Abstract TMP114: Functional and Structural Network Reorganization in Higher-Order Language Following Neonatal Stroke

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Emami ◽  
Benjamin T Dunkley ◽  
Robyn Westmacott ◽  
Amanda Robertson ◽  
Pradeep Krishnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Pediatric Stroke ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Arterial Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Order Language

Introduction: Neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS) is a common form of pediatric stroke often affecting classical language areas in the brain’s left hemisphere. While children with NAIS can acquire basic language skills, adolescence typically reveals the emergence of deficits in higher-order language, such as syntactic language. The reorganization of functional and structural brain networks may provide insight into later-emerging language outcomes and serve as a biomarker in prognostication. Methods: A cross-sectional study of eight children with unilateral NAIS (5F; 12.3±3.3 years) and seven neurotypical children (2F; 13.4±2.7 years) was conducted. Participants listened to syntactically correct and incorrect sentences while magnetoencephalography was recorded, and task-related functional connectivity in the time window and frequency band of interest was determined. Structural connectivity between brain regions was investigated using DTI tractography, and language outcomes were assessed using neuropsychological tests. Results: An analysis of the syntactic language network (4-7 Hz, 1.2-1.4s) indicated that unlike the typical correlation between left-lateralized functional connectivity and language skill ( p <0.01), good outcome in patients is correlated with bilateral frontal connectivity (p<0.01). Furthermore, patients exhibit a significant reduction in structural connectivity between the left and right supplementary motor area, compared with controls ( p =0.007), and the bilateral structural connectivity of this region is positively correlated with measures of working memory and information processing ( p =0.036). Conclusions: The preliminary results suggest that reorganization of functional networks towards bilateral connectivity may support language outcome following early stroke. The supplementary motor area’s role in coordination of interhemispheric functions and in information processing may position it as a key structural region in supporting the compensatory reorganization of functional networks underlying language. Ultimately, measures of functional and structural networks may be used as a prognostic tool for language development in pediatric stroke in order to improve long-term outcomes.

scholarly journals The Distinct Disrupted Plasticity in Structural and Functional Network in Mild Stroke With Basal Ganglia Region Infarcts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Zhu ◽  
Lijun Zuo ◽  
Wanlin Zhu ◽  
Jing Jing ◽  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Functional Network ◽  
Imaging Biomarkers ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Post Stroke

Abstract ObjectiveTo characterize brain structural and functional networks in post-stroke patients with or without cognitive impairment. MethodsGraph theory analysis was applied to diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data from 23 post-stroke patients with cognitive impairment (PSCI), 17 post-stroke patients without cognitive impairment (NPSCI), and 29 healthy controls (HC). Structural and functional connectivity between 90 cortical and subcortical brain regions was estimated and thresholded to construct a set of undirected graphs. Network-based statistics (NBS) was used to characterize altered connectivity patterns among the three groups. ResultsCompared to HC, the PSCI group demonstrated substantial reductions in all three types of connections - rich club, feeder, and local - in structural and functional networks. Specifically, in structural network analysis, reduced connections were observed within basal ganglia and basal ganglia-frontal networks, whereas in the functional network analysis, reduced connections were observed in fronto-parietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular networks (CON). Meanwhile, compared to HC, the NPSCI group demonstrated reductions in both feeder and local connections only within occipital area and occipital-temporal structural networks. ConclusionsThe findings of reduced structural connectivity in regions stemming from a basal ganglia core and reduced functional connectivity in FPN and CON may indicate a bottom-up cognitive impairment induced by stroke. Graph analysis and connectomics may aid clinical diagnosis and serve as potential imaging biomarkers for post-stroke patients with cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Alzheimer’s Disease Progressively Reduces Visual Functional Network Connectivity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jie Huang ◽  
Paul Beach ◽  
Andrea Bozoki ◽  
David C. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Lower Order ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Functional Network ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
The Face ◽  
Processing Network

Background: Postmortem studies of brains with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) not only find amyloid-beta (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in the visual cortex, but also reveal temporally sequential changes in AD pathology from higher-order association areas to lower-order areas and then primary visual area (V1) with disease progression. Objective: This study investigated the effect of AD severity on visual functional network. Methods: Eight severe AD (SAD) patients, 11 mild/moderate AD (MAD), and 26 healthy senior (HS) controls undertook a resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and a task fMRI of viewing face photos. A resting-state visual functional connectivity (FC) network and a face-evoked visual-processing network were identified for each group. Results: For the HS, the identified group-mean face-evoked visual-processing network in the ventral pathway started from V1 and ended within the fusiform gyrus. In contrast, the resting-state visual FC network was mainly confined within the visual cortex. AD disrupted these two functional networks in a similar severity dependent manner: the more severe the cognitive impairment, the greater reduction in network connectivity. For the face-evoked visual-processing network, MAD disrupted and reduced activation mainly in the higher-order visual association areas, with SAD further disrupting and reducing activation in the lower-order areas. Conclusion: These findings provide a functional corollary to the canonical view of the temporally sequential advancement of AD pathology through visual cortical areas. The association of the disruption of functional networks, especially the face-evoked visual-processing network, with AD severity suggests a potential predictor or biomarker of AD progression.

