scholarly journals Temporoparietal Connectivity Within Default Mode Network Associates With Clinical Improvements in Schizophrenia Following Modified Electroconvulsive Therapy

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Hu ◽  
Huan Huang ◽  
Yuchao Jiang ◽  
Xiong Jiao ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
...  

Although modified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been reported to be effective for the treatment of schizophrenia (SCZ), its action mechanism is unclear. To elucidate the underlying ECT mechanisms of SCZ, this study used a longitudinal cohort including 21 SCZ patients receiving only antipsychotics (DSZ group) and 21 SCZ patients receiving a regular course of ECT combining with antipsychotics (MSZ group) for 4 weeks. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at baseline (t1) and follow-up (t2) time points. A matched healthy control (HC) group included 23 individuals who were only scanned at baseline. Functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode network (DMN) was evaluated before and after ECT. Significant interaction of the group over time was found in FC between angular gyrus (AG) and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Post-hoc analysis showed a significantly enhanced FC of left AG(AG.L) and right MTG (MTG.R) in the MSZ group relative to the DSZ group. In addition, the right AG (AG.R) showed significantly enhanced FC between MTG.R and left MTG (MTG.L) after ECT in the MSZ group, but no in the DSZ group. In particular, the FCs change in AG.L-MTG.R and AG.R-MTG.R were positively correlated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative score reduction. Furthermore, the FC change in AG.L-MTG.R was also positively correlated with the PANSS general psychopathology score reduction. These findings confirmed a potential relationship between ECT inducing hyperconnectivity within DMN and improvements in symptomatology of SCZ, suggesting that ECT controls mental symptoms by regulating the temporoparietal connectivity within DMN.

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 619-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhu ◽  
Dongqing Wang ◽  
Zhe Liu ◽  
Yuefeng Li

ABSTRACTBackground:Neuroimaging studies have shown that major depressive disorder is associated with altered activity patterns of the default-mode network (DMN). In this study, we sought to investigate the topological organization of the DMN in patients with remitted geriatric depression (RGD) and whether RGD patients would be more likely to show disrupted topological configuration of the DMN during the resting-state.Methods:Thirty-three RGD patients and thirty-one healthy control participants underwent clinical and cognitive evaluations as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The functional connectivity (FC) networks were constructed by thresholding Pearson correlation metrics of the DMN regions defined by group independent component analysis, and their topological properties (e.g. small-world and network efficiency) were analyzed using graph theory-based approaches.Results:Relative to the healthy controls, the RGD patients showed decreased FC in the posterior regions of the DMN (i.e. the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, angular gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus). Furthermore, the RGD patients showed abnormal global topology of the DMN (i.e. increased characteristic path length and reduced global efficiency) when compared with healthy controls. Importantly, significant correlations between these network measures and cognitive performance indicated their potential use as biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction in RGD.Conclusions:The present study indicated disrupted FC and topological organization of the DMN in the context of RGD, and further implied their contribution to cognitive deficits in RGD patients.


Pain Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1546-1552
Author(s):  
Chie Usui ◽  
Eiji Kirino ◽  
Shoji Tanaka ◽  
Rie Inami ◽  
Kenya Nishioka ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective The aims of the present study were to examine the effects of short-term music interventions among patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and to clarify the alterations in functional connectivity and persistent pain. Design Pilot study. Setting All participants were evaluated at Juntendo University from November 2017 to January 2019. Subjects We enrolled female patients who had been clinically diagnosed with FM (N = 23). Methods All participants listened to Mozart’s Duo for Violin and Viola No. 1, K. 423, in a quiet room for 17 minutes. We compared the degree of pain using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and the numeric rating scale before and after listening to music. Results Pain scores were significantly reduced after listening to music. Further, we observed there was a significant difference in connectivity between the right insular cortex (IC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus (PCu) before and after listening to music. We also found that the difference between the right IC-PCu connectivity and the difference in pain scores were significantly correlated. Conclusions We found that a short period of music intervention reduced chronic pain and altered functional IC–default mode network connectivity. Furthermore, music potentially normalized the neural network via IC–default mode network connectivity, yielding temporary pain relief in patients with FM. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Portugal-Nunes ◽  
Joana Reis ◽  
Ana Coelho ◽  
Pedro Silva Moreira ◽  
Teresa Costa Castanho ◽  
...  

