Part Of Inferior Frontal Gyrus Research Articles

The brain\u2019s structural differences between postherpetic neuralgia and lower back pain

The purpose is to explore the brain’s structural difference in local morphology and between-region networks between two types of peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP): postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and lower back pain (LBP). A total of 54 participants including 38 LBP and 16 PHN patients were enrolled. The average pain scores were 7.6 and 7.5 for LBP and PHN. High-resolution structural T1 weighted images were obtained. Both grey matter volume (GMV) and morphological connectivity (MC) were extracted. An independent two-sample t-test with false discovery rate (FDR) correction was used to identify the brain regions where LBP and PHN patients showed significant GMV difference. Next, we explored the differences of MC network between LBP and PHN patients and detected the group differences in network properties by using the two-sample t-test and FDR correction. Compared with PHN, LBP patients had significantly larger GMV in temporal gyrus, insula and fusiform gyrus (p < 0.05). The LBP cohort had significantly stronger MC in the connection between right precuneus and left opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (p < 0.05). LBP patients had significantly stronger degree in left anterior cingulate gyrus and left rectus gyrus (p < 0.05) while had significantly weaker degree than PHN patients in left orbital part of middle frontal gyrus, left supplementary motor area and left superior parietal lobule (p < 0.05). LBP and PHN patients had significant differences in the brain’s GMV, MC, and network properties, which implies that different PNPs have different neural mechanisms concerning pain modulation.

Phenotypic and genetic associations between anhedonia and brain structure in UK Biobank

Anhedonia is a core symptom of multiple psychiatric disorders and has been associated with alterations in brain structure. Genome-wide association studies suggest that anhedonia is heritable, with a polygenic architecture, but few studies have explored the association between genetic loading for anhedonia—indexed by polygenic risk scores for anhedonia (PRS-anhedonia)—and structural brain imaging phenotypes. Here, we investigated how anhedonia and PRS-anhedonia were associated with brain structure within the UK Biobank cohort. Brain measures (including total grey/white matter volumes, subcortical volumes, cortical thickness (CT) and white matter integrity) were analysed using linear mixed models in relation to anhedonia and PRS-anhedonia in 19,592 participants (9225 males; mean age = 62.6 years, SD = 7.44). We found that state anhedonia was significantly associated with reduced total grey matter volume (GMV); increased total white matter volume (WMV); smaller volumes in thalamus and nucleus accumbens; reduced CT within the paracentral cortex, the opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, precentral cortex, insula and rostral anterior cingulate cortex; and poorer integrity of many white matter tracts. PRS-anhedonia was associated with reduced total GMV; increased total WMV; reduced white matter integrity; and reduced CT within the parahippocampal cortex, superior temporal gyrus and insula. Overall, both state anhedonia and PRS-anhedonia were associated with individual differences in multiple brain structures, including within reward-related circuits. These associations may represent vulnerability markers for psychopathology relevant to a range of psychiatric disorders.

A longitudinal, randomized experimental pilot study to investigate the effects of airborne ultrasound on human mental health, cognition, and brain structure

Ultrasound-(US) emitting sources are highly present in modern human environments (e.g., movement sensors, electric transformers). US affecting humans or even posing a health hazard remains understudied. Hence, ultrasonic (22.4 kHz) vs. sham devices were installed in participants’ bedrooms, and active for 28 nights. Somatic and psychiatric symptoms, sound-sensitivity, sleep quality, executive function, and structural MRI were assessed pre-post. Somatization (possible nocebo) and phasic alertness increased significantly in sham, accuracy in a flexibility task decreased significantly in the verum condition (indicating hastier responses). Effects were not sustained after p-level adjustment. Exploratory voxel-based morphometry (VBM) revealed regional grey matter (rGMV) but no regional white matter volume changes in verum (relative to placebo). rGMV increased in bilateral cerebellum VIIb/Crus II and anterior cingulate (BA24). There were rGMV decreases in two bilateral frontal clusters: in the middle frontal gyri/opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (BA46, 44), and the superior frontal gyri (BA4 ,6, 8). No brain-behavior-links were identified. Given the overall pattern of results, it is suggested that ultrasound may particularly induce regional gray matter decline in frontal areas, however with yet unclear behavioral consequences. Given the localization of clusters, candidate behavioral variables for follow-up investigation are complex motor control/coordination, stress regulation, speech processing, and inhibition tasks.Trial registration: The trial was registered at NIH www.clinicaltrials.gov, trial identifier: NCT03459183, trial name: SonicBrain01, full trial protocol available here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03459183.

