Effect of Sex Hormones on Brain Connectivity Related to Sexual Function in Perimenopausal Women: A Resting-State fMRI Functional Connectivity Study

AbstractAdolescents with anxiety disorders exhibit excessive emotional and somatic arousal. Neuroimaging studies have shown abnormal cerebral cortical activation and connectivity in this patient population. The specific role of cerebellar output circuitry, specifically the dentate nuclei (DN), in adolescent anxiety disorders remains largely unexplored. Resting-state functional connectivity analyses have parcellated the DN, the major output nuclei of the cerebellum, into three functional territories (FTs) that include default-mode, salience-motor, and visual networks. The objective of this study was to understand whether FTs of the DN are implicated in adolescent anxiety disorders. Forty-one adolescents (mean age 15.19 ± 0.82, 26 females) with one or more anxiety disorders and 55 age- and gender-matched healthy controls completed resting-state fMRI scans and a self-report survey on anxiety symptoms. Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses were performed using the FTs from DN parcellation. Brain connectivity metrics were then correlated with State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) measures within each group. Adolescents with an anxiety disorder showed significant hyperconnectivity between salience-motor DN FT and cerebral cortical salience-motor regions compared to controls. Salience-motor FT connectivity with cerebral cortical sensorimotor regions was significantly correlated with STAI-trait scores in HC (R2 = 0.41). Here, we report DN functional connectivity differences in adolescents diagnosed with anxiety, as well as in HC with variable degrees of anxiety traits. These observations highlight the relevance of DN as a potential clinical and sub-clinical marker of anxiety.

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Functional Brain Connectivity Patterns Associated with Visual Hallucinations in Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease Reports ◽

10.3233/adr-200288 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Stefania Pezzoli ◽

Matteo De Marco ◽

Giovanni Zorzi ◽

Annachiara Cagnin ◽

Annalena Venneri

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Dementia With Lewy Bodies ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Lewy Bodies ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Group Differences ◽

Visual Hallucinations ◽

Functional Brain ◽

Functional Brain Networks

Background: The presence of recurrent, complex visual hallucinations (VH) is among the core clinical features of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). It has been proposed that VH arise from a disrupted organization of functional brain networks. However, studies are still limited, especially investigating the resting-state functional brain features underpinning VH in patients with dementia. Objective: The aim of the present pilot study was to investigate whether there were any alterations in functional connectivity associated with VH in DLB. Methods: Seed-based analyses and independent component analysis (ICA) of resting-state fMRI scans were carried out to explore differences in functional connectivity between DLB patients with and without VH. Results: Seed-based analyses reported decreased connectivity of the lateral geniculate nucleus, the superior parietal lobule and the putamen with the medial frontal gyrus in DLB patients with VH. Visual areas showed a pattern of both decreased and increased functional connectivity. ICA revealed between-group differences in the default mode network (DMN). Conclusion: Functional connectivity analyses suggest dysfunctional top-down and bottom-up processes and DMN-related alterations in DLB patients with VH. These impairments might foster the generation of false visual images that are misinterpreted, ultimately resulting in VH.

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Reduction of Interhemispheric Functional Brain Connectivity in Early Blindness: A Resting-State fMRI Study

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2017/6756927 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Fen Hou ◽

Xia Liu ◽

Zhifeng Zhou ◽

Jingyi Zhou ◽

Hengguo Li

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Association Cortex ◽

Middle Temporal ◽

And Gender ◽

The Individual ◽

Early Blindness

Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the resting-state interhemispheric functional connectivity in early blindness by using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC). Materials and Methods. Sixteen early blind patients (EB group) and sixteen age- and gender-matched sighted control volunteers (SC group) were recruited in this study. We used VMHC to identify brain areas with significant differences in functional connectivity between different groups and used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to calculate the individual gray matter volume (GMV). Results. VMHC analysis showed a significantly lower connectivity in primary visual cortex, visual association cortex, and somatosensory association cortex in EB group compared to sighted controls. Additionally, VBM analysis revealed that GMV was reduced in the left lateral calcarine cortices in EB group compared to sighted controls, while it was increased in the left lateral middle occipital gyri. Statistical analysis showed the duration of blindness negatively correlated with VMHC in the bilateral middle frontal gyri, middle temporal gyri, and inferior temporal gyri. Conclusions. Our findings help elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms of EB. The interhemispheric functional connectivity was impaired in EB patients. Additionally, the middle frontal gyri, middle temporal gyri, and inferior temporal gyri may be potential target regions for rehabilitation.

