scholarly journals Study on Cerebral White Matter Microstructural Integrity of Parents Who Lost Their Only Child

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Wu ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Jingsong Xiao ◽  
Hongan Tian ◽  
Guobin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Psychological Status ◽  
Cerebral White Matter ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Only Child ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Shidu Parents ◽  
Microstructural Integrity

Abstract Background The parents who lost their only child and do not bear or adopt another child are known as Shidu parents in China. They have a higher risk of developing mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression. Evaluating the neurobiological mechanisms of the development of early emotional symptoms might provide an understanding of mental diseases in Shidu parents. Objective The present study aimed to investigate the microstructural integrity of white matter (WM) in Shidu parents without any diagnosis of mental illness based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods This study consisted of Shidu parents and well-matched healthy controls (HCs). No significant differences were detected with respect to the gender ratio, age, and education level. All participants underwent DTI sequence, tested by the symptom check-list 90 (SCL_90), to assess the psychological status. Also, a whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach was used to examine the microstructural integrity of WM tracts in each participant. Results Compared to HCs, the Shidu group showed reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left uncinate fasciculus (UF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and increased radial diffusion (RD) and mean diffusion (MD) in the same WM regions. In the Shidu group, the FA value in the left UF were significantly correlated with SCL_90 subscale scores, including anxiety, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity (all p<0.005), while a negative correlation was established between FA values in the left UF and traumatic time (p=0.024). Furthermore, Shidu women had reduced FA in the left UF while the Shidu men had reduced FA in the left SLF.Conclusions The WM integrity in Shidu parents is disrupted even without PTSD and depression, and such microstructural changes varied with gender, which might be associated with the gender differences in emotion regulation strategies. Importantly, the compromised integrity of left UF might contribute to the emotion dysregulation in Shidu parents, leading to a range of emotional symptoms, thereby partially explaining why these parents are more prone to various mental disorders than HCs.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Fiber Tractography

2009 ◽  
pp. 229-246
Author(s):  
Evanthia E. Tripoliti ◽  
Dimitrios I. Fotiadis ◽  
Konstantia Veliou
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cerebral White Matter ◽  
Tissue Microstructure ◽  
Diffusion Weighted Images ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
Diffusion Weighted ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modality which can significantly improve our understanding of the brain structures and neural connectivity. DTI measures are thought to be representative of brain tissue microstructure and are particularly useful for examining organized brain regions, such as white matter tract areas. DTI measures the water diffusion tensor using diffusion weighted pulse sequences which are sensitive to microscopic random water motion. The resulting diffusion weighted images (DWI) display and allow quantification of how water diffuses along axes or diffusion encoding directions. This can help to measure and quantify the tissue’s orientation and structure, making it an ideal tool for examining cerebral white matter and neural fiber tracts. In this chapter the authors discuss the theoretical aspects of DTI, the information that can be extracted from DTI data, and the use of the extracted information for the reconstruction of fiber tracts and the diagnosis of a disease. In addition, a review of known fiber tracking algorithms is presented.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Cerebral White Matter*

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Stoeter ◽  
Paulo Roberto Dellani ◽  
Goran Vucurevic
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Cerebral White Matter

scholarly journals Motor cortex gliomas induces microstructural changes of large fiber tracts revealed by TBSS

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangdong Wang ◽  
Chunyao Zhou ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Yinyan Wang ◽  
Tao Jiang
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Mean Diffusivity ◽  
Cerebral White Matter ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
3.0 T ◽  
White Matter Fiber Tracts

Abstract Gliomas grow and invade along white matter fiber tracts. This study assessed the effects of motor cortex gliomas on the cerebral white matter fiber bundle skeleton. The motor cortex glioma group included 21 patients, and the control group comprised 14 healthy volunteers. Both groups underwent magnetic resonance imaging-based 3.0 T diffusion tensor imaging. We used tract-based spatial statistics to analyze the characteristics of white matter fiber bundles. The left and right motor cortex glioma groups were analyzed separately from the control group. Results were statistically corrected by the family-wise error rate. Compared with the controls, patients with left motor cortex gliomas exhibited significantly reduced fractional anisotropy and an increased radial diffusivity in the corpus callosum. The alterations in mean diffusivity (MD) and the axial diffusivity (AD) were widely distributed throughout the brain. Furthermore, atlas-based analysis showed elevated MD and AD in the contralateral superior fronto-occipital fasciculus. Motor cortex gliomas significantly affect white matter fiber microstructure proximal to the tumor. The range of affected white matter fibers may extend beyond the tumor-affected area. These changes are primarily related to early stage tumor invasion.

