Inferior Areas Research Articles

Choriocapillaris flow features in children with myopic anisometropia

AimsTo examine differences between the eyes in choriocapillaris perfusion and choroidal thickness in children with myopic anisometropia.MethodsIn this observational and prospective study, 46 children with myopic anisometropia were enrolled. Choriocapillaris...

Axial length, more than aging, decreases the thickness and superficial vessel density of retinal nerve fiber layer in non-glaucomatous eyes

PurposeThis study seeks to build a normative database for the vessel density of the superficial retina (SVD) and evaluate how changes and trends in the retinal microvasculature may be influenced by age and axial length (AL) in non-glaucomatous eyes, as measured with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). MethodsWe included 500 eyes of 290 healthy subjects visiting a county hospital. Each participant underwent comprehensive ophthalmological examinations and OCTA to measure the SVD and thickness of the macular and peripapillary areas. To analyze correlations between SVD and age or AL, multivariable linear regression models with generalized estimating equations were applied.ResultsAge was negatively correlated with the SVD of the superior, central, and inferior macular areas and the superior peripapillary area, with a decrease rate of 1.06%, 1.36%, 0.84%, and 0.66% per decade, respectively. However, inferior peripapillary SVD showed no significant correlation with age. AL was negatively correlated with the SVD of the inferior macular area and the superior and inferior peripapillary areas, with coefficients of −0.522%/mm, −0.733%/mm, and −0.664%/mm, respectively. AL was also negatively correlated with the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer and inferior ganglion cell complex (p = 0.004).ConclusionAge and AL were the two main factors affecting changes in SVD. Furthermore, AL, a relative term to represent the degree of myopia, had a greater effect than age and showed a more significant effect on thickness than on SVD. This relationship has important implications because myopia is a significant issue in modern cities.

Investigation of lacrimal gland and extraocular muscle in thyroid eye disease patients with severe subjective dry eye disease: a multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging study

PurposeTo analyze the radiological features of the lacrimal gland (LG) and extraocular muscle (EOM) in thyroid eye disease (TED) patients with severe subjective dry eye disease (DED) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, mechanical ocular exposure, dry eye assessment and MRI data were collected. Patients were classified into non-severe subjective DED group with ocular surface disease index (OSDI) < 33 and severe subjective DED group with OSDI ≥ 33. Linear regression model was applied for comparing the OSDI < 33 and OSDI ≥ 33 group in TED patients. The predictive performance of MRI parameters and models was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis.ResultsConsecutive 88 TED patients (176 eyes) were included in this study. In the OSDI < 33 group, 52 TED patients (104 eyes) with a mean clinical activity score (CAS) of 0.63 ± 0.75. In the OSDI ≥ 33 group, there are 36 TED patients (72 eyes), with a mean CAS of 1.50 ± 1.54. The age and sex of the patients were matched between the two groups. The OSDI ≥ 33 group had shorter tear break-up time, larger levator palpebrae superioris / superior rectus (LPS/SR), inferior rectus and lateral rectus, smaller LG, more inflammatory LPS/SR and inferior rectus than OSDI < 33 DED group (P < 0.05). In the linear regression analysis, compare to the OSDI < 33 DED group, the OSDI ≥ 33 group had larger medial rectus cross-sectional area (β = 0.06, 95%CI: (0.02, 0.10), P = 0.008), larger inferior rectus cross-sectional area (β = 0.06, 95%CI: (0.00, 0.12), P = 0.048), smaller LG cross-sectional area (β = -0.14, 95%CI: (-0.25, -0.04), P = 0.008). In the ROC analysis, the area under curve of medial rectus, inferior rectus, LG, and combined model are 0.625, 0.640, 0.661 and 0.716, respectively.ConclusionMultiparametric MRI parameters of the LG and EOM in TED patients with severe subjective DED were significantly altered. Novel models combining the cross-sectional area of LG, medial rectus and inferior rectus showed good predictive performance in TED patients with severe subjective DED.

