Left Prefrontal Areas Research Articles

Enhancing early Parkinson’s disease detection through multimodal deep learning and explainable AI: insights from the PPMI database

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting nearly 8.5M people and steadily increasing. In this research, Multimodal Deep Learning is investigated for the Prodromal stage detection of Parkinson's Disease (PD), combining different 3D architectures with the novel Excitation Network (EN) and supported by Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques. Utilizing data from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative, this study introduces a joint co-learning approach for multimodal fusion, enabling end-to-end training of deep neural networks and facilitating the learning of complementary information from both imaging and clinical modalities. DenseNet with EN outperformed other models, showing a substantial increase in accuracy when supplemented with clinical data. XAI methods, such as Integrated Gradients for ResNet and DenseNet, and Attention Heatmaps for Vision Transformer (ViT), revealed that DenseNet focused on brain regions believed to be critical to prodromal pathophysiology, including the right temporal and left pre-frontal areas. Similarly, ViT highlighted the lateral ventricles associated with cognitive decline, indicating their potential in the Prodromal stage. These findings underscore the potential of these regions as early-stage PD biomarkers and showcase the proposed framework's efficacy in predicting subtypes of PD and aiding in early diagnosis, paving the way for innovative diagnostic tools and precision medicine.

Neuronal Activity Topography Reveals Neuronal Change in Comatose Patients Treated by tDCS.

BACKGROUND: In our hospital, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is applied in combination with occupational therapy (OT) for patients with persistent consciousness disorders. There have been reports from some research groups on Left dorsolateral prefrontal area (F3) anodal stimulation as wells as Frontal pole (Fpz) anodal stimulation under different conditions. We chose either anodal stimulation site depending on the patient's condition. CASES: Nine patients underwent tDCS with Fpz or F3 anodal stimulation for 10 days, followed by a 2-day break, after which the stimulation sites were switched, and the patients were stimulated for another 10 days. Their Electroencephalography changes were evaluated by using visual images of neuronal activity topography (NAT). The asymmetry index (AI) was also calculated to compare lateral differences in neuronal changes in the frontal lobe. Seven out of nine cases started with Fpz anode, and two with F3 anode. In the former setting, six cases improved, two aggravated and one remained unchanged. In the latter, one case unchanged and one remained aggravated. After applying tDCS, NAT and AI of the improved cases showed a tendency to approximate the normal control group. Discussion: Among these cases, all but one showed improvement in CRS-R scores, especially in Fpz stimulation. Additionally, changes in the scores indicated that most cases showed improvements in responses to visual and auditory stimulation. Furthermore, the NAT system allows for the rapid and minimally invasive assessment of changes in neuronal activity. Consequently, it is suggested that this system may be valuable for evaluating the therapeutic effects of tDCS and identifying effective stimulation sites.

Effectiveness of pictorial warnings on food fat content: consumers’ perception and neurological responses

PurposeThis paper delves into evaluating the effectiveness of warning messages as a deterrent against excessive fat consumption. It examines how consumers perceive the fat content of food products when presented with two distinct label types: (1) a textual warning, providing succinct information about the fat content, and (2) a pictorial warning, offering a visual representation that immediately signifies the fat content.Design/methodology/approachTwo quantitative studies were carried out. Study 1 employed a questionnaire to evaluate the efficacy of textual and pictorial warning messages on high- and low-fat food products. Similarly, Study 2 replicated this comparison while incorporating a neuromarketing instrument to gauge participants’ cerebral reactions.FindingsResults indicate that pictorial warnings on high-fat foods significantly deter consumers’ purchasing intentions. Notably, these pictorial warnings stimulate the left prefrontal area of the cerebral cortex, inducing negative emotions in consumers and driving them away from high-fat food items.Originality/valueWhile the influence of images over text in shaping consumer decisions is well understood in marketing, this study accentuates the underlying mechanism of such an impact through the elicitation of negative emotions. By understanding this emotional pathway, the paper presents fresh academic and managerial perspectives, underscoring the potency of pictorial warnings in guiding consumers towards healthier food choices.Highlights Textual warnings do not seem to discourage high-fat product consumption.A pictorial warning represents the fat content of an equivalent product.Pictorial warnings decrease the intention to purchase a high-fat product.Pictorial warnings determine an increase in negative emotions.

