical thickness as well as associations with experimental variables. Maps were set at a vertex-wise threshold of P 0.05). The results suggest that brain morphological differences between females and men with KOA pain are associated with distinct pain modulatory measures in men, but not in women. Future studies are needed to characterize potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying endogenous pain modulatory capacity across the sexes to further understand the individualized pain experience. R01AG059809, R01AG067757.

Age- and cognition-related differences in the gray matter volume of the chimpanzee brain (Pan troglodytes): A voxel-based morphometry and conjunction analysis.

Several primate species have been shown to exhibit age-related changes in cognition, brain, and behavior. However, severe neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), were once thought to be uniquely human. Recently, some chimpanzees naturally were documented to develop both neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, the main characteristics of AD pathology. In addition, like humans and other primates, chimpanzees show similar declines in cognition and motor function with age. Here, we used voxel-based morphometry to examine the relationships among gray matter volume, age, and cognition using magnetic resonance imaging scans previously acquired from chimpanzees (N = 216). We first determined the relationship between age and gray matter volume, identifying the regions that declined with age. With a subset of our sample (N = 103), we also determined differences in gray matter volume between older chimpanzees with higher cognition scores than expected for their age, and older chimpanzees with lower than expected scores. Finally, we ran a conjunction analysis to determine any overlap in brain regions between these two analyses. We found that as chimpanzees age, they lose gray matter in regions associated with cognition. In addition, cognitively healthy older chimpanzees (those performing better for their age) have greater gray matter volume in many brain regions compared with chimpanzees who underperform for their age. Finally, the conjunction analysis revealed that regions of age-related decline overlap with the regions that differ between cognitively healthy chimpanzees and those who underperform. This study provides further evidence that chimpanzees are an important model for research on the neurobiology of aging. Future studies should investigate the effects of cognitive stimulation on both cognitive performance and brain structure in aging nonhuman primates.

Gray matter volume correlates of adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder: A comparison of manual intervention and automated segmentation in FreeSurfer

Exposure to early life trauma is common and confers risk for psychological disorders in adolescence, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma exposure and PTSD are also consistently linked to alterations in gray matter volume (GMV). Despite the quantity of structural neuroimaging research in trauma-exposed populations, little consensus exists amongst research groups on best practices for image processing method and manual editing procedures. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the utility of manual editing of magnetic resonance (MR) images for detecting PTSD-related group differences in GMV. Here, T1-weighted MR images from adolescent girls aged 11–17 were obtained and analyzed. Two datasets were created from the FreeSurfer reconall pipeline, one of which was manually edited by trained research assistants. Gray matter regions of interest were selected and total volume estimates were entered into linear mixed effects models with method (manual edits or automated) as a within-subjects factor and group dummy-coded with PTSD as the reference group. Consistent with prior literature, individuals with PTSD demonstrated reduced GMV of the amygdala compared to trauma-exposed and non-trauma exposed controls, independent of editing method. Our results demonstrate that amygdala GMV reductions in PTSD are robust to certain methodological choices and do not suggest a benefit to the time-intensive manual editing pipeline in FreeSurfer for quantifying PTSD-related GMV.

The association between latent trauma and brain structure in children

The developing brain is marked by high plasticity, which can lead to vulnerability to early life stressors. Previous studies indicate that childhood maltreatment is associated with structural aberrations across a number of brain regions. However, prior work is limited by small sample sizes, heterogeneous age groups, the examination of one structure in isolation, the confounding of different types of early life stressors, and not accounting for socioeconomic status. These limitations may contribute to high variability across studies. The present study aimed to investigate how trauma is specifically associated with cortical thickness and gray matter volume (GMV) differences by leveraging a large sample of children (N = 9270) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). A latent measure of trauma exposure was derived from DSM-5 traumatic events, and we related this measure of trauma to the brain using structural equation modeling. Trauma exposure was associated with thinner cortices in the bilateral superior frontal gyri and right caudal middle frontal gyrus (pfdr-values < .001) as well as thicker cortices in the left isthmus cingulate and posterior cingulate (pfdr-values ≤ .027), after controlling age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Furthermore, trauma exposure was associated with smaller GMV in the right amygdala and right putamen (pfdr-values ≤ .048). Sensitivity analyses that controlled for income and parental education were largely consistent with the main findings for cortical thickness. These results suggest that trauma may be an important risk factor for structural aberrations, specifically for cortical thickness differences in frontal and cingulate regions in children.

