Patterns of brain activation in foster children and nonmaltreated children during an inhibitory control task

AbstractChildren in foster care have often encountered a range of adverse experiences, including neglectful and/or abusive care and multiple caregiver transitions. Prior research findings suggest that such experiences negatively affect inhibitory control and the underlying neural circuitry. In the current study, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed during a go/no go task that assesses inhibitory control to compare the behavioral performance and brain activation of foster children and nonmaltreated children. The sample included two groups of 9- to 12-year-old children: 11 maltreated foster children and 11 nonmaltreated children living with their biological parents. There were no significant group differences on behavioral performance on the task. In contrast, patterns of brain activation differed by group. The nonmaltreated children demonstrated stronger activation than did the foster children across several regions, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, the middle frontal gyrus, and the right lingual gyrus, during correct no go trials, whereas the foster children displayed stronger activation than the nonmaltreated children in the left inferior parietal lobule and the right superior occipital cortex, including the lingual gyrus and cuneus, during incorrect no go trials. These results provide preliminary evidence that the early adversity experienced by foster children impacts the neural substrates of inhibitory control.

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Distinguishable Brain Activation Networks for Short- and Long-Term Motor Skill Learning

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00717.2004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 94 (1) ◽

pp. 512-518 ◽

Cited By ~ 222

Author(s):

A. Floyer-Lea ◽

P. M. Matthews

Keyword(s):

Motor Skill ◽

Isometric Force ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Motor Skill Learning ◽

Short Term ◽

Learning Stage ◽

The Right

The acquisition of a new motor skill is characterized first by a short-term, fast learning stage in which performance improves rapidly, and subsequently by a long-term, slower learning stage in which additional performance gains are incremental. Previous functional imaging studies have suggested that distinct brain networks mediate these two stages of learning, but direct comparisons using the same task have not been performed. Here we used a task in which subjects learn to track a continuous 8-s sequence demanding variable isometric force development between the fingers and thumb of the dominant, right hand. Learning-associated changes in brain activation were characterized using functional MRI (fMRI) during short-term learning of a novel sequence, during short-term learning after prior, brief exposure to the sequence, and over long-term (3 wk) training in the task. Short-term learning was associated with decreases in activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, posterior parietal, primary motor, and cerebellar cortex, and with increased activation in the right cerebellar dentate nucleus, the left putamen, and left thalamus. Prefrontal, parietal, and cerebellar cortical changes were not apparent with short-term learning after prior exposure to the sequence. With long-term learning, increases in activity were found in the left primary somatosensory and motor cortex and in the right putamen. Our observations extend previous work suggesting that distinguishable networks are recruited during the different phases of motor learning. While short-term motor skill learning seems associated primarily with activation in a cortical network specific for the learned movements, long-term learning involves increased activation of a bihemispheric cortical-subcortical network in a pattern suggesting “plastic” development of new representations for both motor output and somatosensory afferent information.

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Longitudinal changes in brain activation during anticipation of monetary loss in bipolar disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718003847 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (16) ◽

pp. 2781-2788 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna Manelis ◽

Richelle Stiffler ◽

Jeanette C. Lockovich ◽

Jorge R. C. Almeida ◽

Haris A. Aslam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Mood State ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Emotional Arousal ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Cortical Activation ◽

Future Research ◽

Longitudinal Changes ◽

The Right ◽

Cue Processing

AbstractBackgroundIndividuals with bipolar disorder (BD) show aberrant brain activation patterns during reward and loss anticipation. We examined for the first time longitudinal changes in brain activation during win and loss anticipation to identify trait markers of aberrant anticipatory processing in BD.MethodsThirty-four euthymic and depressed individuals with BD-I and 17 healthy controls (HC) were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging twice 6 months apart during a reward task.ResultsHC, but not individuals with BD, showed longitudinal reductions in the right lateral occipital cortex (RLOC) activation during processing of cues predicting possible money loss (p-corrected <0.05). This result was not affected by psychotropic medication, mood state or the changes in depression/mania severity between the two scans in BD. Elevated symptoms of subthreshold hypo/mania at baseline predicted more aberrant longitudinal patterns of RLOC activation explaining 12.5% of variance in individuals with BD.ConclusionsIncreased activation in occipital cortex during negative outcome anticipation may be related to elevated negative emotional arousal during anticipatory cue processing. One interpretation is that, unlike HC, individuals with BD were not able to learn at baseline that monetary losses were smaller than monetary gains and were not able to reduce emotional arousal for negative cues 6 months later. Future research in BD should examine how modulating occipital cortical activation affects learning from experience in individuals with BD.

