Structural changes of the frontal cortex in depressed mice are associated with decreased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the changes in gray matter volume in depressive-like mice and explore the possible mechanism.@*METHODS@#Twenty-four 6-week-old C57 mice were randomized equally into control group and model group, and the mice in the model group were subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stimulation (CUMS) for 35 days. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to examine structural changes of the grey matter volume in depressive-like mice. The expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the grey matter of the mice was detected using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control mice, the mice with CUMS showed significantly decreased central walking distance in the open field test (P < 0.05) and increased immobile time in forced swimming test (P < 0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the volume of the frontal cortex was significantly decreased in CUMS mice (P < 0.001, when the mass level was greater than or equal to 10 756, the FDRc was corrected with P=0.05). Western blotting showed that the expression of mature BDNF in the frontal cortex was significantly decreased in CUMS mice (P < 0.05), and its expression began to decrease after the exposure to CUMS as shown by immunofluorescence staining. The volume of different clusters obtained by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was correlated with the expression level of mature BDNF detected by Western blotting (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The decrease of frontal cortex volume after CUMS is related with the reduction of mature BDNF expression in the frontal cortex.

Cortical thickness is related to working memory performance after non-invasive brain stimulation

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) probing the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been shown to have little effect on working memory. The variability of NIBS responses might be explained by inter-subject brain anatomical variability. We investigated whether baseline cortical brain thickness of regions of interest was associated with working memory performance after NIBS by performing a secondary analysis of previously published research. Structural magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed from healthy subjects who received transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), and placebo. Twenty-two participants were randomly assigned to receive all the interventions in a random order. The working memory task was conducted after the end of each NIBS session. Regions of interest were the bilateral DLPFC, medial prefrontal cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. Overall, 66 NIBS sessions were performed. Findings revealed a negative significant association between cortical thickness of the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and reaction time for both tDCS (left: P=0.045, right: P=0.037) and iTBS (left: P=0.007, right: P=0.007) compared to placebo. A significant positive association was found for iTBS and posterior cingulate cortex (P=0.03). No association was found for accuracy. Our findings provide the first evidence that individual cortical thickness of healthy subjects might be associated with working memory performance following different NIBS interventions. Therefore, cortical thickness could explain - to some extent - the heterogeneous effects of NIBS probing the DLPFC.

Changes of gray matter volume and brain functional connectivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbid with oppositional defiant disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To analyze the changes of gray matter volume and resting-state functional connectivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbid with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).Methods:A total of 22 ADHD comorbid with ODD children (ADHD-ODD group, n=22) were selected from a public-assess resting-state fMRI ADHD cohort, namely, ADHD-200.Meanwhile, 22 age- and sex- matched ADHD children without ODD (ADHD group, n=22) and 22 healthy children(control group, n=22) were also included.T1-weighted MRI and resting-state fMRI scans were performed on all of the participants.The voxel-based morphometric (VBM) method was used to compare the volume of gray matter in three groups.The gray matter with aberrant volume was set as the region of interest(ROI) for mapping the functional connectivity of the whole brain.For comparison of gray matter volumes, one-way ANOVA and two-sample t-test analysis were applied, while two-sample t-test analysis was used for comparison of functional connectivity. Results:Compared with the control group, ADHD-ODD group showed decreased gray matter volume in the left cerebellum anterior lobe (MNI coordinate: x, y, z=-19.5, -42, -18) and right cerebellum anterior lobe (MNI coordinate: x, y, z=19.5, -39, -21). The left cerebellum anterior lobe showed increased functional connectivity with left superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus (MNI coordinate: x, y, z=-24, 19, 43), right superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus (MNI coordinate: x, y, z=30, 9, 45) and bilateral precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus(MNI coordinate: x, y, z=-6, -35, 24). Compared with the ADHD group, ADHD-ODD group showed decreased gray matter volume in the right cerebellum anterior lobe (MNI coordinate: x, y, z=19.5, -37.5, -22.5). The right cerebellum anterior lobe showed increased functional connectivity with bilateral superior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, bilateral medial frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus(MNI coordinate: x, y, z=18, -12, 42), bilateral cuneus, bilateral lingual gyrus(MNI coordinate: x, y, z=9, -87, 27).Conclusion:ADHD comorbid with ODD children show decreased cerebellum volume and excessive functional connectivity with several brain regions of the cerebral hemispheres, which may be one of the neuropathological bases of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