Discrepant changes in structure-function coupling in dancers and musicians.

Dance and music are well known to improve sensorimotor skills and cognitive functions. To reveal the underlying mechanism, previous studies focus on the brain plastic structural and functional effects of dance and music training. However, the discrepancy training effects on brain structure-function relationship are still blurred. Thus, proficient dancers, musicians, and controls were recruited in this study. The graph signal processing framework was employed to quantify the region-level and network-level relationship between brain function and structure. The results showed the increased coupling strength of the right ventromedial putamen in the dance and music groups. Distinctly, enhanced coupling strength of the ventral attention network, increased coupling strength of the right inferior frontal gyrus opercular area, and increased function connectivity of coupling function signal between the right and left middle frontal gyrus were only found in the dance group. Besides, the dance group indicated enhanced coupling function connectivity between the left inferior parietal lobule caudal area and the left superior parietal lobule intraparietal area compared with the music groups. The results might illustrate dance and music training's discrepant effect on the structure-function relationship of the subcortical and cortical attention networks. Furthermore, dance training seemed to have a greater impact on these networks.

High-density electric source imaging patterns and outcomes following temporal lobectomy in patients with hippocampal sclerosis.

The objective of this study was to ascertain specific patterns of electrical source imaging (ESI) that are associated with a good surgical outcome (no seizure recurrence) using 256-channel high-density (HD) electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) who underwent temporal lobectomy. Adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) were prospectively recruited from September 2016 to May 2020 at the authors' center. All patients underwent phase I presurgical evaluation and were subsequently advised to proceed with surgery based on consensus from a multidisciplinary epilepsy conference, without knowing HD-ESI results. All recruited patients were followed for at least 12 months after surgery. The outcome of interest was a status of no seizure recurrence, which was assessed at the end of the study. The association between ESI patterns and outcome was assessed using the chi-square or Fisher exact test. Associated p values as well as odds ratios and 95% CIs were reported. The diagnostic performance of the significant pattern associated with the outcome was also evaluated. Fifty-eight patients with known predictors for either good or worse surgical outcomes were recruited. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 33.34 (SD 13.88) months. Forty-seven patients had sufficient interictal epileptiform discharges for HD-ESI analysis. Thirteen of these 47 patients experienced seizure recurrence. The most common source localizations were at Brodmann area (BA) 20 (inferior temporal area) and BA 21 (middle temporal area). A specific ESI pattern of BA 21 without extratemporal sources was significantly associated with no seizure recurrence (p = 0.047). This pattern had a high positive predictive value of 100% and false-positive rate of 0% associated with no seizure recurrence following the surgery. A specific ESI pattern that was highly associated with no seizure recurrence following surgery was demonstrated by a 256-channel HD-EEG. If this pattern can be reproducibly proven in further studies, some TLE-HS patients may be able to proceed with surgery without further investigations.

Anatomical Bases of the Temporal Muscle Trigger Points.

Temporal muscles of 14 adult cadavers were studied. The muscle bellies were divided into six areas, three superior (1.2 and 3) and three inferior areas (4, 5, and 6) lower, according to a Cartesian plane to analyze and describe the entry points of the branches of the deep temporal nerves into the muscle. The branching distribution was analyzed using Poisson log-linear tests with Bonferroni post hoc tests for comparison between groups (sextants) (p < 0.05). Deep temporal nerve entry points were found in the temporal muscle in all areas. Most of the branches were observed in areas 2 and 5, which coincide with the muscle fibers responsible for mandible elevation and related to the previously described MTPs. Fewer branches were found in areas 1 and 6, where contraction produces mandible retraction. There is an anatomical correlation between the branching pattern of the deep temporal nerve and temporal muscle trigger points. Adequate knowledge of the innervation of the temporal muscle may help elucidate the pathophysiology of myofascial syndromes and provide a rational basis for interventional or conservative approaches and help surgeons avoid iatrogenic lesions to the deep temporal nerve lesion.