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Brain Activation During Response Interference in Twins Discordant or Concordant for Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1017/thg.2012.2 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 372-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Anouk den Braber ◽

Dennis van ‘t Ent ◽

Danielle C. Cath ◽

Dick J. Veltman ◽

Dorret I. Boomsma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Monozygotic Twin ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms ◽

Response Interference ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal

One of the core behavioral features associated with obsessive compulsive symptomatology is the inability to inhibit thoughts and/or behaviors. Neuroimaging studies have indicated abnormalities in frontostriatal and dorsolateral prefrontal – anterior cingulate circuits during inhibitory control in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder compared with controls. In the present study, task performance and brain activation during Stroop color-word and Flanker interference were compared within monozygotic twin pairs discordant for obsessive compulsive symptoms and between groups of pairs scoring very low or very high on obsessive compulsive symptoms, in order to examine the differential impact of non-shared environmental versus genetic risk factors for obsessive compulsive symptomatology on inhibitory control related functional brain activation. Although performance was intact, brain activation during inhibition of distracting information differed between obsessive compulsive symptom high-scoring compared to low-scoring subjects. Regions affected in the discordant group (e.g., temporal and anterior cingulate gyrus) were partly different from those observed to be affected in the concordant groups (e.g., parietal gyrus and thalamus). A robust increase in dorsolateral prefrontal activity during response interference was observed in both the high-scoring twins of the discordant sample and the high-scoring twins of the concordant sample, marking this structure as a possible key region for disturbances in inhibitory control in obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Differential patterns of brain activation between hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder during executive performance

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291719000515 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 666-673

Author(s):

Maria Suñol ◽

Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín ◽

Maria Picó-Pérez ◽

Clara López-Solà ◽

Eva Real ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Error Processing ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Hoarding Disorder ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Executive Performance ◽

Response Switching ◽

The Right

AbstractBackgroundPreliminary evidence suggests that hoarding disorder (HD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may show distinct patterns of brain activation during executive performance, although results have been inconclusive regarding the specific neural correlates of their differential executive dysfunction. In the current study, we aim to evaluate differences in brain activation between patients with HD, OCD and healthy controls (HCs) during response inhibition, response switching and error processing.MethodsWe assessed 17 patients with HD, 18 patients with OCD and 19 HCs. Executive processing was assessed inside a magnetic resonance scanner by means of two variants of a cognitive control protocol (i.e. stop- and switch-signal tasks), which allowed for the assessment of the aforementioned executive domains.ResultsOCD patients performed similar to the HCs, differing only in the number of successful go trials in the switch-signal task. However, they showed an anomalous hyperactivation of the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex during error processing in the switch-signal task. Conversely, HD patients performed worse than OCD and HC participants in both tasks, showing an impulsive-like pattern of response (i.e. shorter reaction time and more commission errors). They also exhibited hyperactivation of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex during successful response switching and abnormal deactivation of frontal regions during error processing in both tasks.ConclusionsOur results support that patients with HD and OCD present dissimilar cognitive profiles, supported by distinct neural mechanisms. Specifically, while alterations in HD resemble an impulsive pattern of response, patients with OCD present increased error processing during response conflict protocols.

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Functional MRI correlates of the recall of unresolved life events in borderline personality disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291706007227 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 845-856 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

THOMAS BEBLO ◽

MARTIN DRIESSEN ◽

MARKUS MERTENS ◽

KATJA WINGENFELD ◽

MARTINA PIEFKE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Life Events ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Emotional States ◽

The Right

Background. Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently report unresolved life events but it is still poorly understood, how these experiences are represented in the brain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the present study aimed at investigating the neural correlates of the recall of unresolved life events in patients with BPD and healthy controls.Method. Twenty female BPD patients and 21 healthy control subjects underwent fMRI. During measurement subjects recalled unresolved and resolved negative life events. Individual cue words were used to stimulate autobiographical memory. After scanning, subjects rated their emotional states during the recall of both types of memories.Results. When contrasting unresolved and resolved life events, patients showed significant bilateral activation of frontotemporal areas including the insula, amygdala, and the anterior cingulate cortex, the left posterior cingulate cortex, right occipital cortex, the bilateral cerebellum and the midbrain. In healthy subjects, no differential brain activation was related to these conditions. The 2×2 factorial analysis (ΔBPD−Δcontrols) revealed similar results with bilateral activation of the frontal cortex including parts of the insula and of the orbitofrontal cortex, temporal activation including the amygdala, activation of the right occipital cortex, and parts of the cerebellum. Patients but not controls reported higher levels of anxiety and helplessness during the unresolved versus resolved memory condition.Conclusions. The activation of both, the amygdala and prefrontal areas, might reflect an increased effortful but insufficient attempt to control intensive emotions during the recall of unresolved life events in patients with BPD.

