Sexual Dimorphism in the Brain Correlates of Adult-Onset Depression: A Pilot Structural and Functional 3T MRI Study

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a disabling illness affecting more than 5% of the elderly population. Higher female prevalence and sex-specific symptomatology have been observed, suggesting that biologically-determined dimensions might affect the disease onset and outcome. Rumination and executive dysfunction characterize adult-onset MDD, but sex differences in these domains and in the related brain mechanisms are still largely unexplored. The present pilot study aimed to explore any interactions between adult-onset MDD and sex on brain morphology and brain function during a Go/No-Go paradigm. We hypothesized to detect diagnosis by sex effects on brain regions involved in self-referential processes and cognitive control. Twenty-four subjects, 12 healthy (HC) (mean age 68.7 y, 7 females and 5 males) and 12 affected by adult-onset MDD (mean age 66.5 y, 5 females and 7 males), underwent clinical evaluations and a 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) session. Diagnosis and diagnosis by sex effects were assessed on regional gray matter (GM) volumes and task-related functional MRI (fMRI) activations. The GM volume analyses showed diagnosis effects in left mid frontal cortex (p < 0.01), and diagnosis by sex effects in orbitofrontal, olfactory, and calcarine regions (p < 0.05). The Go/No-Go fMRI analyses showed MDD effects on fMRI activations in left precuneus and right lingual gyrus, and diagnosis by sex effects on fMRI activations in right parahippocampal gyrus and right calcarine cortex (p < 0.001, ≥ 40 voxels). Our exploratory results suggest the presence of sex-specific brain correlates of adult-onset MDD–especially in regions involved in attention processing and in the brain default mode–potentially supporting cognitive and symptom differences between sexes.

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Efficacy and immunogenicity of MultiTEP-based DNA vaccines targeting human α-synuclein: prelude for IND enabling studies

npj Vaccines ◽

10.1038/s41541-021-00424-2 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Changyoun Kim ◽

Armine Hovakimyan ◽

Karen Zagorski ◽

Tatevik Antonyan ◽

Irina Petrushina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Vaccines ◽

Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽

Neuronal Damage ◽

Lewy Bodies ◽

Amyloid Β ◽

The Elderly ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Lewy Neurites ◽

The Brain

AbstractAccumulation of misfolded proteins such as amyloid-β (Aβ), tau, and α-synuclein (α-Syn) in the brain leads to synaptic dysfunction, neuronal damage, and the onset of relevant neurodegenerative disorder/s. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are characterized by the aberrant accumulation of α-Syn intracytoplasmic Lewy body inclusions and dystrophic Lewy neurites resulting in neurodegeneration associated with inflammation. Cell to cell propagation of α-Syn aggregates is implicated in the progression of PD/DLB, and high concentrations of anti-α-Syn antibodies could inhibit/reduce the spreading of this pathological molecule in the brain. To ensure sufficient therapeutic concentrations of anti-α-Syn antibodies in the periphery and CNS, we developed four α-Syn DNA vaccines based on the universal MultiTEP platform technology designed especially for the elderly with immunosenescence. Here, we are reporting on the efficacy and immunogenicity of these vaccines targeting three B-cell epitopes of hα-Syn aa85–99 (PV-1947D), aa109–126 (PV-1948D), aa126–140 (PV-1949D) separately or simultaneously (PV-1950D) in a mouse model of synucleinopathies mimicking PD/DLB. All vaccines induced high titers of antibodies specific to hα-Syn that significantly reduced PD/DLB-like pathology in hα-Syn D line mice. The most significant reduction of the total and protein kinase resistant hα-Syn, as well as neurodegeneration, were observed in various brain regions of mice vaccinated with PV-1949D and PV-1950D in a sex-dependent manner. Based on these preclinical data, we selected the PV-1950D vaccine for future IND enabling preclinical studies and clinical development.