Evaluation of memory in persons with mesial temporal lobe sclerosis: A combined fMRI and VBM study

Persons with drug refractory TLE have the option of being managed by surgery. They may develop memoryimpairment with specific etiology of mesial temporal sclerosis and anterior temporal lobe resection (ATLR).The study evaluated the semantic verbal memory outcomes in pre- and post-surgery temporal lobe epilepsy(TLE) patients using functional MRI and voxel morphometric methods. Twenty consecutive persons withdrug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) and 20 healthy controls were recruited after obtaining the institute ethicsapproval. The fMRI scans were performed on a 1.5 T MR Scanner using standardized semantic verbal memorytasks using a native Hindi paradigm, before and after an anterior temporal lobectomy (in cases). A task-basedfunctional connectivity (FC) was estimated using a conn toolbox. Data analysis was carried out using thestatistical parametric imaging (SPM12) and CAT12 toolbox. Post-surgery TLE group showed increased robustFC in the right middle and posterior temporal regions as compared to pre-surgery session. A significantreduction in grey matter volume was observed in the left temporal lobe post-operatively as compared to presurgery and healthy control groups. In the post-surgery TLE group, neuropsychological scores were reduced inspecific PGI domains such as visuospatial, working memory, and executive functioning. Our results may helpin understanding of memory reorganization in TLE post-operatively.

Voxel-wise meta-analysis of structural changes in gray matter of Parkinsons disease patients with mild cognitive impairment

Evidence from previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies indicates that widespread brain regions are involved in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI). However, the spatial localization reported for gray matter (GM) abnormalities is heterogeneous. The aim of the present study was to quantitatively integrate studies on GM abnormalities observed in PD-MCI in order to determine whether a pattern exists. Eligible whole-brain VBM studies were identified by a systematic search of articles in PubMed and EMBASE databases spanning from 1995 to January 1, 2019. A meta-analysis was performed to investigate regional GM abnormalities in PD-MCI. The anisotropic effect size version of seed-based d mapping (AES-SDM) meta-analysis was conducted to explore the GMV differences of PD-MCI compared with PD patients with normal cognitive function (PD-NC). A total of 12 studies comprising 243 PD-MCI patients and 326 PD-NC were included in the meta-analysis. PD-MCI patients showed a robust GM decrease in the left insula and left superior temporal gyrus. Moreover, meta-regression analysis demonstrated that age, PD duration and stage, and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III and Mini-Mental State Examination scores might be partly correlated with the GM abnormalities observed in PD-MCI patients. The convergent findings of this quantitative meta-analysis revealed a characteristic neuroanatomical pattern in PD-MCI. The findings provide some evidence that MCI in PD may result in the breakdown of the insula and temporal gyrus, which may serve as specific regions of interest for further investigations.

Gray matter atrophy in parkinsons disease and the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy: a combined roi- and voxel-based morphometric study

