scholarly journals Higher Limbic and Basal Ganglia volumes in surviving COVID-negative patients and the relations to fatigue.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakibul Hafiz ◽  
Tapan Kumar Gandhi ◽  
Sapna Mishra ◽  
Alok Prasad ◽  
Vidur Mahajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Replication Studies ◽  
Patient Reports ◽  
Acute Patient

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) has caused a global pandemic. Among several systemic abnormalities, little is known about the critical attack on the central nervous system (CNS). Several patient reports with multiple pathologies, ischemic strokes, mild infarcts, encephalitis, cerebrovascular abnormalities, cerebral inflammation, and loss of consciousness, indicate CNS involvement. However, due to limited neuroimaging studies, conclusive group level effects are scarce in the literature and replication studies are necessary to verify if these effects persist in surviving acute-COVID patients. Furthermore, recent reports indicate fatigue is highly prevalent among slowly recovering patients. How early structural changes relate to fatigue need to be investigated. Our goal was to address this by scanning COVID subjects two weeks after hospital discharge. We hypothesized these surviving patients will demonstrate altered gray matter volume (GMV) when compared to healthy controls and further demonstrate correlation of GMV with fatigue. Voxel-based morphometry was applied to T1-weighted MRI images between 46 patients with COVID and 32 healthy controls. Significantly higher GMV in the Limbic System and Basal Ganglia regions were observed in surviving COVID-19 patients when compared to healthy controls. Moreover, within the patient group, there was a significant positive correlation between GMV and self-reported fatigue scores during work, within the ventral Basal Ganglia and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex regions. Therefore, our results align with both single case acute patient reports and current group level neuroimaging findings. Finally, we newly report a positive correlation of GMV with fatigue in COVID survivors.

scholarly journals Structural MRI Study of the Planum Temporale in Individuals With an At-Risk Mental State Using Labeled Cortical Distance Mapping

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoichiro Takayanagi ◽  
Sue Kulason ◽  
Daiki Sasabayashi ◽  
Tsutomu Takahashi ◽  
Naoyuki Katagiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Planum Temporale ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Matter Volume ◽  
Distance Mapping ◽  
At Risk Mental State

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated brain structural changes that predate or accompany the onset of frank psychosis, such as schizophrenia, among individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS). The planum temporale (PT) is a brain region involved in language processing. In schizophrenia patients, gray matter volume reduction and lack of normal asymmetry (left > right) of PT have repeatedly been reported. Some studies showed progressive gray matter reduction of PT in first-episode schizophrenia patients, and in ARMS subjects during their development of psychosis.Methods: MRI scans (1.5 T field strength) were obtained from 73 ARMS subjects and 74 gender- and age-matched healthy controls at three sites (University of Toyama, Toho University and Tohoku University). Participants with ARMS were clinically monitored for at least 2 years to confirm whether they subsequently developed frank psychosis. Cortical thickness, gray matter volume, and surface area of PT were estimated using FreeSurfer-initiated labeled cortical distance mapping (FSLCDM). PT measures were compared among healthy controls, ARMS subjects who later developed overt psychosis (ARMS-P), and those who did not (ARMS-NP). In each statistical model, age, sex, intracranial volume, and scanning sites were treated as nuisance covariates.Results: Of 73 ARMS subjects, 18 developed overt psychosis (12 schizophrenia and 6 other psychoses) within the follow-up period. There were no significant group differences of PT measures. In addition, significant asymmetries of PT volume and surface area (left > right) were found in all diagnostic groups. PT measures did not correlate with the neurocognitive performance of ARMS subjects.Discussion: Our results suggest that the previously-reported gray matter reduction and lack of normal anatomical asymmetry of PT in schizophrenia patients may not emerge during the prodromal stage of psychosis; taken together with previous longitudinal findings, such PT structural changes may occur just before or during the onset of psychosis.

scholarly journals Gray-Matter Expansion of Social Brain Networks in Individuals High in Public Self-Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Tomoyo Morita ◽  
Minoru Asada ◽  
Eiichi Naito
Keyword(s):  
Gray Matter ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Japanese Version ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Public Self Consciousness