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Dissociable brain correlates for depression, anxiety, dissociation, and somatization in depersonalization-derealization disorder

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s1092852913000588 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 35-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Erwin Lemche ◽

Simon A. Surguladze ◽

Michael J. Brammer ◽

Mary L. Phillips ◽

Mauricio Sierra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Self Report ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Caudate Head ◽

Brain Correlates ◽

The Right

ObjectiveThe cerebral mechanisms of traits associated with depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPRD) remain poorly understood.MethodHappy and sad emotion expressions were presented to DPRD and non-referred control (NC) subjects in an implicit event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design, and correlated with self report scales reflecting typical co-morbidities of DPRD: depression, dissociation, anxiety, somatization.ResultsSignificant differences between the slopes of the two groups were observed for somatization in the right temporal operculum (happy) and ventral striatum, bilaterally (sad). Discriminative regions for symptoms of depression were the right pulvinar (happy) and left amygdala (sad). For dissociation, discriminative regions were the left mesial inferior temporal gyrus (happy) and left supramarginal gyrus (sad). For state anxiety, discriminative regions were the left inferior frontal gyrus (happy) and parahippocampal gyrus (sad). For trait anxiety, discriminative regions were the right caudate head (happy) and left superior temporal gyrus (sad).DiscussionThe ascertained brain regions are in line with previous findings for the respective traits. The findings suggest separate brain systems for each trait.ConclusionOur results do not justify any bias for a certain nosological category in DPRD.

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Watershed Brain Regions for Characterizing Brand Equity-Related Mental Processes

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11121619 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 1619

Author(s):

Shinya Watanuki

Keyword(s):

Brand Equity ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Mental Processes ◽

Chi Square ◽

The Past ◽

Lingual Gyrus ◽

The Brain

Brand equity is an important intangible for enterprises. As one advantage, products with brand equity can increase revenue, compared with those without such equity. However, unlike tangibles, it is difficult for enterprises to manage brand equity because it exists within consumers’ minds. Although, over the past two decades, numerous consumer neuroscience studies have revealed the brain regions related to brand equity, the identification of unique brain regions related to such equity is still controversial. Therefore, this study identifies the unique brain regions related to brand equity and assesses the mental processes derived from these regions. For this purpose, three analysis methods (i.e., the quantitative meta-analysis, chi-square tests, and machine learning) were conducted. The data were collected in accordance with the general procedures of a qualitative meta-analysis. In total, 65 studies (1412 foci) investigating branded objects with brand equity and unbranded objects without brand equity were examined, whereas the neural systems involved for these two brain regions were contrasted. According to the results, the parahippocampal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were unique brand equity-related brain regions, whereas automatic mental processes based on emotional associative memories derived from these regions were characteristic mental processes that discriminate branded from unbranded objects.

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Predicting Brain Regions Related to Alzheimer’s Disease Based on Global Feature

10.1101/2020.11.27.401950 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qi Wang ◽

Siwei Chen ◽

He Wang ◽

Luzeng Chen ◽

Yongan Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Network Analysis ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

The Elderly ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Imaging Method ◽

Global Feature ◽

Objective Monitoring ◽

The Brain

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, early diagnosis and timely treatment are very important to delay the course of the disease. In the past, most of the brain regions related to AD were identified based on the imaging method, which can only identify some atrophic brain regions. In this work, we used mathematical models to find out the potential brain regions related to AD. First, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to construct the brain structural network. Next, we set a new local feature index 2hop-connectivity to measure the correlation among different areas. And for this, we proposed a novel algorithm named 2hopRWR to measure 2hop-connectivity. At last, we proposed a new index GFS (Global Feature Score) based on global feature by combing 5 local features: degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, the number of maximal cliques, and 2hop-connectivity, to judge which brain regions are likely related to Alzheimer’s Disease. As a result, all the top ten brain regions in GFS scoring difference between the AD group and the non-AD group were related to AD by literature verification. Finally, the results of the canonical correlation analysis showed that the GFS was significantly correlated with the scores of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scale and montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scale. So, we believe the GFS can also be used as a new index to assist in diagnosis and objective monitoring of disease progression. Besides, the method proposed in this paper can be used as a differential network analysis method in other areas of network analysis.

