Regeneration of the Cerebellofugal Projection After Transection of the Superior Cerebellar Peduncle in the Cat

AbstractThis study used tract-based spatial statistics to examine the relationship between post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and white matter integrity in patients with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Forty-seven patients with TBI in the chronic stage and 47 age- and sex-matched normal control subjects were recruited to the study. Correlation coefficients were calculated to observe the relationships among the PTA duration, white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) values, and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) results in the patient group. Both before and after Benjamini–Hochberg (BH) corrections, FA values of 46 of the 48 regions of interests of the patient group were lower than those of the control group. The FA values of column and body of fornix, left crus of fornix, left uncinate fasciculus, right hippocampus part of cingulum, left medial lemniscus, right superior cerebellar peduncle, left superior cerebellar peduncle, and left posterior thalamic radiation (after BH correction: the uncinate fasciculus and right hippocampus part of cingulum) in the patient group were negatively correlated with PTA duration. PTA duration was related to the injury severity of eight neural structures, each of which is involved in the cognitive functioning of patients with TBI. Therefore, PTA duration can indicate injury severity of the above neural structures in TBI patients.

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Cerebellar input tremor: Inferior or superior cerebellar peduncle lesion?

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.51.6.1778 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 1778-1778

Author(s):

R. L. Albin

Keyword(s):

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

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A comprehensive assessment of cerebellar damage in multiple sclerosis using diffusion tractography and volumetric analysis

Multiple Sclerosis Journal ◽

10.1177/1352458511403528 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. 1079-1087 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

VM Anderson ◽

CAM Wheeler-Kingshott ◽

K Abdel-Aziz ◽

DH Miller ◽

A Toosy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Upper Limb ◽

Mean Diffusivity ◽

Volumetric Analysis ◽

Motor Deficit ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Radial Diffusivity ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Clinical Scores ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

Background: White matter (WM) and grey matter (GM) brain damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) is widespread, but the extent of cerebellar involvement and impact on disability needs to be clarified. Objective: This study aimed to assess cerebellar WM and GM atrophy and the degree of fibre coherence in the main cerebellar connections, and their contribution to disability in relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). Methods: Fourteen patients with RRMS, 12 patients with PPMS and 16 healthy controls were recruited. Cerebellar WM and GM volumes and tractography-derived measures from the middle and superior cerebellar peduncles, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and directional diffusivities, were quantified from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients were assessed on clinical scores, including the MS Functional Composite score subtests. Linear regression models were used to compare imaging measures between 12 RRMS, 11 PPMS and 16 controls, and investigate their association with clinical scores. Results: Patients with PPMS showed reduced FA and increased radial diffusivity in the middle cerebellar peduncle compared with controls and patients with RRMS. In PPMS, lower cerebellar WM volume was associated with worse performance on the upper limb test. In the same patient group, we found significant relationships between superior cerebellar peduncle FA and upper limb function, and between superior cerebellar peduncle FA, MD and radial diffusivity and speed of walking. Conclusion: These findings indicate reduced fibre coherence in the main cerebellar connections, and link damage in the whole cerebellar WM, and, in particular, in the superior cerebellar peduncle, to motor deficit in PPMS.

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Functional and structural MRI correlates of executive functions in multiple sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis Journal ◽

10.1177/13524585211033184 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135245852110331

Author(s):

Olga Marchesi ◽

Raffaello Bonacchi ◽

Paola Valsasina ◽

Paolo Preziosa ◽

Elisabetta Pagani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Working Memory ◽

A Priori ◽

Structural Mri ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Cognitive Networks ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri

