scholarly journals Identifying Internet Addiction and Evaluating the Efficacy of Treatment Based on Functional Connectivity Density: A Machine Learning Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Yun Qin ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Dezhong Yao ◽  
Bo Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Efficacy Evaluation ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density ◽  
Traditional Group ◽  
Neuroimaging Biomarkers

Although mounting neuroimaging studies have greatly improved our understanding of the neurobiological mechanism underlying internet addiction (IA), the results based on traditional group-level comparisons are insufficient in guiding individual clinical practice directly. Specific neuroimaging biomarkers are urgently needed for IA diagnosis and the evaluation of therapy efficacy. Therefore, this study aimed to develop support vector machine (SVM) models to identify IA and assess the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) based on unbiased functional connectivity density (FCD). Resting-state fMRI data were acquired from 27 individuals with IA before and after 8-week CBT sessions and 30 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs). The discriminative FCDs were computed as the features of the support vector classification (SVC) model to identify individuals with IA from HCs, and the changes in these discriminative FCDs after treatment were further used as features of the support vector regression (SVR) model to evaluate the efficacy of CBT. Based on the informative FCDs, our SVC model successfully differentiated individuals with IA from HCs with an accuracy of 82.5% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.91. Our SVR model successfully evaluated the efficacy of CBT using the FCD change ratio with a correlation efficient of 0.59. The brain regions contributing to IA classification and CBT efficacy assessment were the left inferior frontal cortex (IFC), middle frontal cortex (MFC) and angular gyrus (AG), the right premotor cortex (PMC) and middle cingulate cortex (MCC), and the bilateral cerebellum, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and superior frontal cortex (SFC). These findings confirmed the FCDs of hyperactive impulsive habit system, hypoactive reflecting system and sensitive interoceptive reward awareness system as potential neuroimaging biomarkers for IA, which might provide objective indexes for the diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of IA.

scholarly journals Disentangling Mathematics from Executive Functions by Investigating Unique Functional Connectivity Patterns Predictive of Mathematics Ability

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenny Skagerlund ◽  
Taylor Bolt ◽  
Jason S. Nomi ◽  
Mikael Skagenholt ◽  
Daniel Västfjäll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Mathematical Ability ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Connectivity Patterns ◽  
The Right

What are the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms that give rise to mathematical competence? This study investigated the relationship between tests of mathematical ability completed outside the scanner and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of cytoarchitectonically defined subdivisions of the parietal cortex in adults. These parietal areas are also involved in executive functions (EFs). Therefore, it remains unclear whether there are unique networks for mathematical processing. We investigate the neural networks for mathematical cognition and three measures of EF using resting-state fMRI data collected from 51 healthy adults. Using 10 ROIs in seed to whole-brain voxel-wise analyses, the results showed that arithmetical ability was correlated with FC between the right anterior intraparietal sulcus (hIP1) and the left supramarginal gyrus and between the right posterior intraparietal sulcus (hIP3) and the left middle frontal gyrus and the right premotor cortex. The connection between the posterior portion of the left angular gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus was also correlated with mathematical ability. Covariates of EF eliminated connectivity patterns with nodes in inferior frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus, suggesting neural overlap. Controlling for EF, we found unique connections correlated with mathematical ability between the right hIP1 and the left supramarginal gyrus and between hIP3 bilaterally to premotor cortex bilaterally. This is partly in line with the “mapping hypothesis” of numerical cognition in which the right intraparietal sulcus subserves nonsymbolic number processing and connects to the left parietal cortex, responsible for calculation procedures. We show that FC within this circuitry is a significant predictor of math ability in adulthood.

scholarly journals Altered Functional Integration in the Salience and Default Mode Networks in Euthymic Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Weifang Cao ◽  
Haoran Chen ◽  
Qing Jiao ◽  
Dong Cui ◽  
Yongxin Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Pediatric Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Connectivity Analysis ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Functional Connectivity Analysis

Accumulating studies demonstrate emotional and cognitive dysregulation in the euthymic period of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). However, the relative contribution of functional integration in human brain to disturbed emotion and cognitive function in the euthymic PBD patients remains unclear. In this study, 16 euthymic PBD patients and 16 healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. A data-driven functional connectivity analysis was used to investigate functional connectivity changes of the euthymic PBD. Compared with healthy controls, the euthymic PBD exhibited greater global functional connectivity density in the left anterior insula and lower global functional connectivity density in the right temporoparietal junction, the left angular gyrus, and the bilateral occipital lobule. A distant functional connectivity analysis demonstrated altered integration within the salience and default mode networks in euthymic PBD. Correlation analysis found that altered functional connectivity of the salience network was related to the reduced performance in the backward digit span test, and altered functional connectivity of the default mode network was related to the Young Mania Rating Scale in euthymic PBD patients. Our findings indicated that disturbed functional integration in salience and default mode networks might shed light on the physiopathology associated with emotional and cognitive dysregulation in PBD.

scholarly journals The Modulation of Reward and Habit Systems by Acupuncture in Adolescents with Internet Addiction

