Significant Difference In Gray Matter Volume Research Articles

Concurrent brain structural and functional alterations in the thalamus of adult survivors of childhood brain tumors: a multimodal MRI study

Adult survivors of childhood brain tumors often present with cognitive deficits that affect their quality of life. Studying brain structure and function in brain tumor survivors can help understand the underlying mechanisms of their cognitive deficits to improve long-term prognosis of these patients. This study analyzed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) derived from T1-weighted MRI and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to examine the structural and functional alterations in 35 brain tumor survivors using 35 matching healthy individuals as controls. Compared with healthy controls, brain tumor survivors had decreased gray matter volumes (GMV) in the thalamus and increased GMV in the superior frontal gyrus. Functionally, brain tumor survivors had lower ALFF values in the inferior temporal gyrus and medial prefrontal area and higher ALFF values in the thalamus. Importantly, we found concurrent but negatively correlated structural and functional alterations in the thalamus based on observed significant differences in GMV and ALFF values. These findings on concurrent brain structural and functional alterations provide new insights towards a better understanding of the cognitive deficits in brain tumor survivors.

Prediction of anxious depression using multimodal neuroimaging and machine learning

Anxious depression is a common subtype of major depressive disorder (MDD) associated with adverse outcomes and severely impaired social function. It is important to clarify the underlying neurobiology of anxious depression to refine the diagnosis and stratify patients for therapy. Here we explored associations between anxiety and brain structure/function in MDD patients. A total of 260 MDD patients and 127 healthy controls underwent three-dimensional T1-weighted structural scanning and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Demographic data were collected from all participants. Differences in gray matter volume (GMV), (fractional) amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation ((f)ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and seed point-based functional connectivity were compared between anxious MDD patients, non-anxious MDD patients, and healthy controls. A random forest model was used to predict anxiety in MDD patients using neuroimaging features. Anxious MDD patients showed significant differences in GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus and ReHo in the right superior parietal gyrus and the left precuneus than HCs. Compared with non-anxious MDD patients, patients with anxious MDD showed significantly different GMV in the left inferior temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus (orbital part), and left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus; fALFF in the left middle temporal gyrus; ReHo in the inferior temporal gyrus and the superior frontal gyrus (orbital part); and functional connectivity between the left superior temporal gyrus(temporal pole) and left medial superior frontal gyrus. A diagnostic predictive random forest model built using imaging features and validated by 10-fold cross-validation distinguished anxious from non-anxious MDD with an AUC of 0.802. Patients with anxious depression exhibit dysregulation of brain regions associated with emotion regulation, cognition, and decision-making, and our diagnostic model paves the way for more accurate, objective clinical diagnosis of anxious depression.

Pre-coronavirus disease 2019 brain structure might be associated with social anxiety alterations during the pandemic.

Pre-coronavirus disease 2019 brain structure might be associated with social anxiety alterations during the pandemic.

A voxel-based morphometry investigation of brain structure variations in late-life depression with insomnia.

Late-life depression (LLD) is linked to various medical conditions and influenced by aging-related processes. Sleep disturbances and insomnia symptoms may be early indicators or risk factors for depression. Neuroimaging studies have attempted to understand the neural mechanisms underlying LLD, focusing on different brain networks. This study aims to further delineate discriminative brain structural profiles for LLD with insomnia using MRI. We analyzed 24 cases in the LLD with insomnia group, 26 cases in the LLD group, and 26 in the healthy control (HC) group. Patients were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Structural MRI data were gathered and analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify differences in gray matter volume (GMV) among the groups. Correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between GMV and clinical characteristics. Significant difference in sex distribution was observed across the groups (p = 0.029). However, no significant differences were detected in age and MMSE scores among the groups. LLD with insomnia group exhibited significantly higher HAMA (p = 0.041) and PSQI scores (p < 0.05) compared to the LLD group. ANOVA identified significant difference in GMV of anterior lobe of cerebellum (peak MNI coordinate: x = 52, y = -40, z = -30) among HC, LLD, and LLD with insomnia. Post-hoc two-sample t-tests revealed that the significant difference in GMV was only found between the LLD group and the HC group (p < 0.05). The mean GMV in the cerebellum was positively correlated with HAMA scale in LLD patients (r = 0.47, p < 0.05). There is significant difference in GMV in the LLD group, the association between late-life depression and insomnia may be linked to anxiety. This study provides insights into the discriminative brain structural profiles of LLD and LLD with insomnia, advancing the understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and potential targets for intervention.