Background: Executive dysfunctions, including difficulties in attention, working memory, planning, and inhibition affect 15%–28% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Objectives: To investigate structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities underlying executive function (EF) in MS patients. Methods: A total 116 MS patients and 65 controls underwent resting-state (RS) and diffusion-weighted sequences and neuropsychological examination, including Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) to test EF. Brain RS cognitive networks and fractional anisotropy (FA) from a priori selected white matter tracts were derived. Associations of WCST scores with RS functional connectivity (FC) and FA abnormalities were investigated. Results: In MS patients, predictors of working memory/updating were: lower corpus callosum (CC) FA, lower left working-memory network (WMN), right WMN RS FC for worse performance; lower executive control network (ECN), higher default-mode network (DMN), and salience network (SN) RS FC for better performance ( R2 = 0.35). Predictors of attention were lower CC genu FA, lower left WMN, and DMN RS FC for worse performance; higher left WMN and ECN RS FC for better performance ( R2 = 0.24). Predictors of worse shifting/inhibition were lower CC genu and superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP) FA, lower left WMN RS FC for worse performance; and higher ECN RS FC for better performance ( R2 = 0.24). Conclusions: CC and SCP microstructural damage and RS FC abnormalities in cognitive networks underlie EF frailty in MS.

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White matter differences between essential tremor and Parkinson disease

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000006694 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 92 (1) ◽

pp. e30-e39 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Meher R. Juttukonda ◽

Giulia Franco ◽

Dario J. Englot ◽

Ya-Chen Lin ◽

Kalen J. Petersen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Parkinson Disease ◽

Essential Tremor ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Mean Diffusivity ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Radial Diffusivity ◽

Cerebellar Peduncles ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

ObjectiveTo assess white matter integrity in patients with essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson disease (PD) with moderate to severe motor impairment.MethodsSedated participants with ET (n = 57) or PD (n = 99) underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity values were computed. White matter tracts were defined using 3 well-described atlases. To determine candidate white matter regions that differ between ET and PD groups, a bootstrapping analysis was applied using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. Linear regression was applied to assess magnitude and direction of differences in DTI metrics between ET and PD populations in the candidate regions.ResultsFractional anisotropy values that differentiate ET from PD localize primarily to thalamic and visual-related pathways, while diffusivity differences localized to the cerebellar peduncles. Patients with ET exhibited lower fractional anisotropy values than patients with PD in the lateral geniculate body (p < 0.01), sagittal stratum (p = 0.01), forceps major (p = 0.02), pontine crossing tract (p = 0.03), and retrolenticular internal capsule (p = 0.04). Patients with ET exhibited greater radial diffusivity values than patients with PD in the superior cerebellar peduncle (p < 0.01), middle cerebellar peduncle (p = 0.05), and inferior cerebellar peduncle (p = 0.05).ConclusionsRegionally, distinctive white matter microstructural values in patients with ET localize to the cerebellar peduncles and thalamo-cortical visual pathways. These findings complement recent functional imaging studies in ET but also extend our understanding of putative physiologic features that account for distinctions between ET and PD.

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Are Anesthesia and Surgery during Infancy Associated with Decreased White Matter Integrity and Volume during Childhood?

Anesthesiology ◽

10.1097/aln.0000000000001808 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 127 (5) ◽

pp. 788-799 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Robert I. Block ◽

Vincent A. Magnotta ◽

Emine O. Bayman ◽

James Y. Choi ◽

Joss J. Thomas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Mean Diffusivity ◽

White Matter Integrity ◽

Cerebral Peduncle ◽

Intracranial Volume ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Control Subjects ◽

Brain White Matter ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

AbstractBackgroundAnesthetics have neurotoxic effects in neonatal animals. Relevant human evidence is limited. We sought such evidence in a structural neuroimaging study.MethodsTwo groups of children underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging: patients who, during infancy, had one of four operations commonly performed in otherwise healthy children and comparable, nonexposed control subjects. Total and regional brain tissue composition and volume, as well as regional indicators of white matter integrity (fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity), were analyzed.ResultsAnalyses included 17 patients, without potential confounding central nervous system problems or risk factors, who had general anesthesia and surgery during infancy and 17 control subjects (age ranges, 12.3 to 15.2 yr and 12.6 to 15.1 yr, respectively). Whole brain white matter volume, as a percentage of total intracranial volume, was lower for the exposed than the nonexposed group, 37.3 ± 0.4% and 38.9 ± 0.4% (least squares mean ± SE), respectively, a difference of 1.5 percentage points (95% CI, 0.3 to 2.8; P = 0.016). Corresponding decreases were statistically significant for parietal and occipital lobes, infratentorium, and brainstem separately. White matter integrity was lower for the exposed than the nonexposed group in superior cerebellar peduncle, cerebral peduncle, external capsule, cingulum (cingulate gyrus), and fornix (cres) and/or stria terminalis. The groups did not differ in total intracranial, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid volumes.ConclusionsChildren who had anesthesia and surgery during infancy showed broadly distributed, decreased white matter integrity and volume. Although the findings may be related to anesthesia and surgery during infancy, other explanations are possible.