HD-tDCS induced changes in resting-state functional connectivity: Insights from EF modeling

BackgroundHigh-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) holds promise for therapeutic use in psychiatric disorders. One obstacle for the implementation into clinical practice is response variability. One way to tackle this obstacle is the use of Individualized head models. ObjectiveThis study investigated the variability of HD-tDCS induced electric fields (EFs) and its impact on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) during different time windows. MethodsIn this randomized, double-blind, and sham controlled study, seventy healthy males underwent 20 min of 1.5 mA HD-tDCS on the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) while undergoing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Individual head models and EF simulations were created from anatomical images. The effects of HD-tDCS on rsFC were assessed using a seed-to-voxel analysis. A subgroup analysis explored the relationship between EF magnitude and rsFC during different stimulation time windows. ResultsResults highlighted significant variability in HD-tDCS-induced EFs. Compared to the sham group, the active group showed increased rsFC between the rIFG and the left prefrontal cortex, during and after stimulation. During active stimulation, EF magnitude correlated positively with rsFC between the rIFG and the left hippocampus initially, and negatively during the subsequent period. ConclusionThis study indicated an HD-tDCS induced increase of rsFC between left and right prefrontal areas. Furthermore, an interaction between the magnitude and the duration of HD-tDCS on rsFC was observed. Due to the high EF variability that was apparent, these findings highlight the need for individualized HD-tDCS protocols and the creation of head models to optimize effects and reduce response heterogeneity.

Assessing brain function in stressed healthy individuals following the use of a combination of green tea, Rhodiola, magnesium, and B vitamins: an fMRI study.

This randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial assessed the effect of magnesium (Mg)-Teadiola (Mg, vitamins B6, B9, B12, Rhodiola, and green tea/L-theanine) versus placebo on the brain response to stressful thermal stimulus in chronically stressed, but otherwise healthy subjects. Impacts on stress-related quality-of-life parameters (depression, anxiety, sleep, and perception of pain) were also explored. The study recruited a total of 40 adults (20 per group), suffering from stress for more than 1 month and scaling ≥14 points on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-42 questionnaire at the time of inclusion. Individuals received oral Mg-Teadiola or placebo for 28 days (D). fMRI analysis was used to visualize the interplay between stress and pain cerebral matrices, using thermal stress model, at baseline (D0) and after D28. Based on blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal variations during the stress stimulation (before pain perception), a significantly increased activation between D0 and D28 was observed for left and right frontal area (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively), left and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (p = 0.035 and p = 0.04, respectively), and left and right insula (p = 0.034 and p = 0.0402, respectively) in Mg-Teadiola versus placebo group. During thermal pain stimulation, a significantly diminished activation of the pain matrix was observed between D0 and D28, for left and right prefrontal area (both p = 0.001), left and right insula (p = 0.008 and p = 0.019, respectively), and left and right ventral striatum (both p = 0.001) was observed in Mg-Teadiola versus placebo group. These results reinforce the clinical observations, showing a perceived benefit of Mg-Teadiola on several parameters. After 1 month of treatment, DASS-42 stress score significantly decreased in Mg-Teadiola group [effect size (ES) -0.46 (-0.91; -0.01), p = 0.048]. Similar reductions were observed on D14 (p = 0.011) and D56 (p = 0.008). Sensitivity to cold also improved from D0 to D28 for Mg-Teadiola versus placebo [ES 0.47 (0.02; 0.92) p = 0.042]. Supplementation with Mg-Teadiola reduced stress on D28 in chronically stressed but otherwise healthy individuals and modulated the stress and pain cerebral matrices during stressful thermal stimulus.

Influence of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Exercise on Physical Capacity and Gait in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Over Pilot Study.