Voxel-based morphometry reveals the correlation between gray matter volume and serum P-tau-181 in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with different HbA1c levels.

Emerging evidence suggested widespread decreased gray matter volume (GMV) and tau hyperphosphorylation were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Insulin resistance is one of the mechanisms of neuron degeneration in T2DM; it can decrease the activity of protein kinase B and increase the activity of glycogen synthesis kinase-3β, thus promoting the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and finally leading to neuronal degeneration. However, the association between GMV and serum tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 181 (P-tau-181) in T2DM patients lacks neuroimaging evidence. We aimed to investigate the difference in brain GMV between T2DM patients with different glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and healthy control (HC) subjects and the correlation between serum P-tau-181 and GMV in T2DM patients. Clinical parameters, biochemical indicators, and MRI data were collected for 41 T2DM patients with high glycosylated hemoglobin level (HGL), 17 T2DM patients with normal glycosylated hemoglobin level (NGL), and 42 HC subjects. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method was applied to investigate GMV differences among groups, and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the correlation between serum P-tau-181 and GMV. Compared with HC subjects, the T2DM patients with HGL or NGL all showed significantly decreased GMV. Briefly, the GMV decreased in T2DM patients with HGL was mainly in the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), temporal pole (TPOmid), hippocampus (HIP), and left lingual gyrus. The GMV reduction in T2DM patients with NGL was in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG), and there was no significant difference in GMV between the two diabetic groups. The GMV values of bilateral PHG, right MTG, TPOmid, HIP, and STG can significantly (p < 0.0001) distinguish T2DM patients from HC subjects in ROC curve analysis. In addition, we found that serum P-tau-181 levels were positively correlated with GMV in the right superior and middle occipital gyrus and cuneus, and negatively correlated with GMV in the right inferior temporal gyrus in T2DM patients. Our study shows that GMV atrophy can be used as a potential biological indicator of T2DM and also emphasizes the important role of P-tau-181 in diabetic brain injury, providing new insights into the neuropathological mechanism of diabetic encephalopathy.

Functional connectivity and structural changes of thalamic subregions in episodic migraine

BackgroundThe thalamus plays a crucial role in transmitting nociceptive information to various cortical regions involving migraine-related allodynia and photophobia. Abnormal structural and functional alterations related to the thalamus have been well established. However, it is unknown whether the brain structure and function of the thalamic subregions are differentially affected in this disorder. In this study, we aimed to clarify this issue by comparing the structure and function of 16 thalamic subregions between patients with episodic migraine (EM) and healthy controls (HCs).MethodsTwenty-seven patients with EM and 30 sex-, age- and education-matched HCs underwent resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Functional connectivity (rsFC), grey matter volume (GMV), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of each subregion of the thalamus were calculated and compared between the two groups. Furthermore, correlation analyses between neuroimaging changes and clinical features were performed in this study.ResultsFirst, compared with HCs, patients with EM exhibited decreased rsFC between the anterior-medial-posterior subregions of the thalamus and brain regions mainly involved in the medial system of the pain processing pathway and default mode network (DMN). Second, for the whole thalamus and each of its subregions, there were no significant differences in GMV between patients with EM and HCs (P > 0.05, Bonferroni corrected). Third, there was no significant difference in DTI parameters between the two groups (P > 0.05). Finally, decreased rsFC was closely related to scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) and Big Five Inventory (BFI) scales.ConclusionSelective functional hypoconnectivity in the thalamic subregions provides neuroimaging evidence supporting the important role of thalamocortical pathway dysfunction in episodic migraine, specifically, that it may modulate emotion and different personality traits in migraine patients.

