scholarly journals Cortical Morphological Changes in Congenital Amusia: Surface-Based Analyses

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Liao ◽  
Junjie Sun ◽  
Zhishuai Jin ◽  
DaXing Wu ◽  
Jun Liu

Background: Congenital amusia (CA) is a rare disorder characterized by deficits in pitch perception, and many structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have been conducted to better understand its neural bases. However, a structural magnetic resonance imaging analysis using a surface-based morphology method to identify regions with cortical features abnormalities at the vertex-based level has not yet been performed.Methods: Fifteen participants with CA and 13 healthy controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. A surface-based morphology method was used to identify anatomical abnormalities. Then, the surface parameters' mean value of the identified clusters with statistically significant between-group differences were extracted and compared. Finally, Pearson's correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) scores and surface parameters.Results: The CA group had significantly lower MBEA scores than the healthy controls (p = 0.000). The CA group exhibited a significant higher fractal dimension in the right caudal middle frontal gyrus and a lower sulcal depth in the right pars triangularis gyrus (p < 0.05; false discovery rate-corrected at the cluster level) compared to healthy controls. There were negative correlations between the mean fractal dimension values in the right caudal middle frontal gyrus and MBEA score, including the mean MBEA score (r = −0.5398, p = 0.0030), scale score (r = −0.5712, p = 0.0015), contour score (r = −0.4662, p = 0.0124), interval score (r = −0.4564, p = 0.0146), rhythmic score (r = −0.5133, p = 0.0052), meter score (r = −0.3937, p = 0.0382), and memory score (r = −0.3879, p = 0.0414). There was a significant positive correlation between the mean sulcal depth in the right pars triangularis gyrus and the MBEA score, including the mean score (r = 0.5130, p = 0.0052), scale score (r = 0.5328, p = 0.0035), interval score (r = 0.4059, p = 0.0321), rhythmic score (r = 0.5733, p = 0.0014), meter score (r = 0.5061, p = 0.0060), and memory score (r = 0.4001, p = 0.0349).Conclusion: Individuals with CA exhibit cortical morphological changes in the right hemisphere. These findings may indicate that the neural basis of speech perception and memory impairments in individuals with CA is associated with abnormalities in the right pars triangularis gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, and that these cortical abnormalities may be a neural marker of CA.

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul-Latif Hamdan ◽  
Elie Khalifee ◽  
Georges Ziade ◽  
Sahar Semaan

The objective of this study is to investigate the dimensional and volumetric measurements in the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle in men and women using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The hypothesis is that there is a gender-related difference in these measurements. A retrospective chart review of 76 patients who underwent MRI of the neck at the American University of Beirut Medical Center was conducted. The dimension and volume of the right and left TA muscle were measured on axial and coronal planes short tau inversion recovery images. Male and female groups were compared with respect to demographic data and MRI findings using parametric and nonparametric tests. The mean length of the thyro-arytenoid muscle in males was larger than that in females on the right (males 2.44 [0.29] cm vs females 1.70 [0.22] cm) and on the left (males 2.50 [0.28] cm vs females 1.72 [0.24] cm) reaching statistical significance ( P < .001). The mean width of the thyro-arytenoid muscle in males was larger than that in females on the right (males 0.68 [0.13] cm vs females 0.59 [0.11] cm) and on the left (males 0.68 [0.12] cm vs females 0.57 [0.12] cm) reaching statistical significance ( P < .001). The mean height of the thyro-arytenoid muscle in males was larger than that in females on the right (males 1.05 [0.21] cm vs females 0.95 [0.12] cm) and on the left (males 1.05 [0.21] cm vs females 0.95 [0.12] cm) reaching statistical significance ( P < .01 on the right and P < .05 on the left). The volume of the thyroarytenoid muscle in males was larger than that in females on the right (males 0.86 [0.25] mL vs females 0.48 [0.15] mL) and on the left (males 0.89 [0.27] mL vs females 0.48 [0.17] mL) reaching statistical significance ( P < .001). The results of this investigation clearly indicate a significant difference in these measurements between men and women.