Glucose-level dependent brain hypometabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome and its individual components lead to wide-ranging consequences, many of which affect the central nervous system. In this study, we compared the [18F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals.MethodsIn our prospective study, 51 patients with controlled T2DM (ages 50.6 ± 8.0 years) and 45 non-DM obese participants (ages 52.0 ± 9.6 years) were enrolled. Glucose levels measured before PET/CT examination (pre-PET glucose) as well as laboratory parameters assessing glucose and lipid status were determined. NeuroQ application (NeuroQTM 3.6, Syntermed, Philips) was used to evaluate regional brain metabolic differences. [18F]FDG PET/CT (AnyScan PC, Mediso) scans, estimating brain metabolism, were transformed to MNI152 brain map after T1 registration and used for SPM-based group comparison of brain metabolism corrected for pre-PET glucose, and correlation analysis with laboratory parameters.ResultsNeuroQ analysis did not reveal significant regional metabolic defects in either group. Voxel-based group comparison revealed significantly (PFWE<0.05) decreased metabolism in the region of the precuneus and in the right superior frontal gyrus (rSFG) in the diabetic group as compared to the obese patients. Data analysis corrected for pre-PET glucose level showed a hypometabolic difference only in the rSFG in T2DM. Voxel-based correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation of the metabolism in the following brain regions with pre-PET glucose in diabetes: precuneus, left posterior orbital gyrus, right calcarine cortex and right orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus; whilst in the obese group only the right rolandic (pericentral) operculum proved to be sensitive to pre-PET glucose level.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to perform pre-PET glucose level corrected comparative analysis of brain metabolism in T2DM and obesity. We also examined the pre-PET glucose level dependency of regional cerebral metabolism in the two groups separately. Large-scale future studies are warranted to perform further correlation analysis with the aim of determining the effects of metabolic disturbances on brain metabolism.

Differences of apathy perfusion correlates between Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. A 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT study with automated Brodmann areas analysis

Objectives To explore differences of apathy perfusion correlates between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) using perfusion SPECT. Methods We studied 75 FTD and 66 AD patients. We evaluated apathy using Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). We compared perfusion of BAs on left (L) and right (R) hemisphere in AD and FTD. Results Apathy in AD was significantly and negatively correlated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally, right anterior prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal cortex bilaterally, especially on the right, orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally, left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, right primary and secondary visual cortex, and with bilateral anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal cortex and orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus, bilaterally, bilateral anterior -ventral and dorsal- cingulate cortex, left posterior ventral cingulate cortex, right inferior, middle and anterior temporal gyri, entorhinal and parahippocampal cortex in FTD. Conclusions Significant overlapping of apathy perfusion correlates between AD and FTD is seen in frontal areas and anterior cingulate. Right occipital cortex is also involved in AD, while right temporal cortex and left posterior cingulate are involved in FTD. Nuclear imaging could be a useful biomarker for revealing apathy underlying mechanisms, resulting in directed treatments. KEYPOINTS Underlying neural networks and clinical manifestation of apathy may differ between AD and FTD. Apathy in AD is correlated with hypoperfusion in bilateral frontal areas, more prominent on the right, left anterior cingulate and right occipital cortex. Apathy in FTD is correlated with hypoperfusion in bilateral frontal areas, bilateral anterior cingulate, left posterior cingulate and right temporal cortex. Brain perfusion SPECT with automated BAs analysis and comparison with normal healthy subjects may provide significant information for apathy mechanisms in neurodegenerative disorders, affecting patients’ treatment.

Different patterns of functional and structural alterations of hippocampal sub-regions in subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment with and without depression symptoms

In addition to cognitive impairments, depression symptoms were reported in subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment. Although hippocampal alterations were associated with cognitive decline in subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment, the neural mechanism underlying depression symptoms remains unclear. Thus, a cohort of 18 patients with depression symptoms, 17 patients without depression symptoms, and 23 normal controls was used. Functionally, significantly altered resting-state functional connectivity between hippocampal emotional sub-region and right posterior cingulate cortex, between hippocampal cognitive sub-region and right inferior parietal gyrus and between hippocampal perceptual sub-region and left inferior temporal gyrus were identified among three groups. Structurally, significantly altered structural associations between hippocampal emotional sub-region and 6 frontal regions/right pole part of superior temporal gyrus/right inferior occipital gyrus, between hippocampal cognitive sub-region and right orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus /right anterior cingulate cortex, and between hippocampal perceptual and right orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus / left inferior temporal gyrus / left thalamus were identified among the three groups. Further analyses also showed correlations between functional connectivity and depression symptoms and/or cognitive impairments of patients. Together, these results showed different patterns of functional and structural alterations of the hippocampal sub-regions in the subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment with and without depression, which might be specially associated with the depression symptoms and cognitive impairments in these patients.