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Brain networks processing temporal information in dynamic facial expressions

10.1101/819276 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rafal M. Skiba ◽

Patrik Vuilleumier

Keyword(s):

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Spatial Processing ◽

Emotional Expressions ◽

Global Motion ◽

Facial Movements ◽

The Right

AbstractPerception of emotional expressions in faces relies on the integration of distinct facial features. We used fMRI to examine the role of local and global motion information in facial movements during exposure to novel dynamic face stimuli. We found that synchronous expressions distinctively engaged medial prefrontal areas in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), supplementary premotor areas, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus (global temporal-spatial processing). Asynchronous expressions in which one part of the face (e.g., eyes) unfolded before the other (e.g., mouth) activated more the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and inferior frontal gyrus (local temporal-spatial processing). DCM analysis further showed that processing of asynchronous expression features was associated with a differential information flow, centered on STS, which received direct input from occipital cortex and projected to the amygdala. Moreover, STS and amygdala displayed selective interactions with vACC where the integration of both local and global motion cues (present in synchronous expressions) could take place. These results provide new evidence for a role of both local and global temporal dynamics in emotional expressions, extracted in partly separate brain pathways. Importantly, we show that dynamic expressions with synchronous movement cues may distinctively engage brain areas responsible for motor execution of expressions.

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Common and distinct patterns of intrinsic brain activity alterations in major depression and bipolar disorder: voxel-based meta-analysis

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-020-01036-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jiaying Gong ◽

Junjing Wang ◽

Shaojuan Qiu ◽

Pan Chen ◽

Zhenye Luo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Major Depression ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

The Right ◽

Intrinsic Brain Activity

Abstract Identification of intrinsic brain activity differences and similarities between major depression (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) is necessary. However, results have not yet yielded consistent conclusions. A meta-analysis of whole-brain resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) studies that explored differences in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) between patients (including MDD and BD) and healthy controls (HCs) was conducted using seed-based d mapping software. Systematic literature search identified 50 studies comparing 1399 MDD patients and 1332 HCs, and 15 studies comparing 494 BD patients and 593 HCs. MDD patients displayed increased ALFF in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) (including the medial orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex [mPFC], anterior cingulate cortex [ACC]), bilateral insula extending into the striatum and left supramarginal gyrus and decreased ALFF in the bilateral cerebellum, bilateral precuneus, and left occipital cortex compared with HCs. BD showed increased ALFF in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral insula extending into the striatum, right SFG, and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and decreased ALFF in the bilateral precuneus, left cerebellum (extending to the occipital cortex), left ACC, and left STG. In addition, MDD displayed increased ALFF in the left lingual gyrus, left ACC, bilateral precuneus/posterior cingulate gyrus, and left STG and decreased ALFF in the right insula, right mPFC, right fusiform gyrus, and bilateral striatum relative to BD patients. Conjunction analysis showed increased ALFF in the bilateral insula, mPFC, and decreased ALFF in the left cerebellum in both disorders. Our comprehensive meta-analysis suggests that MDD and BD show a common pattern of aberrant regional intrinsic brain activity which predominantly includes the insula, mPFC, and cerebellum, while the limbic system and occipital cortex may be associated with spatially distinct patterns of brain function, which provide useful insights for understanding the underlying pathophysiology of brain dysfunction in affective disorders, and developing more targeted and efficacious treatment and intervention strategies.