Background: Numerous studies suggest a relationship between depression and metabolic syndrome, which is likely influenced by age. Interestingly, functional imaging analysis has shown an association between functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN-FC) and components of metabolic syndrome, which is explored in this study.Methods: From a larger longitudinal cohort study on healthy aging, 943 individuals were extensively characterized for mood and cognition. Among these, 120 individuals who were selected for displaying extreme cognitive performance within the normal range (good and poor performers) were further studied. Here, in a cross-sectional design, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the association between metabolic dysfunction and depressive mood as a function of age and its relationship with DMN-FC was studied.Results: Metabolic dysfunction was modeled as a second-order latent variable using CFA. First-order latent variables were obesity, glucose dysmetabolism, lipids imbalance, and blood pressure. Using multiple linear regression models, this study observed that metabolic dysfunction, glucose dysmetabolism, and lipids imbalance were linearly associated with depressive mood, and the association with obesity was U-shaped. The association of metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and glucose dysmetabolism with depressive mood is positive for the younger individuals in our sample and vanishes with aging. The FC of the right superior temporal gyrus with the DMN correlated with both obesity and depressive mood. In participants with higher obesity scores, FC increased with higher GDS scores, while in those with lower GDS scores, FC decreased. Age and blood pressure were associated with a more complex pattern of association between FC of the right supramarginal gyrus and GDS score.Conclusion: The association of metabolic dysfunction with depressive mood is influenced by age and relates with differential patterns of DMN-FC. The combination of the effects of age, mood, and metabolic dysfunction is likely to explain the heterogeneity of DMN-FC, which deserves further investigation with larger and longitudinal studies.


Author(s):  
Takahiro Yamanoi ◽  
◽  
Yoshinori Tanaka ◽  
Mika Otsuki ◽  
Shin-ichi Ohnishi ◽  
...  

The authors measure electroencephalograms (EEGs) from a subject looking at line drawings of body parts and recalling their names silently. The equivalent current dipole source localization (ECDL) method is applied to the event related potentials (ERPs): summed EEGs. As the dominant language area of the subject is considered to be in the right hemisphere in the previous research study, ECDs are localized to the right middle temporal gyrus: the angular gyrus. Then ECDs are localized to the right fusiform gyrus, the right middle temporal pole (TEP), and the right inferior temporal white matter (TWM). ECDs are located in the ventral pathway. The areas are related to the integrated process of visual recognition of pictures and the recalling of words. Some of these areas are also related to image recognition and word generation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Petzke ◽  
K.B. Jensen ◽  
E. Kosek ◽  
E. Choy ◽  
S. Carville ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundIn recent years, the prescription of serotonin-noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) for treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) has increased with reports of their efficacy. The SNRI milnacipran is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of FM, yet, the mechanisms by which milnacipran reduces FM symptoms are unknown. A large number of neuroimaging studies have demonstrated altered brain function in patients with FM but the effect of milnacipran on central pain processing has not been investigated. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of milnacipran on sensitivity to pressure-evoked pain in FM. Secondary objectives were to assess the effect of milnacipran on cerebral processing of pressure-evoked pain using fMRI and the tolerability and safety of milnacipran 200 mg/day in FM.Methods92 patients were randomized to either 13-weeks milnacipran treatment (200 mg/day) or placebo in this double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial. Psychophysical measures and functional MRI (fMRI) assessments were performed before and after treatment using a computer-controlled pressure-pain stimulator. Here, we present the results of several a priori defined statistical analyses.ResultsMilnacipran-treated patients displayed a trend toward lower pressure-pain sensitivity after treatment, compared to placebo, and the difference was greater at higher pain intensities. A single group fMRI analysis of milnacipran-treated patients indicated increased pain-evoked brain activity in the caudatus nucleus, anterior insula and amygdala after treatment, compared to before treatment; regions implicated in pain inhibitory processes. A 2 × 2 repeated measures fMRI analysis, comparing milnacipran and placebo, before and after treatment, showed that milnacipran-treated patients had greater pain-evoked activity in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex after treatment; a region previously implicated in intrinsic brain function and FM pathology. This finding was only significant when uncorrected for multiple comparisons. The safety analysis revealed that patients from both treatment groups had treatment-emergent adverse events where nausea was the most common complaint, reported by 43.5% of placebo patients and 71.7% of milnacipran-treated patients. Patients on milnacipran were more likely to discontinue treatment because of side effects.ConclusionsOur results provide preliminary indications of increased pain inhibitory responses in milnacipran-treated FM patients, compared to placebo. The psychophysical assessments did not reach statistical significance but reveal a trend toward higher pressure-pain tolerance after treatment with milnacipran, compared to placebo, especially for higher pain intensities. Our fMRI analyses point toward increased activation of the precuneus/posterior cingulum in patients treated with milnacipran, however results were not corrected for multiple comparisons. The precuneus/posterior cingulum is a key region of the default mode network and has previously been associated with abnormal function in FM. Future studies may further explore activity within the default mode network as a potential biomarker for abnormal central pain processing.ImplicationsThe present study provides novel insights for future studies where functional neuroimaging may be used to elucidate the central mechanisms of common pharmacological treatments for chronic pain. Furthermore, our results point toward a potential mechanism for pain normalization in response to milnacipran, involving regions of the default mode network although this finding needs to be replicated in future studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1239-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olympia Colizoli ◽  
Jaap M. J. Murre ◽  
H. Steven Scholte ◽  
Romke Rouw