Distinguishing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder through a Multiclass Classification model based on multimodal neuroimaging data

This study aimed to identify neural biomarkers for schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) by analyzing multimodal neuroimaging. Utilizing data from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), multiclass classification models were created for SZ, BP, and healthy controls (HC). A total of 113 participants (BP: 31, SZ: 39, and HC: 43) were recruited under strict enrollment control, from which 272, 200, and 1875 features were extracted from sMRI, DTI, and rs-fMRI data, respectively. A support vector machine (SVM) with recursive feature elimination (RFE) was employed to build the models using a one-against-one approach and leave-one-out cross-validation, achieving a classification accuracy of 70.8%. The most discriminative features were primarily from rs-fMRI, along with significant findings in sMRI and DTI. Key biomarkers identified included the increased thickness of the left cuneus cortex and decreased regional functional connectivity strength (rFCS) in the left supramarginal gyrus as shared indicators for BP and SZ. Additionally, decreased fractional anisotropy in the left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus was suggested as specific to BP, while decreased rFCS in the left inferior parietal area might serve as a specific biomarker for SZ. These findings underscore the potential of multimodal neuroimaging in distinguishing between BP and SZ and contribute to the understanding of their neural underpinnings.

Probabilistic coverage of the frontal aslant tract in young adults: Insights into individual variability, lateralization, and language functions.

The frontal aslant tract (FAT) is a crucial neural pathway of language and speech, but little is known about its connectivity and segmentation differences across populations. In this study, we investigate the probabilistic coverage of the FAT in a large sample of 1065 young adults. Our primary goal was to reveal individual variability and lateralization of FAT and its structure-function correlations in language processing. The study utilized diffusion MRI data from 1065 subjects obtained from the Human Connectome Project. Automated tractography using DSI Studio software was employed to map white matter bundles, and the results were examined to study the population variation of the FAT. Additionally, anatomical dissections were performed to validate the fiber tracking results. The tract-to-region connectome, based on Human Connectome Project-MMP parcellations, was utilized to provide population probability of the tract-to-region connections. Our results showed that the left anterior FAT exhibited the most substantial individual differences, particularly in the superior and middle frontal gyrus, with greater variability in the superior than the inferior region. Furthermore, we found left lateralization in FAT, with a greater difference in coverage in the inferior and posterior portions. Additionally, our analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the left FAT inferior coverage area and the performance on the oral reading recognition (p = .016) and picture vocabulary (p = .0026) tests. In comparison, fractional anisotropy of the right FAT exhibited marginal significance in its correlation (p = .056) with Picture Vocabulary Test. Our findings, combined with the connectivity patterns of the FAT, allowed us to segment its structure into anterior and posterior segments. We found significant variability in FAT coverage among individuals, with left lateralization observed in both macroscopic shape measures and microscopic diffusion metrics. Our findings also suggested a potential link between the size of the left FAT's inferior coverage area and language function tests. These results enhance our understanding of the FAT's role in brain connectivity and its potential implications for language and executive functions.

Visual field progression patterns in the ocular hypertension treatment study correspond to vulnerability regions of the disc.

To determine the locations on the 24-2 visual field (VF) testing grid that are most likely to progress in patients with ocular hypertension (OHTN). Based on a structural model of superior and inferior areas of relative vulnerability at the optic disc, we hypothesized that the nasal and paracentral regions are more prone to show a reduction in sensitivity. Posthoc analysis of data collected in phases 1 and 2 of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS). A pointwise analysis was applied to determine the progression patterns in the early and delayed treatment groups. Each group's progression rate and frequency were calculated for each of the 52 locations corresponding to the 24-2 VF strategy, using trend- and event-based analyses, respectively. For the event-based analysis, the events were most commonly found in the nasal and paracentral regions. The same regions, with some modest variation, were found to have the fastest rates of progression (ROP) measured with trend analysis. A similar pattern of progression was observed in both the early and delayed treatment groups. The difference in event rates and ROP between the early and delayed treatment groups was also greatest in the nasal and paracentral regions. Development of VF loss in ocular hypertensive eyes appears to be consistent with the vulnerability zones previously described in glaucomatous eyes with established VF loss. Ocular hypotensive treatment likely helps to slow the rate of progression in these regions. This suggests that careful monitoring of these locations may be useful.