Combined fractional anisotropy and subcortical volumetric deficits in patients with mild-to-moderate depression: Evidence from the treatment of antidepressant traditional Chinese medicine

Numerous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that diverse brain structural plasticity could occur in a human brain during a depressive episode. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms of mild-to-moderate depression (MMD), especially the changes of brain structural characteristics after treatment with the Shuganjieyu capsule (SG), a kind of traditional Chinese medicine that has been recommended for the specialized treatment of MMD. In this study, we investigated the structural brain plasticity in MMD that have been undergoing 8 weeks of SG treatment compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) and assessed the relationship between these brain structural alternations and clinical symptoms in MMD. At the baseline, we found that: (1) fractional anisotropy (FA) values in patients with MMD were found to be significantly increased in the regions of anterior limb of internal capsule (ALIC) [MNI coordinates: Peak (x/y/z) = 102, 126, 77; MMD FApeak (Mean ± SD) = 0.621 ± 0.043; HCs FApeak (Mean ± SD) = 0.524 ± 0.052; MMD > HCs, t = 9.625, p < 0.001] and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) [MNI coordinates: Peak (x/y/z) = 109, 117, 87; MMD FApeak (Mean ± SD) = 0.694 ± 0.042; HCs FApeak (Mean ± SD) = 0.581 ± 0.041; MMD > HCs, t = 12.90, p < 0.001], and FA values were significantly positively correlated with HAMD scores in patients with MMD. (2) Patients with MMD showed smaller gray matter volume (GMV) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), frontal cortex, occipital cortex, and precuneus, and the GMV of DLPFC was negatively correlated with HAMD scores. After SG treatment, we found that (1) the HAMD scores decreased; (2) FA values were significantly decreased in the regions of the ALIC and PLIC compared to those at baseline and TBSS revealed no significant differences in FA values between patients with MMD and HCs. (3) The structural characteristics of DLPFC in patients with MMD obtained at the 8th week were improved, e.g., no significant differences in GMV of DLPFC between the two groups. Taken together, our results provided neuroimaging evidence suggesting that SG is an effective treatment for patients with MMD. Moreover, alterations of GMV after 8 weeks of SG treatment indicated a potential modulation mechanism in brain structural plasticity within the DLPFC in patients with MMD.

Gray Matter Volume Loss in Proposed Brain-First and Body-First Parkinson's Disease Subtypes.

α-Synuclein pathology is associated with neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD) and considered to sequentially spread across the brain (Braak stages). According to a new hypothesis of distinct α-synuclein spreading directions based on the initial site of pathology, the "brain-first" spreading subtype would be associated with a more asymmetric cerebral and nigrostriatal pathology than the "body-first" subtype. Here, we tested if proposed markers of brain-first PD (ie, higher dopamine transporter [DaT] asymmetry; absence of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder [RBD]) are associated with a greater or more asymmetric reduction in gray matter volume (GMV) in comparison to body-first PD. Data of 255 de novo PD patients and 110 healthy controls (HCs) were retrieved from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative. Structural magnetic resonance images were preprocessed, and GMVs and their hemispherical asymmetry were obtained for each of the neuropathologically defined Braak stages. Group and correlation comparisons were performed to assess differences in GMV and GMV asymmetry between PD subtypes. PD patients demonstrated significantly smaller bilateral GMVs compared to HCs, in a pattern denoting stage-dependent disease-related brain atrophy. However, the degree of putaminal DaT asymmetry was not associated with reduced GMV or higher GMV asymmetry. Furthermore, RBD-negative and RBD-positive patients did not demonstrate a significant difference in GMV or GMV asymmetry. Our findings suggest that putative brain-first and body-first patients do not present diverging brain atrophy patterns. Although certainly not disproving the brain-first/body-first spreading hypothesis, this study fails to provide evidence in support of it. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Altered gray matter volume in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) affects the development of cognitive function in children, which may be due to deficits in brain structures or functions. It is unclear whether children with T1DM experience alterations in the gray matter (GM) structure at the initial stages of the disease. This study investigated GM structure alterations in children with newly diagnosed T1DM. Based on 3D T1-weighted MR images, we investigated the gray matter volume (GMV) of 35 newly diagnosed T1DM children and 35 age- and sex-matched healthy controls using voxel-based morphometry. The brain regions with significant differences in GMV between the newly diagnosed T1DM children and the controls were extracted and the correlation with clinical data was assessed. Compared with the control group, children with newly diagnosed T1DM had a lower GMV in the right inferior and middle temporal gyri, right lingual gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus. In T1DM subjects, the GMV of the right middle temporal gyrus was positively correlated with IQ but was negatively correlated with HbA1c. Our findings provide compelling evidence that GM abnormalities occur during early disease stages in T1DM children, which may be a potential neurobiological mechanism underlying cognitive deficits. Using an efficient method to analyze gray matter changes in T1DM is very important. The anterior, posterior, and temporal brain regions are susceptible to T1DM in children. Recent glucose variability may affect regional gray matter volume in children with newly diagnosed T1DM. Structural changes were documented in the gray matter of the brain even at the early stages of the disease in children with T1DM.

