scholarly journals The Abnormal Functional Connectivity in the Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine System Associated With Anxiety Symptom in Chronic Insomnia Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Gong ◽  
Min Shi ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Ronghua Xu ◽  
Siyi Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Network ◽  
Chronic Insomnia ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Insomnia Disorder

BackgroundMental syndromes such as anxiety and depression are common comorbidities in patients with chronic insomnia disorder (CID). The locus coeruleus noradrenergic (LC-NE) system is considered to be crucial for modulation of emotion and sleep/wake cycle. LC-NE system is also a critical mediator of the stress-induced anxiety. However, whether the LC-NE system contributes to the underlying mechanism linking insomnia and these comorbidities remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the LC-NE system alterations in patients with insomnia and its relationship with depression and anxiety symptoms.Materials and MethodsSeventy patients with CID and 63 matched good sleep control (GSC) subjects were recruited and underwent resting-state functional MRI scan. LC-NE functional network was constructed by using seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis. The alterations in LC-NE FC network in patients with CID and their clinical significance was explored.ResultsCompared with GSC group, the CID group showed decreased left LC-NE FC in the left inferior frontal gyrus, while they had increased LC-NE FC in the left supramarginal gyrus and the left middle occipital gyrus (MOG). For the right LC-NE FC network, decreased FC was found in left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Interesting, the increased LC-NE FC was located in sensory cortex, while decreased LC-NE FC was located in frontal control cortex. In addition, the FC between the left LC and left MOG was associated with the duration of the disease, while abnormal FC between right LC and left dACC was associated with the anxiety scores in patients with CID.ConclusionThe present study found abnormal LC-NE functional network in patients with CID, and the altered LC-NE function in dACC was associated with anxiety symptoms in CID. The present study substantially extended our understanding of the neuropathological basis of CID and provided the potential treatment target for CID patients who also had anxiety.

scholarly journals Altered resting-state functional connectivity of the frontal-striatal circuit in elderly with apathy

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261334
Author(s):  
Chizuko Hamada ◽  
Toshikazu Kawagoe ◽  
Masahiro Takamura ◽  
Atsushi Nagai ◽  
Shuhei Yamaguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Psychiatric Disease ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Aged People

Apathy is defined as reduction of goal-directed behaviors and a common nuisance syndrome of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disease. The underlying mechanism of apathy implicates changes of the front-striatal circuit, but its precise alteration is unclear for apathy in healthy aged people. The aim of our study is to investigate how the frontal-striatal circuit is changed in elderly with apathy using resting-state functional MRI. Eighteen subjects with apathy (7 female, 63.7 ± 3.0 years) and eighteen subjects without apathy (10 female, 64.8 ± 3.0 years) who underwent neuropsychological assessment and MRI measurement were recruited. We compared functional connectivity with/within the striatum between the apathy and non-apathy groups. The seed-to-voxel group analysis for functional connectivity between the striatum and other brain regions showed that the connectivity was decreased between the ventral rostral putamen and the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/supplementary motor area in the apathy group compared to the non-apathy group while the connectivity was increased between the dorsal caudate and the left sensorimotor area. Moreover, the ROI-to-ROI analysis within the striatum indicated reduction of functional connectivity between the ventral regions and dorsal regions of the striatum in the apathy group. Our findings suggest that the changes in functional connectivity balance among different frontal-striatum circuits contribute to apathy in elderly.

Age differences in ventromedial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity during socioemotional content processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Ryan T. Daley ◽  
Holly J. Bowen ◽  
Eric C. Fields ◽  
Angela Gutchess ◽  
Elizabeth A. Kensinger
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Emotional Content ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Content Processing

Self-relevance effects are often confounded by the presence of emotional content, rendering it difficult to determine how brain networks functionally connected to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are affected by the independent contributions of self-relevance and emotion. This difficulty is complicated by age-related changes in functional connectivity between the vmPFC and other default mode network regions, and regions typically associated with externally oriented networks. We asked groups of younger and older adults to imagine placing emotional and neutral objects in their home or a stranger's home. An age-invariant vmPFC cluster showed increased activation for self-relevant and emotional content processing. Functional connectivity analyses revealed age × self-relevance interactions in vmPFC connectivity with the anterior cingulate cortex. There were also age × emotion interactions in vmPFC functional connectivity with the anterior insula, orbitofrontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and supramarginal gyrus. Interactions occurred in regions with the greatest differences between the age groups, as revealed by conjunction analyses. Implications of the findings are discussed.