Neural biomarker of functional disability in major depressive disorder: A structural neuroimaging study

BackgroundMost patients with the major depressive disorder (MDD) have varying degrees of impaired social functioning, and functional improvement often lags behind symptomatic improvement. However, it is still unclear if certain neurobiological factors underlie the deficits of social function in MDD. The aim of this study was to investigate the biomarkers of social function in MDD using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods3T anatomical MRI was obtained from 272 subjects including 46 high-functioning (high-SF, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) rating < 18) and 63 low-functioning (low-SF, SDS score ≥ 18) patients with MDD and 163 healthy controls (HC). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to locate brain regions with grey matter (GM) volume differences in relation to social function in MDD. Regions showing GM differences in relation to social function at baseline were followed up longitudinally in a subset of 38 patients scanned after 12-week treatment. ResultsVolume of right parahippocampal gyrus (rPHG) was significantly reduced in low-SF patients with MDD when compared to high-SF ones (FDR-corrected p < 0.05). Over 12 weeks of follow-up, though SF improved overall, the high and low-SF subgroups continued to differ in their SF, but had no progressive changes in PHG volume. LimitationsLimited functional assessment, high drop-out rate and median-based grouping method. ConclusionsGreater GM volume (GMV) of the rPHG may mark better social function in patients with MDD.

Brain Functional and Structural Alterations in Women With Bipolar Disorder and Suicidality.

Objective: Suicide is the leading cause of death from bipolar disorder (BD). At least 25–50% of the patients with BD will attempt suicide, with suicide rates much higher in women patients than in men. It is crucial to explore the potential neural mechanism underlying suicidality in women with BD, which will lead to understanding and detection of suicidality and prevent death and injury from suicide.Methods: Brain function and structure were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and gray matter volume (GMV) in 155 women [30 women with BD and a history of suicidality, 50 women with BD without suicidality, and 75 healthy controls (HC)]. The differences in ALFF and GMV across the BD with suicidality, BD without suicidality, and HC groups were investigated.Results: BD with suicidality showed significantly increased ALFF in the left and right cuneus compared with BD without suicidality and HC groups. Moreover, the GMV in the left lateral prefrontal cortex and left cuneus in BD with suicidality were significantly lower than those in BD without suicidality and HC groups, while the GMV of the right ventral prefrontal cortex was significantly decreased in both BD with and without suicidality groups.Conclusions: This study, combining functional and structural neuroimaging techniques, may help to identify specific pathophysiological changes in women with BD and suicidality. Increased ALFF and less GMV in cuneus might represent the neuroimaging features of suicidality in women with BD. Investigating this potential neuromarker for suicidality in women with BD may lead to the ability to prevent suicidality.

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Social Intelligence Measured by the Guilford Test

Social interactions are a crucial aspect of human behaviour. Numerous neurophysiological studies have focused on socio-cognitive processes associated with the so-called theory of mind—the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Theory of mind is closely related to social intelligence defined as a set of abilities that facilitate effective social interactions. Social intelligence encompasses multiple theory of mind components and can be measured by the Four Factor Test of Social Intelligence (the Guilford-Sullivan test). However, it is unclear whether the differences in social intelligence are reflected in structural brain differences. During the experiment, 48 healthy right-handed individuals completed the Guilford-Sullivan test. T1-weighted structural MRI images were obtained for all participants. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to reveal grey matter volume differences between the two groups (24 subjects in each)—with high social intelligence scores and with low social intelligence scores, respectively. Participants with high social intelligence scores had larger grey matter volumes of the bilateral caudate. The obtained results suggest the caudate nucleus involvement in the neural system of socio-cognitive processes, reflected by its structural characteristics.