The Assessment of Brain Volume Differences in Idiopathic Central Precocious Puberty Girls; Comparison of Age-Matched Girls and Normal Puberty Girls.

Objective: Although there have been several studies on the neuroanatomical changes in idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP), the association between each brain region and ICPP has not yet been clearly elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the difference in brain structure in ICPP compared with age-matched healthy controls and normal puberty controls, and additionally the correlation between brain volume difference and the luteinizing hormone (LH). Materials and Methods: The study enrolled fifteen girls with ICPP, as well as 15 age-matched healthy girls and 15 normal puberty girls as controls. The subjects underwent a 1.5 Tesla Avanto MR Scanner. Anatomical T1-weighted images were acquired with a T1 spin-echo sequence. The volumes of total and regional brain were compared with each of the two control groups and analyzed through the paired T-test, and the brain region related to the peak LH level was also analyzed through a simple correlation test. Results: The mean age of the ICPP group, age-matched group, and puberty group were 8.0 ± 0.9 years, 7.8 ± 0.9 years, and 11.9 ± 0.9 years, respectively. In our findings, the regional cerebral volumes in ICPP were different from age-matched controls. Compared with controls, ICPP showed a significant increase in gray matter (GM) volumes (the medial prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, cuneus, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus (PCgG), cerebellar cortex (Cb)) and in white matter (WM) volumes (the insular, caudate, splenium of corpus callosum (p < 0.001)). Especially, the GM volumes of the PCgG (r = 0.57, p = 0.03) and Cb (r = 0.53, p = 0.04) were correlated positively with LH concentrations stimulated by the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Compared to the normal puberty control, no significant difference in GM volume was found. Conclusions: This study showed the overall brain volumetric differences between ICPP girls and age-matched controls using voxel-based morphometric analysis, and further showed the correlation between brain volume and the sex hormone in ICPP. Through a comparison between the two groups, the cerebral development pattern of ICPP is similar to that of normal puberty, and these local differences in cerebral volume may affect social and congenital changes. These findings will be useful for understanding the neuroanatomical mechanisms on the specific morphological variations associated with ICPP.

Altered mismatch response precedes gray matter atrophy in subjective cognitive decline

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

Specific Gray Matter Volume Changes of the Brain in Unipolar and Bipolar Depression.

To identify the common and specific structural basis of bipolar depression (BD) and unipolar depression (UD) is crucial for clinical diagnosis. In this study, a total of 85 participants, including 22 BD patients, 36 UD patients, and 27 healthy controls, were enrolled. A voxel-based morphology method was used to identify the common and specific changes of the gray matter volume (GMV) to determine the structural basis. Significant differences in GMV were found among the three groups. Compared with healthy controls, UD patients showed decreased GMV in the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, whereas BD patients showed decreased GMV in the orbital part of the left middle frontal gyrus. Compared with BD, UD patients have increased GMV in the left supramarginal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus. Our results revealed different structural changes in UD and BD patients suggesting BD and UD have different neurophysiological underpinnings. Our study contributes toward the biological determination of morphometric changes, which could help to discriminate between UD and BD.