Physical capacity provides a link between disease or impairment and limitations in activity; in multiple sclerosis (MS), it is limited and decreased. The aim of this study was to study the effects of exercise and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex area in MS patients with fatigue and an impaired gait ability. A cross-over design was carried out on fifteen patients with two disability associations, but three were excluded. Before and after each intervention, the 6 min walk test (6MWT) and the 2 min walk test (2MWT) were used to assess walking ability and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) was used to assess fatigue. A total of twelve patients were enrolled (48.0 median age, Kurtzke Disability Scale (EDSS) 3.66 ± 1.3): five females and seven males. After the application of the exercise program, significant improvements were observed in the 6MWT (p < 0.001, g = 0.159) and 2MWT (p < 0.001, g = 0.182). Furthermore, fatigue was significantly reduced after the application of the exercise program (p < 0.05, g = 0.742) and after tDCS (p < 0.05, g = 0.525). We could consider therapeutic exercise in the future to improve the walking ability and fatigue in MS patients. Furthermore, tDCS did not exert a significant improvement in walking ability, but it appeared to influence fatigue. Clinical trial registration code: ACTRN12622000264785.

Intra– and inter–hemispheric network dynamics supporting object recognition and speech production

We built normative brain atlases that animate millisecond-scale intra- and inter-hemispheric white matter-level connectivity dynamics supporting object recognition and speech production. We quantified electrocorticographic modulations during three naming tasks using event-related high-gamma activity from 1,114 nonepileptogenic intracranial electrodes (i.e., non-lesional areas unaffected by epileptiform discharges). Using this electrocorticography data, we visualized functional connectivity modulations defined as significant naming-related high-gamma modulations occurring simultaneously at two sites connected by direct white matter streamlines on diffusion-weighted imaging tractography. Immediately after stimulus onset, intra- and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity enhancements were confined mainly across modality-specific perceptual regions. During response preparation, left intra-hemispheric connectivity enhancements propagated in a posterior-to-anterior direction, involving the left precentral and prefrontal areas. After overt response onset, inter- and intra-hemispheric connectivity enhancements mainly encompassed precentral, postcentral, and superior-temporal (STG) gyri. We found task-specific connectivity enhancements during response preparation as follows. Picture naming enhanced activity along the left arcuate fasciculus between the inferior-temporal and precentral/posterior inferior-frontal (pIFG) gyri. Nonspeech environmental sound naming augmented functional connectivity via the left inferior longitudinal and fronto-occipital fasciculi between the medial-occipital and STG/pIFG. Auditory descriptive naming task enhanced usage of the left frontal U-fibers, involving the middle-frontal gyrus. Taken together, the commonly observed network enhancements include inter-hemispheric connectivity optimizing perceptual processing exerted in each hemisphere, left intra-hemispheric connectivity supporting semantic and lexical processing, and inter-hemispheric connectivity for symmetric oral movements during overt speech. Our atlases improve the currently available models of object recognition and speech production by adding neural dynamics via direct intra- and inter-hemispheric white matter tracts.

You can touch this! Brain correlates of aesthetic processing of active fingertip exploration of material surfaces

The haptic exploration and aesthetic processing of all kinds of materials' surfaces are part of everyday life. In the present study, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to investigate the brain correlates of active fingertip exploration of material surfaces and subsequent aesthetic judgments of their pleasantness (feels good or bad?). In absence of other sensory modalities, individuals (n = 21) performed lateral movements on a total of 48 textile and wood surfaces varying in terms of their roughness. Behavioral results confirmed the influence of the stimuli's roughness on aesthetic judgments, with smoother textures being rated as feeling better than rough textures. At the neural level, fNIRS activation results revealed an overall increased engagement of the contralateral sensorimotor areas as well as left prefrontal areas. Moreover, the perceived pleasantness modulated specific activations of left prefrontal areas with increasing pleasantness showing greater activations of these regions. Interestingly, this positive relationship between the individual aesthetic judgments and brain activity was most pronounced for smooth woods. These results demonstrate that positively valenced touch by actively exploring material surfaces is linked to left prefrontal activity and extend previous findings of affective touch underlying passive movements on hairy skin. We suggest that fNIRS can be a valuable tool to provide new insights in the field of experimental aesthetics.