2015 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 1085-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
J-F Yu ◽  
K-C Lee ◽  
Y-L Wan ◽  
Y-C Peng

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to characterise the geometry of the human bilateral spiral cochlea by measuring curvature and length.Method:Eight subjects were recruited in this study. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to visualise the right and left cochlea. Visualisation of the cochlear spiral was enhanced by T2 weighting and further processing of the raw images. The spirals were divided into three segments: the basal turn, the middle turn and the apex turn. The length and curvature of each segment were non-invasively measured.Results:The mean left and right cochlear lengths were 3.11 cm and 3.95 cm, respectively. The measured lengths of the cochlear spiral are consistent with data in the literature derived from anatomical dissections. Overall, the apex turn segment of the cochlea had the greatest degree of curvature (p < 0.05). The mean apex turn segment curvatures for left and right cochleae were 9.65 cm−1 and 10.09 cm−1, respectively.Conclusion:A detailed description of the cochlear spiral is provided, using measurements of curvature and length. These data will provide a valuable reference in the development of cochlear implantation procedures for minimising the potential damage during implantation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 2895-2903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lachlan Batty ◽  
Jerome Murgier ◽  
Richard O’Sullivan ◽  
Kate E. Webster ◽  
Julian A. Feller ◽  
...  

Background: The Kaplan fibers (KFs) of the iliotibial band have been suggested to play a role in anterolateral rotational instability of the knee, particularly in the setting of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. Description of the normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) anatomy of the KFs may facilitate subsequent investigation into the MRI signs of injury. Purpose: To assess if the KF complex can be identified on 3-T MRI using standard knee protocols. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3. Methods: 3-T MRI scans of 50 ACL-intact knees were reviewed independently by a musculoskeletal radiologist and 2 orthopaedic surgeons. Identification of the KFs was based on radiological diagnostic criteria developed a priori. Identification of the KFs in the sagittal, coronal, and axial planes was recorded. Interobserver reliability was assessed using the Kappa statistic. Detailed anatomy including distance to the joint line and relationship to adjacent structures was recorded. Results: The mean patient age was 43 years (range, 15-81 years), 58% were male, and 50% were right knees. The KFs were identified by at least 2 reviewers on the sagittal images in 96% of cases, on the axial images in 76% of cases, and on the coronal images in 4% of cases. The mean distance from the KF distal femoral insertion to the lateral joint line was 50.1 mm (SD, 6.6 mm) and the mean distance to the lateral gastrocnemius tendon origin was 10.8 mm (SD, 8.6 mm). The KFs were consistently identified immediately anterior to the superior lateral geniculate artery on sagittal imaging. Interobserver reliability for identification was best in the sagittal plane (Kappa 0.5) and worst in the coronal plane (Kappa 0.1). Conclusion: The KF complex can be identified on routine MRI sequences in the ACL-intact knee; however, there is low to moderate interobserver reliability. Imaging in the sagittal plane had the highest rate of identification and the coronal plane the lowest. There is a consistent relationship between the most distal KF femoral attachment and the lateral joint line, lateral gastrocnemius tendon, and superior lateral geniculate artery.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Cezary Grochowski ◽  
Kamil Jonak ◽  
Marcin Maciejewski ◽  
Andrzej Stępniewski ◽  
Mansur Rahnama-Hezavah

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the volumetry of the hippocampus in the Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) of blind patients. Methods: A total of 25 patients with LHON were randomly included into the study from the national health database. A total of 15 patients were selected according to the inclusion criteria. The submillimeter segmentation of the hippocampus was based on three-dimensional spoiled gradient recalled acquisition in steady state (3D-SPGR) BRAVO 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that compared to healthy controls (HC), LHON subjects had multiple significant differences only in the right hippocampus, including a significantly higher volume of hippocampal tail (p = 0.009), subiculum body (p = 0.018), CA1 body (p = 0.002), hippocampal fissure (p = 0.046), molecular layer hippocampus (HP) body (p = 0.014), CA3 body (p = 0.006), Granule Cell (GC) and Molecular Layer (ML) of the Dentate Gyrus (DG)–GC ML DG body (p = 0.003), CA4 body (p = 0.001), whole hippocampal body (p = 0.018), and the whole hippocampus volume (p = 0.023). Discussion: The ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging allowed hippocampus quality visualization and analysis, serving as a powerful in vivo diagnostic tool in the diagnostic process and LHON disease course assessment. The study confirmed previous reports regarding volumetry of hippocampus in blind individuals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Zapparoli ◽  
Silvia Seghezzi ◽  
Francantonio Devoto ◽  
Marika Mariano ◽  
Giuseppe Banfi ◽  
...  