Differences between memory\xa0encoding and retrieval failure in mild cognitive impairment: results from quantitative electroencephalography and magnetic resonance volumetry

BackgroundThe memory impairments in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be classified into encoding (EF) and retrieval (RF) failure, which can be affected by underlying pathomechanism. We explored the differences structurally and functionally.MethodsWe compared quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) power spectra and connectivity between 87 MCI patients with EF and 78 MCI with RF using iSyncBrain® (iMediSync Inc., Republic of Korea) (https://isyncbrain.com/). Voxel-based morphometric analysis of the gray matter (GM) in the MCI groups and 71 cognitive normal controls was also done using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox 12 (http://www.neuro.uni-jena.de/cat/).ResultsqEEG showed higher frontal theta and lower beta2 band power, and higher theta connectivity in the EF. There was no statistically significant difference in GM volume between the EF and RF. However, when compared to normal control, GM volume reductions due to EF in the left thalamus and bilateral hippocampi and reductions due to RF in the left thalamus, right superior frontal lobe, right superior temporal lobe, and right middle cingulum were observed (p < 0.05, family-wise error correction).ConclusionsMCI differs functionally and structurally according to their specific memory impairments. The EF findings are structurally and functionally more consistent with the prodromal Alzheimer’s disease stage than the RF findings. Since this study is a cross-sectional study, prospective follow-up studies are needed to investigate whether different types of memory impairments can predict the underlying pathology of amnestic MCI. Additionally, insufficient sample size may lead to ambiguous statistical findings in direct comparisons, and a larger patient cohort could more robustly identify differences in GM volume reductions between the EF and the RF group.

Trauma-focused psychotherapy response in youth with posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with changes in insula volume

Randomized controlled trials have shown efficacy of trauma-focused psychotherapies in youth with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but little is known about the relationship between treatment response and alternations in brain structures associated with PTSD. In this study, we longitudinally examined the association between treatment response and pre-to posttreatment changes in structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using a voxel-based morphometry approach. We analyzed MRI scans of 35 patients (ages 8–18 years, 21 female) with PTSD (80%) or partial PTSD (20%) before and after eight weekly sessions of trauma-focused psychotherapy. PTSD severity was assessed longitudinally using the Clinician-Administered PTSD scale for Children and Adolescents to divide participants into responders and non-responders. Group by time interaction analysis showed significant differences in grey-matter volume in the bilateral insula due to volume reductions over time in non-responders compared to responders. Despite the significant group by time interaction, there were no significant group differences at baseline or follow-up. As typical development is associated with insula volume increase, these longitudinal MRI findings suggest that treatment non-response is associated with atypical neurodevelopment of the insula, which may underlie persistence of PTSD in youth. The absence of structural MRI changes in treatment responders, while in need of replication, suggest that successful trauma-focused psychotherapy may not directly normalize brain abnormalities associated with PTSD.

Decreased Gray Matter Volume of Cuneus and Lingual Gyrus in Schizophrenia Patients with Tardive Dyskinesia is Associated with Abnormal Involuntary Movement

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a devastating motor disorder associated with the etiological process of schizophrenia or antipsychotic medication treatments. To examine whether cerebral morphological changes may manifest in TD, we used voxel-based morphometry to analyze high-resolution T1-weighted brain structural magnetic resonance images from 32 schizophrenics with TD (TD group), 31 schizophrenics without TD (non-TD group), and 32 healthy controls (HC group). We also assessed psychopathological symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and TD severity with the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). We compared gray matter volumes (GMVs) among groups, and tested for correlations between GMV changes and psychopathological symptoms or TD severity. The results showed significant differences in GMV in the frontal and temporal cortices, insula and cerebellum among the three groups. Brainstem and inferior frontal and precentral gyri GMVs were significantly larger, whereas cuneus and lingual gyrus GMVs were significantly smaller in the TD group as compared to non-TD group. Further, the cuneus and lingual gyrus GMVs were positively correlated with AIMS scores in the TD group. The current results suggest that TD may be associated with the alterations in GMV that are different from that of schizophrenics without TD. Further studies are needed to confirm and to examine the functional significance of these structural findings.

