scholarly journals The Topology of Pediatric Structural Asymmetries in Language-Related Cortex

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1809
Author(s):  
Mark Eckert ◽  
Federico Iuricich ◽  
Kenneth Vaden ◽  
Brittany Glaze ◽  

Structural asymmetries in language-related brain regions have long been hypothesized to underlie hemispheric language laterality and variability in language functions. These structural asymmetries have been examined using voxel-level, gross volumetric, and surface area measures of gray matter and white matter. Here we used deformation-based and persistent homology approaches to characterize the three-dimensional topology of brain structure asymmetries within language-related areas that were defined in functional neuroimaging experiments. Persistence diagrams representing the range of values for each spatially unique structural asymmetry were collected within language-related regions of interest across 212 children (mean age (years) = 10.56, range 6.39–16.92; 39% female). These topological data exhibited both leftward and rightward asymmetries within the same language-related regions. Permutation testing demonstrated that age and sex effects were most consistent and pronounced in the superior temporal sulcus, where older children and males had more rightward asymmetries. While, consistent with previous findings, these associations exhibited small effect sizes that were observable because of the relatively large sample. In addition, the density of rightward asymmetry structures in nearly all language-related regions was consistently higher than the density of leftward asymmetric structures. These findings guide the prediction that the topological pattern of structural asymmetries in language-related regions underlies the organization of language.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Nozais ◽  
Stephanie Forkel ◽  
Chris Foulon ◽  
Laurent Petit ◽  
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten

Abstract In recent years, the field of functional neuroimaging has moved from a pure localisationist approach of isolated functional brain regions to a more integrated view of those regions within functional networks. The methods used to investigate such networks, however, rely on local signals in grey matter and are limited in identifying anatomical circuitries supporting the interaction between brain regions. Mapping the brain circuits mediating the functional signal between brain regions would propel forward our understanding of the brain’s functional signatures and dysfunctions. We developed a novel method to unravel the relationship between brain circuits and functions: The Functionnectome. The Functionectome combines the functional signal from fMRI with the anatomy of white matter brain circuits to unlock and chart the first maps of functional white matter. To showcase the versatility of this new method, we provide the first functional white matter maps revealing the joint contribution of connected areas to motor, working memory, and language functions. The Functionnectome comes with an open source companion software and opens new avenues into studying functional networks by applying the method to already existing dataset and beyond task fMRI.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Nozais ◽  
Stephanie J Forkel ◽  
Chris J Foulon ◽  
Laurent Petit ◽  
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten

In recent years, the field of functional neuroimaging has moved from a pure localisationist approach of isolated functional brain regions to a more integrated view of those regions within functional networks. The methods used to investigate such networks, however, rely on local signals in grey matter and are limited in identifying anatomical circuitries supporting the interaction between brain regions. Mapping the brain circuits mediating the functional signal between brain regions would propel forward our understanding of the brain's functional signatures and dysfunctions. We developed a novel method to unravel the relationship between brain circuits and functions: The Functionnectome. The Functionectome combines the functional signal from fMRI with the anatomy of white matter brain circuits to unlock and chart the first maps of functional white matter. To showcase the versatility of this new method, we provide the first functional white matter maps revealing the joint contribution of connected areas to motor, working memory, and language functions. The Functionnectome comes with an open-source companion software and opens new avenues into studying functional networks by applying the method to already existing dataset and beyond task fMRI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Nozais ◽  
Stephanie J. Forkel ◽  
Chris Foulon ◽  
Laurent Petit ◽  
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten

AbstractIn recent years, the field of functional neuroimaging has moved away from a pure localisationist approach of isolated functional brain regions to a more integrated view of these regions within functional networks. However, the methods used to investigate functional networks rely on local signals in grey matter and are limited in identifying anatomical circuitries supporting the interaction between brain regions. Mapping the brain circuits mediating the functional signal between brain regions would propel our understanding of the brain’s functional signatures and dysfunctions. We developed a method to unravel the relationship between brain circuits and functions: The Functionnectome. The Functionnectome combines the functional signal from fMRI with white matter circuits’ anatomy to unlock and chart the first maps of functional white matter. To showcase this method’s versatility, we provide the first functional white matter maps revealing the joint contribution of connected areas to motor, working memory, and language functions. The Functionnectome comes with an open-source companion software and opens new avenues into studying functional networks by applying the method to already existing datasets and beyond task fMRI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-140
Author(s):  
Pascal Grange

AbstractThe wiring diagram of the mouse brain has recently been mapped at a mesoscopic scale in the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas. Axonal projections from brain regions were traced using green fluoresent proteins. The resulting data were registered to a common three-dimensional reference space. They yielded a matrix of connection strengths between 213 brain regions. Global features such as closed loops formed by connections of similar intensity can be inferred using tools from persistent homology. We map the wiring diagram of the mouse brain to a simplicial complex (filtered by connection strengths). We work out generators of the first homology group. Some regions, including nucleus accumbens, are connected to the entire brain by loops, whereas no region has non-zero connection strength to all brain regions. Thousands of loops go through the isocortex, the striatum and the thalamus. On the other hand, medulla is the only major brain compartment that contains more than 100 loops.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten ◽  
Victor Nozais ◽  
Stephanie Forkel ◽  
Chris Foulon ◽  
Laurent Petit

