scholarly journals Quantitative Changes in Cerebral Perfusion during Urinary Urgency in Women with Overactive Bladder

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha G. Arya ◽  
Steven J. Weissbart ◽  
Sihua Xu ◽  
Rupal Bhavsar ◽  
Hengyi Rao
Keyword(s):  
Overactive Bladder ◽  
Cerebral Perfusion ◽  
Regions Of Interest ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Urinary Urgency ◽  
High Urgency ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

Purpose. To quantitatively measure changes in cerebral perfusion in select regions of interest in the brain during urinary urgency in women with overactive bladder (OAB) using arterial spin labeling (ASL). Methods. Twelve women with OAB and 10 controls underwent bladder filling and rated urinary urgency (scale 0–10). ASL fMRI scans were performed (1) in the low urgency state after voiding and (2) high urgency state after drinking oral fluids. Absolute regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in select regions of interest was compared between the low and high urgency states. Results. There were no significant differences in rCBF between the low and high urgency states in the control group. In the OAB group, rCBF (mean ± SE, ml/100 g/min) increased by 10–14% from the low to the high urgency state in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (44.56±0.59 versus 49.52±1.49, p<0.05), left ACC (49.29±0.85 versus 54.02±1.46, p<0.05), and left insula (50.46±1.72 versus 54.99±1.09, p<0.05). Whole-brain analysis identified additional areas of activation in the right insula, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and pons/midbrain area. Conclusions. Urinary urgency is associated with quantitative increase in cerebral perfusion in regions of the brain associated with processing emotional response to discomfort.

The evaluation of central pain mechanisms in patients with microvascular angina

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Leonova ◽  
N Burova ◽  
S Boldueva ◽  
M Demidova ◽  
A Khomulo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Pain Mechanisms ◽  
Microvascular Angina ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. In patients with microvascular angina (MVA) besides of chest pain, a high neuronal activity of certain parts of the head (right anterior insula cortex) was revealed, which is not observed in the control in patients with coronary heart disease with coronary atherosclerosis. There is an opinion that the abnormal sensation of pain is caused not by myocardial ischemia, but by a violation of neuronal regulation. Functional MRI (fMRI) is currently a widely used method of functional mapping of the brain. The principle of the method is to register a BOLD signal (blood oxygen level-depended) from voxels (volumetric points) when examining the brain in response to the fulfillment of a task (paradigm). In response to the activation of a particular region of the brain, hemodynamic parameters change in it, which leads to a decrease in the level of deoxyhemoglobin and an increase in the level of oxyhemoglobin. With neuroimaging, this phenomenon is characterized by an increase in signal intensity in a series of T2 * images, the quantitative assessment of which allows indirectly determining the degree of neuronal activation. The study included 11 patients with MVA (3 men, 8 women). The average age of the patients was 61.45 ± 7.80 years. MVA was proved classic criteria and microvascular disorders (perfusion abnormalities) by cardiac PET. Neuroimaging examination included positron emission tomography scanning using 18-fluoro deoxyglucose (18F-FDG PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning using the GO / NOGO two-stimulus experimental paradigm. Throughout the study, fMRI and PET data were obtained for 11 patients with MVA and 20 healthy volunteers (control group). Results In patients with MVA, a decrease in neuronal activity was detected during the execution of actions ("GO" tests) compared with the norm in some brain structures: bilateral anterior and middle cingulate gyrus, additional motor region, postcentral gyrus, left in the islet cortex, on the right in the supramarginal gyrus. When ignoring the second stimulus ("P-P ignore."). A decrease compared with the norm was found bilaterally in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, the wedge, on the right in the cortex of the rolandic operculum and supramarginal gyrus. The detected clusters of decreased neuronal activity when performing actions and ignoring the second stimulus intersect bilaterally in the middle and anterior cingulate cortex, in the left paracentral lobe, and the right supramarginal gyrus. When suppressing actions ("NOGO samples"), no significant differences were found. According to PET, no significant changes in the level of glucose metabolism in patients with MVA compared with the control group were found. Conclusion In patients with MVA, a decrease in neuronal activity was found when performing actions compared to the norm in some brain structures.

scholarly journals Atomoxetine Enhances Connectivity of Prefrontal Networks in Parkinson’s Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 2171-2177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin J Borchert ◽  
Timothy Rittman ◽  
Luca Passamonti ◽  
Zheng Ye ◽  
Saber Sami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Cognitive impairment is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but often not improved by dopaminergic treatment. New treatment strategies targeting other neurotransmitter deficits are therefore of growing interest. Imaging the brain at rest (‘task-free’) provides the opportunity to examine the impact of a candidate drug on many of the brain networks that underpin cognition, while minimizing task-related performance confounds. We test this approach using atomoxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor that modulates the prefrontal cortical activity and can facilitate some executive functions and response inhibition. Thirty-three patients with idiopathic PD underwent task-free fMRI. Patients were scanned twice in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, following either placebo or 40-mg oral atomoxetine. Seventy-six controls were scanned once without medication to provide normative data. Seed-based correlation analyses were used to measure changes in functional connectivity, with the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) a critical region for executive function. Patients on placebo had reduced connectivity relative to controls from right IFG to dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and to left IFG and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Atomoxetine increased connectivity from the right IFG to the dorsal anterior cingulate. In addition, the atomoxetine-induced change in connectivity from right IFG to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was proportional to the change in verbal fluency, a simple index of executive function. The results support the hypothesis that atomoxetine may restore prefrontal networks related to executive functions. We suggest that task-free imaging can support translational pharmacological studies of new drug therapies and provide evidence for engagement of the relevant neurocognitive systems.