Higher Order Language: Risk, Promotive, and Risk-Based Protective Associations with Youth Offending

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110077
Author(s):  
Stavroola A. S. Anderson ◽  
David J. Hawes ◽  
Pamela C. Snow
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Youth Offenders ◽  
Order Language ◽  
Nonverbal Skills

Research has implicated oral language deficits as risk factors for antisocial behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between higher order language skills and youth offending through a risk, promotive and risk-based protective factor paradigm. In a sample of adolescent males ( n = 130; 13 to 20 years; 62% youth offenders) skills in understanding ambiguity, making inferences, and understanding figurative language were demonstrated to have risk and promotive effects in association with youth offending. Figurative language also met criteria for having risk-based protective effects for youth at high offending risk due to poor nonverbal skills. Conceptualization of higher order language skills through this paradigm promotes a broader frame of reference for considering theoretical models and practical interventions.

scholarly journals Cerebral functional networks during sleep in young and older individuals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Daneault ◽  
Pierre Orban ◽  
Nicolas Martin ◽  
Christian Dansereau ◽  
Jonathan Godbout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Sleep Stages ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Light Sleep

AbstractEven though sleep modification is a hallmark of the aging process, age-related changes in functional connectivity using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) during sleep, remain unknown. Here, we combined electroencephalography and fMRI to examine functional connectivity differences between wakefulness and light sleep stages (N1 and N2 stages) in 16 young (23.1 ± 3.3y; 7 women), and 14 older individuals (59.6 ± 5.7y; 8 women). Results revealed extended, distributed (inter-between) and local (intra-within) decreases in network connectivity during sleep both in young and older individuals. However, compared to the young participants, older individuals showed lower decreases in connectivity or even increases in connectivity between thalamus/basal ganglia and several cerebral regions as well as between frontal regions of various networks. These findings reflect a reduced ability of the older brain to disconnect during sleep that may impede optimal disengagement for loss of responsiveness, enhanced lighter and fragmented sleep, and contribute to age effects on sleep-dependent brain plasticity.

scholarly journals Listening to Mom in the NICU: effects of increased maternal speech exposure on language outcomes and white matter development in infants born very preterm

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Brignoni-Pérez ◽  
Maya Chan Morales ◽  
Virginia A. Marchman ◽  
Melissa Scala ◽  
Heidi M. Feldman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Very Preterm ◽  
White Matter Development ◽  
Maternal Speech

Abstract Background Infants born very preterm (< 32 weeks gestational age (GA)) are at risk for developmental language delays. Poor language outcomes in children born preterm have been linked to neurobiological factors, including impaired development of the brain’s structural connectivity (white matter), and environmental factors, including decreased exposure to maternal speech in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Interventions that enhance preterm infants’ exposure to maternal speech show promise as potential strategies for improving short-term health outcomes. Intervention studies have yet to establish whether increased exposure to maternal speech in the NICU offers benefits beyond the newborn period for brain and language outcomes. Methods This randomized controlled trial assesses the long-term effects of increased maternal speech exposure on structural connectivity at 12 months of age (age adjusted for prematurity (AA)) and language outcomes between 12 and 18 months of age AA. Study participants (N = 42) will include infants born very preterm (24–31 weeks 6/7 days GA). Newborns are randomly assigned to the treatment (n = 21) or standard medical care (n = 21) group. Treatment consists of increased maternal speech exposure, accomplished by playing audio recordings of each baby’s own mother reading a children’s book via an iPod placed in their crib/incubator. Infants in the control group have the identical iPod setup but are not played recordings. The primary outcome will be measures of expressive and receptive language skills, obtained from a parent questionnaire collected at 12–18 months AA. The secondary outcome will be measures of white matter development, including the mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy derived from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scans performed at around 36 weeks postmenstrual age during the infants’ routine brain imaging session before hospital discharge and 12 months AA. Discussion The proposed study is expected to establish the potential impact of increased maternal speech exposure on long-term language outcomes and white matter development in infants born very preterm. If successful, the findings of this study may help to guide NICU clinical practice for promoting language and brain development. This clinical trial has the potential to advance theoretical understanding of how early language exposure directly changes brain structure for later language learning. Trial registration NIH Clinical Trials (ClinicalTrials.gov) NCT04193579. Retrospectively registered on 10 December 2019.