OBJECTIVES: Parkinson's disease (PD) and the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P) are distinct neurodegenerative disorders that share similar clinical features of parkinsonism. The morphological alterations of these diseases have yet to be understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate gray matter atrophy in PD and MSA-P using regions of interest (ROI)-based measurements and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). METHODS: We studied 41 patients with PD, 20 patients with MSA-P, and 39 controls matched for age, sex, and handedness using an improved T1-weighted sequence that eased gray matter segmentation. The gray matter volumes were measured using ROI and VBM. RESULTS: ROI volumetric measurements showed significantly reduced bilateral putamen volumes in MSA-P patients compared with those in PD patients and controls (p<0.05), and the volumes of the bilateral caudate nucleus were significantly reduced in both MSA-P and PD patients compared with those in the controls (p<0.05). VBM analysis revealed multifocal cortical and subcortical atrophy in both MSA-P and PD patients, and the volumes of the cerebellum and temporal lobes were remarkably reduced in MSA-P patients compared with the volumes in PD patients (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both PD and MSA-P are associated with gray matter atrophy, which mainly involves the bilateral putamen, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, and temporal lobes. ROI and VBM can be used to identify these morphological alterations, and VBM is more sensitive and repeatable and less time-consuming, which may have potential diagnostic value.

A Systematic Characterization of Structural Brain Changes in Schizophrenia / 神经科学通报·英文版

A systematic characterization of the similarities and differences among different methods for detecting structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM), tensor-based morphometry (TBM), and projection-based thickness (PBT), is important for understanding the brain pathology in schizophrenia and for developing effective biomarkers for a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, such studies are still lacking. Here, we performed VBM, TBM, and PBT analyses on T1-weighted brain MR images acquired from 116 patients with schizophrenia and 116 healthy controls. We found that, although all methods detected wide-spread structural changes, different methods captured different information - only 10.35% of the grey matter changes in cortex were detected by all three methods, and VBM only detected 11.36% of the white matter changes detected by TBM. Further, pattern classification between patients and controls revealed that combining different measures improved the classification accuracy (81.9%), indicating that fusion of different structural measures serves as a better neuroimaging marker for the objective diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Joint Multi-modal Parcellation of the Human Striatum: Functions and Clinical Relevance / 神经科学通报·英文版

The human striatum is essential for both low- and high-level functions and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of various prevalent disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). It is known to consist of structurally and functionally divergent subdivisions. However, previous parcellations are based on a single neuroimaging modality, leaving the extent of the multi-modal organization of the striatum unknown. Here, we investigated the organization of the striatum across three modalities-resting-state functional connectivity, probabilistic diffusion tractography, and structural covariance-to provide a holistic convergent view of its structure and function. We found convergent clusters in the dorsal, dorsolateral, rostral, ventral, and caudal striatum. Functional characterization revealed the anterior striatum to be mainly associated with cognitive and emotional functions, while the caudal striatum was related to action execution. Interestingly, significant structural atrophy in the rostral and ventral striatum was common to both PD and SCZ, but atrophy in the dorsolateral striatum was specifically attributable to PD. Our study revealed a cross-modal convergent organization of the striatum, representing a fundamental topographical model that can be useful for investigating structural and functional variability in aging and in clinical conditions.

A Systematic Characterization of Structural Brain Changes in Schizophrenia / 神经科学通报·英文版

A systematic characterization of the similarities and differences among different methods for detecting structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM), tensor-based morphometry (TBM), and projection-based thickness (PBT), is important for understanding the brain pathology in schizophrenia and for developing effective biomarkers for a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, such studies are still lacking. Here, we performed VBM, TBM, and PBT analyses on T1-weighted brain MR images acquired from 116 patients with schizophrenia and 116 healthy controls. We found that, although all methods detected wide-spread structural changes, different methods captured different information - only 10.35% of the grey matter changes in cortex were detected by all three methods, and VBM only detected 11.36% of the white matter changes detected by TBM. Further, pattern classification between patients and controls revealed that combining different measures improved the classification accuracy (81.9%), indicating that fusion of different structural measures serves as a better neuroimaging marker for the objective diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Joint Multi-modal Parcellation of the Human Striatum: Functions and Clinical Relevance / 神经科学通报·英文版