Impaired Structural Network Properties Caused by White Matter Hyperintensity Related to Cognitive Decline.

Purpose: There is a high correlation between white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and cognitive impairment (CI) in elderly people. However, not all WMH will develop into CI, and the potential mechanism of WMH-related CI is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the topological properties of white matter structural network in WMH-related CI.Methods: Forty-one WMH subjects with CI (WMH-CI), 42 WMH subjects without CI (WMH-no-CI), and 52 elderly healthy controls (HC) were recruited. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fiber tractography and graph theoretical analysis were applied to construct the structural network. We compared network properties and clinical features among the three groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships among WMH volumes, impaired network properties, and cognitive functions in the WMH-CI group.Results: Compared with the controls, both WMH groups showed decreased network strength, global efficiency, and increased characteristic path length (Lp) at the level of the whole brain. The WMH-CI group displayed more profound impairments of nodal efficiency and nodal path length (NLp) within multiple regions including precentral, cingulate, and medial temporal gyrus. The disrupted network properties were associated with CI and WMH burdens in the WMH-CI group. Furthermore, a mediation effect of NLp in the left inferior frontal gyrus was observed for the association between periventricular WMH (PWMH) and memory deficit.Conclusions: Brain structural network in WMH-CI is significantly disturbed, and this disturbance is related to the severity of WMH and CI. Increased NLp in the left opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (IFGoperc.L) was shown to be a mediation framework between PWMH and WMH-related memory, which shed light on investigating the underlying mechanisms of CI caused by WMH.

Abnormal Functional Connectivity Density in New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Children: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) causes cognitive changes in children, which may be due to deficits in brain functions. It is unclear whether T1DM children will have brain functional changes during the initial stage of the disease. We aimed to investigate the changes in the functional brain network topology in children with new-onset T1DM. In this study, 35 new-onset T1DM children and 33 age-, sex-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI. The whole brain functional connectivity density (FCD) analysis and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis were performed to investigate the changes in functional brain networks in new-onset T1DM children when compared with the controls. Pearson correlational analysis was used to explore the correlation between FCD value of differential brain areas and clinical variables in T1DM children. Compared with the controls, children with new-onset T1DM exhibited significantly decreased FCDs of the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). In the subsequent FC analysis, decreased FC was found between right PCC and right cuneus and increased FC was found between right ITG and left orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus in children with new-onset T1DM compared to the controls. The FCD values of right ITG and PCC did not correlate with HbA1c, blood glucose level before imaging, and full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) in T1DM children. These results revealed that T1DM affect the functional activity of the immature brain at the initial stage. These findings also indicate a decrease in regional brain function and abnormalities in temporal-frontal and limbic-occipital circuitry in children with new-onset T1DM, and highlight the effects of T1DM on children's brain networks involved in visual process and memory, which may contribute to the cognition impairments observed in children with T1DM.

Altered functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens subdivisions in amphetamine-type stimulant abusers: a resting-state fMRI study

BackgroundThe growing abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants leads to new challenges to human health. A possible addiction mechanism has been proposed by altered functional architecture of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) during resting state. NAc contains different subdivisions and they may play different roles in addiction. The aim of the present study was to examine whether there are common or distinct patterns of functional connectivity of the NAc subdivisions in amphetamine-type stimulant abusers (ATSAs).MethodsThe present study recruited 17 male ATSAs and 22 healthy male controls. All the subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with their eyes closed. The NAc was divided into core-like and shell-like subdivisions. We used seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses to identify differences in brain functional architecture between ATSAs and healthy controls (HCs).ResultsATSAs had lower positive RSFCs with all of the NAc subdivisions over the left orbital part of superior frontal gyrus and higher positive RSFCs with the NAc subdivisions over the left opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus than HCs, which indicates common abnormalities across the NAc subdivisions in ATSAs. In addition, the RSFCs between the NAc subdivisions and the left orbital part of superior frontal gyrus were negatively correlated with the addiction severity in ATSAs.ConclusionThese results provide evidence that there are common RSFC patterns of the NAc subdivisions in ATSAs. The abnormality indicated by disrupted functional connectivity between the NAc subdivisions and prefrontal cortex suggests abnormal interaction between the rewarding process and cognitive control in ATSAs. Our results shed insight on the neurobiological mechanisms of ATSA and suggest potential novel therapeutic targets for treatment and intervention of ATSAs.

