Atypical age-related cortical thinning in episodic migraine

Background Prior studies demonstrate reduced cortical thickness and volume in migraineurs. However, the effect of age on cortical thickness has not been assessed in migraineurs. In this study we investigated whether the process of aging on cortical thickness affects migraineurs differently compared to age-matched healthy controls, i.e. whether aging exacerbates cortical thinning in migraineurs. Methods Cortical thickness was estimated using a general linear model vertex-by-vertex approach for 32 healthy controls (mean age = 35.3 years; SD = 11.6) and 27 episodic migraine patients (mean age = 33.6 years; SD = 12.3). Results were modeled using a main effect analysis to estimate the effect of age on cortical thickness for each group separately, and an age-by-group analysis to estimate differences in age-related cortical thinning between migraine patients and normal controls. Results Although migraineurs and normal controls both have expected age-related thinning in many regions along the cortical mantle, migraineurs have age-related thinning of regions that do not thin in healthy controls, including: bilateral postcentral, right fusiform, and right temporal pole areas. Cortical thinning of these regions is more prominent with advancing age. Conclusion Results suggest that migraine is associated with atypical cortical aging, suggesting that the migraine disease process interacts with aging to affect cortical integrity.

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Antipsychotic Effects on Cortical Morphology in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2020.579139 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

Author(s):

Ruiqi Feng ◽

Fay Y. Womer ◽

E. Kale Edmiston ◽

Yifan Chen ◽

Yinshan Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atypical Antipsychotic ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Atypical Antipsychotics ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Antipsychotic Treatment ◽

Illness Duration ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

Age Related

Background: Previous studies of atypical antipsychotic effects on cortical structures in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) have findings that vary between the short and long term. In particular, there has not been a study exploring the effects of atypical antipsychotics on age-related cortical structural changes in SZ and BD. This study aimed to determine whether mid- to long-term atypical antipsychotic treatment (mean duration = 20 months) is associated with cortical structural changes and whether age-related cortical structural changes are affected by atypical antipsychotics.Methods: Structural magnetic resonance imaging images were obtained from 445 participants consisting of 88 medicated patients (67 with SZ, 21 with BD), 84 unmedicated patients (50 with SZ, 34 with BD), and 273 healthy controls (HC). Surface-based analyses were employed to detect differences in thickness and area among the three groups. We examined the age-related effects of atypical antipsychotics after excluding the potential effects of illness duration.Results: Significant differences in cortical thickness were observed in the frontal, temporal, parietal, and insular areas and the isthmus of the cingulate gyrus. The medicated group showed greater cortical thinning in these regions than the unmediated group and HC; furthermore, there were age-related differences in the effects of atypical antipsychotics, and these effects did not relate to illness duration. Moreover, cortical thinning was significantly correlated with lower symptom scores and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) deficits in patients. After false discovery rate correction, cortical thinning in the right middle temporal gyrus in patients was significantly positively correlated with lower HAMD scores. The unmedicated group showed only greater frontotemporal thickness than the HC group.Conclusion: Mid- to long-term atypical antipsychotic use may adversely affect cortical thickness over the course of treatment and ageing and may also result in worsening cognitive function.

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Abnormal cortical thickening and thinning in idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-78067-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kyunghun Kang ◽

Jaehwan Han ◽

Sang-Woo Lee ◽

Shin Young Jeong ◽

Yong-Hyun Lim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus ◽

Neuronal Degeneration ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Normal Pressure ◽

Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus ◽

Control Group ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cortical Thickening ◽

Cortical Thinning

AbstractWe investigated differences in cortical thickness between idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) patients and healthy controls. We also explored whether a relationship exists between cortical thinning and gait disturbance in INPH patients. Forty-nine INPH patients and 26 healthy controls were imaged with MRI, including 3-dimensional volumetric images, for automated surface-based cortical thickness analysis across the entire brain. Compared with age- and gender-matched healthy controls, unexpectedly, INPH patients showed statistically significant cortical thickening mainly in areas located in the high convexity of the frontal, parietal, and occipital regions. Additionally, cortical thinning mainly in temporal and orbitofrontal regions was observed in the INPH group relative to the control group. The Gait Status Scale (GSS) scores were negatively correlated with cortical thickness in the medial orbital part of the superior frontal gyrus, gyrus rectus, superior temporal gyrus, temporal pole, and insula. A distinctive pattern of cortical thickness changes was found in INPH patients. We cautiously suggest that cortical thickening in INPH can result from reactive gliosis. Further, our results support the hypothesis that cortical thinning in INPH can result from neuronal degeneration. In addition, cortical thinning can play an important role in gait disturbances in INPH patients.