Abstract Current neurocognitive models of motor control postulate that accurate action monitoring is crucial for a normal experience of agency—the ability to attribute the authorship of our actions and their consequences to ourselves. Recent studies demonstrated that action monitoring is impaired in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, a movement disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. It follows that Tourette syndrome patients may suffer from a perturbed sense of agency, the hypothesis tested in this study. To this end, we recruited 25 Tourette syndrome patients and 25 matched healthy controls in a case-control behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging study. As an implicit index of the sense of agency, we measured the intentional binding phenomenon, i.e., the perceived temporal compression between voluntary movements and their external consequences. We found evidence of an impaired sense of agency in Tourette syndrome patients who, as a group, did not show a significant intentional binding. The more reduced was the individual intentional binding, the more severe were the motor symptoms. Specific differences between the two groups were also observed in terms of brain activation patterns. In the healthy controls group, the magnitude of the intentional binding was associated with the activity of a premotor–parietal–cerebellar network. This relationship was not present in the Tourette syndrome group, suggesting an altered activation of the agency brain network for self-generated acts. We conclude that the less accurate action monitoring described in Tourette syndrome also involves the assessment of the consequences of actions in the outside world. We discuss that this may lead to difficulties in distinguishing external consequences produced by their own actions from the ones caused by others in Tourette syndrome patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Ding ◽  
Yu Guo ◽  
Xiaoya Chen ◽  
Silin Du ◽  
Yongliang Han ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying demyelination and remyelination with 7.0 T multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an alternative cuprizone (CPZ) mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty mice were divided into six groups (n = 10, each), and these groups were imaged with 7.0 T multiparameter MRI and treated with an alternative CPZ administration schedule. T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were used to compare the splenium of the corpus callosum (sCC) among the groups. Prussian blue and Luxol fast blue staining were performed to assess pathology. The correlations of the mean grayscale value (mGSV) of the pathology results and the MRI metrics were analyzed to evaluate the multiparameter MRI results. One-way ANOVA and post hoc comparison showed that the normalized T2WI (T2-nor), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD) values were significantly different among the six groups, while the mean phase (Φ) value of SWI was not significantly different among the groups. Correlation analysis showed that the correlation between the T2-nor and mGSV was higher than that among the other values. The correlations among the FA, RD, MD, and mGSV remained instructive. In conclusion, ultrahigh-field multiparameter MRI can reflect the pathological changes associated with and the underlying mechanisms of demyelination and remyelination in MS after the successful establishment of an acute CPZ-induced model.


Author(s):  
Rania Sobhy Abou khadrah ◽  
Haytham Haroon Imam

Abstract Background Differentiation between malignant and benign masses is essential for treatment planning and helps in improving the prognosis of malignant tumors; the aim of this work is to determine the role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the differentiation between benign and malignant solid head and neck masses by comparing diagnostic performance of low b values (0.50 and 400 s/mm2) versus high b values (800 and 1000 s/mm2) and comparing the result with histopathological finding. Results The study included 60 patients (34 male and 26 female) with solid head and neck masses > 1 cm who referred to radiodiagnosis department for MRI evaluation. Multiple b values were used 50, 400, 800, and 1000 s/mm2 (at least 2 b values). DWI and ADC value of all 60 patients were acquired. Mean ADC values of both malignant and benign masses were statistically measured and compared, and cut off value was determined. Solid head and neck masses in our study DWI with the use of high b value 800 and 1000 s/mm2 were of higher significance (P value 0.001*). There was a significant difference in the mean ADC value between benign and malignant masses (P < 0.01); solid masses were divided into 2 categories: (a) malignant lesions 46.7% (n = 28) with mean ADC value (0.82 ± 0.19) × 10−3 s/mm2 and (b) benign lesions 53.3% (n = 32) with mean ADC value (2.05 ± 0.46) × 10−3 s/mm2) with ADC cutoff value of 1.0 × 10−3 s/mm2 and 94% sensitivity, 93% specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) = 94%, positive predictive value (PPV) 93%, and an accuracy of 93.5%. Conclusion The DWI with ADC mapping were valuable as non-invasive tools in differentiating between benign and malignant solid head and neck masses. The use of high b value 800 and 1000 s/mm2 was of higher significance (P value 0.001*) in differentiation between benign and malignant lesion than that with low b values 0, 50, and 400 s/mm2 (0.01). The mean ADC values were significantly lower in malignant solid masses. Attention had to be paid to the choice of b values in MRI-DWI in the head and neck region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 205846012098809
Author(s):  
Byeong H Oh ◽  
Hyeong C Moon ◽  
Aryun Kim ◽  
Hyeon J Kim ◽  
Chae J Cheong ◽  
...  