EEG Alpha-Rhythm-Related Changes in BOLD fMRI Signal in Neurofeedback Training

Interaction of EEG and BOLD brain activity was studied in subjects during EEG-biofeedback training course (20 sessions). Healthy male subjects aged 20-35 underwent a training course of sound-reinforced upregulation of alpha- (20 participants) or beta-activity (9 participants). Pretraining, intermediate (after 10 sessions), and post-training fMRI-EEG recordings were conducted in resting state and during the participants' attempts to upregulate the power of target EEG activity. Regression analysis was carried out on three sessions in total; the main changes in BOLD signal connected with alpha rhythm power were related to the subjects who performed alpha training "good enough" (were able to increase alpha power at least at one stage). Maximum changes in BOLD response connected with alpha rhythm power were observed in the form of deactivation at T8 lead in the right hemisphere, and at F7 in the left hemisphere, and involved middle frontal gyrus, triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, parietal lobule, and insula. The identified areas correspond to the executive control network (ECN) and anterior salience network (ASN).

Changes in brain glucose metabolism and connectivity in somatoform disorders: an 18F-FDG PET study.

Somatoform disorders (SFD) are defined as a syndrome characterized by somatic symptoms which cannot be explained by organic reasons. Chronic or recurrent forms of somatization lead to heavy emotional and financial burden to the patients and their families. However, the underlying etiology of SFD is largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changed brain glucose metabolic pattern in SFD. In this study, 18 SFD patients and 21 matched healthy controls were enrolled and underwent an 18F-FDG PET scan. First, we explored the altered brain glucose metabolism in SFD. Then, we calculated the mean 18F-FDG uptake values for 90 AAL regions, and detected the changed brain metabolic connectivity between the most significantly changed regions and all other regions. In addition, the Pearson coefficients between the neuropsychological scores and regional brain 18F-FDG uptake values were computed for SFD patients. We found that SFD patients showed extensive hypometabolism in bilateral superolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, and regions in bilateral temporal gyrus, right angular gyrus, left gyrus rectus, right fusiform gyrus, right rolandic operculum and bilateral occipital gyrus. The metabolic connectivity between right insula and prefrontal areas, as well as within prefrontal areas was enhanced in SFD. And several brain regions were associated with the somatic symptoms, including insula, putamen, middle temporal gyrus, superior parietal gyrus and orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus. Our study revealed widespread alterations of the brain glucose metabolic pattern in SFD patients. Those findings might elucidate the neuronal mechanisms with glucose metabolism and shed light on the pathology of SFD.

Imaging changes in brain microstructural in long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence

To explore the mechanism for changes in brain microstructure in long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence by using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: A total of 26 patients with long-term abstinent methamphetamine-dependence, whose abstinence time more than 14 months, and 26 normal controls all underwent cognitive executive function tests and DTI scans. We used voxel-based analysis to compare the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) to obtain the abnormal brain regions of DTI parameters between the two groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between FA, MD of the brain regions with abnormal parameters and cognitive executive function tests. Results: There were no statistical differences in the cognitive executive function tests between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the normal control group, the long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence group showed the decreased FA in the right precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, right calcarine, left inferior temporal gyrus and the increased MD in the right triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, right posterior cingulate, right middle temporal gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, and lobule VIII of cerebellar hemisphere. The MD values of the right middle temporal gyrus in the long-term abstinent group were negatively correlated with the number of completions within 60 seconds (r=-0.504) and within 120 seconds (r=-0.464) . Conclusion: The DTI parameters in multiple brain regions from the methamphetamine-dependence patients are still abnormal after a long-term abstinence. DTI can provide imaging evidence for brain microstructural abnormalities in long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence.