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Yun Qin ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Dezhong Yao ◽  
Bo Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Modulation Effect ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Right

Purpose. Acupuncture is an effective therapy for Internet addiction (IA). However, the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture in relieving compulsive Internet use remain unknown. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the role of the ventral striatum (VS) in the progress of IA; hence, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of acupuncture on the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and relevant network of VS in IA. Methods. Twenty-seven IA individuals and 30 demographically matched healthy control subjects (HCs) were recruited in this study. We acquired the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in IA subjects before and after 40 days of acupuncture treatment. Seed-to-voxel and ROI-to-ROI analyses were applied to detect the rsFC alterations of the VS and related network in IA subjects and to investigate the modulation effect of acupuncture on the rsFC. Results. Compared with HCs, IA subjects exhibited enhanced rsFC of the right ventral rostral putamen (VRP) with the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), premotor cortex (PMC), cerebellum, and right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). In the network including these five ROIs, IA also showed increased ROI-to-ROI rsFC. Using a paired t-test in IA subjects before and after 40 days of acupuncture, the increased ROI-to-ROI rsFC was decreased (normalized to HC) with acupuncture, including the rsFC of the right VRP with the left OFC, PMC, and cerebellum, and the rsFC of the left cerebellum with the left OFC, PMC, and right vmPFC. Furthermore, the change in rsFC strength between the right VRP and left cerebellum in IA individuals was found positively correlated with the Internet craving alleviation after acupuncture. Conclusions. These findings verified the modulation effect of acupuncture on functional connectivity of reward and habit systems related to the VS in IA individuals, which might partly represent the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture on IA.

Abnormal white matter functional connectivity density in antipsychotic-naive adolescents with schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Vol 132 (5) ◽  
pp. 1025-1032
Author(s):  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Wei Liao ◽  
Shaoqiang Han ◽  
Fengmei Lu ◽  
Zongling He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density

scholarly journals Glutamate connectivity associations converge upon the salience network in schizophrenia and healthy controls

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. McCutcheon ◽  
Toby Pillinger ◽  
Maria Rogdaki ◽  
Juan Bustillo ◽  
Oliver D. Howes
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
1H Mrs ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractAlterations in cortical inter-areal functional connectivity, and aberrant glutamatergic signalling are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia but the relationship between the two is unclear. We used multimodal imaging to identify areas of convergence between the two systems. Two separate cohorts were examined, comprising 195 participants in total. All participants received resting state functional MRI to characterise functional brain networks and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to measure glutamate concentrations in the frontal cortex. Study A investigated the relationship between frontal cortex glutamate concentrations and network connectivity in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Study B also used 1H-MRS, and scanned individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls before and after a challenge with the glutamatergic modulator riluzole, to investigate the relationship between changes in glutamate concentrations and changes in network connectivity. In both studies the network based statistic was used to probe associations between glutamate and connectivity, and glutamate associated networks were then characterised in terms of their overlap with canonical functional networks. Study A involved 76 individuals with schizophrenia and 82 controls, and identified a functional network negatively associated with glutamate concentrations that was concentrated within the salience network (p < 0.05) and did not differ significantly between patients and controls (p > 0.85). Study B involved 19 individuals with schizophrenia and 17 controls and found that increases in glutamate concentrations induced by riluzole were linked to increases in connectivity localised to the salience network (p < 0.05), and the relationship did not differ between patients and controls (p > 0.4). Frontal cortex glutamate concentrations are associated with inter-areal functional connectivity of a network that localises to the salience network. Changes in network connectivity in response to glutamate modulation show an opposite effect compared to the relationship observed at baseline, which may complicate pharmacological attempts to simultaneously correct glutamatergic and connectivity aberrations.

scholarly journals The Brain Resting-State Functional Connectivity Underlying Violence Proneness: Is It a Reliable Marker for Neurocriminology? A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Romero-Martínez ◽  
Macarena González ◽  
Marisol Lila ◽  
Enrique Gracia ◽  
Luis Martí-Bonmatí ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Reliable Marker ◽  
The Brain

Introduction: There is growing scientific interest in understanding the biological mechanisms affecting and/or underlying violent behaviors in order to develop effective treatment and prevention programs. In recent years, neuroscientific research has tried to demonstrate whether the intrinsic activity within the brain at rest in the absence of any external stimulation (resting-state functional connectivity; RSFC) could be employed as a reliable marker for several cognitive abilities and personality traits that are important in behavior regulation, particularly, proneness to violence. Aims: This review aims to highlight the association between the RSFC among specific brain structures and the predisposition to experiencing anger and/or responding to stressful and distressing situations with anger in several populations. Methods: The scientific literature was reviewed following the PRISMA quality criteria for reviews, using the following digital databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Psicodoc, and Dialnet. Results: The identification of 181 abstracts and retrieval of 34 full texts led to the inclusion of 17 papers. The results described in our study offer a better understanding of the brain networks that might explain the tendency to experience anger. The majority of the studies highlighted that diminished RSFC between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala might make people prone to reactive violence, but that it is also necessary to contemplate additional cortical (i.e. insula, gyrus [angular, supramarginal, temporal, fusiform, superior, and middle frontal], anterior and posterior cingulated cortex) and subcortical brain structures (i.e. hippocampus, cerebellum, ventral striatum, and nucleus centralis superior) in order to explain a phenomenon as complex as violence. Moreover, we also described the neural pathways that might underlie proactive violence and feelings of revenge, highlighting the RSFC between the OFC, ventral striatal, angular gyrus, mid-occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Conclusions. The results from this synthesis and critical analysis of RSFC findings in several populations offer guidelines for future research and for developing a more accurate model of proneness to violence, in order to create effective treatment and prevention programs.