Self-consciousness is a personality trait associated with an individual’s concern regarding observable (public) and unobservable (private) aspects of self. Prompted by previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, we examined possible gray-matter expansions in emotion-related and default mode networks in individuals with higher public or private self-consciousness. One hundred healthy young adults answered the Japanese version of the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) questionnaire and underwent structural MRI. A voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed that individuals scoring higher on the public SCS showed expansions of gray matter in the emotion-related regions of the cingulate and insular cortices and in the default mode network of the precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, these gray-matter expansions were particularly related to the trait of “concern about being evaluated by others”, which was one of the subfactors constituting public self-consciousness. Conversely, no relationship was observed between gray-matter volume in any brain regions and the private SCS scores. This is the first study showing that the personal trait of concern regarding public aspects of the self may cause long-term substantial structural changes in social brain networks.

scholarly journals Groups and Individuals: Optical Flow Patterns of Broiler Chicken Flocks Are Correlated with the Behavior of Individual Birds

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 568
Author(s):  
Sabine G. Gebhardt-Henrich ◽  
Ariane Stratmann ◽  
Marian Stamp Dawkins
Keyword(s):  
Optical Flow ◽  
Broiler Chicken ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Water Test ◽  
Mean And Variance ◽  
The Mean

Group level measures of welfare flocks have been criticized on the grounds that they give only average measures and overlook the welfare of individual animals. However, we here show that the group-level optical flow patterns made by broiler flocks can be used to deliver information not just about the flock averages but also about the proportion of individuals in different movement categories. Mean optical flow provides information about the average movement of the whole flock while the variance, skew and kurtosis quantify the variation between individuals. We correlated flock optical flow patterns with the behavior and welfare of a sample of 16 birds per flock in two runway tests and a water (latency-to-lie) test. In the runway tests, there was a positive correlation between the average time taken to complete the runway and the skew and kurtosis of optical flow on day 28 of flock life (on average slow individuals came from flocks with a high skew and kurtosis). In the water test, there was a positive correlation between the average length of time the birds remained standing and the mean and variance of flock optical flow (on average, the most mobile individuals came from flocks with the highest mean). Patterns at the flock level thus contain valuable information about the activity of different proportions of the individuals within a flock.

Increased plasma kynurenine and its relationship to neopterin and tryptophan in Tourette's syndrome

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 857-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rickards ◽  
S. M. Dursun ◽  
G. Farrar ◽  
T. Betts ◽  
J. A. Corbett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Plasma Levels ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Control Value ◽  
Cellular Immune ◽  
Patient Value

SynopsisFasting plasma levels of tryptophan, kynurenine and the pteridines, neopterin and tetrahydrobiopterin were measured in seven patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) and 10 healthy controls. Plasma kynurenine was significantly elevated in the GTS patients. The lowest patient value was higher than the highest control value. Values for tryptophan, neopterin and tetrahydrobiopterin were similar in TS patients and controls. However, in TS patients only, there was a significant negative correlation between tryptophan and neopterin and a significant positive correlation between kynurenine and neopterin when controlling for tryptophan. This finding indicates that activation of cellular immune processes is a possible explanation for the rise in plasma kynurenine.

Numerical deficits in a single case of basal ganglia dysfunction

Neurocase ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 390-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Zamarian ◽  
T. Bodner ◽  
S. K. Revkin ◽  
T. Benke ◽  
S. Boesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Single Case

Association of Age at Onset With Gray Matter Volume and White Matter Microstructural Abnormalities in People With Multiple Sclerosis

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012869
Author(s):  
Raffaello Bonacchi ◽  
Alessandro Meani ◽  
Elisabetta Pagani ◽  
Olga Marchesi ◽  
Andrea Falini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Age At Onset ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Compensatory Mechanisms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Matter Volume