scholarly journals M146. NEUROCHEMICAL MODULATION OF AUDITORY CORTEX FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH AUDITORY VERBAL HALLUCINATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S191-S191
Author(s):  
Sarah Weber ◽  
Helene Hjelmervik ◽  
Alexander R Craven ◽  
Erik Johnsen ◽  
Rune Kroken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Auditory Hallucinations ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Auditory Verbal Hallucinations ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Neurochemical Correlates

Abstract Background Auditory hallucinations have been linked to aberrant functioning of the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and are associated with impaired cognitive control regulated by areas in the prefrontal cortex. However, the mechanisms behind these dysfunctions are still unclear. Methods The current study combined resting state connectivity fMRI with MR spectroscopy (MRS) in a sample of 81 psychosis patients to explore how neurochemical correlates of auditory hallucinations modulate left STG functioning. The analyses were focused on glutamate (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), two neurotransmitters with excitatory and inhibitory functions, respectively, since these have previously been implicated in psychosis. Results Glu and GABA showed differential relationships with left STG connectivity in patients with and without hallucinations. Specifically, Glu concentration in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was positively related to functional connectivity between the left and right temporal lobe in hallucinating patients only. In contrast, GABA concentration in the ACC was negatively related to connectivity between the left and right temporal lobe in non-hallucinating patients only. Discussion These findings support a recently proposed model of interhemispheric temporal lobe miscommunication in auditory hallucinations and indicate prefrontal neurochemical modulation as a potential underlying mechanism. The results can further be integrated with previously suggested excitatory/inhibitory imbalances as neurochemical modulators in AVH.

scholarly journals Illness Severity Moderated Association Between Trait Anxiety and Amygdala-Based Functional Connectivity in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Du ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Hongqi Xiao ◽  
Mei Wang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Illness Severity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Significant Group

Trait anxiety is considered a vulnerability factor for the development of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The amygdala is related to both trait anxiety and GAD. Thus, we investigated amygdala-based functional connectivity (FC) in drug-naive non-comorbid GAD patients and explored its associations with personality, symptoms, and illness severity. FC analyses using the bilateral amygdala as seeds were performed with resting-state functional MRI data from 38 GAD patients and 20 matched healthy controls (HCs). Clinical characteristics were correlated with FC Z-scores from regions showing significant group differences. Furthermore, moderation analyses were used to explore the conditional effect of illness severity measured by the Clinical Global Impression–Severity (CGI-S) scale on the relationship between FC and trait anxiety. Relative to HCs, GAD patients showed hypoconnectivity between the amygdala and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), parahippocampal gyrus, and cerebellum and hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and the superior temporal gyrus (STG), insula, and postcentral gyrus. In GAD patients, amygdala–rACC connectivity was negatively associated with symptom severity and trait anxiety, and amygdala–IFG connectivity was positively associated with symptom severity. Moreover, CGI-S scores moderated the negative correlation between trait anxiety and amygdala–rACC FC. We demonstrate that there is extensive amygdala-based network dysfunction in patients with GAD. More importantly, amygdala–rACC connectivity plays a key role in the neural pathology of trait anxiety. Finally, the more severe the illness, the stronger the negative association between trait anxiety and amygdala–rACC FC. Our results emphasize the importance of personalized intervention in GAD.

scholarly journals Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex intrinsic functional connectivity linked to electrocortical measures of error-monitoring

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Gilbertson ◽  
Lin Fang ◽  
Jeremy A. Andrzejewski ◽  
Joshua M. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Coupling ◽  
Error Monitoring ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex

AbstractThe error-related negativity (ERN) is a response-locked event-related potential, occurring approximately 50 ms following an erroneous response at frontocentral electrode sites. Source localization and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research indicate that the ERN is likely generated by activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). The dACC is thought to be a part of a broader network of brain regions that collectively comprise an error-monitoring network. However, little is known about how intrinsic connectivity within the dACC-based error-monitoring network contributes to variability in ERN amplitude. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between dACC functional connectivity and ERN amplitude. In a sample of 53 highly trait-anxious individuals, the ERN was elicited in a flanker task and functional connectivity was assessed in a 10-minute resting-state fMRI scan. Results suggest that the strength of dACC seeded functional connectivity with the supplementary motor area is correlated with the ΔERN (i.e., incorrect – correct responses) amplitude such that greater ΔERN amplitude was accompanied by greater functional coupling between these regions. In addition to the dACC, exploratory analyses found that functional connectivity in the caudate, cerebellum, and a number of regions in the error-monitoring network were linked to variability in ΔERN amplitude. In sum, ERN amplitude appears to be related to the strength of functional connectivity between error-monitoring and motor control regions of the brain.

scholarly journals Altered resting-state dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Juan Chen ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Jun Ke ◽  
Rongfeng Qi ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Post Traumatic