The influence of rs1360780 polymorphism of FK506-binding protein 5 gene on the brain regional homogeneity of resting state fMRI in patients with major depressive disorder

Objective To explore the influence of rs1360780 T risk allele of FK506-binding protein 5 (FKBP5) gene on the brain function under resting-state and its association with clinical symptoms as well as immune function in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods Totally 147 MDD patients and 61 gender-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls were scanned with 3.0T MRI Scanner and genotyped. The peripheral serum immunoglobulin and complement were measured. The main effect of the disease, the genotype and their interaction effects were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) by two-way ANOVA. Abnormal brain activity was identified in T risk allele carriers of rs1360780 and non-risk CC individuals in MDD using post hoc analyses. Correlation analyses were performed between ReHo values of significant brain regions and the total score, five-factor scores of Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD-17), serum levels of immunoglobulin and plasma complement component in MDD patients. Results (1)The results of 2×2 ANOVA showed the interaction effects located in the left opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=-42, 6, 9; F=10.83), right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=30, 6, 33; F=15.05), left medial superior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=-9, 54, 0; F=9.17) and left pallidum (MNI: x, y, z=-12, 6, -6; F=11.37) (Alphasim corrected, P<0.05). (2)In post-hoc analyses for the main effect of genotype, T+ carriers with MDD showed increased ReHo values in the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=60, 12, 6; t=2.88) compared with CC carriers; for the effect of disease-by-genotype interaction, T+ carriers with MDD showed increased ReHo values in the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=30, 6, 33; t=2.96) and decreased ReHo values in the left orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus (MNI: x, y, z=-21, 9, -18; t=-3.21) (Alphasim corrected, P<0.05) in contrast to CC carriers.(3)Pearson's correlation showed that the average ReHo values of the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus negatively correlated with the content of immunoglobulin G (r=-0.528, P=0.0016, Bonferroni corrected) and positively correlated with anxiety/somatization factor score (r=0.421, P<0.001, Bonferroni corrected) in T+ carriers with MDD. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that rs1360780 T-risk allele of FKBP5 gene is involved in the changes of local neural activity in the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus of depressed patients and could potentially indicate a neuropathological mechanism of anxiety somatic symptoms and immune dysfunction in depression. Key words: Depression; FK506-binding protein 5; Gene-imaging; Regional homogeneity; Immune function

Similar and distinct neural mechanisms of visual and auditory emotion perception

Emotion is a rapidly changing psychological and physical phenomenon. In daily life, people need to use the information of various sensory modalities (visual, auditory, etc.) to perceive non-verbal emotional information. Non-verbal emotion from faces and voices are often complex and varied. Previous studies have revealed that there are common and distinct neural networks underlying perception of human faces and voices. However, the neural mechanisms underlying visual and auditory emotional perception have not been well studied. Furthermore, despite researches on audiovisual integration of cross-modal emotional information, the multisensory cortex of the visual and auditory emotional information remains elusive. Therefore, it is necessary to study the similarities and differences between the neural mechanisms of emotion perception in visual and auditory modalities, and to explore the multiple sensory cortex of cross-modal emotion perception. The present fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) study adopted a 2*3 (stimulus presentation modality: Visual, auditory; emotional valence: Happy, sad, fear) event-related design to investigate the neural mechanisms of emotion perception in visual and auditory modalities. When the stimulus (an emotional face or voice) was visually or aurally presented, participants were required to make a gender judgement. The results showed that the activation intensity of emotional faces in V1−V4, bilateral fusiform gyrus and bilateral superior temporal sulcus (STS) was significantly higher than that of emotional voices. Conversely, the activation intensity of emotional voices in auditory cortex (AC) was significantly higher than that of emotional faces. The results from multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) showed that the activation patterns of the right STS could discriminate the perception of human faces with emotional valence (happy, sad and fear face), indicating that the rSTG plays important role in perception of faces with different emotional valence; the activation patterns of the right FFA were different for happy and sad faces, indicating that the rFFA is crucial for positive and negative emotional face perception. A voxel-based whole brain analysis was further performed to examine the cortical areas that modulated perception of emotional valence. The whole brain analysis showed that the main effects for emotional valence was significant in the left opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, indicating that this region might be a multisensory cortex of visual-auditory emotional perception. In summary, our study provided important evidence for further understanding the processing of emotion perception in different modalities and multisensory cortex of cross-channel emotion perception.

