scholarly journals Association between Changes in Cortical Thickness and Functional Connectivity in Male Patients with Alcohol-dependence

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 441-450
Author(s):  
Shin-Eui Park ◽  
Yeong-Jae Jeon ◽  
Hyeon-Man Baek
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Male Patients

scholarly journals High resolution structural and functional MRI of the hippocampus in young adults with Down syndrome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A Koenig ◽  
Se-Hong Oh ◽  
Melissa R Stasko ◽  
Elizabeth C Roth ◽  
H Gerry Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Drug Efficacy ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
7 Tesla ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
And Function

Abstract Down syndrome is the phenotypic consequence of trisomy 21, with clinical presentation including both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative components. Although the intellectual disability typically displayed by individuals with Down syndrome is generally global, it also involves disproportionate deficits in hippocampally-mediated cognitive processes. Hippocampal dysfunction may also relate to Alzheimer’s disease-type pathology, which can appear in as early as the first decade of life and becomes universal by age 40. Using 7-tesla MRI of the brain, we present an assessment of the structure and function of the hippocampus in 34 individuals with Down syndrome (mean age 24.5 years ± 6.5) and 27 age- and sex-matched typically developing healthy controls. In addition to increased whole-brain mean cortical thickness and lateral ventricle volumes (p < 1.0 × 10−4), individuals with Down syndrome showed selective volume reductions in bilateral hippocampal subfields CA1, dentate gyrus, and tail (p < 0.005). In the group with Down syndrome, bilateral hippocampi showed widespread reductions in the strength of functional connectivity, predominately to frontal regions (p < 0.02). Age was not related to hippocampal volumes or functional connectivity measures in either group, but both groups showed similar relationships of age to whole-brain volume measures (p < 0.05). Finally, we performed an exploratory analysis of a subgroup of individuals with Down syndrome with both imaging and neuropsychological assessments. This analysis indicated that measures of spatial memory were related to mean cortical thickness, total gray matter volume, and right hemisphere hippocampal subfield volumes (p < 0.02). This work provides a first demonstration of the usefulness of high-field MRI to detect subtle differences in structure and function of the hippocampus in individuals with Down syndrome, and suggests the potential for development of MRI-derived measures as surrogate markers of drug efficacy in pharmacological studies designed to investigate enhancement of cognitive function.

scholarly journals Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Correlate with Psychosocial Development in Contemplative Practitioners and Controls

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 728
Author(s):  
Omar Singleton ◽  
Max Newlon ◽  
Andres Fossas ◽  
Beena Sharma ◽  
Susanne R. Cook-Greuter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Adult Development ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Contemplative Practice ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Posterior Cingulate

Jane Loevinger’s theory of adult development, termed ego development (1966) and more recently maturity development, provides a useful framework for understanding the development of the self throughout the lifespan. However, few studies have investigated its neural correlates. In the present study, we use structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate the neural correlates of maturity development in contemplative practitioners and controls. Since traits possessed by individuals with higher levels of maturity development are similar to those attributed to individuals at advanced stages of contemplative practice, we chose to investigate levels of maturity development in meditation practitioners as well as matched controls. We used the Maturity Assessment Profile (MAP) to measure maturity development in a mixed sample of participants composed of 14 long-term meditators, 16 long-term yoga practitioners, and 16 demographically matched controls. We investigated the relationship between contemplative practice and maturity development with behavioral, seed-based resting state functional connectivity, and cortical thickness analyses. The results of this study indicate that contemplative practitioners possess higher maturity development compared to a matched control group, and in addition, maturity development correlates with cortical thickness in the posterior cingulate. Furthermore, we identify a brain network implicated in theory of mind, narrative, and self-referential processing, comprising the posterior cingulate cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and inferior frontal cortex, as a primary neural correlate.

Marital Satisfaction Among Spouses of Male Patients with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (02) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Humayoon Akbar ◽  
Sudhakar S. ◽  
Shanthi B. ◽  
Khadeja Bi ◽  
Jayaseelan R. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
College Hospital ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Alcohol Dependence Syndrome ◽  
Male Patients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Alcohol Dependent

BACKGROUND One third of Indians consume alcohol and there is an alarming annual increase in alcohol consumption. Majority of spouses of alcohol dependent males are also the primary care-takers of their husbands and are at risk of domestic violence. Marital dissatisfaction could reduce their involvement in getting their spouses treated for alcohol dependence. Our aim was to study the marital satisfaction among the spouses of patients with alcohol dependence. METHODOLOGY This study was conducted on spouses of male patients with alcohol dependence syndrome attending the psychiatry department of a tertiary care medical college hospital in Kanchipuram District in Tamilnadu. 200 consecutive male patients with alcohol dependence syndrome using the ICD 10 criteria were recruited. Severity of alcohol dependence was assessed using Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD). Marital satisfaction among the spouses was assessed using ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) Scale. Analysis of the data was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. RESULTS The mean age of alcohol dependent men and their spouses were 43.05±9.39 and 37.58±8.86 years respectively. Most of the spouses (83.5%) had done their primary education only and 50% were house-wives (unemployed). Majority of men earned between Rs.5000 to 10,000 and most of them were unskilled workers belonging to the lower socio-economic group in the rural areas. The mean SADD and EMS scores were 25.05 ± 8.891 and 31.76 ± 14.45 respectively. 74% of men in our study population were highly dependent on alcohol. Amongst the spouses of men with severe dependence 68.9% reported moderate and 28.3% reported low marital satisfaction. DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION Majority of alcohol dependent men suffered from severe dependence. An inverse relationship between marital satisfaction scores and severity of alcohol dependence was observed. Alcohol dependence and its severity was noted to have an adverse impact on marital satisfaction among spouses of the dependent patients.

scholarly journals The Clinical and Demographic Profile of Male Patients with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pramod Kumar Reddy ◽  
R. Sateesh Babu ◽  
Satish M. Pathak ◽  
S. Venkateshwarlu
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Demographic Profile ◽  
Alcohol Dependence Syndrome ◽  
Male Patients

Gender-related differences in functional connectivity in multiple sclerosis

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menno M Schoonheim ◽  
Hanneke E Hulst ◽  
Doriana Landi ◽  
Olga Ciccarelli ◽  
Stefan D Roosendaal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visuospatial Memory ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Network Efficiency ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Female Patients ◽  
Male Patients

Background: Gender effects are strong in multiple sclerosis (MS), with male patients showing a worse clinical outcome than female patients. Functional reorganization of neural activity may contribute to limit disability, and possible gender differences in this process may have important clinical implications. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore gender-related changes in functional connectivity and network efficiency in MS patients. Additionally, we explored the association of functional changes with cognitive function. Methods: Sixty subjects were included in the study, matched for age, education level and intelligence quotient (IQ). Male and female patients were matched for disability, disease duration and white matter lesion load. Two cognitive domains often impaired in MS, i.e. visuospatial memory and information processing speed, were evaluated in all subjects. Functional connectivity between brain regions and network efficiency was explored using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and graph analysis. Differences in cognitive and functional characteristics between groups, and correlations with cognitive performance, were examined. Results: Male patients showed worse performance on cognitive tests than female and male controls, while female patients were cognitively normal. Decreases in functional connectivity and network efficiency, observed in male patients, correlated with reduced visuospatial memory ( r = −0.6 and r = −0.5, respectively). In the control group, no cognitive differences were found between genders, despite differences in functional connectivity between healthy men and women. Conclusions: Functional connectivity differences were found in male patients only and were related to impaired visuospatial memory. These results underline the importance of gender in MS and require further investigation in larger and longitudinal studies.

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