Alterations of frontal-temporal gray matter volume associate with clinical measures of older adults with COVID-19

COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic. It dramatically affects people's health and daily life. Neurological complications are increasingly documented for patients with COVID-19. However, the effect of COVID-19 on the brain is less studied, and existing quantitative neuroimaging analyses of COVID-19 were mainly based on the univariate voxel-based morphometry analysis (VBM) that requires corrections for a large number of tests for statistical significance, multivariate approaches that can reduce the number of tests to be corrected have not been applied to study COVID-19 effect on the brain yet. In this study, we leveraged source-based morphometry (SBM) analysis, a multivariate extension of VBM, to identify changes derived from computed tomography scans in covarying gray matter volume patterns underlying COVID-19 in 120 neurological patients (including 58 cases with COVID-19 and 62 patients without COVID-19 matched for age, gender and diseases). SBM identified that lower gray matter volume (GMV) in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri was significantly associated with a higher level of disability (modified Rankin Scale) at both discharge and six months follow-up phases even when controlling for cerebrovascular diseases. GMV in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri was also significantly reduced in patients receiving oxygen therapy compared to patients not receiving oxygen therapy. Patients with fever presented significant GMV reduction in inferior/middle temporal gyri and fusiform gyrus compared to patients without fever. Patients with agitation showed GMV reduction in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri compared to patients without agitation. Patients with COVID-19 showed no significant GMV differences from patients without COVID-19 in any brain region. Results suggest that COVID-19 may affect the frontal-temporal network in a secondary manner through fever or lack of oxygen.

Altered mismatch response precedes gray matter atrophy in subjective cognitive decline

The cross-sectional identification of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in cognitively normal adults is particularly important for the early effective prevention or intervention of the future development of mild cognitive impairments (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD). A pre-attentive neurophysiological signal that reflects the brain's ability to detect the changes of the environment is called mismatch negativity (MMN) or its magnetic counterpart (MMNm). It has been shown that patients with MCI or AD demonstrate reduced MMN/MMNm responses, while the exact profile of MMN/MMNm in SCD is substantially unknown. We applied magnetoencephalographic recordings to interrogate MMNm activities in healthy controls (HC, n=29) and individuals with SCD (n=26). Furthermore, we analyzed gray matter (GM) volumes in the MMNm-related regions through voxel-based morphometry and performed apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotyping for all the participants. Our results showed that there were no significant differences in GM volume and proportions of APOE4 carriers between HC and SCD groups. However, individuals with SCD exhibited weakened z-corrected MMNm responses in the left inferior parietal lobule and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) as compared to HC. Based on the regions showing significant between-group differences, z-corrected MMNm amplitudes of the right IFG significantly correlated with the memory performance among the SCD participants. Our data suggest that neurophysiological changes of the brain, as indexed by MMNm, precede structural atrophy in the individuals with SCD compared to those without SCD.

Emotional Awareness in Schizophrenia Is Associated With Gray Matter Volume of Right Precuneus.

Objectives: We assessed the relationship between emotional awareness (e.g., the ability to identify and differentiate our own feelings and feelings of others) and regional brain volumes in healthy and in schizophrenia groups.Methods: Magnetic resonance images of 29 subjects with schizophrenia and 33 matched healthy controls were acquired. Brain gray matter was parcellated using FreeSurfer and 28 regions of interest associated with emotional awareness were analyzed. All participants were assessed using the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) of Self and of Other. LEAS scores were correlated with gray matter volume for each hemisphere on the 14 brain regions of the emotional awareness network.Results: Individuals with schizophrenia showed decreased emotional awareness on both LEAS Self and LEAS Other compared to healthy controls. There were no statistically significant between-group differences in gray matter volumes of the emotional awareness network. The performance on LEAS Other correlated negatively with right precuneus gray matter volume only in the schizophrenia group.Conclusion: Our findings suggest a relationship between gray matter volume of the right precuneus and deficits in understanding of emotional states of others in schizophrenia.