Objective:To investigate whether age at onset influences brain gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter (WM) microstructural abnormalities in adult multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, given its influence on clinical phenotype and disease course.Method:In this hypothesis-driven cross-sectional study, we enrolled 67 pediatric-onset MS (POMS) patients and 143 sex- and disease duration (DD)-matched randomly-selected adult-onset MS (AOMS) patients, together with 208 healthy controls. All subjects underwent neurological evaluation and 3T MRI acquisition. MRI variables were standardized based on healthy controls, to remove effects of age and sex. Associations with DD in POMS and AOMS patients were studied with linear models. Time to reach clinical and MRI milestones was assessed with product-limit approach.Results:At DD=1 year, GMV and WM fractional anisotropy (FA) were abnormal in AOMS but not in POMS patients. Significant interaction of age at onset (POMS vs AOMS) into the association with DD was found for GMV and WM FA. The crossing point of regression lines in POMS and AOMS patients was at 20 years of DD for GMV and 14 for WM FA. For POMS and AOMS patients, median DD was 29 and 19 years to reach Expanded Disability Status Scale=3 (p<0.001), 31 and 26 years to reach abnormal Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task-3 (p=0.01), 24 and 18 years to reach abnormal GMV (p=0.04), and 19 and 17 years to reach abnormal WM FA (p=0.36).Conclusions:Younger patients are initially resilient to MS-related damage. Then, compensatory mechanisms start failing with loss of WM integrity, followed by GM atrophy and finally disability.

scholarly journals Moderating Effect of Insulin Resistance on the Relationship between Gray Matter Volumes and Cognitive Function

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyeon Lee ◽  
Jihyeon Kim ◽  
Seong Shin ◽  
Soowon Park ◽  
Dong Yoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Volume Loss ◽  
Matter Volume

Background: It is controversial whether exposure to insulin resistance accelerates cognitive deterioration. The present study aimed to investigate the association between insulin resistance and gray matter volume loss to predict the cognitive decline. Methods: We recruited 160 participants (78 with Alzheimer’s disease and 82 without Alzheimer’s disease). Insulin resistance, regional gray matter volume, and cognitive function were assessed. A hierarchical moderated multiple regression (MMR) model was used to determine any associations among insulin resistance, structural changes in the brain, and cognitive decline. Results: The volumes of 7 regions in the gray matter were negatively related to insulin resistance in Alzheimer’s disease (p =0.032). Hierarchical MMR analysis indicated that insulin resistance did not directly affect the cognitive decline but moderated the cognitive decline through the decrease in gray matter volume in the key brain regions, i.e., inferior orbitofrontal gyrus (left), middle cingulate gyrus (right), hippocampus (right), and precuneus (right) (p < 0.05 in each case). Conclusion: Insulin resistance appears to exacerbate the cognitive decline associated with several gray matter volume loss.

scholarly journals Altered Prefrontal–Basal Ganglia Effective Connectivity in Patients With Poststroke Cognitive Impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Zixiao Li ◽  
Xingxing Cao ◽  
Lijun Zuo ◽  
Wei Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neuronal Model ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Healthy Controls

We investigated the association between poststroke cognitive impairment and a specific effective network connectivity in the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit. The resting-state effective connectivity of this circuit was modeled by employing spectral dynamic causal modeling in 11 poststroke patients with cognitive impairment (PSCI), 8 poststroke patients without cognitive impairment (non-PSCI) at baseline and 3-month follow-up, and 28 healthy controls. Our results showed that different neuronal models of effective connectivity in the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit were observed among healthy controls, non-PSCI, and PSCI patients. Additional connected paths (extra paths) appeared in the neuronal models of stroke patients compared with healthy controls. Moreover, changes were detected in the extra paths of non-PSCI between baseline and 3-month follow-up poststroke, indicating reorganization in the ipsilesional hemisphere and suggesting potential compensatory changes in the contralesional hemisphere. Furthermore, the connectivity strengths of the extra paths from the contralesional ventral anterior nucleus of thalamus to caudate correlated significantly with cognitive scores in non-PSCI and PSCI patients. These suggest that the neuronal model of effective connectivity of the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit may be sensitive to stroke-induced cognitive decline, and it could be a biomarker for poststroke cognitive impairment 3 months poststroke. Importantly, contralesional brain regions may play an important role in functional compensation of cognitive decline.