Study on brain function of the frontal lobe in patients with functional gastroduodenal disease by near-infrared functional imaging

Objectivefunctional gastroduodenal disease is the main type of functional gastrointestinal disease in the clinical department of Gastroenterology and psychosomatic medicine at present, which accounts for a large proportion of outpatients in gastroenterology. The main manifestations are epigastric pain, dyspepsia, belching, chronic nausea, and vomiting. The purpose of this study is to explore the changes in brain function in patients with functional gastroduodenal diseases through experiments to reveal the possible central etiology and development process. Methodsthe functional changes of the prefrontal lobe in patients with functional gastroduodenal diseases and normal controls were detected and analyzed by near-infrared brain imaging. At the same time, SCL-90 was used to evaluate the mental health status of patients with functional gastroduodenal diseases and normal controls. The changes in the autonomic nerve system in patients and normal controls were detected and compared by heart rate variability trend chart. Resultsthe activity of left prefrontal lobe areas s8-d8, s10-d4, s10-d10 and s10-d15 in patients with functional gastroduodenal disease was significantly lower than normal controls (p < 0.05). The SCL-90 scale showed that there were significant differences between patients with functional gastroduodenal disease and normal controls, especially in depression, compulsion, anxiety, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity and hostility (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in lf/hf values detected by the HRV trend chart (p > 0.05). Conclusionthe function of the left frontal lobe is decreased in patients with functional gastroduodenal disease. The autonomic nervous system may be related to the connection system between the brain center and internal organs.

Computational modeling of electric fields for prefrontal tDCS across patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders

This cross-diagnostic study aims to computationally model electric field (efield) for prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation in mood disorders and schizophrenia. Enrolled were patients with major depressive disorder (n = 23), bipolar disorder (n = 24), schizophrenia (n = 23), and healthy controls (n = 23). The efield was simulated using SimNIBS software (ver.2.1.1). Electrodes were placed at the left and right prefrontal areas and the current intensity was set to 2 mA intensity. Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder groups showed significantly lower 99.5th percentile efield strength than healthy controls. In voxel-wise analysis, patients with schizophrenia showed a significant reduction of simulated efield strength in the bilateral frontal lobe, cerebellum and brain stem compared with healthy controls. Among the patients with schizophrenia, reduction of simulated efield strength was not significantly correlated with psychiatric symptoms or global functioning. The patients with bipolar disorder showed no significant difference in simulated efield strength compared with healthy controls, and there was no significant difference between the clinical groups. Our results suggest attenuated electrophysiological response to transcranial direct current stimulation to the prefrontal cortex in patients with schizophrenia, and to some extent in patients with major depressive disorder.

The different brain areas occupied for integrating information of hierarchical linguistic units: a study based on EEG and TMS.

Human language units are hierarchical, and reading acquisition involves integrating multisensory information (typically from auditory and visual modalities) to access meaning. However, it is unclear how the brain processes and integrates language information at different linguistic units (words, phrases, and sentences) provided simultaneously in auditory and visual modalities. To address the issue, we presented participants with sequences of short Chinese sentences through auditory, visual, or combined audio-visual modalities while electroencephalographic responses were recorded. With a frequency tagging approach, we analyzed the neural representations of basic linguistic units (i.e. characters/monosyllabic words) and higher-level linguistic structures (i.e. phrases and sentences) across the 3 modalities separately. We found that audio-visual integration occurs in all linguistic units, and the brain areas involved in the integration varied across different linguistic levels. In particular, the integration of sentences activated the local left prefrontal area. Therefore, we used continuous theta-burst stimulation to verify that the left prefrontal cortex plays a vital role in the audio-visual integration of sentence information. Our findings suggest the advantage of bimodal language comprehension at hierarchical stages in language-related information processing and provide evidence for the causal role of the left prefrontal regions in processing information of audio-visual sentences.