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Interictal photosensitivity associates with altered brain structure in patients with episodic migraine

Cephalalgia ◽

10.1177/0333102415606080 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 526-533 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Catherine D Chong ◽

Amaal J Starling ◽

Todd J Schwedt

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Brain Structure ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Light Sensitivity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Episodic Migraine ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

The Right ◽

Episodic Migraineurs ◽

Assessment Questionnaire

Background Migraine attacks manifest with hypersensitivities to light, sound, touch and odor. Some people with migraine have photosensitivity between migraine attacks, suggesting persistent alterations in the integrity of brain regions that process light. Although functional neuroimaging studies have shown visual stimulus induced “hyperactivation” of visual cortex regions in migraineurs between attacks, whether photosensitivity is associated with alterations in brain structure is unknown. Methods Levels of photosensitivity were evaluated using the Photosensitivity Assessment Questionnaire in 48 interictal migraineurs and 48 healthy controls. Vertex-by-vertex measurements of cortical thickness were assessed in 28 people with episodic migraine who had interictal photosensitivity (mean age = 35.0 years, SD = 12.1) and 20 episodic migraine patients without symptoms of interictal photosensitivity (mean age = 36.0 years, SD = 11.4) using a general linear model design. Results Migraineurs have greater levels of interictal photosensitivity relative to healthy controls. Relative to migraineurs without interictal photosensitivity, migraineurs with interictal photosensitivity have thicker cortex in several brain areas including the right lingual, isthmus cingulate and pericalcarine regions, and the left precentral, postcentral and supramarginal regions. Conclusion Episodic migraineurs with interictal photosensitivity have greater cortical thickness in the right parietal-occipital and left fronto-parietal regions, suggesting that persistent light sensitivity is associated with underlying structural alterations.

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Prefrontal cortical thickness related to negative symptoms in antipsychotic-naive, first-episode psychotic patients

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.460 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S197-S197

Author(s):

D. Guinart ◽

D. Bergé ◽

A. Mané ◽

L. Galindo ◽

O. Vilarroya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Disease Onset ◽

Clinical Feature ◽

First Episode ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

And Gender

IntroductionA significant cortical thinning has been repeatedly observed in adult-onset first-episode schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls, mostly in medial and inferior prefrontal cortices. However, it is yet unclear whether all these replicated alterations are related to any particular clinical feature.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate differences of cortical thickness in a sample of first-episode, drug-naive psychotic patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls and explore clinical correlates of these parameters regarding negative symptoms.MethodsHigh-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired from 23 antipsychotic-naive, first-episode psychotic patients and 26 age-matched healthy comparison subjects. Clinical features were measured with the negative subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and after a 2-month follow-up period.ResultsNo differences were found regarding age or gender when comparing patients and controls. We found a significant cortical thinning in the left medial orbitofrontal cortex and in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex in patients compared to healthy age- and gender-matched controls. Regarding clinical performance, no correlation was found at baseline between left medial orbitofrontal nor right lateral ortitofrontal cortical thickness and scores of the negative subscale of the PANSS. However, at the 2-month evaluation clinical performances were significantly associated to the left medial orbitofrontal cortical thickness values.ConclusionsCortical thickness alterations in prefontal cortex appear to be present at disease onset and these alterations may relate to clinical outcome. However, our findings must be considered just as exploratory. Larger longitudinal studies may help characterize, replicate and consolidate these findings.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Physical Fitness and Age-Related Differences in Cognition and Cortical Thickness in Young Adulthood

10.31234/osf.io/6yc7t ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John R Best

Keyword(s):

Physical Fitness ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Shared Environment ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

Cardiovascular Endurance ◽

Age Related ◽

Development And Aging ◽

N 93

The association between physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and brain structure has been studied fairly extensively during development and aging, yet comparatively less in young adulthood. The current study examined 1195 young adults aged 22 to 36 (54% female; 67% Caucasian) to better understand associations between physical fitness—grip strength and submaximal cardiovascular endurance—and age-related differences in executive function (EF), memory, and average cortical thickness. EF, memory, and cortical thickness were negatively associated with age, and higher endurance was positively associated with EF and memory. Neither physical fitness measure associated with cortical thinning. To follow-up on these analyses, data from monozygotic (n=149 pairs) and dizygotic (n=93 pairs) twins were used to estimate the degree to which heritability versus environment might contribute to the observed associations between cognition and endurance. Environmental effects shared by monozygotic and dizygotic twins alike were estimated to account for roughly 50% of the correlation between endurance and cognition (EF and memory). Heritability and non-shared environmental effects were inconsistent across EF and memory. Overall, these findings suggest an association between cardiovascular endurance and age-related differences in cognition in young adulthood and that these associations may be independent of cortical thinning. Whereas there was consistent evidence for a moderate contribution of the shared environment, there was limited and inconsistent evidence for a role of heritability.