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Between-sex variability of resting state functional brain networks in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Journal of Neural Transmission ◽

10.1007/s00702-021-02413-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Trojsi ◽

Federica Di Nardo ◽

Giuseppina Caiazzo ◽

Mattia Siciliano ◽

Giulia D’Alvano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Resting State ◽

Large Scale ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Structural Heterogeneity ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Sensorimotor Network ◽

The Right ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

AbstractThe organization of brain functional connectivity (FC) has been shown to differ between sexes. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by sexual dimorphism, showing sex-specific trends in site of onset, phenotypes, and prognosis. Here, we explored resting state (RS) FC differences within major large-scale functional networks between women and men in a sample of ALS patients, in comparison to healthy controls (HCs). A group-level independent component analysis (ICA) was performed on RS-fMRI time-series enabling spatial and spectral analyses of large-scale RS FC networks in 45 patients with ALS (20 F; 25 M) and 31 HCs (15 F; 16 M) with a focus on sex-related differences. A whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was also performed to highlight atrophy differences. Between-sex comparisons showed: decreased FC in the right middle frontal gyrus and in the precuneus within the default mode network (DMN), in affected men compared to affected women; decreased FC in the right post-central gyrus (sensorimotor network), in the right inferior parietal gyrus (right fronto-parietal network) and increased FC in the anterior cingulate cortex and right insula (salience network), in both affected and non-affected men compared to women. When comparing affected men to affected women, VBM analysis revealed atrophy in men in the right lateral occipital cortex. Our results suggest that in ALS sex-related trends of brain functional and structural changes are more heavily represented in DMN and in the occipital cortex, suggesting that sex is an additional dimension of functional and structural heterogeneity in ALS.

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Functional MRI in twins discordant for schizophrenia during a working memory task: Preliminary results from the eutwinss study

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)72643-8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 938-938

Author(s):

K. Langbein ◽

M. Dietzek ◽

G. Mingoia ◽

R. Maitra ◽

M. Weisbrod ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Mri ◽

Collaborative Study ◽

Genetic Load ◽

Memory Task ◽

Genetic Effect ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Mri Scans ◽

The Right

IntroductionWorking memory deficits are considered a core feature of disturbed cognition in schizophrenia. Recent neuropsychological studies in twins suggest that there are shared genetic factors between schizophrenia and executive processes.AimWe used a co-twin control design to test the hypothesis that prefrontal activation during a working memory task is seen both in affected as well as unaffected twins discordant for schizophrenia, thus reflecting genetic load on this putative endophenotype.MethodsAs part of EUTwinsS, a multi-centre collaborative study on twins with schizophrenia, we obtained functional MRI scans during a Sternberg working memory task (with one maintenance and one manipulation variations) of twins discordant for schizophrenia (5 monozygotic pairs, 7 dizygotic pairs) and compared them to 10/4 healthy MZ/DZ twins, matched for age and gender.ResultsComparing the overall task-related effects (p < 0.001, uncorrected), we found stronger activation in control twins compared to either Sz-affected or unaffected twins in the right middle frontal gyrus and medial fronto-orbital cortex, and compared to Sz-affected twins also in the left cerebellum and right inferior occipital cortex. Comparing the manipulation vs. maintenance trials, healthy controls showed stronger activation than Sz-affected twins in the left hippocampus, but smaller in right caudate and anterior cingulate, while unaffected co-twins showed diminished right middle and left superior and middle frontal gyri compared to either group.ConclusionsWhile diminished prefrontal activation in unaffected co-twins might indicate compensatory processes during executive control, the overall activation deficits are consistent with a genetic effect on prefrontal cortical efficiency.

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Cerebral perfusion is associated with blast exposure in military personnel without moderate or severe TBI

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism ◽

10.1177/0271678x20935190 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0271678X2093519 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Danielle R Sullivan ◽

Mark W Miller ◽

Erika J Wolf ◽

Mark W Logue ◽

Meghan E Robinson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Military Personnel ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Blast Exposure ◽

Brain Structure And Function ◽

The Right ◽

And Function

Due to the use of improvised explosive devices, blast exposure and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) have become hallmark injuries of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Although the mechanisms of the effects of blast on human neurobiology remain active areas of investigation, research suggests that the cerebrovasculature may be particularly vulnerable to blast via molecular processes that impact cerebral blood flow. Given that recent work suggests that blast exposure, even without a subsequent TBI, may have negative consequences on brain structure and function, the current study sought to further understand the effects of blast exposure on perfusion. One hundred and eighty military personnel underwent pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) imaging and completed diagnostic and clinical interviews. Whole-brain analyses revealed that with an increasing number of total blast exposures, there was significantly increased perfusion in the right middle/superior frontal gyri, supramarginal gyrus, lateral occipital cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex as well as bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, insulae, middle/superior temporal gyri and occipital poles. Examination of other neurotrauma and clinical variables such as close-range blast exposures, mTBI, and PTSD yielded no significant effects. These results raise the possibility that perfusion may be an important neural marker of brain health in blast exposure.

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