Identifying cortical structure markers of resilience to adversity in young people using surface-based morphometry.

Previous research on the neurobiological bases of resilience in youth has largely used categorical definitions of resilience and voxel-based morphometry methods that assess gray matter volume. However, it is important to consider brain structure more broadly as different cortical properties have distinct developmental trajectories. To address these limitations, we used surface-based morphometry and data-driven, continuous resilience scores to examine associations between resilience and cortical structure. Structural MRI data from 286 youths (Mage = 13.6 years, 51% female) who took part in the European multi-site FemNAT-CD study were pre-processed and analyzed using surface-based morphometry. Continuous resilience scores were derived for each participant based on adversity exposure and levels of psychopathology using the residual regression method. Vertex-wise analyses assessed for correlations between resilience scores and cortical thickness, surface area, gyrification and volume. Resilience scores were positively associated with right lateral occipital surface area and right superior frontal gyrification and negatively correlated with left inferior temporal surface area. Moreover, sex-by-resilience interactions were observed for gyrification in frontal and temporal regions. Our findings extend previous research by revealing that resilience is related to surface area and gyrification in frontal, occipital and temporal regions that are implicated in emotion regulation and face or object recognition.

The influence of limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy on argyrophilic grain disease: A voxel-based morphometry analysis of pathologically confirmed cases

BackgroundThe influence of limbic-predominant age-related TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa encephalopathy neuropathological change (LATE-NC) on structural alterations in argyrophilic grain disease (AGD) have not been documented. This study aimed to investigate the morphological impact of LATE-NC on AGD through voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique. Materials and methodsFifteen individuals with pathologically verified AGD, comprising 6 with LATE-NC (comorbid AGD [cAGD]) and 9 without LATE-NC (pure AGD [pAGD]), along with 10 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Whole-brain 3D-T1-weighted images were captured and preprocessed utilizing the Computational Anatomy Toolbox 12. VBM was employed to compare gray matter volume among (i) pAGD and HC, (ii) cAGD and HC, and (iii) pAGD and cAGD. ResultsIn comparison to HC, the pAGD group exhibited slightly asymmetric gray matter volume loss, particularly in the ambient gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and insula. Alternatively, the cAGD group exhibited greater gray matter volume loss, with a predominant focus on the inferolateral regions encompassing the ambient gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, and the inferior temporal area, including the anterior temporal pole. The atrophy of the bilateral anterior temporal pole and right inferior temporal gyrus persisted when contrasting the pAGD and cAGD groups. ConclusionComorbidity with LATE-NC is linked to different atrophic distribution, particularly affecting the inferolateral regions in AGD. Consequently, the consideration of comorbid LATE-NC is crucial in individuals with AGD exhibiting more widespread temporal atrophy.

Retinal thickness as sensitivity as biomarkers of neurodegeneration in moderate diabetic retinopathy

Aims/Purpose: To analyse total retinal thickness (RT) and inner retinal layers (IRL) in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) patients, measured with swept source OCT (SS‐OCT), and retinal sensibility with microperimetry.Methods: A total of 54 DM2 subjects with moderate diabetic retinopathy (DR) with no signs of diabetic macular oedema (DME) and 73 age‐matched healthy individuals were assessed by SS‐OCT to quantify retinal thickness in the nine macular areas of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid. Retinal sensibility was measured by microperimetry with MAIA.Results: Mean ages were 64.06 ± 11.98 years for the DM2 group and 60.79 ± 8.62 years for the control group. DM2 patients presented lower visual acuity (p &lt; 0.001), RT was significantly higher in the outer temporal area (260.70 ± 19.22 μm in the control group vs. 271.90 ± 37.61 μm in the DM2 group, with p = 0.01), and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) was significantly lower in the outer nasal area (50.38 ± 8.20 μm vs. 45.17 ± 11.25 μm, p = 0.005). Ganglion cells and inner plexiform layers (GCL+) in the parafoveal areas were thinner in DM2 and RT, GCL+ and GCL+ with RNFL (GCL++) significantly diminished with age in the outer ring. A positive correlation between LDL‐C and RNFL and a negative correlation between HDL‐C levels and inner temporal and central RNFL thickness were detected. The central and inner nasal areas presented a negative correlation between RNFL (p = 0.015) and MAIA (p = 0.008), while the outer inferior area showed a positive correlation (p = 0.025).Conclusions: Retinal sensitivity and macular RNFL thickness decrease in DM2 with moderate DR with no DME. Its correlation suggests the existence of diabetic retinal neurodegeneration.