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Cortical Thinning of Motor and Non-Motor Brain Regions Enables Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Supports Distinction between Upper- and Lower-Motoneuron Phenotypes

Biomedicines ◽

10.3390/biomedicines9091195 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1195

Author(s):

Stefano Ferrea ◽

Frederick Junker ◽

Mira Korth ◽

Kai Gruhn ◽

Torsten Grehl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

Als Patients ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder clinically characterized by muscle atrophy and progressive paralysis. In addition to the classical ALS affecting both the upper and lower motoneurons (UMN and LMN), other subtypes with the predominant (or even exclusive) affection of the UMN or LMN have been identified. This work sought to detect specific patterns of cortical brain atrophy in the UMN and LMN phenotypes to distinguish these two forms from the healthy state. Methods: Using high-resolution structural MRI and cortical thickness analysis, 38 patients with a diagnosis of ALS and predominance of either the UMN (n = 20) or the LMN (n = 18) phenotype were investigated. Results: Significant cortical thinning in the temporal lobe was found in both the ALS groups. Additionally, UMN patients displayed a significant thinning of the cortical thickness in the pre- and postcentral gyrus, as well as the paracentral lobule. By applying multivariate analyses based on the cortical thicknesses of 34 brain regions, ALS patients with either a predominant UMN or LMN phenotype were distinguished from healthy controls with an accuracy of 94% and UMN from LMN patients with an accuracy of 75%. Conclusions: These findings support previous hypothesis that neural degeneration in ALS is not confined to the sole motor regions. In addition, the amount of cortical thinning in the temporal lobe helps to distinguish ALS patients from healthy controls, that is, to support or discourage the diagnosis of ALS, while the cortical thickness of the precentral gyrus specifically helps to distinguish the UMN from the LMN phenotype.

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Patterns of reduced cortical thickness and striatum pathological morphology in cocaine addiction

10.1101/306068 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eduardo A Garza-Villarreal ◽

Ruth Alcalá-Lozano ◽

Thania Balducci ◽

Diego Ángeles-Valdéz ◽

M. Mallar Chakravarty ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Cocaine Addiction ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Important Public Health Problem ◽

Data Set ◽

Substance Addiction ◽

Cortical Thinning

AbstractSubstance addiction is regarded as an important public health problem, perpetuated by fronto-striatal circuit pathology. A usual finding in neuroimaging human and murine studies is cortical thinning and lower volume when compared to healthy controls. In this study we wished to replicate cortical thinning findings and find if striatum morphology may explain the cortical pathology. For this we analyzed T1w neuroimaging data from an ongoing addiction Mexican dataset. This dataset includes cocaine addicts diagnosed by expert psychiatrists and healthy controls. For the analysis we used voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness and volumetric analysis of the basal ganglia, and we correlated striatum volume with cortical thickness to find pathological patterns. Our group contrast showed cortical thinning and striatum volume differences in cocaine addicts correlated to their years of substance use, craving and age. Our correlation between striatum-cortex morphology showed higher significant correlations in healthy controls, not observed in cocaine addicts. The correlation between striatum volume and cortical thickness in healthy controls involved similar areas as those shown with less cortical thickness in cocaine addicts. We suggest that striatum morphological changes in addiction may explain the pattern of cortical thinning observed across several substances addiction studies.Research Data Related to this SubmissionData sethttps://zenodo.org/record/1409808#.W5E3oCOZPIF Patterns of reduced cortical thickness and striatum pathological morphology in cocaine addictionThis dataset includes all the data and scripts needed to reproduce the analysis and results on the manuscript “Patterns of reduced cortical thickness and striatum pathological morphology in cocaine addiction” (link). The brain data is not raw, as T1w were not defaced. We will do so in the near future for version 2.0. Instead we include only the “output/thickness” files used in the final analysis. For the use of raw T1w images, please contact the main author EAGV.

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Reduced cortical thickness of the paracentral lobule in at-risk mental state individuals with poor 1-year functional outcomes

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01516-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daiki Sasabayashi ◽

Yoichiro Takayanagi ◽

Tsutomu Takahashi ◽

Shimako Nishiyama ◽

Yuko Mizukami ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Functional Outcome ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Mental State ◽