Sex differences in total brain volume in a cognitively unimpaired elderly population

IntroductionAlthough a large number of studies have shown brain volumetric differences between men and women, only a few investigations to date have analyzed brain tissue volumes in representative samples of the general elderly population.ObjectivesWe investigated differences in gray matter (GM), white matter (WM) and intracranial volumes (ICVs) between sexes in individuals above 66 years old using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsUsing FreeSurfer version 5.3, we automatically obtained the ICVs, GM and WM volumes from MRI datasets of 84 men and 92 women. To correct for interindividual variations in ICV, GM and WM volumes were adjusted with a method using the residuals of a least-square-derived linear regression between raw volumes and ICVs. We then performed an ANCOVA comparing men and woman including age and years of schooling as confounding factors.ResultsWomen had a lower socioeconomic status overall and fewer years of schooling than men. The comparison of unadjusted brain volumes showed larger GM and WM volumes in men. After the ICV correction, the adjusted volumes of GM and WM were larger in women.ConclusionsAfter the ICV correction and taking into account differences in socioeconomic status and years of schooling, our results confirm previous findings of proportionally larger GM in women, as well as larger WM volumes. These results in an elderly population indicate that brain volumetric differences between sexes persist throughout the aging process. Additional studies combining MRI and other biomarkers are warranted to identify the hormonal and molecular bases influencing such differences.

Assessing Age-Related Gray Matter Differences in Young Adults with Voxel-Based Morphometry: The Effect of Field Strengths.

Knowing the patterns of brain differences with age in the young population could lead to a better understanding of the causes of certain psychiatric disorders; however, relevant information is insufficient. Here, a pattern of regional gray matter (GM) that changed with age in a young cohort aged 20–30 years was provided. Extending from previous age studies, all participants were imaged at both 1.5 T and 3 T to address the question of how far the field strength influences results. Fifty-nine young participants aged 20–30 years were scanned at both 1.5 T and 3 T. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to estimate the GM volume. Some brain regions showed a significant field strength-dependent difference in GM volume. VBM uncovered a significantly age-related increase in the GM volume in the left visual-associated area at 3 T, which was not detected at 1.5 T. In addition, voxels at 1.5 T that revealed a significant age-related reduction in the GM volume were found in the right cerebellum. In conclusion, age-related differences in human brain morphology could even be detected in a young cohort aged 20–30 years; however, the results varied across field strengths. Thus, field strength should be considered an important factor when comparing age-specific brain differences across studies.

Gray matter volume differences between transgender men and cisgender women: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Gender dysphoria (GD) is characterized by distress due to inconsistency between gender identity and biological sex. Individuals with GD often desire to be the other gender, which is called transgender. Although altered brain volumes in transgender people, particularly transgender women, have been reported, the particular brain regions have been inconsistent among studies. This study aimed to investigate neuroanatomical differences in transgender men without physical interventions. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were acquired in 21 transgender men and 21 cisgender women matched for biological sex and age. Whole-brain comparisons using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were performed to identify gray matter volume (GMV) differences between transgender men and cisgender women. Transgender men showed greater GMV in the right posterior cingulate gyrus (PFWE-corr = 3.06×10-6) and the left occipital pole (PFWE-corr = 0.017) and lower GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus (PFWE-corr = 0.017) than cisgender women. Even after including serum sex hormone levels as covariates, the posterior cingulate gyrus was still significant (PFWE-corr < 0.05). In contrast, the occipital pole and the middle temporal gyrus were not significant after controlling for the sex hormone levels (PFWE-corr > 0.05), especially affected by testosterone but not estradiol. These findings suggest that transgender men have altered brain structure. We suggest that larger posterior midline structures may contribute to sensitivity to self-referential processing through altered visual perception in transgender people.

Association Between Gray Matter Volume Variations and Energy Utilization in the Brain: Implications for Developmental Stuttering.

