Metabolic and vascular origins of the BOLD effect: Implications for imaging pathology and resting-state brain function

Background: Neurophysiological measures of brain function, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG), are widely used in clinical neurology and have strong relations with cognitive impairment and dementia but are still underdeveloped in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives: To demonstrate the value of clinically applicable MEG-measures in evaluating cognitive impairment in MS. Methods: In eyes-closed resting-state, MEG data of 83 MS patients and 34 healthy controls (HCs) peak frequencies and relative power of six canonical frequency bands for 78 cortical and 10 deep gray matter (DGM) areas were calculated. Linear regression models, correcting for age, gender, and education, assessed the relation between cognitive performance and MEG biomarkers. Results: Increased alpha1 and theta power was strongly associated with impaired cognition in patients, which differed between cognitively impaired (CI) patients and HCs in bilateral parietotemporal cortices. CI patients had a lower peak frequency than HCs. Oscillatory slowing was also widespread in the DGM, most pronounced in the thalamus. Conclusion: There is a clinically relevant slowing of neuronal activity in MS patients in parietotemporal cortical areas and the thalamus, strongly related to cognitive impairment. These measures hold promise for the application of resting-state MEG as a biomarker for cognitive disturbances in MS in a clinical setting.

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The Impact of Cannabidiol on Human Brain Function: A Systematic Review

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2020.618184 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Albert Batalla ◽

Julian Bos ◽

Amber Postma ◽

Matthijs G. Bossong

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Psychiatric Disorder ◽

Human Brain ◽

Healthy Volunteers ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Function ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Therapeutic Effects

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that the non-intoxicating cannabinoid compound cannabidiol (CBD) may have antipsychotic and anxiolytic properties, and thus may be a promising new agent in the treatment of psychotic and anxiety disorders. However, the neurobiological substrates underlying the potential therapeutic effects of CBD are still unclear. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a detailed and up-to-date systematic literature overview of neuroimaging studies that investigated the acute impact of CBD on human brain function.Methods: Papers published until May 2020 were included from PubMed following a comprehensive search strategy and pre-determined set of criteria for article selection. We included studies that examined the effects of CBD on brain function of healthy volunteers and individuals diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, comprising both the effects of CBD alone as well as in direct comparison to those induced by ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of Cannabis.Results: One-ninety four studies were identified, of which 17 met inclusion criteria. All studies investigated the acute effects of CBD on brain function during resting state or in the context of cognitive tasks. In healthy volunteers, acute CBD enhanced fronto-striatal resting state connectivity, both compared to placebo and THC. Furthermore, CBD modulated brain activity and had opposite effects when compared to THC following task-specific patterns during various cognitive paradigms, such as emotional processing (fronto-temporal), verbal memory (fronto-striatal), response inhibition (fronto-limbic-striatal), and auditory/visual processing (temporo-occipital). In individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis and patients with established psychosis, acute CBD showed intermediate brain activity compared to placebo and healthy controls during cognitive task performance. CBD modulated resting limbic activity in subjects with anxiety and metabolite levels in patients with autism spectrum disorders.Conclusion: Neuroimaging studies have shown that acute CBD induces significant alterations in brain activity and connectivity patterns during resting state and performance of cognitive tasks in both healthy volunteers and patients with a psychiatric disorder. This included modulation of functional networks relevant for psychiatric disorders, possibly reflecting CBD’s therapeutic effects. Future studies should consider replication of findings and enlarge the inclusion of psychiatric patients, combining longer-term CBD treatment with neuroimaging assessments.

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Altered brain function and clinical features in patients with first-episode, drug naïve major depressive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study

Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging ◽

10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111134 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 303 ◽

pp. 111134

Author(s):

Sixiang Liang ◽

Kaizhong Xue ◽

Wenchen Wang ◽

Wenwen Yu ◽

Xiaojuan Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Clinical Features ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Function ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

First Episode ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Drug Naïve

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Acute effects of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on resting state brain function and their modulation by COMT genotype

European Neuropsychopharmacology ◽

10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.03.010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 766-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Matthijs G. Bossong ◽

Hendrika H. van Hell ◽

Chris D. Schubart ◽

Wesley van Saane ◽

Tabitha A. Iseger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resting State ◽

Brain Function ◽

Acute Effects ◽

Comt Genotype

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The Association between DRD3 Ser9Gly Polymorphism and Depression Severity in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2019/1642087 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yan Zhi ◽

Yongsheng Yuan ◽

Qianqian Si ◽

Min Wang ◽

Yuting Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Function ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Potential Effect ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Right

More and more evidence suggests that dopamine receptor D3 gene (DRD3) plays an important role in the clinical manifestations and the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). DRD3 Ser9Gly polymorphism is the most frequently studied variant point. Our aim was to investigate the potential effect of DRD3 Ser9Gly polymorphism on modulating resting-state brain function and associative clinical manifestations in PD patients. We consecutively recruited 61 idiopathic PD patients and 47 healthy controls (HC) who were evaluated by clinical scales, genotyped for variant Ser9Gly in DRD3, and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Based on DRD3 Ser9Gly polymorphism, PD patients and HCs were divided into four subgroups. Then, two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to investigate main effects and interactions of PD and DRD3 Ser9Gly polymorphism on the brain function via amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) approach. The association between DRD3 Ser9Gly-modulated significantly different brain regions, and clinical manifestations were detected by Spearman’s correlations. PD patients exhibited decreased ALFF values in the right inferior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, and fusiform gyrus. A significant difference in the interaction of “groups × genotypes” was observed in the right medial frontal gyrus. The ALFF value of the cluster showing significant interactions was positively correlated with HAMD-17 scores (r=0.489, p=0.011) and anhedonia scores (r=0.512, p=0.008) in PD patients with the Ser/Gly or Gly/Gly genotypes. Therefore, D3 gene Ser9Gly polymorphism might be associated with the severity of depression characterized by anhedonia in PD patients.

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