The human striatum is essential for both low- and high-level functions and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of various prevalent disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). It is known to consist of structurally and functionally divergent subdivisions. However, previous parcellations are based on a single neuroimaging modality, leaving the extent of the multi-modal organization of the striatum unknown. Here, we investigated the organization of the striatum across three modalities-resting-state functional connectivity, probabilistic diffusion tractography, and structural covariance-to provide a holistic convergent view of its structure and function. We found convergent clusters in the dorsal, dorsolateral, rostral, ventral, and caudal striatum. Functional characterization revealed the anterior striatum to be mainly associated with cognitive and emotional functions, while the caudal striatum was related to action execution. Interestingly, significant structural atrophy in the rostral and ventral striatum was common to both PD and SCZ, but atrophy in the dorsolateral striatum was specifically attributable to PD. Our study revealed a cross-modal convergent organization of the striatum, representing a fundamental topographical model that can be useful for investigating structural and functional variability in aging and in clinical conditions.

Voxel-based morphometry study of the brain structures in patients with congenital hereditary hearing loss / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective@#To analyze the physiological basics for changes of cerebral functions in patients with congenital hereditary hearing loss (CHHL), by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM).@*Methods@#From June 2016 to June 2017, we recruited volunteers from Yangzhou Special Education School and CHHL patients from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Subei People′s Hospital as a case group with a total of 14 cases (8 males and 6 females), with an average age from 10 to 18 (13.13 ± 0.39). At the same time,patients with no ear diseases were recruited as a control group, a total of 23 cases (10 males and 13 females), with an average age from 10 to18 (13.50 ± 0.49). Brain scanning with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on all subjects, and 3D T1WI was collected and processed by the analyzing software. Two sample t-tests were conducted with alphasim correction at the threshold level of P<0.001. Different morphologies of cerebral cortex were identified between patients with CHHL and their normal controls retrospectively.@*Results@#Compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had no significant difference in terms of brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, and cerebrospinal fluid volume ((1 397.53±103.98)cm3 vs. (1 439.45±128.84)cm3, (765.19±60.27)cm3 vs. (800.139±77.64)cm3, (392.89±40.38)cm3 vs. (414.54±49.22)cm3, (314.17±25.81)cm3 vs. (296.47±51.42)cm3, all P>0.05). However, compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had significantly increased (P<0.001) gray matter in the following cerebral gyri: right temporal pole: middle temporal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, right inferior parietal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus, left superior occipital gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had significantly decreased (P<0.001) gray matter in the following cerebral gyri: left parahippocampal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, left insula, right inferior frontal gyrus, left precentral gyrus, and right superior parietal gyrus.@*Conclusions@#Patients with CHHL show global changes in cerebral cortex not limited to auditory associated cerebral areas. This suggests that adaptable reshaping of global brain structures and functions has occurred in patients with CHHL.

A Cortical Substrate for Square-Wave Jerks in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Voxel-based morphometry study of the brain structures in patients with congenital hereditary hearing loss / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

To analyze the physiological basics for changes of cerebral functions in patients with congenital hereditary hearing loss (CHHL), by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). From June 2016 to June 2017, we recruited volunteers from Yangzhou Special Education School and CHHL patients from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Subei People's Hospital as a case group with a total of 14 cases (8 males and 6 females), with an average age from 10 to 18 (13.13 ± 0.39). At the same time,patients with no ear diseases were recruited as a control group, a total of 23 cases (10 males and 13 females), with an average age from 10 to18 (13.50 ± 0.49). Brain scanning with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on all subjects, and 3D T1WI was collected and processed by the analyzing software. Two sample -tests were conducted with alphasim correction at the threshold level of 0.001. Different morphologies of cerebral cortex were identified between patients with CHHL and their normal controls retrospectively. Compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had no significant difference in terms of brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, and cerebrospinal fluid volume ((1 397.53±103.98)cm(3) (1 439.45±128.84)cm(3), (765.19±60.27)cm(3) (800.139±77.64)cm(3), (392.89±40.38)cm(3) (414.54±49.22)cm(3), (314.17±25.81)cm(3) (296.47±51.42)cm(3), all 0.05). However, compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had significantly increased (0.001) gray matter in the following cerebral gyri: right temporal pole: middle temporal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, right inferior parietal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus, left superior occipital gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, compared to their normal controls, patients with CHHL had significantly decreased (0.001) gray matter in the following cerebral gyri: left parahippocampal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, left insula, right inferior frontal gyrus, left precentral gyrus, and right superior parietal gyrus. Patients with CHHL show global changes in cerebral cortex not limited to auditory associated cerebral areas. This suggests that adaptable reshaping of global brain structures and functions has occurred in patients with CHHL.