Adaptive Illuminance Effects on Retinal Morphology and Refraction: A Comprehensive Study of Night Myopia.

We aimed to study the optical and retinal modifications that occur after adapting to different lighting conditions including photopic, mesopic, scotopic, blue light and red light conditions. Thirty young healthy subjects with a mean age of 23.57 ± 3.45 years were involved in the study (both eyes included). They underwent aberrometry and optical coherence tomography at both the central and peripheral retina with the 3 × 3 mm2 macular cube protocol before starting adaptation to the illuminations (baseline) and after remaining for 5 min under the five different lighting conditions inside a controlled lighting cabinet. Significant myopization (p = 0.002) was observed under scotopic and mesopic lighting conditions, while hypermetropization occurred under the influence of blue LED light. In the central retina, a significant thickening of the inner temporal (p = 0.025) and outer inferior (p = 0.021) areas was observed in the scotopic area, and the thickening increased even more under blue and red light. The mean central thickness decreased significantly under photopic lighting conditions (p = 0.038). There was an increase in the mean volume of the central retinal area with red light and a reduction in the volume under photopic lighting (p = 0.039). In the peripheral retina, no significant thickness changes were observed after adapting to any of the lighting conditions (p > 0.05). Regarding morphological changes, a significant increase in retinal eccentricity (p = 0.045) and the shape factor (p = 0.036) was found. In addition, a significant correlation was found only between the eccentricity and volume of the central retina in scotopic conditions (r = -0.265; p = 0.041), meaning that a higher volume was associated with lower retinal eccentricity. When exposed to different lighting conditions, the retina changes in shape, and ocular refraction is modified to adapt to each condition, revealing the phenomenon of night myopia when transitioning from photopic to scotopic regimes.

Can people empathize with offenders and victims during violent scenes? Behavioral and brain correlates of affective and cognitive empathy considering victim vs. offender perspective using the Bochumer affective and cognitive empathy task (BACET).

Empathy is defined as the capacity to resonate with others' emotions and can be subdivided into affective and cognitive components. Few studies have focused on the role of perspective-taking within this ability. Utilizing the novel Bochumer Affective and Cognitive Empathy Task (BACET), the present study aims to determine the characteristics of specific empathy components, as well as the impact of offender vs. victim perspective-taking. A total of 21 male participants (mean age = 30.6) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while watching 60 videos showing two protagonists in neutral (n = 30) or violent interactions (n = 30) thereby adopting the perspective of the (later) offender or victim. Our data show that videos showing emotional (violent) content, compared to those with neutral content, were rated more emotionally negative and induced higher affective empathic involvement, particularly when adopting the victim's perspective compared to the offender's point of view. The correct assignment of people's appropriate emotion (cognitive empathy) was found to be more accurate and faster in the emotional condition relative to the neutral one. However, no significant differences in cognitive empathy performance were observed when comparing victim vs offender conditions. On a neural level, affective empathy processing, during emotional compared to neutral videos, was related to brain areas generally involved in social information processing, particularly in occipital, parietal, insular, and frontal regions. Cognitive aspects of empathy, relative to factual reasoning questions, were located in inferior occipital areas, fusiform gyrus, temporal pole, and frontal cortex. Neural differences were found depending on the perspective, i.e., empathizing with the victim, compared to the offender, during affective empathy activated parts of the right temporal lobe, whereas empathy towards the role of the offender revealed stronger activation in the right lingual gyrus. During cognitive empathy, empathy toward the victim, relative to the offender, enhanced activity of the right supramarginal and left precentral gyri. The opposite contrast did not show any significant differences. We conclude that the BACET can be a useful tool for further studying behavioral and neurobiological underpinnings of affective and cognitive empathy, especially in forensic populations since response patterns point to a significant impact of the observer's perspective.