scholarly journals Microstructural integrity of corticospinal and medial lemniscus tracts: insights from diffusion tensor tractography of right-hand amputees

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 316-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiling Peng ◽  
Carmen M. Cirstea ◽  
Christina L. Kaufman ◽  
Scott H. Frey
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Medial Lemniscus ◽  
Residual Limb ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Microstructural Integrity ◽  
Activity Dependent

Reductions in sensory and motor activity following unilateral upper limb amputation during adulthood are associated with widespread, activity-dependent reorganization of the gray matter and white matter through the central nervous system. Likewise, in cases of congenital limb absence there is evidence that limited afferent or efferent activity affects the structural integrity of white matter pathways serving the affected side. Evidence that the structural integrity of mature sensory and motor tracts controlling the lost upper limb exhibits similar activity dependence is, however, sparse and inconsistent. Here we used diffusion tensor tractography to test whether amputation of the dominant right hand during adulthood ( n = 16) alters the microstructural integrity of the major sensory (medial lemniscus, ML) and motor (corticospinal tract, CST) pathways controlling missing hand function. Consistent with prior findings, healthy control subjects ( n = 27) exhibited higher fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of white matter microstructural integrity, within dominant left CST and nondominant right ML. Critically, in contrast to what might be expected if the microstructural organization of these tracts is activity dependent, these asymmetries persisted in amputees. Moreover, we failed to detect any differences in dominant left ML or CST between healthy control subjects and amputees. Our results are consistent with these white matter tracts being robust to changes in activity once mature or that continued use of the residual limb (in a compensatory fashion or with prosthesis) provides stimulation sufficient to maintain tract integrity. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We report that unilateral hand amputation in adults has no significant effects on the structure of major sensory or motor pathways contralateral to the amputation. Our results are consistent with the organization of these white matter tracts being robust to changes in activity once mature or that continued use of the residual limb (with or without a prosthesis) provides stimulation sufficient to maintain tract integrity.

scholarly journals Change in Right Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus Integrity Is Associated With Naming Recovery in Subacute Poststroke Aphasia

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 784-794
Author(s):  
Marieke Blom-Smink ◽  
Marjolein Verly ◽  
Kerstin Spielmann ◽  
Marion Smits ◽  
Gerard M. Ribbers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Boston Naming Test ◽  
Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus ◽  
Deterministic Tractography ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽  
Microstructural Integrity

Background. Despite progress made in understanding functional reorganization patterns underlying recovery in subacute aphasia, the relation between recovery and changes in white matter structure remains unclear. Objective. To investigate changes in dorsal and ventral language white matter tract integrity in relation to naming recovery in subacute poststroke aphasia. Methods. Ten participants with aphasia after left-hemisphere stroke underwent language testing and diffusion tensor imaging twice within 3 months post onset, with a 1-month interval between sessions. Deterministic tractography was used to bilaterally reconstruct the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), middle longitudinal fasciculus (MdLF), and uncinate fasciculus (UF). Per tract, the mean fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted as a measure of microstructural integrity. Naming accuracy was assessed with the Boston Naming Test (BNT). Correlational analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between changes in FA values and change in BNT score. Results. A strong positive correlation was found between FA change in the right ILF within the ventral stream and change on the BNT ( r = 0.91, P < .001). An increase in FA in the right ILF was associated with considerable improvement of naming accuracy (range BNT change score: 12-14), a reduction with limited improvement or slight deterioration. No significant correlations were found between change in naming accuracy and FA change in any of the other right or left ventral and dorsal language tracts. Conclusions. Naming recovery in subacute aphasia is associated with change in the integrity of the right ILF.

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