Cambios estructurales cerebrales en epilepsia generalizada idiopática identificados por análisis de imágenes de resonancia magnética automatizados / Cerebral structural changes in generalized idiopathic epilepsy identified by automated magnetic resonance imaging analysis

El objetivo de este estudio fue combinar dos métodos automatizados de análisis estructural de imágenes de resonancia magnética para identificar cambios estructurales en pacientes nacidos en Argentina con epilepsia generalizada idiopática (EGI) en comparación con un grupo control de adultos sanos. Fueron incluidos 28 pacientes con EGI y 26 controles sin diferencias demográficas significativas. El análisis de las estructuras cerebrales se realizó con dos métodos automatizados de análisis de imágenes de resonancia magnética: la morfometría basada en vóxel y con la herramienta de segmentación y registro integrada FSL (FSL-FIRST). FSL mostró una disminución del volumen en ambos tálamos en EGI en comparación con el grupo control (tálamo izquierdo: 8092 mm³ grupo control vs. 7424 mm³ EGI, p = 0.0015; tálamo derecho: 7951 mm³ grupo control vs. 7247 mm³ EGI, p = 0.0016). Se observó una reducción en el volumen de ambos núcleos caudados (izquierdo: 3612 mm³ grupo control vs. 3376 mm³ EGI, p = 0.01; derecho 3683 mm³ grupo control vs. 3459 mm³ EGI, p = 0.04). La morfometría basada en vóxel mostró una disminución del volumen en ambos núcleos caudados en EGI en comparación con el grupo control. Las otras estructuras cerebrales analizadas no mostraron diferencias significativas entre los grupos. Este estudio muestra la reducción en el volumen en las estructuras subcortical, tálamos y núcleos caudados en pacientes con EGI comparado con un grupo control.

The purpose of this study was to combine two automated methods of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural analysis in order to identify structural changes in patients born in Argentina with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) compared to a healthy adult control group. Twenty-eight patients with IGE and 26 controls with no significant demographic differences were included. The analysis of the brain structures was conducted with two automated methods of magnetic resonance image analysis: voxel-based morphometry and FSL-integrated registration and segmentation toolbox (FSL-FIRST). FSL showed volume decrease in both thalamus in patients with IGE compared to the control group (left: 8092 mm³ control group vs. 7424 mm³ IGE, p = 0.0015; right: 7951 mm³ control group vs. 7247 mm³ IGE, p = 0.0016). A reduction in the volume of both caudate nuclei was also seen (left: 3612 mm³ control group vs. 3376 mm³ IGE, p = 0.01; right: 3683 mm³ control group vs. 3459 mm³ IGE, p = 0.04). Voxel-based-morphometry showed a volume decrease in both caudate nuclei in patients with IGE compared to the control group. The other cerebral structures analyzed did not show significant differences between the groups. In conclusion, this study shows the reduction in volume in the subcortical, thalamic, and caudate nuclei structures in patients with IGE in comparison to control group. This study conducted in our country delves into the analysis of brain structural changes in patients with EGI compared to healthy subjects.