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HIV-Associated Structural and Functional Brain Alterations in Homosexual Males

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2021.757374 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Qiong Ma ◽

Xiudong Shi ◽

Guochao Chen ◽

Fengxiang Song ◽

Fengjun Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Regional Homogeneity ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Functional Brain ◽

The Right ◽

The Impact ◽

The Brain

Purpose:Neuroimaging elucidations have shown structural and functional brain alterations in HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals when compared to HIV-negative (HIV–) controls. However, HIV− groups used in previous studies were not specifically considered for sexual orientation, which also affects the brain structures and functions. The current study aimed to characterize the brain alterations associated with HIV infection while controlling for sexual orientation.Methods:Forty-three HIV+ and 40 HIV– homosexual men (HoM) were recruited and underwent resting-state MRI scanning. Group differences in gray matter volume (GMV) were assessed using a voxel-based morphometry analysis. Brain regions with the altered GMV in the HIV+ HoM group were then taken as regions of interest in a seed-based analysis to identify altered functional connectivity. Furthermore, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity values were compared between the two groups to evaluate the HIV-associated functional abnormalities in local brain regions.Results:HIV+ HoM showed significantly increased GMV in the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala, and decreased GMV in the right inferior cerebellum, compared with the HIV– HoM. The brain regions with increased GMV were hyper-connected with the left superior cerebellum, right lingual gyrus, and left precuneus in the HIV+ HoM. Moreover, the ALFF values of the right fusiform gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus were increased in the HIV+ HoM. The regional homogeneity values of the right anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri, and left superior cerebellum were decreased in the HIV+ HoM.Conclusion:When the study population was restricted to HoM, HIV+ individuals exhibited structural alterations in the limbic system and cerebellum, and functional abnormalities in the limbic, cerebellum, and visual network. These findings complement the existing knowledge on the HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment from the previous neuroimaging studies by controlling for the potential confounding factor, sexual orientation. Future studies on brain alternations with the exclusion of related factors like sexual orientation are needed to understand the impact of HIV infection on neurocognitive function more accurately.

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Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to examine brain structural plasticity and language experience

10.31234/osf.io/468xa ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Gigi Luk ◽

Christos Pliatsikas

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Brain Structure ◽

Language Use ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Brain Plasticity ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Language Experience ◽

Brain Correlates ◽

The Brain

Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have led to a renewed interest in the brain correlates of language processing. Most intriguing is how experiences of language use relates to variation in brain structure and how brain structure predicts language acquisition. These two lines of inquiry have important implications on considering language use as an experience-dependent mechanism that induces brain plasticity. This paper focuses on the structural connectivity of the brain, as delivered by white matter, i.e. the collections of the axons of the brain neurons that provide connectivity between brain regions. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS), a method commonly used in the field, will be presented in detail. Readers will be introduced to procedures for the extraction of indices of variation in WM structure such as fractional anisotropy. Furthermore, the role of individual differences in WM and changes in WM pertaining to bilingual experience and language processing will be used as examples to illustrate the applicability of this method.

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Functional Neuroanatomy of Meaning Acquisition from Context

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2008.20150 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (12) ◽

pp. 2153-2166 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Anna Mestres-Missé ◽

Estela Càmara ◽

Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells ◽

Michael Rotte ◽

Thomas F. Münte

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Imaging Study ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Brain Network ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Functional Neuroanatomy ◽

Subcortical Structures ◽

The Brain

An important issue in language learning is how new words are integrated in the brain representations that sustain language processing. To identify the brain regions involved in meaning acquisition and word learning, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Young participants were required to deduce the meaning of a novel word presented within increasingly constrained sentence contexts that were read silently during the scanning session. Inconsistent contexts were also presented in which no meaning could be assigned to the novel word. Participants showed meaning acquisition in the consistent but not in the inconsistent condition. A distributed brain network was identified comprising the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45), the middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), the parahippocampal gyrus, and several subcortical structures (the thalamus and the striatum). Drawing on previous neuroimaging evidence, we tentatively identify the roles of these brain areas in the retrieval, selection, and encoding of the meaning.