Abstract In recent years, the field of functional neuroimaging has moved away from a pure localisationist approach of isolated functional brain regions to a more integrated view of these regions within functional networks. However, the methods used to investigate functional networks rely on local signals in grey matter and are limited in identifying anatomical circuitries supporting the interaction between brain regions. Mapping the brain circuits mediating the functional signal between brain regions would propel our understanding of the brain’s functional signatures and dysfunctions. We developed a novel method to unravel the relationship between brain circuits and functions: The Functionnectome. The Functionnectome combines the functional signal from fMRI with white matter circuits’ anatomy to unlock and chart the first maps of functional white matter. To showcase this new method’s versatility, we provide the first functional white matter maps revealing the joint contribution of connected areas to motor, working memory, and language functions. The Functionnectome comes with an open-source companion software and opens new avenues into studying functional networks by applying the method to already existing dataset and beyond task fMRI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 800-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferath Kherif ◽  
Sandrine Muller

In the past decades, neuroscientists and clinicians have collected a considerable amount of data and drastically increased our knowledge about the mapping of language in the brain. The emerging picture from the accumulated knowledge is that there are complex and combinatorial relationships between language functions and anatomical brain regions. Understanding the underlying principles of this complex mapping is of paramount importance for the identification of the brain signature of language and Neuro-Clinical signatures that explain language impairments and predict language recovery after stroke. We review recent attempts to addresses this question of language-brain mapping. We introduce the different concepts of mapping (from diffeomorphic one-to-one mapping to many-to-many mapping). We build those different forms of mapping to derive a theoretical framework where the current principles of brain architectures including redundancy, degeneracy, pluri-potentiality and bow-tie network are described.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tun-Wei Hsu ◽  
Jong-Ling Fuh ◽  
Da-Wei Wang ◽  
Li-Fen Chen ◽  
Chia-Jung Chang ◽  
...  

AbstractDementia is related to the cellular accumulation of β-amyloid plaques, tau aggregates, or α-synuclein aggregates, or to neurotransmitter deficiencies in the dopaminergic and cholinergic pathways. Cellular and neurochemical changes are both involved in dementia pathology. However, the role of dopaminergic and cholinergic networks in metabolic connectivity at different stages of dementia remains unclear. The altered network organisation of the human brain characteristic of many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders can be detected using persistent homology network (PHN) analysis and algebraic topology. We used 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) imaging data to construct dopaminergic and cholinergic metabolism networks, and used PHN analysis to track the evolution of these networks in patients with different stages of dementia. The sums of the network distances revealed significant differences between the network connectivity evident in the Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment cohorts. A larger distance between brain regions can indicate poorer efficiency in the integration of information. PHN analysis revealed the structural properties of and changes in the dopaminergic and cholinergic metabolism networks in patients with different stages of dementia at a range of thresholds. This method was thus able to identify dysregulation of dopaminergic and cholinergic networks in the pathology of dementia.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke M. Mans ◽  
Kelli M. Kukulka ◽  
Keith J. McAvoy ◽  
Norman C. Rokosz

The regional distribution of binding sites on the GABAA receptor and their kinetic parameters were measured by quantitative autoradiography in brains from normal rats and rats with a portacaval shunt, a model of portal systemic encephalopathy in which GABA neurotransmission may be altered. The ligands used were [3H]flunitrazepam (a benzodiazepine-site agonist), [3H]-Ro 15-1788 (a benzodiazepine-site antagonist), [3H]muscimol (a GABA-site agonist), and [35S] t-butylbicyclo-phosphorothionate (35S-TBPS, a convulsant that binds to a site near the chloride channel). Some brains were analyzed by computerized image analysis and three-dimensional reconstruction. The regional distribution of binding of the benzodiazepines was very similar, but the patterns obtained with [3H]muscimol and [35S]TBPS were different in many areas, suggesting a heterogeneous distribution of several subtypes of the GABAA receptor. The kinetic parameters were determined in brain regions for [3H]flunitrazepam, [3H]Ro15-1788, and [3H]muscimol. For each ligand, the Kd showed a significant heterogeneity among brain regions (at least threefold), contrary to conclusions drawn from earlier studies. In portacaval shunted rats, binding of all four ligands was essentially unchanged from that in control rats, indicating that, if there was an abnormality in GABA neurotransmission during portal systemic shunting, it was not reflected by altered binding to the main sites on the GABAA receptor.


2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1481) ◽  
pp. 761-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D'Esposito

Working memory refers to the temporary retention of information that was just experienced or just retrieved from long-term memory but no longer exists in the external environment. These internal representations are short-lived, but can be stored for longer periods of time through active maintenance or rehearsal strategies, and can be subjected to various operations that manipulate the information in such a way that makes it useful for goal-directed behaviour. Empirical studies of working memory using neuroscientific techniques, such as neuronal recordings in monkeys or functional neuroimaging in humans, have advanced our knowledge of the underlying neural mechanisms of working memory. This rich dataset can be reconciled with behavioural findings derived from investigating the cognitive mechanisms underlying working memory. In this paper, I review the progress that has been made towards this effort by illustrating how investigations of the neural mechanisms underlying working memory can be influenced by cognitive models and, in turn, how cognitive models can be shaped and modified by neuroscientific data. One conclusion that arises from this research is that working memory can be viewed as neither a unitary nor a dedicated system. A network of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is critical for the active maintenance of internal representations that are necessary for goal-directed behaviour. Thus, working memory is not localized to a single brain region but probably is an emergent property of the functional interactions between the PFC and the rest of the brain.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document