GRAY MATTER CORRELATES OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND GAIT SPEED IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN

Abstract Chronic pain and its comorbidities, (e.g., anxiety, depression, slow gait speeds) are a widespread, disabling condition prevalent among older adults. Worse anxiety and depression have been associated with slower gait speeds in individuals with chronic pain, and each comorbidity has been associated with structural gray matter changes; however, results are inconclusive or limited. Further investigation into these relationships may provide insight into neural mechanisms through which anxiety and depression contribute to slow gait speeds in this population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify gray matter measures associated with anxiety, depression, and gait speed in older adults with chronic pain. Participants (n = 31) walked across a GAITRite mat to obtain gait speed, and completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and a T1-weighted anatomical scan. STAI score (mean = 7, β = - 0.015, p = 0.010) and CES-D score (mean = 30, β = - 0.014, p = 0.016) were significantly associated with gait speed. CES-D score was associated with left cuneus gyrus (β = 0.017, p = 0.0002) and frontal inferior sulcus surface area (β = 0.019, p = 0.002). Gait speed was associated with right inferior temporal gyrus surface area (β = 0.436, p = 0.019). STAI score was not associated with any measure. In conclusion, anxiety and depression symptoms contribute to gait slowing in older adults with chronic pain but without clinical depression or anxiety. This relationship, however, is not reflected in each comorbidity’s structural neural correlates.

Subfoveal and Parafoveal Choroidal Thickening in Patients with Keratoconus Using the ETDRS Grid on Swept-Source OCT.

There is growing evidence that confirms morphological changes in the posterior structures in patients with keratoconus (KC); however, isolated alterations could have been missed. This study assesses choroidal thickness (CT) in the fovea and beyond in KC eyes. This prospective case-control and non-randomized study enrolled 107 eyes, 62 eyes of 62 patients with KC, and 45 age-matched eyes of 45 control subjects with axial length in the range of 22-26mm. Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was performed to manually measure the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) using a single-line scan. CT was obtained automatically from the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid using the 12-lines radial scan pattern. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to evaluate CT variations among macular eccentricity, parafoveal area, and the interaction between both factors. CT was compared in all parafoveal areas between groups and subgroups of KC. SCT was significantly thicker in KC eyes (357 ± 57µm) than in healthy eyes (325 ± 63µm) (p < 0.001). Significant choroidal thickening was observed in the central ring and outer and inner rings of the temporal, superior, and inferior parafoveal macular areas (p < 0.001), except in the outer ring of the nasal macular zone (p > 0.05) of KC compared to healthy eyes. The CT significantly decreased from the center to the outer ring regardless of the presence of KC (p < 0.001). The choroid in the nasal macular zone was significantly thinner than that in the temporal, superior, and inferior parafoveal areas (p < 0.001). The choroidal structure increased its thickness not only in the subfoveal area, but also in eight parafoveal areas of the ETDRS grid encompassing a wider area of macular examination. These findings demonstrate and corroborate that keratoconus is not a purely corneal disease. Furthermore, it confirms the role that the choroidal structure has in the pathophysiology of keratoconus.