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Abstract P200: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Post-Stroke Chronic Aphasia: A Double Blind Randomized Controlled Study

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.52.suppl_1.p200 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Caroline Schnakers ◽

Zhong Sheng Zheng ◽

Henry Millan ◽

Sharon Lee ◽

Melissa Howard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Outcome Measures ◽

Direct Current ◽

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Double Blind ◽

Verbal Comprehension ◽

Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Post Stroke ◽

Chronic Aphasia ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle

Background: There is growing evidence even amongst those with chronic aphasia that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with behavioral speech therapy could boost language. However, current findings do not allow making strong recommendations for using tDCS in order to improve language in post-stroke aphasia. The efficacy of tDCS therefore still needs to be established using double-blind controlled randomized trials in large samples. Intervention: In this ongoing double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial study, participants were randomly assigned either to the tDCS group or to the sham group. Both groups had five consecutive days of 20 minutes session, using a FDA approved tDCS device (soterixmedical.com). Behavioral and neuroimaging data were performed the week before/after tDCS/sham intervention and again 3 months following treatment. Participants: 42 post-stroke patients with chronic aphasia (32 males; age: 61±11y; 0.9-18years post-injury; 32 ischemic stroke; 19 non-fluent aphasia). Eighteen patients were in the tDCS group. Main Outcome Measures: The Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R), Communication Outcomes after Stroke, patient and family report (COAST). MRI Diffusion Tensor Imaging data (64 dir) were also collected. Statistical Analyses: Anova with repeated measures was used on the behavioral outcome measures with aphasia severity, age and time since injury as covariates in SPSS. The average fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were extracted per ROI from each participant and timepoint. Main Results: a) Behavioral. Groups differed, pre/post intervention, on the WAB-R total score, for the Auditory-Verbal Comprehension and Repetition subscores; b) Neuroimaging. Change in Spontaneous Speech and Auditory Verbal Comprehension negatively correlated with change in mean MD and FA, respectively, in Superior Cerebellar Peduncle for tDCS, but not sham. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings show a higher improvement in language functions (for both receptive and expressive language skills) in response to treatment (vs. sham). Neuroplasticity was observed in superior cerebellar peduncle in response to tDCS mediated language improvement.

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Evaluating and Optimizing Dentato-Rubro-Thalamic-Tract Deterministic Tractography in Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor

Operative Neurosurgery ◽

10.1093/ons/opab324 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maarten Bot ◽

Anne-Fleur van Rootselaari ◽

Vincent Odekerken ◽

Joke Dijk ◽

Rob M A de Bie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deep Brain Stimulation ◽