A-67 Measuring Regional Cerebral Blood Flow with Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1109
Author(s):  
Sophia G Perez ◽  
Bailey McDonald ◽  
Samantha Spagna ◽  
Charles J Golden ◽  
Kristen Willeumier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Limbic System ◽  
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Regional Cerebral Blood ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
The Right

Abstract Objective To identify regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) differences between individuals with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and healthy controls. Mehtods: Healthy controls (n = 81, Mage = 41.9, 53.0% female, 42.0% Caucasian) and persons diagnosed by psychiatric examination with OCD (n = 1020, Mage = 34.8, 33.6% female, 66.3% Caucasian) were selected from a deidentified adult clinical outpatient database. Those with comorbid diagnoses were included. Significant differences (alpha = 0.001) were found for age [t(1099) = −4.4], gender [χ2(2) = 25.7], and race [χ2(12) = 30.1] between groups and therefore were controlled for. Significant rCBF differences were noted in the cerebellum [left:F(1,1096) = 21.6; right:F(1,1096) = 18.3], limbic system [left:F(1,1096) = 12.2; right:F(1,1096) = 10.4], and basal ganglia [left:F(1,1096) = 18.6; right:F(1,1096) = 18.3]. Results Group means comparisons indicated higher perfusion in the cerebellum for the OCD group. Lower perfusion was found in the limbic system and basal ganglia in the OCD group. This study found higher perfusion in the cerebellum among the OCD group. Previous research found increased rCBF in the left cerebellum in OCD before pharmacotherapy. In the right cerebellum, increased rCBF was found among participants with early-onset OCD. Conclusion Overall, there is limited research on the cerebellum because of its use as a reference point. No research was found regarding the limbic system in OCD using SPECT; however, other neuroimaging found increased amygdala reactivity to emotional face stimuli. This study found lower perfusion in the basal ganglia among the OCD group. Previous research found hypoperfusion in the right; however, hypoperfusion in the left was not significant. Updated OCD and rCBF research with SPECT are needed. Limitations included the inclusion of comorbidities and use of DSM-IV-TR rather than DSM-5 diagnosis criteria.

A-85 Differences in Cerebral Blood Perfusion with Individuals Diagnosed with Cluster B Personality Disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1132-1132
Author(s):  
D'anna Sydow ◽  
Daniel Amen ◽  
Kristen Willeumier ◽  
Brittny Arias ◽  
Charles J Golden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Limbic System ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Blood Perfusion ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
Cluster B Personality Disorders ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Objective To identify regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) differences between individuals with DSM-IV diagnosis of Cluster B Personality Disorders (PDB) and healthy controls. Method Healthy controls (n = 81, Mage = 41.9, 53.0% female, 42.0% Caucasian) and persons diagnosed by psychiatric examination with PDB (n=, Mage = 34.12, 71.5% female, 69.8% Caucasian) were selected from a deidentified adult clinical outpatient database. Those with comorbid diagnoses were included. Significant differences (alpha = 0.005) were found for age [t(195) = −3.62], gender [χ2(2) = 7.1], and race [χ2(12) = 23.82] between groups. Mean age [t(523) = 2.09, p = 0.037) and gender [t(532) = −2.653, p = 0.008] different significantly between groups. No significant mean difference was found for education [t(523) = 0.832, p = 0.406]. Results Significant rCBF differences were noted in the cerebellum [left:F(1,192) = 10.5; right:F(1,192) = 4.6], limbic system [left:F(1,192) = 7.8; right:F(1,192) = 5.0], and basal ganglia [left:F(1,192) = 12.3; right:F(1,192) = 6.7]. Group means comparisons indicated higher perfusion in the cerebellum for the PDB group. Lower perfusion was found in the limbic system and basal ganglia in the PDB group. Conclusion Results observed in this study are concurrent with previous literature. PDB demonstrates higher activity in the cerebellum which contains inhibitory neurotransmitters, like Purkinje cells. The increased blood flow to cerebellar circuits may be related to the explicit self-recognition of negative emotion reported in PDB. Hypoperfusion found in the limbic system could be linked to impaired emotional responses. Apathy experienced in PDB may be accounted for by the low perfusion in the highly dopaminergic pathway in the basal ganglia. Further research should assess how different comorbidities with PDB affect perfusion.

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