Brain Gray Matter Atrophy after Spinal Cord Injury: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study.

The aim of this study was to explore possible changes in whole brain gray matter volume (GMV) after spinal cord injury (SCI) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and to study their associations with the injury duration, severity, and clinical variables. In total, 21 patients with SCI (10 with complete and 11 with incomplete SCI) and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The 3D high-resolution T1-weighted structural images of all subjects were obtained using a 3.0 Tesla MRI system. Disease duration and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Scale scores were also obtained from each patient. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was carried out to investigate the differences in GMV between patients with SCI and HCs, and between the SCI sub-groups. Associations between GMV and clinical variables were also analyzed. Compared with HCs, patients with SCI showed significant GMV decrease in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral anterior insular cortex, bilateral orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and right superior temporal gyrus. No significant difference in GMV in these areas was found either between the complete and incomplete SCI sub-groups, or between the sub-acute (duration <1 year) and chronic (duration >1 year) sub-groups. Finally, the GMV of the right OFC was correlated with the clinical motor scores of left extremities in not only all SCI patients, but especially the CSCI subgroup. In the sub-acute subgroup, we found a significant positive correlation between the dACC GMV and the total clinical motor scores, and a significant negative correlation between right OFC GMV and the injury duration. These findings indicate that SCI can cause remote atrophy of brain gray matter, especially in the salient network. In general, the duration and severity of SCI may be not associated with the degree of brain atrophy in total SCI patients, but there may be associations between them in subgroups.

Sex Differences in Gray Matter Changes and Brain-Behavior Relationships in Patients with Stimulant Dependence.

To investigate whether sex modulates the effects of stimulant dependence on gray matter volume (GMV) in patients who have achieved long-term abstinence and to characterize how sex modulates GMV according to specific behavioral measures, such as dependence symptom count, behavioral approach, and impulsivity. Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent were obtained. In this prospective parallel group study, 127 age- and sex-matched participants (68 control subjects [28 women, 40 men] and 59 patients with stimulant dependence [28 women, 31 men]) underwent T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging of the brain at 3 T. Images were segmented by using voxel-based morphometric software. After adjustment for age, education, and head size, the effects of group according to sex on GMV and main effects were analyzed throughout the whole brain by using an analysis of covariance family-wise cluster corrected for multiple comparisons, with a threshold P value of less than .05. Dependence symptom count and behavioral measurements were correlated with GMV in the whole brain and in five a priori regions of interest. The effects of group according to sex on GMV were significant in numerous regions (P < .001). Compared with female control subjects, women with stimulant dependence had significantly lower GMV in widespread brain regions (P < .001). There were no significant differences in GMV between male control subjects and men with stimulant dependence (P = .625). Dependence symptom count negatively correlated with GMV in the nucleus accumbens in women (left: r = -0.364, P = .047; right: r = -0.407, P = .031) but not in men (left: r = -0.063, P = .737; right: r = -0.174, P = .349). Behavioral approach (P = .002) and impulsivity (P = .013) correlated negatively with frontal and temporal GMV changes in women with stimulant dependence but not in the other groups. Vast changes in GMV were observed in women with stimulant dependence after prolonged abstinence, but were not observed in men. Sexual dimorphism in drug-related neuroanatomic changes and brain-behavior relationships may be mechanisms underlying the difference in clinical profiles of addiction between women and men.