Increased cortical activation and enhanced functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortex ensure dynamic postural balance during dual-task obstacle negotiation in the older adults: A fNIRS study

ObjectiveBy analyzing the cortical activation and functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during dual-task obstacle negotiation in the older adults, cognitive resources allocation and neural regulatory mechanisms of aging brain were shed light on in complex walking conditions. MethodsTwenty-eight healthy right-handed subjects participated in the study, including 15 men and 13 women (age: 68.6 ± 4.1 years, height: 162.96 ± 6.05 cm, weight: 63.63 ± 9.64 kg). There were four tasks: Normal Walk (NW), Obstacle Negotiation during Normal Walk (NW + ON), Walk while performing Cognitive Task (WCT), and Obstacle Negotiation during Walk while performing Cognitive Task (WCT + ON). Participants wore functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to collect hemodynamic signals from various regions of interest (ROIs) in the PFC, while the three-dimensional motion capture system was used to test the gait velocity. Cognitive task data was recorded. ResultsIn WCT + ON, the HbO2 concentration change value (△HbO2) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was significantly greater than that in the other three tasks (p < 0.05), and the△HbO2 of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was significantly greater than that in NW + ON (p < 0.05). The gait velocities in the four tasks were significantly different (p < 0.05) (NW > WCT > NW + ON > WCT + ON). There was no significant difference in cognitive performance between in the WCT and WCT + ON (p > 0.05). In WCT + ON, the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal areas had strong functional connectivity and the left frontal pole was most widely connected to the other ROIs. Compared to that in NW, the functional connectivity of the left prefrontal lobe was significantly enhanced in WCT + ON (p < 0.05). ConclusionsAs walking difficulty increased, the PFC activation in the older adults changed from right-sided to bilateral activation, indicating that the left PFC cognitive resources compensated for the right PFC in dual-task obstacle negotiation. The cognitive resources recruitment in dual-task obstacle negotiation might be achieved by synchronization and coordination of associated brain areas in the PFC, primarily to maintain dynamic postural balance when walking.

Driver's turning intent recognition model based on brain activation and contextual information.

Traffic situations like turning at intersections are destined for safety-critical situations and accidents. Human errors are one of the main reasons for accidents in these situations. A model that recognizes the driver's turning intent could help to reduce accidents by warning the driver or stopping the vehicle before a dangerous turning maneuver. Most models that aim at predicting the probability of a driver's turning intent use only contextual information, such as gap size or waiting time. The objective of this study is to investigate whether the combination of context information and brain activation measurements enhances the recognition of turning intent. We conducted a driving simulator study while simultaneously measuring brain activation using high-density fNIRS. A neural network model for turning intent recognition was trained on the fNIRS and contextual data. The input variables were analyzed using SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) feature importance analysis to show the positive effect of the inclusion of brain activation data. Both the model's evaluation and the feature importance analysis suggest that the combination of context information and brain activation leads to an improved turning intent recognition. The fNIRS results showed increased brain activation differences during the "turn" decision-making phase before turning execution in parts of the left motor cortices, such as the primary motor cortex (PMC; putative BA 4), premotor area (PMA; putative BA 6), and supplementary motor area (SMA; putative BA 8). Furthermore, we also observed increased activation differences in the left prefrontal areas, potentially in the left middle frontal gyrus (putative BA 9), which has been associated with the control of executive functions, such as decision-making and action planning. We hypothesize that brain activation measurements could be a more direct indicator with potentially high specificity for the turning behavior and thus help to increase the recognition model's performance.

Neural representation of phonological information during Chinese character reading.

