Plasma Kynurenine Level is Associated With Left DLPFC Activity and Can Predict Treatment Response in Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract To establish treatment response biomarkers that reflect the pathophysiology of depression, it is important to use an integrated set of features that are promising as biomarkers. This study aimed to determine the relationship between blood metabolites related to treatment response to escitalopram and regional brain activity at rest and to find the characteristics of depression that respond to treatment. Blood metabolite levels and resting brain activity were measured in patients with depression (N = 65) before and after 6 weeks treatment with escitalopram and healthy controls (N = 36). Thirty-two patients (49.2%) showed clinical response (>50% reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score) and were classified as Responders, and the remaining 33 patients were classified as Nonresponders. Pretreatment plasma kynurenine level and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were lower in Responders, and their elevations after treatment were correlated with improvement in symptoms. Moreover, fALFF of the left DLPFC was significantly correlated with plasma kynurenine level in pretreatment patients with depression and healthy controls. Decreased kynurenine level and resting-state regional brain activity of the left DLPFC may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression in response to escitalopram treatment.

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Evaluation of spontaneous regional brain activity in weight-recovered anorexia nervosa

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-020-01081-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Seidel ◽

Daniel Geisler ◽

Viola Borchardt ◽

Joseph A. King ◽

Fabio Bernardoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resting State ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Regional Homogeneity ◽

Degree Centrality ◽

Mean Square ◽

Regional Brain ◽

Cortical Grey Matter ◽

Regional Brain Activity

AbstractWhereas research using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) reports sizable grey matter reductions in patients suffering from acute anorexia nervosa (AN) to be largely reversible already after short-term weight gain, many task-based and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) studies suggest persistent brain alterations even after long-term weight rehabilitation. First investigations into spontaneous regional brain activity using voxel-wise resting-state measures found widespread abnormalities in acute AN, but no studies have compared intrinsic brain activity properties in weight-recovered individuals with a history of AN (recAN) with healthy controls (HCs). SMRI and RSFC data were analysed from a sample of 130 female volunteers: 65 recAN and 65 pairwise age-matched HC. Cortical grey matter thickness was assessed using FreeSurfer software. Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs), mean-square successive difference (MSSD), regional homogeneity (ReHo), voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VHMC), and degree centrality (DC) were calculated. SMRI and RSFC data were analysed from a sample of 130 female volunteers: 65 recAN and 65 pairwise age-matched HCs. Cortical grey matter thickness was assessed using FreeSurfer software. Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), mean-square successive difference (MSSD), regional homogeneity (ReHo), voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VHMC), and degree centrality (DC) were calculated. Abnormal regional homogeneity found in acute AN seems to normalize in recAN, supporting assumptions of a state rather than a trait marker. Aberrant fALFF values in the cerebellum and the infertior temporal gyrus could possibly hint towards trait factors or a scar (the latter, e.g., from prolonged periods of undernutrition), warranting further longitudinal research.

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Opposite effects of high and low frequency rTMS on regional brain activity in depressed patients

Biological Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0006-3223(00)01065-9 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 48 (12) ◽

pp. 1133-1141 ◽

Cited By ~ 337

Author(s):

Andrew M Speer ◽

Timothy A Kimbrell ◽

Eric M Wassermann ◽

Jennifer D. Repella ◽

Mark W Willis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Activity ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Depressed Patients ◽

Regional Brain ◽

Regional Brain Activity ◽

Low Frequency Rtms

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Altered Percent Amplitude of Fluctuation in Healthy Subjects After 36 h Sleep Deprivation

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2020.565025 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Bingliang Zeng ◽

Jian Zhou ◽

Zicong Li ◽

Hua Zhang ◽

Zongliang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Sensorimotor Cortex ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Posterior Lobe ◽

Accuracy Rate ◽

Regional Brain ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Regional Brain Activity