scholarly journals Altered Long- and Short-Range Functional Connectivity in Patients with Betel Quid Dependence: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1626-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Liu ◽  
Jianjun Li ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
Guangming Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Short Range ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Betel Quid ◽  
Posterior Lobe ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Mri Study

Objective: Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease. Brain structural abnormalities may constitute an abnormal neural network that underlies the risk of drug dependence. We hypothesized that individuals with Betel Quid Dependence (BQD) have functional connectivity alterations that can be described by long- and short-range functional connectivity density(FCD) maps. Methods: We tested this hypothesis using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from subjects of the Han ethnic group in Hainan, China. Here, we examined BQD individuals (n = 33) and age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) (n = 32) in a rs-fMRI study to observe FCD alterations associated with the severity of BQD. Results: Compared with HCs, long-range FCD was decreased in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and increased in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL) and bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the BQD group. Short-range FCD was reduced in the right ACC and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and increased in the left CPL. The short-range FCD alteration in the right ACC displayed a negative correlation with the Betel Quid Dependence Scale (BQDS) (r=-0.432, P=0.012), and the long-range FCD alteration of left IPL showed a positive correlation with the duration of BQD(r=0.519, P=0.002) in BQD individuals. Conclusions: fMRI revealed differences in long- and short- range FCD in BQD individuals, and these alterations might be due to BQ chewing, BQ dependency, or risk factors for developing BQD.

scholarly journals Reducing future fears by suppressing the brain mechanisms underlying episodic simulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (52) ◽  
pp. E8492-E8501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland G. Benoit ◽  
Daniel J. Davies ◽  
Michael C. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Episodic Simulation ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Future Events ◽  
The Right ◽  
Development Of Anxiety ◽  
The Brain

Imagining future events conveys adaptive benefits, yet recurrent simulations of feared situations may help to maintain anxiety. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that people can attenuate future fears by suppressing anticipatory simulations of dreaded events. Participants repeatedly imagined upsetting episodes that they feared might happen to them and suppressed imaginings of other such events. Suppressing imagination engaged the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which modulated activation in the hippocampus and in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Consistent with the role of the vmPFC in providing access to details that are typical for an event, stronger inhibition of this region was associated with greater forgetting of such details. Suppression further hindered participants’ ability to later freely envision suppressed episodes. Critically, it also reduced feelings of apprehensiveness about the feared scenario, and individuals who were particularly successful at down-regulating fears were also less trait-anxious. Attenuating apprehensiveness by suppressing simulations of feared events may thus be an effective coping strategy, suggesting that a deficiency in this mechanism could contribute to the development of anxiety.

Abnormal resting-state brain activity and connectivity of brain-bladder control network in overactive bladder syndrome

2021 ◽  
pp. 028418512110572
Author(s):  
Wang Biao ◽  
Zuo Long ◽  
Zhou Yang ◽  
Gu Hua ◽  
Wang Shuangkun
Keyword(s):  
Overactive Bladder ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Bladder Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Left Insula

Background Neuroimaging studies have shown that the brain is involved in the mechanism of overactive bladder disease (OAB). Purpose To explorer spatial patterns of spontaneous neural activities and functional integration in patients with OAB. Material and Methods In total, 28 patients with OAB and 28 matched healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and completed questionnaires to assess clinical symptoms. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and ROI-based functional connectivity (FC) within the brain-bladder control network (BBCN) were calculated and compared between the two groups using a two-sample t-test. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between ALFF and the clinical score of patients with OAB. Results Compared with HCs, patients with OAB exhibited significantly decreased ALFF in the left superior medial middle gyrus (SFGmed) and superior dorsal frontal gyrus (SFGdor), and increased ALFF in the right hippocampus. Furthermore, ALFF values in the left SFGmed were negatively correlated with OABSS scores. FC in patients with OAB was significantly increased between the bilateral caudate nucleus (CAU) and bilateral SFGdor, the bilateral CAU and bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), the bilateral thalamus and SMA; the left CAU and bilateral SFGmed, the left CAU and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus, and the left CAU and left insula. Additionally, decreased FC was found between the bilateral amygdala and bilateral SFGmed and the left SMA and left insula. Conclusion These abnormal activities and connectivities of BBCN may indicate impaired cortical control of micturition in OAB, suggesting a possible neural mechanism of OAB.