Pediatric Hyperacute Arterial Ischemic Stroke Pathways at Canadian Tertiary Care Hospitals

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Maria Gladkikh ◽  
Hugh J. McMillan ◽  
Andrea Andrade ◽  
Cyrus Boelman ◽  
Ishvinder Bhathal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Stroke ◽  
Arterial Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Pediatric Hospitals ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Iv Tpa

ABSTRACT: Background: Childhood acute arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is diagnosed at a median of 23 hours post-symptom onset, delaying treatment. Pediatric stroke pathways can expedite diagnosis. Our goal was to understand the similarities and differences between Canadian pediatric stroke protocols with the aim of optimizing AIS management. Methods: We contacted neurologists at all 16 Canadian pediatric hospitals regarding AIS management. Established protocols were analyzed for similarities and differences in eight domains. Results: Response rate was 100%. Seven (44%) centers have an established AIS protocol and two (13%) have a protocol under development. Seven centers do not have a protocol; two redirect patients to adult neurology, five rely on a case-by-case approach for management. Analysis of the seven protocols revealed differences in: 1) IV-tPA dosage: age-dependent 0.75–0.9 mg/kg (N = 1) versus age-independent 0.9 mg/kg (N = 6), with maximum doses of 75 mg (N = 1) or 90 mg (N = 6); 2) IV-tPA lower age cut-off: 2 years (N = 5) versus 3 or 10 years (each N = 1); 3) IV-tPA exclusion criteria: PedNIHSS score <4 (N = 3), <5 (N = 1), <6 (N = 3); 4) first choice of pre-treatment neuroimaging: computed tomography (CT) (N = 3), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (N = 2) or either (N = 2); 5) intra-arterial tPA use (N = 3) and; 6) mechanical thrombectomy timeframe: <6 hour (N = 3), <24 hour (N = 2), unspecified (N = 2). Conclusions: Although 44% of Canadian pediatric hospitals have established AIS management pathways, several differences remain among centers. Some criteria (dosage, imaging) reflect adult AIS literature. Canadian expert consensus regarding IV-tPA and endovascular treatment should be established to standardize and implement AIS protocols across Canada.

scholarly journals Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Cognitive Impairment in Children with Perinatal Stroke

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigul Ilves ◽  
Pilvi Ilves ◽  
Rael Laugesaar ◽  
Julius Juurmaa ◽  
Mairi Männamaa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Outcome Measurement ◽  
Pediatric Stroke ◽  
Resting State Networks ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Perinatal Stroke ◽  
Brain Functions

Perinatal stroke is a leading cause of congenital hemiparesis and neurocognitive deficits in children. Dysfunctions in the large-scale resting-state functional networks may underlie cognitive and behavioral disability in these children. We studied resting-state functional connectivity in patients with perinatal stroke collected from the Estonian Pediatric Stroke Database. Neurodevelopment of children was assessed by the Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measurement and the Kaufman Assessment Battery. The study included 36 children (age range 7.6–17.9 years): 10 with periventricular venous infarction (PVI), 7 with arterial ischemic stroke (AIS), and 19 controls. There were no differences in severity of hemiparesis between the PVI and AIS groups. A significant increase in default mode network connectivity (FDR 0.1) and lower cognitive functions (p<0.05) were found in children with AIS compared to the controls and the PVI group. The children with PVI had no significant differences in the resting-state networks compared to the controls and their cognitive functions were normal. Our findings demonstrate impairment in cognitive functions and neural network profile in hemiparetic children with AIS compared to children with PVI and controls. Changes in the resting-state networks found in children with AIS could possibly serve as the underlying derangements of cognitive brain functions in these children.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Strength of Structural Connectivity Underlying Brain Functional Networks

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 579-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phebe Brenne Kemmer ◽  
Yikai Wang ◽  
F. DuBois Bowman ◽  
Helen Mayberg ◽  
Ying Guo
Keyword(s):  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Brain Functional Networks

scholarly journals Functional connectivity of fMRI using differential covariance predicts structural connectivity and behavioral reaction times

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusi Chen ◽  
Qasim Bukhari ◽  
Tiger Wutu Lin ◽  
Terrence J Sejnowski
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Wide Range

Recordings from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) reflect the influence of pathways between brain areas. A wide range of methods have been proposed to measure this functional connectivity (FC), but the lack of ''ground truth'' has made it difficult to systematically validate them. Most measures of FC produce connectivity estimates that are symmetrical between brain areas. Differential covariance (dCov) is an algorithm for analyzing FC with directed graph edges. Applied to synthetic datasets, dCov-FC was more effective than covariance and partial correlation in reducing false positive connections and more accurately matching the underlying structural connectivity. When we applied dCov-FC to resting state fMRI recordings from the human connectome project (HCP) and anesthetized mice, dCov-FC accurately identified strong cortical connections from diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) in individual humans and viral tract tracing in mice. In addition, those HCP subjects whose rs-fMRI were more integrated, as assessed by a graph-theoretic measure, tended to have shorter reaction times in several behavioral tests. Thus, dCov-FC was able to identify anatomically verified connectivity that yielded measures of brain integration causally related to behavior.

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