Purpose The biological mechanisms underlying developmental stuttering remain unclear. In a previous investigation, we showed that there is significant spatial correspondence between regional gray matter structural anomalies and the expression of genes linked to energy metabolism. In the current study, we sought to further examine the relationship between structural anomalies in the brain in children with persistent stuttering and brain regional energy metabolism. Method High-resolution structural MRI scans were acquired from 26 persistent stuttering and 44 typically developing children. Voxel-based morphometry was used to quantify the between-group gray matter volume (GMV) differences across the whole brain. Group differences in GMV were then compared with published values for the pattern of glucose metabolism measured via F18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the brains of 29 healthy volunteers using positron emission tomography. Results A significant positive correlation between GMV differences and F18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake was found in the left hemisphere (ρ = .36, p < .01), where speech-motor and language processing are typically localized. No such correlation was observed in the right hemisphere (ρ = .05, p = .70). Conclusions Corroborating our previous gene expression studies, the results of the current study suggest a potential connection between energy metabolism and stuttering. Brain regions with high energy utilization may be particularly vulnerable to anatomical changes associated with stuttering. Such changes may be further exacerbated when there are sharp increases in brain energy utilization, which coincides with the developmental period of rapid speech/language acquisition and the onset of stuttering during childhood. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14110454.

Brain structural alterations in pediatric bipolar disorder patients with and without psychotic symptoms

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) with psychotic symptoms is a specific phenotype that presents greater risk of relapse and worse outcomes than nonpsychotic BD, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown and are less revealed in youth. Thus, the aims of the present study were to investigate brain structural alterations in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) patients with and without psychotic symptoms, and specifically to evaluate the impact of psychotic features on gray matter volume (GMV) in PBD patients. MethodA total of 73 individuals were recruited into three groups, n = 28, psychotic PBD, P-PBD; n = 26, nonpsychotic PBD, NP-PBD; and n = 19, healthy controls, HC. All participants underwent high-resolution structural magnetic resonance scans. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate GMV alterations. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed to obtain brain regions with significant differences among three groups and then post hoc tests were calculated for inter-group comparisons. ResultsThe ANOVA revealed significant GMV differences among three groups in the bilateral amygdala-hippocampus-parahippocampal complex (AMY-HIS-ParaHIS complex), left superior temporal gyrus (STG), left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), bilateral putamen (PUT), left precentral gyrus (PG), left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Compared with HCs, P-PBD patients showed decreased GMV in the bilateral AMY-HIS-ParaHIS complex, left STG, left IFG, bilateral PUT, and left PG; while NP-PBD patients exhibited decreased GMV in the left IFG, left PG, left SMG, and right IPL. Furthermore, P-PBD patients showed increased GMV in the right IPL when comparing to NP-PBD patients. LimitationThe present findings require replication in larger samples and verification in medication free subjects. ConclusionThe present findings suggested that psychotic features in PBD were associated with extensive brain structural lesions mainly located in the prefrontal-limbic-striatum circuit, which might represent the pathological basis of more sever symptoms in patients with psychotic PBD.

11791 Gray matter volume differences in bilingual compared to monolingual children

ABSTRACT IMPACT: This study examines gray matter volume differences resulting from the bilingual experience in children and adults allowing us to better understand the brains of over half of the world’s population that speaks more than one language. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Literature is mixed regarding a bilingual advantage in executive control (EC). While it has been shown that young adult bilinguals have greater gray matter volume (GMV) than monolinguals in EC regions, there is behavioral evidence that suggests such difference would be more pronounced in children. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Using SPM12 to test this hypothesis, we used a whole-brain t-test to compare GMV in 35 English-speaking monolingual and 20 Spanish-English early (learned both languages before 6 years old) bilingual children. Next, we submitted both groups of children to an ANOVA with 42 English speaking monolingual and 26 Spanish-English bilingual adults to test for an interaction of Language Experience by Age Group at the level of the whole brain. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: e between-group comparison of bilingual and monolingual children, revealed more GMV in bilingual compared to monolingual children in regions associated with EC (right middle and inferior frontal gyri, superior parietal lobule, and precuneus). Our second analysis, an ANOVA comparing bilingual and monolingual children and adults, revealed an interaction in which bilingual&gt;monolingual GMV in children was greater than any bilingual&gt;monolingual GMV (or bilingual=monolingual GMV) in the adult groups in the right superior parietal lobule (BA1). No regions indicated that bilingual&gt;monolingual GMV was more pronounced in adults. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: These results provide further evidence for GMV differences in early bilinguals in regions associated with EC and indicate that more GMV differences exist between bilingual and monolingual children than adults.