scholarly journals Neurometabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia and depression observed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7 T

BJPsych Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reggie Taylor ◽  
Elizabeth A. Osuch ◽  
Betsy Schaefer ◽  
Nagalingam Rajakumar ◽  
Richard W. J. Neufeld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
7 Tesla ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Pharmacological Interventions ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Schizophrenia Group ◽  
Tesla Scanner

BackgroundExamining neurometabolic abnormalities in critical brain areas in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) may help guide future pharmacological interventions including glutamate-modulating treatments.AimsTo measure metabolite concentrations within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus of people with schizophrenia and people with MDD.MethodsSpectra were acquired from 16 volunteers with schizophrenia, 17 with MDD and 18 healthy controls using magnetic resonance spectroscopy on a 7 Tesla scanner.ResultsIn the thalamus, there were lower glycine concentrations in the schizophrenia group relative to control (P=0.017) and MDD groups (P=0.012), and higher glutamine concentrations relative to healthy controls (P=0.009). In the thalamus and the ACC, the MDD group had lower myo-inositol concentrations than the control (P=0.014, P=0.009, respectively) and schizophrenia (P=0.004, P=0.002, respectively) groups.ConclusionThese results support the glutamatergic theory of schizophrenia and indicate a potential glycine deficiency in the thalamus. In addition, reduced myo-inositol concentrations in MDD suggest its involvement in the disorder.

scholarly journals Abnormal neurometabolites in fibromyalgia patients: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174480692199094
Author(s):  
Ye-Ha Jung ◽  
Hyeonjin Kim ◽  
Dasom Lee ◽  
Jae-Yeon Lee ◽  
Won Joon Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study ◽  
Left Thalamus ◽  
Total Creatine ◽  
The Right ◽  
Metabolic Strategies

This study aimed to investigate distinct neurometabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), right and left thalamus, and insula of patients with fibromyalgia (FM) compared with healthy controls using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), total NAA (tNAA = NAA + NAAG), myo-inositol (ml), glutamine (Gln), glutamate (Glu), Glx (Glu + Gln), glycerophosphocholine (GPC), total choline (tCho = GPC + phosphocholine) and glutathione (GSH) levels relative to total creatine (tCr) levels including creatine (Cr) and phosphocreatine (PCr) and relative to Cr levels were determined in the ACC, right and left thalamus, and insula in 12 patients with FM and 13 healthy controls using MRS. In the ACC, NAA/tCr (P = 0.028) and tCho/tCr (P = 0.047) were higher in patients with FM. In the right and left insula, tNAA/tCr (P = 0.019, P = 0.007, respectively) was lower in patients with FM. Patients with FM showed lower levels of ml/Cr (P = 0.037) in the right insula than healthy controls. These findings are paramount to understand decisive pathophysiological mechanisms related to abnormal features in the brain and parasympathetic nervous systems in FM. We suggest that the results presented herein may be essential to understand hidden pathological mechanisms and also life system potential as protective and recovering metabolic strategies in patients with FM.

scholarly journals Neurochemical abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot magnetic resonance spectroscopy study at 7 Tesla

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata R. Godlewska ◽  
Stephen Williams ◽  
Uzay E. Emir ◽  
Chi Chen ◽  
Ann L. Sharpley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
7 Tesla ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract Rationale Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a common and burdensome illness with a poorly understood pathophysiology, though many of the characteristic symptoms are likely to be of brain origin. The use of high-field proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) enables the detection of a range of brain neurochemicals relevant to aetiological processes that have been linked to CFS, for example, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Methods We studied 22 CFS patients and 13 healthy controls who underwent MRS scanning at 7 T with a voxel placed in the anterior cingulate cortex. Neurometabolite concentrations were calculated using the unsuppressed water signal as a reference. Results Compared to controls, CFS patients had lowered levels of glutathione, total creatine and myo-inositol in anterior cingulate cortex. However, when using N-acetylaspartate as a reference metabolite, only myo-inositol levels continued to be significantly lower in CFS participants. Conclusions The changes in glutathione and creatine are consistent with the presence of oxidative and energetic stress in CFS patients and are potentially remediable by nutritional intervention. A reduction in myo-inositol would be consistent with glial dysfunction. However, the relationship of the neurochemical abnormalities to the causation of CFS remains to be established, and the current findings require prospective replication in a larger sample.

scholarly journals Impaired cognitive self-awareness mediates the association between alexithymia and excitation/inhibition balance in the pgACC

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1727-1735
Author(s):  
A. Kühnel ◽  
A. Widmann ◽  
L. Colic ◽  
L. Herrmann ◽  
L. R. Demenescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Cognitive Awareness ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractBackgroundPrevious research showed that automatic emotion regulation is associated with activation of subcortical areas and subsequent feedforward processes to cortical areas. In contrast, cognitive awareness of emotions is mediated by negative feedback from cortical to subcortical areas. Pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) is essential in the modulation of both affect and alexithymia. We considered the interplay between these two mechanisms in the pgACC and their relationship with alexithymia.MethodIn 68 healthy participants (30 women, age = 26.15 ± 4.22) we tested associations of emotion processing and alexithymia with excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance represented as glutamate (Glu)/GABA in the pgACC measured via magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 7 T.ResultsAlexithymia was positively correlated with the Glu/GABA ratio (N = 41, p = 0.0393). Further, cognitive self-awareness showed an association with Glu/GABA (N = 52, p = 0.003), which was driven by a correlation with GABA. In contrast, emotion regulation was only correlated with glutamate levels in the pgACC (N = 49, p = 0.008).ConclusionOur results corroborate the importance of the pgACC as a mediating region of alexithymia, reflected in an altered E/I balance. Furthermore, we could specify that this altered balance is linked to a GABA-related modulation of cognitive self-awareness of emotions.

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