Essential Tremor ◽

Brain Stimulation ◽

Red Nucleus ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Deep Brain

Abstract BACKGROUND Dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT) deep brain stimulation (DBS) suppresses tremor in essential tremor (ET) patients. However, DRT depiction through tractography can vary depending on the included brain regions. Moreover, it is unclear which section of the DRT is optimal for DBS. OBJECTIVE To evaluate deterministic DRT tractography and tremor control in DBS for ET. METHODS After DBS surgery, DRT tractography was conducted in 37 trajectories (20 ET patients). Per trajectory, 5 different DRT depictions with various regions of interest (ROI) were constructed. Comparison resulted in a DRT depiction with highest correspondence to intraoperative tremor control. This DRT depiction was subsequently used for evaluation of short-term postoperative adverse and beneficial effects. RESULTS Postoperative optimized DRT tractography employing the ROI motor cortex, posterior subthalamic area (PSA), and ipsilateral superior cerebellar peduncle and dentate nucleus best corresponded with intraoperative trajectories (92%) and active DBS contacts (93%) showing optimal tremor control. DRT tractography employing a red nucleus or ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) ROI often resulted in a more medial course. Optimal stimulation was located in the section between VIM and PSA. CONCLUSION This optimized deterministic DRT tractography strongly correlates with optimal tremor control. This technique is readily implementable for prospective evaluation in DBS target planning for ET.

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Tractographic and Microstructural Analysis of the Dentato-Rubro-Thalamo-Cortical Tracts in Children Using Diffusion MRI

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhaa377 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastian M Toescu ◽

Patrick W Hales ◽

Enrico Kaden ◽

Luis M Lacerda ◽

Kristian Aquilina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Mri ◽

Microstructural Analysis ◽

Tumor Resection ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Cerebellar Tumor ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Spherical Deconvolution ◽

Spherical Mean ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Outflow Pathway

Abstract The dentato-rubro-thalamo-cortical tract (DRTC) is the main outflow pathway of the cerebellum, contributing to a finely balanced corticocerebellar loop involved in cognitive and sensorimotor functions. Damage to the DRTC has been implicated in cerebellar mutism syndrome seen in up to 25% of children after cerebellar tumor resection. Multi-shell diffusion MRI (dMRI) combined with quantitative constrained spherical deconvolution tractography and multi-compartment spherical mean technique modeling was used to explore the frontocerebellar connections and microstructural signature of the DRTC in 30 healthy children. The highest density of DRTC connections were to the precentral (M1) and superior frontal gyri (F1), and from cerebellar lobules I–IV and IX. The first evidence of a topographic organization of anterograde projections to the frontal cortex at the level of the superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP) is demonstrated, with streamlines terminating in F1 lying dorsomedially in the SCP compared to those terminating in M1. The orientation dispersion entropy of DRTC regions appears to exhibit greater contrast than that shown by fractional anisotropy. Analysis of a separate reproducibility cohort demonstrates good consistency in the dMRI metrics described. These novel anatomical insights into this well-studied pathway may prove to be of clinical relevance in the surgical resection of cerebellar tumors.

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Severity of white matter hyperintensities: Lesion patterns, cognition, and microstructural changes

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism ◽

10.1177/0271678x19893600 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (12) ◽

pp. 2454-2463 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Weiyi Zeng ◽

Yaojing Chen ◽

Zhibao Zhu ◽

Shudan Gao ◽

Jianan Xia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Specific Pattern ◽

White Matter Hyperintensity ◽

Common Finding ◽

Superior Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Brain White Matter ◽

Brain Microstructure ◽

Cerebellar Peduncle ◽

Fazekas Scale

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) is a common finding in aging population and considered to be a contributor to cognitive decline. Our study aimed to characterize the spatial patterns of WMH in different severities and explore its impact on cognition and brain microstructure in non-demented elderly. Lesions were both qualitatively (Fazekas scale) and quantitatively assessed among 321 community-dwelled individuals with MRI scanning. Voxel- and atlas-based analyses of the whole-brain white matter microstructure were performed. The WMH of the same severities was found to occur uniformly with a specific pattern of lesions. The severity of WMH had a significant negative association with the performance of working and episodic memory, beginning to appear in Fazekas 3 and 4. The white matter tracts presented significant impairments in Fazekas 3, which showed brain-wide changes above Fazekas 4. Lower FA in the superior cerebellar peduncle and left posterior thalamic radiation was mainly associated with episodic memory, and the middle cerebellar peduncle was significantly associated with working memory. These results support that memory is the primary domain to be affected by WMH, and the effect may potentially be influenced by tract-specific WM abnormalities. Fazekas scale 3 might be the critical stage predicting a future decline in cognition.

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