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Delineating visual, auditory and motor regions in the human brain with functional neuroimaging: a BrainMap-based meta-analytic synthesis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-88773-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marisa K. Heckner ◽

Edna C. Cieslik ◽

Vincent Küppers ◽

Peter T. Fox ◽

Simon B. Eickhoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Motor Task ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Affective Processing ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Motor Processes ◽

Brain Correlates ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Brain

AbstractMost everyday behaviors and laboratory tasks rely on visual, auditory and/or motor-related processes. Yet, to date, there has been no large-scale quantitative synthesis of functional neuroimaging studies mapping the brain regions consistently recruited during such perceptuo-motor processing. We therefore performed three coordinate-based meta-analyses, sampling the results of neuroimaging experiments on visual (n = 114), auditory (n = 122), or motor-related (n = 251) processing, respectively, from the BrainMap database. Our analyses yielded both regions known to be recruited for basic perceptual or motor processes and additional regions in posterior frontal cortex. Comparing our results with data-driven network definitions based on resting-state functional connectivity revealed good overlap in expected regions but also showed that perceptual and motor task-related activations consistently involve additional frontal, cerebellar, and subcortical areas associated with “higher-order” cognitive functions, extending beyond what is captured when the brain is at “rest.” Our resulting sets of domain-typical brain regions can be used by the neuroimaging community as robust functional definitions or masks of regions of interest when investigating brain correlates of perceptual or motor processes and their interplay with other mental functions such as cognitive control or affective processing. The maps are made publicly available via the ANIMA database.

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The relationships between brain regions and forelimb dexterity in marsupials (Marsupialia): a comparative test of the principle of proper mass

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo99043 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 99 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Andrew N. Iwaniuk ◽

John E. Nelson ◽

Ian Q. Whishaw

Keyword(s):

Brain Cortex ◽

Brain Size ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Brain Morphology ◽

Proper Mass ◽

Contrast Analysis ◽

Independent Contrast ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Brain ◽

Forelimb Movements

A behavioural index of forelimb dexterity and comparative statistics were used to analyse the relationships between proximal (shoulder, upper and lower forelimb) and distal (wrist, forepaw, digits) forelimb dexterity and four aspects of brain morphology (overall brain, cortex, cerebellum and telencephalon sizes) in 18 species of marsupials. On the basis of the principle of proper mass, it was expected that an increase in forelimb dexterity (either proximal or distal) would be positively correlated with the size of the brain and the three brain components. Using independent contrast analysis to remove the effects of phylogeny revealed three significant correlations between: cortex size and distal dexterity, cerebellum size and proximal dexterity, and telencephalon size and distal dexterity. The relationship between cortex size and distal dexterity was subsequently corroborated by Spearman rank correlations. These results suggest that the execution of finely coordinated forelimb movements may not be dependent upon overall brain size, but may be dependent upon the size of brain components, thus supporting the principle of proper mass.

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Regional protein expression in human Alzheimer’s brain correlates with disease severity

10.1101/283705 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jingshu Xu ◽

Stefano Patassini ◽

Nitin Rustogi ◽

Isabel Riba-Garcia ◽

Benjamin D. Hale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protein Expression ◽

Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Expression Change ◽

Protein Expression Change ◽

Progression Of Disease ◽

Brain Correlates ◽

Molecular Pathophysiology ◽

Human Brains ◽

The Brain

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that currently affects 36 million people worldwide with no effective treatment available. Development of AD follows a distinctive pattern in the brain and is poorly modelled in animals. Therefore, it is vital to widen both the spatial scope of the study of AD and prioritise the study of human brains. Here we show that functionally distinct human brain regions show varying and region-specific changes in protein expression. These changes provide novel insights into the progression of disease, novel AD-related pathways, the presence of a ‘gradient’ of protein expression change from less to more affected regions, and the presence of a ‘protective’ protein expression profile in the cerebellum. This spatial proteomics analysis provides a framework which can underpin current research and opens new avenues of interest to enhance our understanding of molecular pathophysiology of AD, provides new targets for intervention and broadens the conceptual frameworks for future AD research.

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