ABSTRACT
Objective: To analyze the differences in low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) between patients with schizophrenia (SC) and healthy controls so as to further explore the pathogenesis of schizophrenia by correlating with clinical symptoms and inflammatory cytokines. Methods: We recruited 38 SC patients and 35 demographically matched healthy subjects. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clinical symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). After high-resolution fMRI scanning, data processing and analysis for brain imaging (DPABI) was used to find potential differences in fALFF between the two groups. A Pearson correlation model was used to analyze the associations of functional changes with clinical symptoms and inflammatory cytokines. DPABI software and SPSS 22.0 software were used for data analysis and GRF (P<0.05) theory for multiple comparison correction. Results: ① Compared to the healthy controls, SC patients had significantly increased fALFF values in the bilateral putamen and the right cingulum, but decreased fALFF values in the left precuneus and the left superior frontal gyrus. ② The levels of TNF-α, CCL2, IL-β, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher in SC group than in the control group (z=-3.301, P=0.001; z=-3.053, P=0.002; z=-5.429, P<0.001; z=-6.562, P<0.001; z=-4.537, P<0.001; z=-2.153, P=0.031). ③ The fALFF values of the left putamen of SC group were significantly correlated with the total scores of PANSS (Left: r=0.409, P=0.025; Right: r=0.428, P=0.019). The fALFF values of the left precuneus of SC group were significantly correlated with the levels of IL-4 (r=-0.412, P=0.026); the fALFF values of right cingulum of SC group were significantly correlated with the levels of TNF-α (r=0.392, P=0.035). Conclusion: Abnormalities in inflammatory cytokines and partial brain regions are found in SC patients. More importantly, the left putamen and the right cingulum are associated with disease symptoms and inflammatory cytokines, suggesting that these regions play an important role in the pathogenesis of SC.
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Medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) abnormalities have been observed in various anxiety disorders. However, the relationship between mOFC activity and anxiety among the healthy population has not been fully examined. Here, we conducted a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) study with 56 healthy male adults from the Nathan Kline Institute/Rockland Sample (NKI-RS) to examine the relationship between the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) signals and trait anxiety across the whole brain. A Louvain method for module detection based on graph theory was further employed in the automated functional subdivision to explore subregional correlates of trait anxiety. The results showed that trait anxiety was related to fALFF in the mOFC. Additionally, the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the right subregions of the mOFC and the precuneus was correlated with trait anxiety. These findings provided evidence about the involvement of the mOFC in anxiety processing among the healthy population.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Anxiety/physiopathology , Brain/physiopathology , Brain Mapping , Healthy Volunteers , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Phenotype , Prefrontal Cortex/physiopathology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Objective To explore the functional improvement of dancers' sensorimotor system after years of dance training.Methods Twenty-three dancers(the dance group) of more than 6 years of dancing experience and twenty-one college students (the control group) without any dance experience were recruited in this study.Then the resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging(RS-fMRI) was conducted for both groups and the data were collected.Regional homogeneity (ReHo),fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and functional connectivity (FC) were compared between the two groups.Results Compared to the control group,significant increase was observed in the ReHo of the bilateral postcentral gyruses,the left superior temporal gyrus,the right precentral gyrus and the middle occipital gyrus and fALFF in the bilateral precentral gyruses of the dance group.Moreover,the connection between the right precentral gyrus and left precentral gyrus and the FC between the right precentral gyrus and bilateral postcentral gyrus enhanced significantly in the dance group compared to the control group.Conclusions The functional modulation of dancers' sensorimotor system may be associated with the long-term dancing experience,which may lead to the changes in action perception,memory processing,motor learning and movement control to enhance the formation of the mode to observe,implement and adjust complex actions.Our study has provided a supporting evidence for dancing-induced brain plasticity.
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Objective To explore the characteristic of fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and the relationship with the severity of depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk in depression patients with suicidal ideation with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging maps were conducted using fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) in 52 depression patients (30 with suicidal ideation and 22 without) and 21 healthy controls (HCs). The severity of depression was evaluat-ed by using Hamilton Depression scale(HAMD). The suicidal ideation, the suicide risk in depression patients with sui-cidal ideation were both assessed by the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. The correlation between the fALFF value and the score of HAMD and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation was analyzed. Results MRI revealed significant differences in fALFF in the left superior/middle occipital gyrus and the right middle/inferior occipital gyrus (P<0.05, AlphaSim cor-rected)between depression patients with suicidal ideation and the HCs. Compared to the HCs, depression patients with-out suicidal ideation showed a higher fALFF in the left middle occipital gyrus (P<0.05, AlphaSim corrected). MRI re-vealed significant differences in fALFF in the left middle occipital gyrus (P<0.01, AlphaSim corrected)and the right mid-dle occipital gyrus (P<0.01, AlphaSim corrected) between depression patients with suicidal ideation and without. The fALFF of left middle occipital gyrus (r=0.366, P=0.046) and right middle occipital gyrus (r=0.513, P=0.004) were posi-tively correlated with the scores of HAMD, respectively whereas were not correlated with suicidal ideation and suicide risk. Conclusions Depression patients with suicidal ideation have an abnormal spontaneous activity in their left and right middle occipital gyrus. The increased activity in these brain areas are probably associated with the severity of de-pression whereas are not associated with suicidal ideation or suicide risk.
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Objective To explore the characteristic differences of the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) feature of the spoutaneous neural activity between young male unipolar depression and bipolar depression patients,and determine the biological markers to distinguish the two disorders.Methods Twelve male unipolar depression,12 bipolar depression patients and 11 age and educated-matched healthy males underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning at 3.0 Tesla.The whole brain' s fALFF were calculated and analyzed.Results The differences of the fALFF of the three groups had significant differences (P＜0.01,Alphasim) in the right orbital medial frontal gyrus (6,33,-9;K =29),the left medial frontal gyrus (-6,60,3;K =44) and the left paracentral lobule (-3,-27,5 1;K =20).The unipolar depression subjects had significantly higher fALFF compared with heahhy controls in the left anterior cingulate gyrus.The bipolar depression subjects had significantly higher fALFF compared with healthy controls in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus and the left middle cingulate gyrus.And the unipolar depression subjects had significantly lower fALFF compared with bipolar depression ones in the right orbital medial frontal gyrus,the right anterior cingulate gyrus and the bilateral medial frontal ~rus(all P＜0.05).Conclusions Abnormalities exist in the brain regions in male with unipolar or bipolar depression patients in the resting state,and the abnormal regions are different.