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Lasting effects of a single psilocybin dose on resting-state functional connectivity in healthy individuals

10.1101/2021.01.28.428377 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Drummond E-Wen McCulloch ◽

Martin Korsbak Madsen ◽

Dea Siggard Stenbæk ◽

Sara Kristiansen ◽

Brice Ozenne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Well Being ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Personality Changes

ABSTRACTBackgroundPsilocybin is a psychedelic drug that has shown lasting positive effects on clinical symptoms and self-reported well-being following a single dose. There has been little research into the long-term effects of psilocybin on brain connectivity in humans.AimsEvaluate changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) at one-week and three-months after one psilocybin dose in 10 healthy psychedelic-naïve volunteers and explore associations between change in RSFC and related measures.MethodsParticipants received 0.2-0.3 mg/kg psilocybin in a controlled setting. Participants completed resting-state fMRI scans at baseline, one-week and three-months post-administration and [11C]Cimbi-36 PET scans at baseline and one-week. We examined changes in within-network, between-network and region-to-region RSFC. We explored associations between changes in RSFC and psilocybin-induced phenomenology as well as changes in psychological measures and neocortex serotonin 2A receptor binding.ResultsPsilocybin was well tolerated and produced positive changes in well-being. At one-week only, executive control network (ECN) RSFC was significantly decreased (Cohen’s d=-1.73, pFWE=0.010). We observed no other significant changes in RSFC at one-week or three-months, nor changes in region-to-region RSFC. Exploratory analyses indicated that decreased ECN RSFC at one-week predicted increased mindfulness at three-months (r =-0.65).ConclusionsThese findings in a small cohort indicate that psilocybin affects ECN function within the psychedelic “afterglow” period. Our findings implicate ECN modulation as mediating psilocybin-induced, long-lasting increases in mindfulness. Although our findings implicate a neural pathway mediating lasting psilocybin effects, it is notable that changes in neuroimaging measures at three-months, when personality changes are observed, remain to be identified.

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Unsupervised clustering of track-weighted dynamic functional connectivity reveals white matter substrates of functional connectivity dynamics

10.1101/2021.12.04.471233 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gianpaolo Antonio Basile ◽

Salvatore Bertino ◽

Victor Nozais ◽

Alessia Bramanti ◽

Rosella Ciurleo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Time Course ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Dynamic Changes ◽

Dynamic Functional Connectivity ◽

Dynamic Connectivity

AbstractThe contribution of structural connectivity to functional connectivity dynamics is still far from being fully elucidated. Herein, we applied track-weighted dynamic functional connectivity (tw-dFC), a model integrating structural, functional, and dynamic connectivity, on high quality diffusion weighted imaging and resting-state fMRI data from two independent repositories. The tw-dFC maps were analyzed using independent component analysis, aiming at identifying spatially independent white matter components which support dynamic changes in functional connectivity. Each component consisted of a spatial map of white matter bundles that show consistent fluctuations in functional connectivity at their endpoints, and a time course representative of such functional activity. These components show high intra-subject, inter-subject, and inter-cohort reproducibility. We provided also converging evidence that functional information about white matter activity derived by this method can capture biologically meaningful features of brain connectivity organization, as well as predict higher-order cognitive performance.

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Impact of Binge Drinking During College on Resting State Functional Connectivity

10.1101/2021.02.09.430381 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tien T. Tong ◽

Jatin G. Vaidya ◽

John R. Kramer ◽

Samuel Kuperman ◽

Douglas R. Langbehn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Binge Drinking ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Network Connectivity ◽

Resting State Fmri ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Functional Connection ◽

Level Analysis

AbstractAimThe current study aimed to examine the longitudinal effects of standard binge drinking (4+/5+ drinks for females/males in 2 hours) and extreme binge drinking (8+/10+ drinks for females/males in 2 hours) on resting state functional connectivity.Method119 college students with distinct alcohol bingeing patterns (35 non-bingeing controls, 44 standard bingers, and 40 extreme bingers) were recruited to ensure variability in bingeing frequency. Resting state fMRI scans were obtained at time 1 when participants were college freshmen and sophomores and again approximately two years later. On four occasions during the 2-year period between scans, participants reported monthly standard and extreme binge drinking for the past 6 months. Association between bingeing and change in functional connectivity was studied using both network-level and edge-level analysis. Network connectivity was calculated by aggregating multiple edges (a functional connection between any two brain regions) affiliated with the same network. The network-level analysis used mixed-effects models to assess the association between standard/extreme binge drinking and change in network connectivity, focusing on canonical networks often implicated in substance misuse. On the other hand, the edge-level analysis tested the relationship between bingeing and change in whole-brain connectivity edges using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM).ResultsFor network-level analysis, higher standard bingeing was associated with a decrease in connectivity between Default Mode Network-Ventral Attention Network (DMN-VAN) from time 1 to time 2, controlling for the initial binge groups at time 1, longitudinal network changes, in-scanner motion and other demographic covariates. For edge-level analysis, the CPM failed to identify a generalizable predictive model of cumulative standard/extreme bingeing from change in connectivity edges.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that binge drinking is associated with abnormality in networks implicated in attention allocation and self-focused processes, which, in turn, have been implicated in rumination, craving, and relapse. More extensive alterations in functional connectivity might be observed with heavier or longer binge drinking pattern.

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