Previous studies have revealed that phonological processing of Chinese characters elicited activation in the left prefrontal cortex, bilateral parietal cortex, and occipitotemporal regions. However, it is controversial what role the left middle frontal gyrus plays in Chinese character reading, and whether the core regions (e.g., the left superior temporal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus) for phonological processing of alphabetic languages are also involved in Chinese character reading. To address these questions, the present study used both univariate and multivariate analysis (i.e., representational similarity analysis, RSA) to explore neural representations of phonological information during Chinese character reading. Participants were scanned while performing a reading aloud task. Univariate activation analysis revealed a widely distributed network for word reading, including the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, lateral temporal cortex, and occipitotemporal cortex. More importantly, RSA showed that the left prefrontal (i.e., the left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus) and bilateral occipitotemporal areas (i.e., the left inferior and middle temporal gyrus and bilateral fusiform gyrus) represented phonological information of Chinese characters. These results confirmed the importance of the left middle frontal gyrus and regions in ventral pathway in representing phonological information of Chinese characters.

A Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Investigation of the Physiological Underpinnings of Visual Cognitive Workload After Concussion

Background:In concussion, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been shown to detect differences in cortical oxygenation during neurocognitive testing, with concussed adults manifesting less task-based cortical activation compared to controls. In addition, fNIRS has identified significantly reduced interhemispheric coherence in adult concussions relative to controls. In addition, adults with greater post-concussive symptom burden demonstrate lower task-related oxygenation in the frontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and reduced connectivity compared to controls.Hypothesis:The goal of this study was to use fNIRS to identify any differences in visual task-related cortical activation between concussed adolescents and healthy controls while performing a the King-Devick (KD) test.Methods:We enrolled 112 adolescents, ages 12-18 years, with recent concussion and 165 healthy controls as part of a large observational prospective cohort. Participants were provided standardized instructions to read the KD cards while wearing the fNIRS sensor pad. The relative changes in the difference of oxy-and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations over each task condition for each optode were calculated via the Modified Beer-Lambert Law using local baselines for each task condition period as its beginning. The averaged oxy-hemoglobin concentration changes for each task period were used for statistical analysis of group (e.g., concussed vs healthy) effect.Results:The concussed adolescents (n=112) and healthy controls (n=165) were demographically comparable with respect to age, sex, and race/ethnicity. The concussed group was more likely to have a history of prior concussion (p = <.0001) and migraine (p = .0001) compared to the healthy control group (Table 1). The concussed adolescents were assessed with fNIRS while performing a visual task a median of 10 days after injury (IQR 4-16). The concussed group had significantly lower oxygenation changes that are the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin as an indicator of task-evoked response, on left lateral prefrontal area (p<.005, FDR q<.005). As expected, there was also a main effect for task condition (cards) at right lateral prefrontal cortex (p<.001, FDR q<.005).Conclusions:fNIRS is able to distinguish concussed adolescents from healthy controls while performing a visual-cognitive task, the K-D test. Injured adolescents with concussion demonstrated a compensatory pattern of cortical activation, suggesting localized brain dysfunction, recruiting from both hemispheres, distinguishing it from the pattern of cortical activation in healthy controls. fNIRS, as a modality, is not only able to differentiate concussion from healthy controls, but also captures the compensatory mechanisms of cortical activation that underlie visual cognitive function after injury.

Brain functional specialization and cooperation in Parkinson's disease.

Cerebral specialization and inter-hemispheric cooperation are two of the most prominent functional architectures of the human brain. Their dysfunctions may be related to pathophysiological changes in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who are characterized by unbalanced onset and progression of motor symptoms. This study aimed to characterize the two intrinsic architectures of hemispheric functions in PD using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Seventy idiopathic PD patients and 70 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy subjects were recruited. All participants underwent magnetic resonance image scanning and clinical evaluations. The cerebral specialization (Autonomy index, AI) and inter-hemispheric cooperation (Connectivity between Functionally Homotopic voxels, CFH) were calculated and compared between groups. Compared with healthy controls, PD patients showed stronger AI in the left angular gyrus. Specifically, this difference in specialization resulted from increased functional connectivity (FC) of the ipsilateral areas (e.g., the left prefrontal area), and decreased FC in the contralateral area (e.g., the right supramarginal gyrus). Imaging-cognitive correlation analysis indicated that these connectivity were positively related to the score of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in PD patients. CFH between the bilateral sensorimotor regions was significantly decreased in PD patients compared with controls. No significant correlation between CFH and cognitive scores was found in PD patients. This study illustrated a strong leftward specialization but weak inter-hemispheric coordination in PD patients. It provided new insights to further clarify the pathological mechanism of PD.