Objective: To investigate regional brain activity alteration in healthy subjects in a sleep deprivation (SD) status relative to a rested wakefulness status using a percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) method.Methods: A total of 20 healthy participants (12 males, 8 females; age, 22.25 ± 1.12 years) were recruited. All participants underwent attention tests and resting-state functional MRI scans during rested wakefulness before SD and after 36 h SD, respectively. The PerAF method was applied to identify SD-related regional brain activity alteration. A ROC curve was conducted to evaluate the ability of the PerAF method in distinguishing different sleep statuses. The relationships between SD-induced brain alterations and attention deficits were determined by Pearson correlation analysis.Results: SD resulted in a 2.23% decrease in accuracy rate and an 8.82% increase in reaction time. SD was associated with increased PerAF differences in the bilateral visual cortex and bilateral sensorimotor cortex, and was associated with decreased PerAF differences in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe. These SD-induced brain alterations exhibited a high discriminatory power of extremely high AUC values (0.993–1) in distinguishing the two statuses. The accuracy rate positively correlated with the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe, and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and negatively correlated with the bilateral sensorimotor cortex.Conclusions: Acute SD could lead to an ~8% attention deficit, which was associated with regional brain activity deficits. The PerAF method might work as a potential sensitivity biomarker for identifying different sleep statuses.

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Diagnostic accuracy of dual-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET imaging for detection and differential diagnosis of Parkinsonism

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94040-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Minyoung Oh ◽

Narae Lee ◽

Chanwoo Kim ◽

Hye Joo Son ◽

Changhwan Sung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Fdg Pet ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Visual Assessment ◽

Dual Phase ◽

Regional Brain ◽

Parkinsonian Disorders ◽

Regional Brain Activity ◽

Delayed Phase

AbstractDelayed phase 18F-FP-CIT PET (dCIT) can assess the striatal dopamine transporter binding to detect degenerative parkinsonism (DP). Early phase 18F-FP-CIT (eCIT) can assess the regional brain activity for differential diagnosis among parkinsonism similar with 18F-FDG PET. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of dual phase 18F-FP-CIT PET (dual CIT) and 18F-FDG PET compared with clinical diagnosis in 141 subjects [36 with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD), 77 with multiple system atrophy (MSA), 18 with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and 10 with non-DP)]. Visual assessment of eCIT, dCIT, dual CIT, 18F-FDG and 18F-FDG PET with dCIT was in agreement with the clinical diagnosis in 61.7%, 69.5%, 95.7%, 81.6%, and 97.2% of cases, respectively. ECIT showed about 90% concordance with non-DP and MSA, and 8.3% and 27.8% with IPD and PSP, respectively. DCIT showed ≥ 88% concordance with non-DP, IPD, and PSP, and 49.4% concordance with MSA. Dual CIT showed ≥ 90% concordance in all groups. 18F-FDG PET showed ≥ 90% concordance with non-DP, MSA, and PSP, but only 33.3% concordance with IPD. The combination of 18F-FDG and dCIT yielded ≥ 90% concordance in all groups. Dual CIT may represent a powerful alternative to the combination of 18F-FDG PET and dCIT for differential diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders.

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Correlation between Traits of Emotion-Based Impulsivity and Intrinsic Default-Mode Network Activity

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2017/9297621 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jizheng Zhao ◽

Dardo Tomasi ◽

Corinde E. Wiers ◽

Ehsan Shokri-Kojori ◽

Şükrü B. Demiral ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Activity ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Network Activity ◽

High Risk Behaviors ◽

Posterior Cingulate ◽

Healthy Humans ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Negative urgency (NU) and positive urgency (PU) are implicated in several high-risk behaviors, such as eating disorders, substance use disorders, and nonsuicidal self-injury behavior. The current study aimed to explore the possible link between trait of urgency and brain activity at rest. We assessed the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal in 85 healthy volunteers. Trait urgency measures were related to ALFF in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventral and dorsal medial frontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus. In addition, trait urgency measures showed significant correlations with the functional connectivity of the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus seed with the thalamus and midbrain region. These findings suggest an association between intrinsic brain activity and impulsive behaviors in healthy humans.

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