Decreased gray matter volume in the left middle temporal gyrus as a candidate biomarker for schizophrenia: A study of drug naive, first-episode schizophrenia patients and unaffected siblings

BackgroundStudies have shown that patients with schizophrenia and their siblings share decreased gray matter (GM) volumes in certain brain regions, which may represent candidate endophenotypes of schizophrenia. However, the specificity and utility of these possible endophenotypes in relation to schizophrenia remain unclear. MethodsTwenty drug-naive, first-episode schizophrenia patients and 20 first-degree unaffected siblings from the same families as the patients (USS group), a separate group of 25 first-degree unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients from other families (USO group), and 43 healthy controls were recruited. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to analyze structural imaging data. ResultsThe VBM analysis showed a significant difference in GM volume between the combined sibling group and the control group in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Group comparison showed that the patients, the USS, and the USO had significantly decreased GM volume of the left MTG compared with the controls; such a difference did not exist among the patients and the two sibling groups. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) analysis showed good predictive value of the mean cluster volume in the left MTG to distinguish patients, USS, and USO from healthy controls. There were no significant correlations between the mean cluster volume in the left MTG and clinical variables in the patients. ConclusionsThe GM volume decrease of the left MTG may be utilized as a candidate biomarker for schizophrenia. The novel design of including a USO group in our study enhances both the specificity and the heritability of the biomarker identified.

Cortical thickness analysis and optimized voxel-based morphometry in children and adolescents with prelingually profound sensorineural hearing loss

Crossmodal neuroplastic changes following auditory deprivation in individuals with profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have been well documented in previous literature. However, previous studies have shown very little evidence of structural brain changes in individuals with prelingually profound SNHL and no studies have reported significant differences of gray matter (GM) in deaf subjects. Therefore, it is essential to employ a more specific and sensitive technique to detect subtle structural brain differences in deaf individuals. The objective of our study was to investigate neuroanatomical differences in children and adolescents with profound SNHL by cortical thickness analysis and optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM). T1-weighted volumetric images of 16 children and adolescents with prelingually profound SNHL and 16 hearing controls were analyzed. The ANCOVA analysis revealed a statistically significant decreased average cortical thickness of the whole brain. As to vertex-based analysis, cortical thickness of the deaf subjects showed significant thinning in the left precentral gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, the left superior occipital gyrus and the left fusiform gyrus compared with the hearing subjects. VBM revealed statistically significant focal reduction of white matter (WM) volume in the left middle frontal gyrus and the right inferior occipital gyrus in deaf subjects without statistically significant differences in GM volume between the two groups. These findings demonstrated that structural changes happened not only in the WM but also in the GM of the subjects with prelingually profound SNHL, which have never been reported before in any previous literature. Our results also implicated the potential neuroplastic changes associated with crossmodal reorganization in the brain after auditory deprivation in the early deafness.

ACE I/D polymorphism affects cognitive function and gray-matter volume in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

To characterize the correlates of cognitive function, serum concentrations of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and brain structure with the ACE insertion or deletion (I/D) polymorphism were analyzed in subjects with amnestic-mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). A group of 48 subjects meeting criteria for aMCI and 36 age-matched control subjects were assessed using a comprehensive battery of standardized neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The ACE gene's I/D polymorphism was analyzed by means of PCR, and serum ACE concentrations were measured using ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Genotype effects on neuropsychological domains and MRI gray matter volume (GMV) measurements (optimized voxel-based morphometry) were examined using general linear models. The D carriers among the aMCI subjects performed significantly worse on AVLT-delayed recall compared to the I homozygous group. The D carriers had higher serum ACE concentrations than did the I homozygous carriers, though this difference only reached statistical significance in the aMCI group. Compared with the I homozygous carriers, in the aMCI group, D carriers showed smaller GMV of the bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right cuneus, right precentral gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and left postcentral gyrus. However, there was no significant difference in GMV between I homozygous and D carriers in the normal control group. The study suggests that ACE genotype has considerable effect on the cognitive performance of aMCI subjects, particularly episodic memory, serum activity of ACE, and the structure of specified brain regions. The ACE D allele may be a genetic risk factor for greater atrophy of gray matter in aMCI.