Perception is inherently subjective, and individual differences in phenomenology are well illustrated by the phenomenon of synesthesia (highly specific, consistent, and automatic cross-modal experiences, in which the external stimulus corresponding to the additional sensation is absent). It is unknown why some people develop synesthesia and others do not. In the current study, we tested whether neural markers related to having synesthesia in the family were evident in brain function and structure. Relatives of synesthetes (who did not have any type of synesthesia themselves) and matched controls read specially prepared books with colored letters for several weeks and were scanned before and after reading using magnetic resonance imaging. Effects of acquired letter–color associations were evident in brain activation. Training-related activation (while viewing black letters) in the right angular gyrus of the parietal lobe was directly related to the strength of the learned letter–color associations (behavioral Stroop effect). Within this obtained angular gyrus ROI, the familial trait of synesthesia related to brain activation differences while participants viewed both black and colored letters. Finally, we compared brain structure using voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging to test for group differences and training effects. One cluster in the left superior parietal lobe had significantly more coherent white matter in the relatives compared with controls. No evidence for experience-dependent plasticity was obtained. For the first time, we present evidence suggesting that the (nonsynesthete) relatives of grapheme–color synesthetes show atypical grapheme processing as well as increased brain connectivity.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunice Y. Chen ◽  
Susan Murray ◽  
Tania Giovannetti ◽  
David V. Smith

AbstractMeta-analyses of neuroimaging studies have not found a clear relationship between the orbitofrontal cortex and obesity, despite animal and human studies suggesting the contrary. Our primary meta-analysis examined what regions are associated with reduced gray matter volume, given increased body mass index. We identified 23 voxel-based morphometry studies examining the association between gray matter volume and body mass index. In a sample of 6,788 participants, we found that greater body mass index is associated with decreased gray matter volume in the right Brodmanns’ area 10 and 11, forming part of the right orbitofrontal cortex (FWE, p=0.05). Use of Brodmanns’ areas 10 and 11 as seeds in a Neurosynth network coactivation and text decoding analysis revealed that these regions are associated with studies of emotional regulation and processing, clinical symptoms and disorder, ‘mentalizing’ and social cognition, and the Default mode network. Our finding uniquely contributes to the literature in showing a relationship between the orbitofrontal cortex and obesity and showing the wide-ranging impact these differences may have on social, mental, and emotional functioning as well as on the Default mode network. Exploratory analyses suggest the need for studies examining the effect of age on these findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 830-831
Author(s):  
Anar Amgalan ◽  
Alexander Mayer ◽  
Michelle Ha ◽  
Andrei Irimia

Abstract The extent to which brain functional correlations (FCs) are modulated by age and sex is unknown. We studied default mode network (DMN) FC changes in 136 participants with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI; 52 females, age range: 19 – 79 years, age μ = 42, age σ = 17; 72 participants younger than 40). Structural and functional magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were acquired ~1 week and ~6 months post-injury; the FreeSurfer Functional Analysis STream (FS-FAST) was used for group-level FC comparisons across sexes and age groups (younger vs. older than 40). FC seeds were two sub-networks of the DMN, M1 and M2, defined by the standard Yeo parcellation scheme. For M1, clusters with significant FC differences across sexes were in the right paracentral lobule, central sulcus, postcentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and precentral sulcus (p = 0.0001), and in the left paracentral lobule and central sulcus (p = 0.022). For M2, clusters spanned the right postcentral gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, transverse occipital sulcus, and central sulcus (p = 0.0001), the left precuneus and inferior parietal lobe (p = 0.0096). Females either exhibited no significant FC change or underwent FC increases. Males underwent significant FC decreases within all clusters, suggesting their increased vulnerability to mTBI-related effects. Clusters whose FCs differed significantly across age groups were localized to the left superior temporal gyrus (p = 0.0078), highlighting the vulnerability of temporal regions to age effects. Future studies should explore the age × sex interaction and uncover the mechanisms for these observed findings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 3884-3894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabhjot Dhami ◽  
Sravya Atluri ◽  
Jonathan C Lee ◽  
Yuliya Knyahnytska ◽  
Paul E Croarkin ◽  
...  

Abstract Up to 50% of youth with depression do not respond to conventional first-line treatments. However, little research has been conducted on the pathophysiology of youth depression, hindering the identification of more effective treatments. Our goal was to identify neurophysiological markers that differentiate youth with depression from healthy youth and could serve as targets of novel treatments. We hypothesized that youth with depression would exhibit network-specific cortical reactivity and connectivity abnormalities compared with healthy youth. Transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging was employed in combination with clinical and behavioral assessments to study cortical reactivity and connectivity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), motor cortex, and inferior parietal lobule, sites linked to the frontoparietal network, sensorimotor network, and default mode network, respectively. In youth depression, greater cortical reactivity was observed specific to the left and right DLPFC stimulation only, which correlated with anhedonia scores. Additionally, the connectivity of the right DLPFC was significantly higher in youth depression. Source reconstruction attributed the observed connectivity dysregulation to regions belonging to the default mode network. The neurophysiological signatures identified in this study have high potential to inform the development of more effective and targeted interventions for the youth depression population.


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