Effects of high-intensity interval exercise and moderate-intensity continuous exercise on executive function of healthy young males

PurposeThis study compared the executive function (EF) performance induced by moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) versus high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE), under two exercise modalities (i.e., running vs. cycling), and explored whether the changes in EF performance were related to the hemodynamics response of the cerebral prefrontal area of the brain. MethodsIn a randomized cross-over design, 16 male participants completed 4 main trials, i.e., 40 min of moderate-intensity continuous running (MICR) or cycling (MICC) with 60% maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), 33 min of high-intensity interval running (HIIR) or cycling (HIIC). For HIIR or HIIC trials, the exercise intensity was 60% VO2max for the first 5 min, followed by four 4-minute bouts of exercise at 90% VO2max, separated by 3-minute active recovery at 60% VO2max. EF was assessed via the Eriksen Flanker task (EFT) before (Pre), immediately after (Post 0), and 10 min after exercise (Post 10). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) concentrations in the prefrontal area. Each main trial measured the concentrations of blood glucose and lactate, heart rate, and rate of perceived exertion. Results(1) Compared to the reaction time in EFT during the pretest, the corresponding reaction time was shorter at Post 10 (P < 0.01) but not at Post 0 (P = 0.06). Specifically, reaction time was shorter at Post 10 than in the pretest in HIIC (P = 0.04), MICC (P = 0.01), and HIIR (P < 0.01) but not MICR. (2) The fNIRS results revealed that O2Hb concentrations in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex area were much lower during Post 10 than during the pretest. (3) The blood lactate concentrations were not associated with EF performance regarding both accuracy and reaction time. ConclusionCompared to the pretest, EF was greater after the 10-minute rest during recovery but not immediately after exercise. The different HIIE or MICE protocols adopted in the present study may elicit minor differences regarding their effects on EF.

Multiparity decreases the effect of distractor stimuli on a working memory task: An EEG study

ABSTRACT Parity modulates the way in which women respond to infant’s affective cues. It is known that the cognitive processing of mothers is affected by a baby crying; however, little information is available regarding the effect of reproductive and caregiving experience on efficiency in managing babies’ emotional stimuli while other tasks are being attended. This study characterized the affective score, cognitive performance, and electroencephalographic correlation (rEEG) between prefrontal and parietal cortices in first- (FM) and second-time mothers (SM) while solving a working memory task (vsWM) and simultaneously listening to either an emotional or neutral distractor stimulus. During the vsWM-baby crying condition, both groups reported higher arousal. However, SM reported a lower valence and FM lower dominance. In the vsWM-baby crying condition did SM need less time to solve the cognitive task and present a decreased rEEG between prefrontal areas, and between left prefrontal and parietal areas, though an increased rEEG between parietal areas was observed while listening to both distractor stimuli during performance of the vsWM task. These degrees of cortical synchronization could constitute a cerebral mechanism required to achieve better information maintenance and enhance suppression of distractor effects, which allow the SM women to solve the vsWM task more efficiently.

Melatonin serum level, sleep functions, and depression level after bilateral anodal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with Parkinson's disease: a feasibility study.

ObjectiveParkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with non-motor complications such as sleep disturbance and depression. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) showed therapeutic effects on the motor dysfunctions. However, the potential effects of tDCS therapy on melatonin hormone, sleep dysfunctions, and depression in patients with PD still unclear. This feasibility study aimed to identify any potential changes in melatonin serum level, sleep functions and depression after the bilateral anodal tDCS in patients with PD.Material and MethodsTensessions of bilateral anodal tDCS stimulation applied over left and right prefrontal and motor areas were given to twenty-five patients with PD. Melatonin serum level, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and geriatric depression scale examined before and after tDCS stimulation.ResultsAfter bilateral anodal tDCS, there was a significant reduction in melatonin serum level, improvement in depression, improvements in overall sleep quality, and sleep latency. Correlations test showed significant associations between melatonin serum level reduction and changes in subjective sleep quality, and sleep duration, as well as between improvements in depression and overall sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep disturbance.ConclusionBilateral anodal tDCS therapy was a feasible and safe tool that showed potential therapeutic effects on melatonin serum level, sleep quality, and depression level in patients with PD. Although the further large scale and randomized-control trial studies are crucially needed, there is still a need for such a feasibility study to be established before such trials can be implemented as is recommended in the new medical research council guidelines.