Gray matter atrophy in patients with Parkinson disease in Chinese population: A voxel-based morphometry study using Chinese brain template Chinese2020 / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To investigate the value of Chinese brain template Chinese2020 in detecting gray matter (GM) alterations in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) in Chinese population using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Methods Totally 15 PD patients (PD group)and 15 gender- and age-matched healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled. Chinese2020 based on Chinese and MNI152 based on Caucasian were used for spatial normalization, respectively. The deformations induced by spatial normalization and gray matter (GM) proportion in the identified brain areas were compared between Chinese2020 and MNI152. The differences of GM volume between PD group and control group were examined using VBM. Results Using MNI152, GM atrophies in PD patients were detected in bilateral temporal lobe extending into ipsilateral insula/parahippocampus/hippocampus, the left superior occipital cortex/cuneus/precuneus, as well as the right putamen. Besides the above mentioned regions, the right middle frontal cortex atrophy was additionally identified using Chinese2020. Particularly, fewer deformations were found when spatially normalizing Chinese population's brain to Chinese2020 than to MNI152. Moreover, GM percentages of detected regions using Chinese2020 were significantly higher than those using MNI152 (t=2.502, P=0.037). Conclusion CBT should be used in neuroimaging studies of Chinese population, which may achieve fewer deformations during spatial normalization, more GM proportions in the identified clusters and improve the accuracy of detection.

Correlation between volume and perfusion changes of deep gray matter nuclei and clinical score in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To investigate deep gray matter volume and perfusion changes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and 3D pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (3D pCASL), and to explore the relationship between the changed parameters of deep gray matter and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and neuropsychological scale scores. Methods Totally 30 RRMS patients (RRMS group) and 24 healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled and tested with EDSS scale and neuropsychological scale to evaluate memory function. All subjects underwent 3D T1WI and 3D pCASL, and the images were pretreated with SPM 8 and VBM 8 software on the Matlab platform. SPM statistical software was used to analyze the changes of deep gray matter volume and perfusion in RRMS patients, and further extraction of deep gray matter volume, perfusion parameter values in significantly changed brain regions, and correlation analysis was done for EDSS and neuropsychological scores. Results Compared with the control group, the volume of bilateral thalamus, left hippocampus, left putamen and right globus pallidus decreased significantly in RRMS group (all P0.05). Conclusion Volume and perfusion of deep gray matter are changed in RRMS patients, and the decrease volume and perfusion associate with impairment of memory function.

Radiation-induced changes in small world network in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a three-dimensional structure MRI imaging study / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the radiotherapy (RT)-induced changes in the brain structural network in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).@*Methods@#Three-dimensional structural magnetic resonance data (3D-T1W) was adopted to investigate the structural network in 103 patients with NPC before and after receiving RT. The structural networks were then reconstructed using 3D-T1W. The radiation-induced changes in topology properties of small world network were analyzed by using graph theoretical analysis.@*Results@#Patients showed small world properties before and after RT. Compared with the pre-RT group, the global and local efficiency were lower, the shortest path length was longer and the clustering coefficient was less in the post-RT group. In addition, the hub regions in the post-RT group were significantly different from those in the pre-RT group, mainly located in the left rolandic operculum, right inferior frontal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right lingual gyrus, bilateral supramarginal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and temporal pole of the right middle temporal gyrus.@*Conclusion@#It is speculated that RT leads to high efficiency of network topology and information transmission, which provides a novel perspective for exploring the RT-induced brain changes, diagnosis of RT-induced injury and evaluation of RT efficacy.

MR structural and functional changes in patients with long-term abstinence of methamphetamine / 中华放射学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the changes of brain gray matter volume (GMV) and brain activity in patients with long-term methamphetamine (MA) abstinence compared with healthy controls.@*Methods@#This study included 44 abstinent MA patients and 40 demographically equivalent healthy controls. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) were obtained on Siemens 3.0 T MR. Differences in GMV between abstinent MA group and control group were assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method. Within each region showed significant differences between two groups, the value of the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was calculated using the rs-fMRI data. Differences of fALFF between groups were also evaluated. Furthermore, partial correlation coefficients adjusted for age, years of education, smoking and drinking were calculated in the abstinent MA group to assess associations between the mean GMV and fALFF values in significant clusters and variables of MA use and abstinence.@*Results@#Compared with controls, abstinent MA group showed increased GMV in the right cerebellum crus and decreased GMV in the right calcarine. While fALFF values within bilateral cerebellum crus in abstinent MA patients were significantly increased. Moreover, GMV of the left cerebellar crus was positively correlated with the withdrawal time among abstinent MA patients.@*Conclusions@#Both structural and functional abnormalities were found in abstinent MA patients even after long-term abstinence. The positive correlation between GMV of left cerebellum crus and abstinent duration suggested that prolonged abstinence may be beneficial to brain recovery. The fALFF of the right calcarine was increased even with decreased GVM in the abstinent MA group. It indicates that the brain activity of this area is increased, which may imply that drug cue-induced craving is significant among methamphetamine patients even after long-term abstinence.