Background The pathology of Parkinson’s disease leads to morphological changes in brain structure. Currently, the progressive changes in gray matter volume that occur with time and are specific to patients with Parkinson’s disease, compared to healthy controls, remain unclear. High-tesla magnetic resonance imaging might be useful in differentiating neurological disorders by brain cortical changes. Purpose We aimed to investigate patterns in gray matter changes in patients with Parkinson’s disease by using an automated segmentation method with 7-tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Material and Methods High-resolution T1-weighted 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging volumes of 24 hemispheres were acquired from 12 Parkinson’s disease patients and 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls with median ages of 64.5 (range, 41–82) years and 60.5 (range, 25–74) years, respectively. Subgroup analysis was performed according to whether axial motor symptoms were present in the Parkinson’s disease patients. Cortical volume, cortical thickness, and subcortical volume were measured using a high-resolution image processing technique based on the Desikan-Killiany-Tourville atlas and an automated segmentation method (FreeSurfer version 6.0). Results After cortical reconstruction, in 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging volume segmental analysis, compared with the healthy controls, the Parkinson’s disease patients showed global cortical atrophy, mostly in the prefrontal area (rostral middle frontal, superior frontal, inferior parietal lobule, medial orbitofrontal, rostral anterior cingulate area), and subcortical volume atrophy in limbic/paralimbic areas (fusiform, hippocampus, amygdala). Conclusion We first demonstrated that 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging detects structural abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease patients compared to healthy controls using an automated segmentation method. Compared with the healthy controls, the Parkinson’s disease patients showed global prefrontal cortical atrophy and hippocampal area atrophy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-679
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Serafino ◽  
Matteo Scaramuzzi ◽  
Edoardo Villani ◽  
Paolo Nucci

Objective: To assess the efficacy of “Yokoyama Procedure,” on non-highly myopic patients with acquired esotropia and hypotropia. Methods: The study involved 10 eyes of 5 patients with eso-hypotropia. Inclusion criteria were acquired esotropic-hypotropic strabismus with lateral rectus inferior displacement and superior rectus nasal displacement confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging, refractive errors between ±6 D, and axial length < 27 mm. Range of full duction movements and maximum angles of abduction-sursumduction was measured in each eye before and after surgery. All patients underwent T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The surgery was aimed at creating a junction between the muscle bellies of the superior and lateral rectus muscles. This junction was made approximately 14 mm behind the insertions using a non-absorbable mersilene 5/0 suture (Yokoyama procedure). Results: Mean patient age was 64.8 ± 4.8 years. The mean globe axial length was 25.4 ± 0.76 mm and a mean corresponding spherical equivalent refraction of −3.7 ± 1.7 D was observed. Eight eyes on 10 had mild limitation in abduction, while the remaining 2 had no limitation. Three out of 10 eyes showed a moderate limited sursumduction, 5 eyes were categorized as mild, and the remaining 2 had no limitation. No evident post-operative limitation was present in any eye, in both abduction and sursumduction (p < 0.01). Pre-operative esotropia and hypotropia were, respectively, 32 ± 11 prismatic diopters and 25 ± 5 prismatic diopters, and they were significantly reduced after surgery as 9 ± 1.7 prismatic diopters and 6 ±1 prismatic diopters (p = 0.043), respectively. Conclusion: Yokoyama procedure is an effective, fast, reversible procedure to face eso-hypotropic acquired strabismus, even in patients with a clear magnetic resonance imaging displacement of superior and lateral rectus muscles, and absence of globe dislocation and of elevated myopia.


1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae Kyoung Kim ◽  
Yeon Hyoen Choe ◽  
Hak Soo Kim ◽  
Jae Kon Ko ◽  
Young Tak Lee ◽  
...  

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