Associations between neuroanatomical abnormality and motor symptoms in paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia

IntroductionThe pathophysiologic mechanism of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD) is largely unclear. Basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuit involvement is thought to underlie PKD pathophysiology. However, microstructural alternations in the motor circuit of PKD require further elucidation. MethodsDiffusion tensor imaging and high-resolution T1-weighted imaging were performed on 30 PKD patients (15 PRRT2 carriers, 15 PRRT2 non-carriers) and 15 matched healthy controls. Tract-based spatial statistics were conducted on diffusion indices to examine microstructural integrity of white matter. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to examine volumetric changes of gray matter. Multiple regression was employed to test the contribution of demography, disease duration, and PRRT2 status to pathological changes in brain structure. ResultsSix (including two novel) PRRT2 mutations were identified in PKD patients who exhibited significantly reduced mean diffusivity mainly along the left corticospinal tract, and reduced gray matter volume in pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) and right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (IFGoperc), compared to healthy controls. Both gray matter volume reductions in preSMA and diffusion indices of abnormal white matter negatively correlated with disease duration. Genotype-phenotype analysis revealed that PRRT2 mutation carriers had earlier onset age, longer attacks, and a larger proportion of bilateral symptoms than non-carriers. ConclusionsWe observed that PRRT2 mutations were associated with disease severity, while neuroanatomical abnormality was associated with disease duration in patients with PKD. Aberrant microstructural changes in preSMA and IFG areas, independent of mutation status, point to dysregulated motor inhibition in patients and provide new insights into neurobiological mechanisms underlying motor symptoms of PKD.

Effectiveness of combined use of levodopa and amantadine on prolonged consciousness disturbance due to traumatic brain injury in children—A case report

Prolonged consciousness disturbance associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children is one of the most serious complications for rehabilitation in order to perform cognitive/behavioral therapy. We report two cases of young TBI who got the remarkable recover by combined use of Levodopa and Amantadine. Case: TBI in two children. Case 1 was a 17-year-old man with diffuse brain injury following traffic accident showing prolonged consciousness disturbance and easy irritability due to damage of bilateral orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus. Case 2 exhibited similar symptoms at 14 years of age. After admission to our recovery rehabilitation ward, they had daily 6 hours of rehabilitation, and at the same time, and took Levodopa and Amantadine for 10 weeks. In case 1, the disorder of consciousness was changed from E1V2M4 to E4V5M6 Glasgow Coma Scale, WAIS - III also to VIQ 72 → 96, PIQ 48 → 80, FIQ 58 → 87, FIM improved from 40 to 93, he discharged to his home in 3 months after hospitalization, and then returned to high school. In addition, he succeeded in getting a driver's license. Case 2 also followed a similar course and succeeded in successful recovery. It is said that deficiency of dopamine, a mediator in the brain, is involved in prolonged consciousness disturbance and easy irritability after TBI of children. It is thought that Levodopa was converted into dopamine in the brain, and Amantadine was activated dopamine in the brain by enhancing the neurotransmission of dopamine in the brain. It suggests that this therapy will be recommended as one of treatment methods for TBI in children.

Speech Prosodies of Different Emotional Categories Activate Different Brain Regions in Adult Cortex: an fNIRS Study

Emotional expressions of others embedded in speech prosodies are important for social interactions. This study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate how speech prosodies of different emotional categories are processed in the cortex. The results demonstrated several cerebral areas critical for emotional prosody processing. We confirmed that the superior temporal cortex, especially the right middle and posterior parts of superior temporal gyrus (BA 22/42), primarily works to discriminate between emotional and neutral prosodies. Furthermore, the results suggested that categorization of emotions occurs within a high-level brain region–the frontal cortex, since the brain activation patterns were distinct when positive (happy) were contrasted to negative (fearful and angry) prosody in the left middle part of inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45) and the frontal eye field (BA8), and when angry were contrasted to neutral prosody in bilateral orbital frontal regions (BA 10/11). These findings verified and extended previous fMRI findings in adult brain and also provided a “developed version” of brain activation for our following neonatal study.