MR structural and functional changes in patients with long?term abstinence of methamphetamine / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the changes of brain gray matter volume (GMV) and brain activity in patients with long?term methamphetamine (MA) abstinence compared with healthy controls. Methods This study included 44 abstinent MA patients and 40 demographically equivalent healthy controls. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting?state functional MRI (rs?fMRI) were obtained on Siemens 3.0 T MR. Differences in GMV between abstinent MA group and control group were assessed using voxel?based morphometry (VBM) method. Within each region showed significant differences between two groups, the value of the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was calculated using the rs?fMRI data. Differences of fALFF between groups were also evaluated. Furthermore, partial correlation coefficients adjusted for age, years of education, smoking and drinking were calculated in the abstinent MA group to assess associations between the mean GMV and fALFF values in significant clusters and variables of MA use and abstinence. Results Compared with controls, abstinent MA group showed increased GMV in the right cerebellum crus and decreased GMV in the right calcarine. While fALFF values within bilateral cerebellum crus in abstinent MA patients were significantly increased. Moreover, GMV of the left cerebellar crus was positively correlated with the withdrawal time among abstinent MA patients. Conclusions Both structural and functional abnormalities were found in abstinent MA patients even after long?term abstinence. The positive correlation between GMV of left cerebellum crus and abstinent duration suggested that prolonged abstinence may be beneficial to brain recovery. The fALFF of the right calcarine was increased even with decreased GVM in the abstinent MA group. It indicates that the brain activity of this area is increased, which may imply that drug cue?induced craving is significant among methamphetamine patients even after long?term abstinence.

Study on abnormity of gray matter volume in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder and its correlation with cognitive function and clinical symptoms / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

Objective To investigate the characteristics of gray matter volume in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patients compared with healthy controls, and to explore the correlation between brain regions with altered gray matter volume and the patients'cognitive function and clinical symptoms. Method Thirty-six patients with first-episode OCD and 35 healthy controls who were matched by age, gender and education level were selected and examined by MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The head MRI and the Voxel-based morphometry was used to test the volume of gray matter. The correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlation between brain areas with altered gray matter volume and patients'cognitive function and Y-BOCS results. Results Compared with the control group, the OCD group had increased gray matter volume in frontal parietal lobe (postcentral gyrus-L, precentral gyrus-L) (t=4.299, P<0.0005, voxels>100) and temporal-limbic system (fusiform gyrus-L, superior temporal gyrus-L, medial temporal lobe-L, parahippocampal gyrus-L) (t=4.841, P<0.0005, voxels> 100). Meanwhile, the volume of gray matter decreased in bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus (t=-4.181, P<0.0005, voxels>100). In the case group, there were a positive correlation between the volume of gray matter in the temporal lobo-limbic system and social cognition score (r=0.347,P=0.038) and a positive correlation between the volume of gray matter in the anterior cingulate gyrus and obsessions score (r=0.416,P=0.012). Conclusion Patients with OCD have abnormal gray matter volume in a wide range of brain regions, including the frontal parietal lobe, the temporal-limbic system, and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus, among which the volume of gray matter in the temporal-limbic system is correlated with social cognition, and gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate gyrus is correlated with obsessions.