Age-related differences in the interhemispheric asymmetry of local cortical responses to abstract and concrete verbs in children: a magnetic mismatch negativity study

BACKGROUND: The development of brain neural networks that support lexico-semantic processing in children remains a poorly understood topic in neuroscience. Meanwhile, investigations in adults have provided ample evidence regarding the brain circuits underpinning the processing of abstract and concrete semantics. These studies have shown that interhemispheric asymmetry in neural responses across modal and amodal cortical areas might be an important marker that helps in distinguishing these two types of semantics, with more left-lateralized activity patterns for abstract than concrete word comprehension. However, little is known about such distinctions in children; thus, addressing this gap was the goal of this study. AIM: This study aimed to investigate age-related differences in the lateralization of neural response patterns associated with the processing of abstract and concrete semantics in children. METHODS: This study employed magnetoencephalography and a mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in a group of 41 healthy children aged 5–13 years. The participants were passively exposed to the auditory series of abstract and concrete Russian verbs presented outside the focus of attention. Spatiotemporal patterns of the dynamics of neuromagnetic sources activity were reconstructed using minimum-norm estimate within predefined regions of interest: primary auditory cortex, primary motor cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus of both hemispheres. The magnitudes of MMN responses were further compared statistically between the two hemispheres within two age groups: younger (aged 5–9 years) and older (aged 10–13 years) children. RESULTS: Regionally specific differences were found in the lateralization of event-related MMN responses to concrete compared with abstract words in motor and inferior frontal cortical areas (paired permutation tests, p 0.05). Moreover, in the younger group (aged 5–9 years), responses to the abstract and pseudoword stimulus were left-lateralized, and this effect was most pronounced in the inferior frontal regions (45 and 47 Brodmann fields) of the left hemisphere. In the older group (aged 10–13 years), no pronounced left-lateralized response was observed in these areas. However, for the concrete hand action verb stimulus, different patterns of the interhemispheric asymmetry of the hand motor area responses were observed: the response in the younger group was right-lateralized, whereas in the older group, the response was bilateral. CONCLUSION: The present area- and hemisphere-specific dynamics of neuromagnetic responses in the motor cortex and Broca’s area might correlate with the age-related changes in neurocognitive strategies for the comprehension of abstract and concrete language.

Urea-boosted gas-exfoliation synthesis of lignin-derived porous carbon for zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors

Porous carbons are the favorable candidate cathode for the emerging zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSCs). The scale-up production of porous carbon requires green synthesis methods to replace the existing corrosive KOH activation, but most mild activators suffer from low activation efficiency, leading to the inferior surface area and capacitance. Herein, we propose a urea-boosted gas-exfoliation method using K2C2O4 as the mild activator and lignin as the low-cost precursor. Urea has the auxo-action to lower the decomposing temperature of K2C2O4 and to initiate an extra second-step gas-exfoliation. The auxo-action produces the enlarged surface area of porous carbon from 592 m2/g to 1949 m2/g and promotes the morphology regulation from thick carbon bulks to layered carbon sheets. The improved carbon structure contributes to the excellent capacitive performance with a high energy-power density of 126.71 Wh kg−1 at 79.37 W kg−1. Moreover, the energy-storage mechanism is studied by both electrochemical analysis and Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. The DFT calculation demonstrates the effect of interaction between N- and O-containing groups on the adsorption capacity of zinc ions, which can provide information for the structural optimization design of carbon cathode.

CSF Aβ42/40 is associated with neurodegeneration independently of CSF p‐tau in the earliest AD continuum