Creativity of the Dream and Sleep State

2019 ◽  
pp. 124-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Stickgold
Keyword(s):  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Sleep State ◽  
Creative Processes ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Full Speed ◽  
Stored Information ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Brain

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a stage of sleep that evolved in part to provide a privileged time in each day when the brain is disconnected from sensory input and freed of intentional, directed thought. The neurochemistry and neurophysiology of the brain during REM sleep is optimized for the exploration of normally ignored connections and associations within the brain’s vast repertoire of stored information. This includes changes in the activity of dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and medial orbital frontal cortices and the hippocampus, and reductions in norepinephrine and increases in acetylcholine in the cortex. This exploration of normally weak associations is critical to the creative process, and REM sleep can thus be considered a period of unbridled creativity. Much of this creative process is reflected in the content of dreams. Even without waking dream recall, changes within associative networks produced by the brain mechanisms of dream construction can leave these brain networks—and the individual—primed for reactivation at a later time, leading to the “discovery” of creative insights. Some, but not all, of these brain changes are also seen during periods of quiet rest with activation of the default mode network (DMN). When active, this network can likewise provide a state of enhanced creativity. Nevertheless, REM sleep and dreaming provide a protected two hours every day when creative processes run at full speed.

Distinct neural mechanisms of emotional processing in prolonged grief disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Bryant ◽  
Elpiniki Andrew ◽  
Mayuresh S. Korgaonkar
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Prolonged Grief Disorder ◽  
Prolonged Grief ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Subliminal Processing ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) has recently been recognized as a separate psychiatric diagnosis, despite controversy over the extent to which it is distinctive from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods This study investigated distinctive neural processes underpinning emotion processing in participants with PGD, PTSD, and MDD with functional magnetic resonance study of 117 participants that included PGD (n = 21), PTSD (n = 45), MDD (n = 26), and bereaved controls (BC) (n = 25). Neural responses were measured across the brain while sad, happy, or neutral faces were presented at both supraliminal and subliminal levels. Results PGD had greater activation in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), bilateral insula, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and right caudate and also greater pgACC–right pallidum connectivity relative to BC during subliminal processing of happy faces. PGD was distinct relative to both PTSD and MDD groups with greater recruitment of the medial orbitofrontal cortex during supraliminal processing of sad faces. PGD were also distinct relative to MDD (but not PTSD) with greater activation in the left amygdala, caudate, and putamen during subliminal presentation of sad faces. There was no distinction between PGD, PTSD, and MDD during processing of happy faces. Conclusions These results provide initial evidence of distinct neural profiles of PGD relative to related psychopathological conditions, and highlight activation of neural regions implicated in reward networks. This pattern of findings validates current models of PGD that emphasize the roles of yearning and appetitive processes in PGD.

scholarly journals Verbal Fluency in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Daniela Smirni ◽  
Massimiliano Oliveri ◽  
Eliana Misuraca ◽  
Angela Catania ◽  
Laura Vernuccio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Cathodal Tdcs ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right

Background: Recent studies showed that in healthy controls and in aphasic patients, inhibitory trains of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the right prefrontal cortex can improve phonemic fluency performance, while anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left prefrontal cortex can improve performance in naming and semantic fluency tasks. Objective: This study aimed at investigating the effects of cathodal tDCS over the left or the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on verbal fluency tasks (VFT) in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Forty mild AD patients participated in the study (mean age 73.17±5.61 years). All participants underwent cognitive baseline tasks and a VFT twice. Twenty patients randomly received cathodal tDCS to the left or the right DLPFC, and twenty patients were assigned to a control group in which only the two measures of VFT were taken, without the administration of the tDCS. Results: A significant improvement of performance on the VFT in AD patients was present after tDCS over the right DLPFC (p = 0.001). Instead, no difference was detected between the two VFTs sessions after tDCS over the left DLPFC (p = 0.42). Furthermore, these results cannot be related to task learning effects, since no significant difference was found between the two VFT sessions in the control group (p = 0.73). Conclusion: These data suggest that tDCS over DLPFC can improve VFT performance in AD patients. A hypothesis is that tDCS enhances adaptive patterns of brain activity between functionally connected areas.

scholarly journals Cortical activation in alexithymia as a response to emotional stimuli

2008 ◽  
Vol 192 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasse Karlsson ◽  
Petri Näätänen ◽  
Hanna Stenman
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Processing ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Healthy Women ◽  
The Brain

BackgroundAlexithymia has been shown to be related to many psychiatric and somatic illnesses. Aberrant emotion processing in the brain may underlie several psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about the neurobiological underpinnings of alexithymia.AimsTo determine the way in which the brain processes emotion in alexithymia.MethodThe participants were 10 healthy women with alexithymia and 11 healthy women without this condition, recruited into the study on the basis of their scores on the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Four films were projected on a video screen to induce each of three emotional conditions (neutral, amusement, sadness). The brain areas activated during emotional stimuli in the alexithymia group were compared with those activated in the non-alexithymia group. Scans of the distribution of [15O]H2O were acquired using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner operated in three-dimensional mode.ResultsIn response to emotional stimuli participants with alexithymia activated more parts of their sensory and motor cortices and insula, especially on the left side, and less of their anterior cingulate, compared with the control group.ConclusionsWomen with alexithymia seem to over-activate their ‘bodily’ brain regions, implying a different mode of emotion processing. This may be related to their tendency to experience physical symptoms.

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