Objective: The brain functional alterations at regional and network levels in post-traumatic stress disorder patients are still unclear. This study explored brain functional alterations at regional and network levels in post-traumatic stress disorder patients with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and evaluated the relationship between brain function and clinical indices in post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and seed-based functional connectivity analyses were conducted among typhoon survivors with ( n = 27) and without post-traumatic stress disorder ( n = 33) and healthy controls ( n = 30) to assess the spontaneous brain activity and network-level brain function. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine the association of brain function with clinical symptom and social support. Results: Both the post-traumatic stress disorder group and the trauma-exposed control group showed decreased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex relative to the healthy control group. The post-traumatic stress disorder group showed increased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right paracentral lobule and bilateral precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus relative to both control groups. Both traumatized groups exhibited decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus and left cerebellum relative to the healthy control group. More decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus was found in the post-traumatic stress disorder group. The Checklist-Civilian Version score positively correlated with functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right paracentral lobule as well as between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus. The social support was associated with functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the bilateral precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus as well as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus. Conclusion: Trauma exposure may result in aberrant local and network-level functional connectivity in individuals with or without post-traumatic stress disorder. Altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex may be a predisposing risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder development following trauma exposure. More prominent decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus might be specific in the post-traumatic stress disorder group. Improvement of social support might possibly be significant for post-traumatic stress disorder patients.

scholarly journals Increased Resting State Triple Network Functional Connectivity in Undergraduate Problematic Cannabis Users: A Preliminary EEG Coherence Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Imperatori ◽  
Chiara Massullo ◽  
Giuseppe Alessio Carbone ◽  
Angelo Panno ◽  
Marta Giacchini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Addictive Disorders ◽  
Eeg Recordings ◽  
Large Scale Networks

An increasing body of experimental data have suggested that aberrant functional interactions between large-scale networks may be the most plausible explanation of psychopathology across multiple mental disorders, including substance-related and addictive disorders. In the current research, we have investigated the association between problematic cannabis use (PCU) and triple-network electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity. Twelve participants with PCU and 24 non-PCU participants were included in the study. EEG recordings were performed during resting state (RS). The exact Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography software (eLORETA) was used for all EEG analyses. Compared to non-PCU, PCU participants showed an increased delta connectivity between the salience network (SN) and central executive network (CEN), specifically, between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and right posterior parietal cortex. The strength of delta connectivity between the SN and CEN was positively and significantly correlated with higher problematic patterns of cannabis use after controlling for age, sex, educational level, tobacco use, problematic alcohol use, and general psychopathology (rp = 0.40, p = 0.030). Taken together, our results show that individuals with PCU could be characterized by a specific dysfunctional interaction between the SN and CEN during RS, which might reflect the neurophysiological underpinnings of attentional and emotional processes of cannabis-related thoughts, memories, and craving.

scholarly journals 0073 Left Anterior Cingulate Hyperarousal During Sleep Anxiety-Inducing Emotional Tasks Performance in Patients with Insomnia Disorder

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A29-A30
Author(s):  
S Kang ◽  
H Ma ◽  
S Cho ◽  
J Kang ◽  
N Kim
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Interim Analysis ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Chronic Insomnia ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Insomnia Disorder ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Introduction Patients with insomnia frequently experience sleep/insomnia-related anxiety; this anxiety has been associated with hyperarousal. We investigated the underlying brain function changes in patients with insomnia during emotional task performance that induced sleep/insomnia-related anxiety. Methods Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during emotional task performance in healthy individuals and patients with insomnia who met the diagnostic criteria of insomnia disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and had chronic insomnia for more than 6 months. The participants underwent fMRI scanning during three types of emotional task performance—insomnia-anxiety task, reading sentences that cause insomnia-related anxiety; general-anxiety task, reading sentences that cause anxiety for everyone; and neutral task, reading neutral sentences that do not cause emotional anxiety. The images obtained from fMRI and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes were compared between patients with insomnia and healthy controls. Interim analysis was performed with the data of 13 patients with insomnia and 9 controls. Results The brain activity in the left anterior cingulate was higher during insomnia-anxiety task performance than that during general-anxiety task performance in the insomnia group (voxel-wise uncorrected p < 0.05; cluster size, 100). In the insomnia group, the brain activity during insomnia-anxiety task performance was not lower in any brain area than that during general-anxiety task performance. Conclusion We show that patients with chronic insomnia experience sleep anxiety related with hyperarousal in the left anterior cingulate area. Additional subject recruitment and re-analysis are needed to confirm the findings of this interim analysis. Support This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2017R1D1A1B03032431).

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