AbstractBackgroundSoluble Aβ dyshomeostasis is thought to be the earliest detectable alteration in AD, but is believed to have little impact on neurodegeneration. Conversely, the onset of tau pathology in the presence of Aβ drives subsequent neurodegeneration. Here, we aimed to assess the independent contribution of soluble Aβ and tau dyshomeostasis to neurodegeneration, in the earliest stages of the AD continuum.MethodThe first 330 consecutive participants of the ALFA+ study with available longitudinal (3.45±0.24 y) MRI, CSF Aβ42, Aβ40, p‐tau181, and NfL at baseline were included. CSF biomarkers were assessed with the Roche NeuroToolKit robust prototype immunoassays and p‐tau181 with the Elecsys® Phospho‐Tau (181P) CSF immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd). Gray matter volume (GMv) changes were computed voxelwise using SPM12 on T1w scans. Hippocampal subfields were segmented using ASHS on high‐resolution acquisitions. To detect regions showing early neurodegeneration, correlations between CSF NfL and GMv changes were sought. Then, GMv and hippocampal subfields changes were sought in association with CSF Aβ42/40 and CSF p‐tau181, both alone and after controlling for the other biomarkers. The interactive effect of CSF p‐tau181 and Aβ status (CSF Aβ42/40 &lt; 0.071) on brain structure was determined.ResultTable 1 shows sample’s characteristics. CSF NfL concentrations were associated with longitudinal GMv atrophy in the medial and inferior temporal areas (Fig. 1A). CSF Aβ42/40 significantly predicted GMv atrophy in the hippocampus bilaterally, alone and when controlling for CSF p‐tau181 and NfL (Fig. 1B‐C). CSF p‐tau181 interacted with Aβ status to predict GMv atrophy in the posterior hippocampus bilaterally (Fig. 1D). Longitudinal GMv atrophy in the hippocampal subfields were confirmed in association with CSF Aβ42/40 in the bilateral CA1, dentate gyrus and BA35 (Table 2).ConclusionIndependently of p‐tau, early Aβ dyshomeostasis is associated with longitudinal GMv atrophy in AD‐sensitive brain areas in the early AD continuum. As expected, tau levels were associated with additional atrophy in these regions in Aβ+ individuals. Pathophysiological alterations other than Aβ, but correlated with CSF Aβ levels, might contribute to the observed atrophy patterns. Control of the earliest pathophysiological alterations in AD may have a relevant impact on neurodegeneration, even at the earliest preclinical stages.

Topographical pattern of blood‐brain barrier impairment in preclinical and clinical Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBackgroundWhile blood‐brain barrier (BBB) damage in some brain regions has been suggested in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the topographical pattern of BBB impairment associated with AD process in whole brain level is still poorly understood. Using high‐resolution 3‐dimensional (3D) dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) scans of BBB permeability (K trans) for the whole brain, we aimed to reveal topographical pattern of BBB impairment related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) including preclinical as well as clinically impaired state.MethodNinety‐one participants were included in the study [45 cognitively normal (CN) older adults, 24 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 22 patients with AD dementia]. Comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological assessments were administered to all participants. High‐resolution DCE‐ as well as T1‐weighted‐MRI scans were obtained in addition to amyloid‐PET scans. Amyloid‐beta (Ab) positivity was obtained using previously established cut‐offs. Preprocessing of K trans maps incorporated FreeSurfer‐based (v6.0) segmentation to ensure exclusion of the voxels within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces. Voxel‐wise analyses were conducted using SPM12 implemented in MATLAB 2018b.ResultSubtle BBB impairment, as measured by K trans map images based on high‐resolution 3D DCE‐MRI, was observed at multiple brain regions even in preclinical AD (i.e., Ab‐positive CN) as well as AD with cognitive impairment (i.e., Ab‐positive MCI and AD). The brain regions with impaired K trans closely corresponded to the AD‐signature regions (Figure). Compared to Ab‐negative CN, Ab‐positive CN showed increased breakdown of BBB in the precuneus, posterior‐cingulate cortex, and medial temporal lobe. Moreover, compared to Ab‐negative CN, Ab‐positive MCI and AD patients showed increased breakdown of BBB in more diffuse regions including bilateral frontal, parietal and inferior temporal areas. In contrast, when using low‐resolution BBB images for the same participants, BBB damage was not detected in preclinical AD and observed at only limited brain regions in AD with cognitive impairment.ConclusionWe demonstrated topographical pattern of BBB impairment associated with preclinical AD as well as AD with cognitive impairment through technically advanced high‐resolution DCE‐MRI. The findings suggest that subtle BBB changes detectable from high‐resolution DCE‐MRI has potential as a biomarkers for detection and monitoring of BBB impairment in whole AD continuum.