Functional Decline ◽

Predictive Biomarker ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

The Right ◽

At Risk Mental State

AbstractAlthough widespread cortical thinning centered on the fronto-temporal regions in schizophrenia has been reported, the findings in at-risk mental state (ARMS) patients have been inconsistent. In addition, it remains unclear whether abnormalities of cortical thickness (CT) in ARMS individuals, if present, are related to their functional decline irrespective of future psychosis onset. In this multicenter study in Japan, T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed at baseline in 107 individuals with ARMS, who were subdivided into resilient (77, good functional outcome) and non-resilient (13, poor functional outcome) groups based on the change in Global Assessment of Functioning scores during 1-year follow-up, and 104 age- and sex-matched healthy controls recruited at four scanning sites. We measured the CT of the entire cortex and performed group comparisons using FreeSurfer software. The relationship between the CT and cognitive functioning was examined in an ARMS subsample (n = 70). ARMS individuals as a whole relative to healthy controls exhibited a significantly reduced CT, predominantly in the fronto-temporal regions, which was partly associated with cognitive impairments, and an increased CT in the left parietal and right occipital regions. Compared with resilient ARMS individuals, non-resilient ARMS individuals exhibited a significantly reduced CT of the right paracentral lobule. These findings suggest that ARMS individuals partly share CT abnormalities with patients with overt schizophrenia, potentially representing general vulnerability to psychopathology, and also support the role of cortical thinning in the paracentral lobule as a predictive biomarker for short-term functional decline in the ARMS population.

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Cortical Thinning and Sleep Slow Wave Activity Reductions Mediate Age-Related Improvements in Cognition During Mid-Late Adolescence

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab206 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ju Lynn Ong ◽

S Azrin Jamaluddin ◽

Jesisca Tandi ◽

Nicholas I Y N Chee ◽

Ruth L F Leong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Slow Wave ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Slow Wave Activity ◽

Cognitive Test ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Verbal Intelligence ◽

Speed Of Processing ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

Age Related

Abstract Study Objectives Gains in cognitive test performance that occur during adolescence are associated with brain maturation. Cortical thinning and reduced sleep slow wave activity (SWA) are markers of such developmental changes. Here we investigate whether they mediate age-related improvements in cognition. Methods 109 adolescents aged 15-19y (49 males) underwent magnetic resonance imaging, polysomnography (PSG) and a battery of cognitive tasks within a 2-month time window. Cognitive tasks assessed non-verbal intelligence, sustained attention, speed of processing and working memory and executive function. To minimize the effect of sleep history on SWA and cognitive performance, PSG and test batteries were administered only after at least 8 nights of 9-h time-in-bed (TIB) sleep opportunity. Results Age-related improvements in speed of processing (r = 0.33, p = 0.001) and non-verbal intelligence (r = 0.24, p = 0.01) domains were observed. These cognitive changes were associated with reduced cortical thickness, particularly in bilateral temporoparietal regions (rs = -0.21 to -0.45, ps < 0.05), as well as SWA (r = -0.35, p < 0.001). Serial mediation models found that ROIs in the middle/superior temporal cortices, together with SWA mediated the age-related improvement observed on cognition. Conclusions During adolescence, age-related improvements in cognition are mediated by reductions in cortical thickness and sleep slow wave activity.

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Morphological Profiling of Schizophrenia: Cluster Analysis of MRI-Based Cortical Thickness Data

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbz112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 623-632

Author(s):

Yunzhi Pan ◽

Weidan Pu ◽

Xudong Chen ◽

Xiaojun Huang ◽

Yan Cai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Age Of Onset ◽

Symptom Burden ◽

Structural Mri ◽

Positive Symptom ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Clinical Patient ◽

Cortical Thinning ◽

Mri Scans

Abstract The diagnosis of schizophrenia is thought to embrace several distinct subgroups. The manifold entities in a single clinical patient group increase the variance of biological measures, deflate the group-level estimates of causal factors, and mask the presence of treatment effects. However, reliable neurobiological boundaries to differentiate these subgroups remain elusive. Since cortical thinning is a well-established feature in schizophrenia, we investigated if individuals (patients and healthy controls) with similar patterns of regional cortical thickness form naturally occurring morphological subtypes. K-means algorithm clustering was applied to regional cortical thickness values obtained from 256 structural MRI scans (179 patients with schizophrenia and 77 healthy controls [HCs]). GAP statistics revealed three clusters with distinct regional thickness patterns. The specific patterns of cortical thinning, clinical characteristics, and cognitive function of each clustered subgroup were assessed. The three clusters based on thickness patterns comprised of a morphologically impoverished subgroup (25% patients, 1% HCs), an intermediate subgroup (47% patients, 46% HCs), and an intact subgroup (28% patients, 53% HCs). The differences of clinical features among three clusters pertained to age-of-onset, N-back performance, duration exposure to treatment, total burden of positive symptoms, and severity of delusions. Particularly, the morphologically impoverished group had deficits in N-back performance and less severe positive symptom burden. The data-driven neuroimaging approach illustrates the occurrence of morphologically separable subgroups in schizophrenia, with distinct clinical characteristics. We infer that the anatomical heterogeneity of schizophrenia arises from both pathological deviance and physiological variance. We advocate using MRI-guided stratification for clinical trials as well as case–control investigations in schizophrenia.

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