scholarly journals Association Between Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1984-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dardo Tomasi ◽  
Nora D Volkow
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density ◽  
Density Mapping ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Bold Responses

Abstract The origin of the “resting-state” brain activity recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is still uncertain. Here we provide evidence for the neurovascular origins of the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and the local functional connectivity density (lFCD) by comparing them with task-induced blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses, which are considered a proxy for neuronal activation. Using fMRI data for 2 different tasks (Relational and Social) collected by the Human Connectome Project in 426 healthy adults, we show that ALFF and lFCD have linear associations with the BOLD response. This association was significantly attenuated by a novel task signal regression (TSR) procedure, indicating that task performance enhances lFCD and ALFF in activated regions. We also show that lFCD predicts BOLD activation patterns, as was recently shown for other functional connectivity metrics, which corroborates that resting functional connectivity architecture impacts brain activation responses. Thus, our findings indicate a common source for BOLD responses, ALFF and lFCD, which is consistent with the neurovascular origin of local hemodynamic synchrony presumably reflecting coordinated fluctuations in neuronal activity. This study also supports the development of task-evoked functional connectivity density mapping.

Selection for Action: The Medial Frontal Cortex Is an Executive Hub for Stimulus and Response Selection

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Dariusz Asanowicz ◽  
Bartłomiej Panek ◽  
Ilona Kotlewska
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Phase Synchronization ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex ◽  
Conflict Condition ◽  
Underlying Processes ◽  
Selection For Action

Abstract This EEG study investigates the electrophysiological activity underlying processes of stimulus and response selection, and their executive orchestration via long-range functional connectivity under conflict condition, in order to shed more light on how these brain dynamics shape individual behavioral performance. Participants (n = 91) performed a modified flanker task, in which bilateral visual stimulation and a bimanual response pattern were employed to isolate the stimulus and response selection-related lateralized activity. First, we identified conflict-related markers of task-relevant processes; most importantly, the stimulus and response selection were evidenced by contra–ipsilateral differences in visual and motor activity, respectively, and executive control was evidenced by modulations of midfrontal activity. Second, we identified conflict-related functional connectivity between midfrontal and other task-relevant areas. The results showed that interregional phase synchronization in theta band was centered at the midfrontal site, interpreted here as a “hub” of executive communication. Importantly, the theta functional connectivity was more robust under the condition of increased demands for stimulus and response selection, including connectivity between the medial frontal cortex and the lateral frontal and motor areas, as well as cross-frequency theta–alpha coupling between the medial frontal cortex and contralateral visual areas. Third, we showed that individual differences in the measured conflict-related EEG activity, particularly the midfrontal N2, theta power, and global theta connectivity, predict the behavioral efficiency in conflict resolution.

An Effective Brain Imaging Biomarker for AD and aMCI: ALFF in Slow-5 Frequency Band

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luoyu Wang ◽  
Qi Feng ◽  
Mei Wang ◽  
Tingting Zhu ◽  
Enyan Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Imaging Biomarker ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Frequency Bands ◽  
Local Functional ◽  
Left Angular Gyrus

Background: As a potential brain imaging biomarker, amplitude of low frequency fluc-tuation (ALFF) has been used as a feature to distinguish patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from normal controls (NC). However, it remains unclear whether the frequency-dependent pattern of ALFF alterations can effectively distinguish the different phases of the disease. Methods: In the present study, 52 AD and 50 aMCI patients were enrolled together with 43 NC in total. The ALFF values were calculated in the following three frequency bands: classical (0.01-0.08 Hz), slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) and slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz) for the three different groups. Subsequently, the local functional abnormalities were employed as features to examine the effect of classification among AD, aMCI and NC using a support vector machine (SVM). Results: We found that the among-group differences of ALFF in the different frequency bands were mainly located in the left hippocampus (HP), right HP, bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and bilateral precuneus (PCu), left angular gyrus (AG) and left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). When the local functional abnormalities were employed as features, we identified that the ALFF in the slow-5 frequency band showed the highest accuracy to distinguish among the three groups. Conclusion: These findings may deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of AD and suggest that slow-5 frequency band may be helpful to explore the pathogenesis and distinguish the phases of this disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document