Abstract PD6-11: Altered regional cerebral blood flow in adjuvant-treated breast cancer survivors after chemo- and endocrine therapy

Abstract Objectives: In the first published observation of altered brain metabolism in patients exposed to chemotherapy (Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2007; 103:303-311), we described diminished metabolism in prefrontal cortex in proportion to magnitude of diminishment of short-term memory performance, 5-10 years following patients’ last chemotherapy dose. Subsequently, at least 7 other groups of investigators have independently demonstrated altered cerebral metabolism of frontal cortex as assessed by FDG-PET (J Nucl Med. 2019; 60:16821690). We now offer the first report of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes assessed by [O-15]water PET in prospectively recruited subjects with newly diagnosed breast cancer, longitudinally followed from time of initial therapy for one year. Methods: A total of 204 brain [O-15]water PET scans were obtained of 17 right-handed female subjects newly diagnosed with breast cancer, with near-equal portions of 10 chemo-exposed (C) and 7 unexposed (U) subjects undergoing endocrine therapy in the ensuing year (5/10, 3/7). For each subject, 12 scans were obtained – 6 during short-term memory, long-term memory, and control tasks presented in counterbalanced order soon after completion of any adjuvant chemotherapy but prior to initiation of any endocrine therapy (baseline), and repeating one year later. PET data were assessed through paired t statistical tests at the voxel level, after Family Wise Error (FWE)-based corrections for multiple comparisons. Results: Across all subjects, scans at baseline during short-term recall revealed most marked activation of bilateral temporal-occipital cortex (peak voxel t=7.20; size 4,649 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.) and similar activation occurred during long-term recall (t=6.48; 6,446 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.). One year later, left prefrontal cortex, including Broca’s area, activated during short-term recall (t=5.74; 227 voxels, p=.02 FWEcorr), as did bilateral medial occipital cortex (t=5.45; 908 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.); during long-term recall, prefrontal cortex activated with greater bilaterality, but with an extent in left frontal lobe (1031 voxels, p=.008 FWEcorr.) about double the size of right (452 voxels), and with less occipital activation. In therapy-stratified analyses, baseline short-term recall of left prefrontal cortex, including Broca’s area, activated more extensively (3253 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.) in U, while C showed more extensive activation in medial occipital cortex (5670 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.vs. 423 voxels, p=.001). One year later, short-term recall in U continued to activate left prefrontal cortex including Broca’s area (4035 voxels, p&amp;lt;.0005 FWEcorr.), while C still primarily activated medial occipital cortex (976 voxels, p=.008 FWEcorr.), though demonstrating a shift of activation away from this region relative to one year prior, with more voxels of activation tending to appear in left prefrontal cortex over that interval. Similar, though less striking, differences were observed during long-term recall. Conclusions: Activation of rCBF during recall of verbal associative memories was diminished in left prefrontal brain areas critical to verbal memory performance in C relative to U. Concomitantly, C demonstrated apparent compensatory activation of primary visual cortex, involved in perceiving the visually presented verbal memory cues, in lieu of specific activation of the prefrontal cortical regions in the dominant hemisphere involved in processing language information. The strengths of these therapy-associated differences were generally diminished one year later, consistent with partial interim recovery in C of cerebral processing by language-specialized areas. Citation Format: Claire L Vandenberg, Patricia A Ganz, Stephen S Liu, Daniel HS Silverman. Altered regional cerebral blood flow in adjuvant-treated breast cancer survivors after chemo- and endocrine therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD6-11.