Altered functional connectivity in post-ischemic stroke depression: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

ObjectiveIn previous studies, post-stroke depression (PSD) was found to be related to stroke characteristics as well as social and psychological factors. This study identified altered functional connectivity (FC) in patients with PSD at the subacute phase in three brain networks: default mood network (DMN), cognitive control network (CCN), and affective network (AN). The correlation between FC and the severity of PSD was investigated. Materials and methodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance image (rs-fMRI) was performed on 26 PSD patients (6 females), 24 stroke patients without depression (5 females), and 24 age-matched normal controls (6 females) all aged 40–75 years. The FC values of DMN, CCN, and AN were calculated and compared among the three groups. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) (17 items) was employed and the score was correlated with FC in the PSD group. ResultsThe FCs of the three networks were altered in PSD patients at the subacute phase compared to stroke patients without depression and normal controls (NC). Moreover, the left inferior parietal gyrus, the left orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus, and left angular gyrus (which indicated altered FC) were significantly correlated with HDRS scores in PSD patients. ConclusionsAlteration of the three neural networks might be correlated with the development of PSD at the subacute phase of stroke.

Low-frequency fluctuation amplitude analysis of resting-state fMRI for functional brain response differences between acupuncture and moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36) in patient with functional dyspepsia

To compare and analyze functional brain response characteristics by applying acupuncture or moxibustion to Zusanli (ST 36) in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) and investigate the differences of central action mechanism resulting from acupuncture or moxibustion. A total of eligible 24 FD cases were divided into two blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) sequences for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analyses were conducted on the data of location phase, structure phase, resting state before acupuncture/moxibustion, working state during acupuncture/moxibustion and resting state after acupuncture/moxibustion using Data Processing Assistant for Resting-State fMRI (DPARSF) software. Acupuncture and moxibustion produced significant differences in functional brain response. The working state during acupuncture/moxibustion mainly decreased ALFF values in the right supramarginal gyrus, right superior parietal lobule, right frontal gyrus, upper right occipital lobe, right precuneus and right cingulate gyrus. At the same time, it increased ALFF values in the left cerebellum, right caudate nucleus, right cerebellum and left inferior gyrus. The differences during the resting state after acupuncture/moxibustion were significantly smaller than the working state in intensity and size. It mainly resulted in decrease in ALFF values in the right postcentral gyrus and right supramarginal gyrus and increase in ALFF values in the left precuneus, orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus and right cerebellar peduncles. Needling and moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36) can produce significant differences in immediate functional brain response.

P220 Cortical time course of reading processing by navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation

Introduction The time scale at which reading processes operate is matter of intense debate. Chronometric TMS studies can be used to understand the global reading as well as temporal coordinates of sub processes involved in word reading. Objectives The aim of our TMS study was to investigate timing of cortical areas involvement in process of reading words in healthy subjects. The study was designed to provide timing of activity in predefined cortical areas involved in reading aloud as a global process. Materials and Methods Twelve healthy and right-handed volunteers (6 men, mean age 29.67 ± 9.82 years, and 6 females, mean age 28 ± 5.8 years) underwent patterned protocol of rTMS over the specific brain areas related to reading process identified intraoperatiely, namely to: posterior part of superior temporal gyrus (PSTG), posterior part of middle temporal gyrus (PMTG), left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), angular gyrus (AnG), and posterior part of inferior frontal gyrus (opercular part of Broca’s area) (OpIFG), while participants were reading words (overt reading of presented words). Modified patterned rTMS stimulation protocol consisted of 4 bursts of 4 stimuli each, with an interstimulus interval of 6 ms, and a burst repetition rate of 4 Hz. The rTMS protocol was applied at four time points: 150–175–200 ms, 225–250–275 ms, 300–325–350 ms, 400–425–450 ms) following word presentation, including the 0 ms as the control condition. Results While stimulating OpIFG the reading latency was significantly prolonged for time point of 300–325–350 ms (F(1) = 9.2, p = .0) compared to control time condition. Stimulation of PSTG and PMTG revealed a significantly prolonged reading latencies for time points of 300–325–350 (PSTG: F(1) = 5.1, p = .0; PMTG: F(1) = 8.6, p = .0) and 400–425–450 ms (PSTG: F(1) = 26.1, p = .0; PMTG: F(1) = 11.1, p = .0) compared to control. When stimulating AnG reading latency significantly increased for time points of 150–175–200 ms (F(1) = 6.5, p = .0), 300–325-350 (F(1) = 8.9, p = .0) and 400–425–450 ms (F(1) = 7.6, p = .0) compared to control. Stimulation of SMG did not reveal significant differences when comparing time points and control condition. Conclusion Our results document significant effect on word reading latency during application of modifed rTMS on OpIFG, PSTG, PMTG, and AnG in healthy subjects. The results of this study might be used in upgrading/constructing theoretical models of reading and assessing functional connectivity between brain regions involved in reading process.