Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on functional connectivity in the related brain regions of patients with depression based on the resting-state fMRI / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the brain effect mechanism and the correlation between brain functional imaging and cognitive function in treatment of depressive disorder (DD) with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) based on the resting-state functional magenetic reasonance imaging (rs-fMRI).@*METHODS@#Thirty-two DD patients were included in a depression group and 32 subjects of healthy condition were enrolled in a normal group. In the depression group, the taVNS was applied to bilateral Xin (CO15) and Shen (CO10), at disperse-dense wave, 4 Hz/20 Hz in frequency and current intensity ≤20 mA depending on patient's tolerance, 30 min each time, twice daily. The duration of treatment consisted of 8 weeks. The patients of two groups were undertaken rs-fMRI scanning. The scores of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) were observed in the normal group at baseline and the depression group before and after treatment separately. The differential brain regions were observed before and after treatment in the two groups and the value of degree centrality (DC) of fMRI was obtained. Their correlation was analyzed in terms of HAMD, HAMA and WCST scores.@*RESULTS@#The scores of HAMD and HAMA in the depression group were all higher than those in the normal group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of HAMD and HAMA were lower than those before treatment in the depression group; the scores of total responses, response errors and perseverative errors of WCST were all lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The brain regions with significant differences included the left inferior temporal gyrus, the left cerebellar peduncles region 1, the left insula, the right putamen, the bilateral supplementary motor area and the right middle frontal gyrus. After treatment, the value of DC in left supplementary motor area was negatively correlated to HAMD and HAMA scores respectively (r=-0.324, P=0.012; r=-0.310, P=0.015); the value of DC in left cerebellar peduncles region 1 was negatively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=-0.322, P=0.013), and the left insula was positively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=0.271, P=0.036).@*CONCLUSION@#The taVNS can modulate the intensity of the functional activities of some brain regions so as to relieve depressive symptoms and improve cognitive function.

Effects of Acupuncture on Functional Connectivity Changes of What Visual Pathway in the Brain in Children with Monocular Refractive Amblyopia / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy of acupuncture intervention for children with monocular refractive-parallax amblyopia and the possible mechanisms of brain function based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance （rs-fMRI）. MethodsSeventy-six children with anisometropic amblyopia were randomly divided into routine treatment group （38 cases） and acupuncture treatment group （38 cases）. In the conventional group， the children were given three regular treatments of red flash， grating and visual stimulation for 5 mins each time； in the acupuncture group， on the basis of the conventional treatment， the children were given acupuncture for 20 mins each time on bilateral Jingming （BL 1）， Cuanzhu （BL 2）， Guangming （GB 37） and Fengchi （GB 20）； the children in both groups were treated once every other day and three times a week for 4 weeks. The corrected visual acuity was compared between groups before and after treatment. Fifteen children with left-sided refractive amblyopia were randomly selected from each of the above two groups and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans before and after treatment， and 10 healthy children with normal visual acuity of the matched gender and age were included in the normal group and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans. Based on the activation likelihood estimation （ALE） method， we constructed the what visual pathway network， and compared and analyzed the spherical regions of interest （ROIs） of the children with normal children， and both groups of children with differences in functional connectivity （FC values） within the what pathway in the brain before and after treatment. ResultsTwo cases dropout in the acupuncture group， and finally 36 cases in the acupuncture group and 38 cases in the conventional group were included in the analysis. Compared with before treatment， the best corrected visual acuity of amblyopia in both groups was significantly improved after treatment （P＜0.05）， and the improvement of vision in the acupuncture group was significantly better than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）. The results of rs-fMRI showed that the FC values of the primary optic cortex and the right fusiform gyrus， the left lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus， and the right infraoccipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus were significantly elevated in the brain of the refractive amblyopia children with the whitepathic amblyopia， compared with that of the normal children （P＜0.05）. The FC values of the left lingual gyrus， the right suboccipital gyrus with the right fusiform gyrus， the left lingual gyrus with the right middle temporal gyrus， the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus， and the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus with the right suboccipital gyrus were significantly （P＜0.05） lower in the conventional group compared with those in the conventional group before treatment. Compared with that before acupuncture treatment， the FC values of the right lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus， the primary visual cortex and the right middle temporal gyrus increased significantly after acupuncture treatment （P＜0.05）， and the FC values of the left inferior occipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus， the FC values of the left lingual gyrus and the right middle occipital gyrus decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared between groups after treatment， the FC between the left suboccipital gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）， and the FC between the left middle occipital gyrus and the right and left suboccipital gyrus was significantly lower than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionAcupuncture can significantly improve the corrected vision of anisometropic amblyopic children， and its effect mechanism may focus on regulating the occipito-temporal interlobular functional connectivity within the what pathway， thus improving the children's visual function of shape and color vision and visual learning and memory ability.

A comparative study of multiple resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging indices to detect epileptic activity in childhood absence epilepsy / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To comprehensively evaluate the ability of common resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) indices to detect abnormal brain activity in childhood absence epilepsy (CAE).Methods:Simultaneous electroencephalography-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of 20 patients with CAE who were treated in the Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine from February 2010 to September 2021 were retrospectively collected. After excluding 2 patients with CAE with greater head movement, 44 fMRI data containing discharges from 18 patients were obtained finally. The generalized spike and slow-wave discharges (GSWD) related fMRI activation mappings were obtained by using the generalized linear model. At the same time, 94 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent rs-fMRI scanning. Meanwhile, 12 indices of rs-fMRI were calculated respectively [amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), functional connectivity density (FCD), long FCD, local FCD, granger causality density (GCD)-in, GCD-out, GCD-int, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging lag analysis (RSLA), Hurst index and brain entropy]. Two-sample t-tests were employed to detect significant differences in 12 indices of rs-fMRI. The Dice coefficient was used to evaluate the overlap between different brain maps of 12 indices of rs-fMRI and the GSWD-related blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) activation. Results:Positive activation of GSWD-related BOLD in CAE was mainly in the bilateral thalamus, and negative activation was mainly in default mode network (DMN) related brain regions. There was a significant overlap between the abnormal brain regions detected by various resting-state indicators: compared with normal controls, ALFF, fALFF, ReHo, GCD-in, GCD-out and local FCD were elevated in the bilateral thalamus, while FCD, long FCD, GCD-int and RSLA were decreased in CAE; ALFF, fALFF, ReHo, local FCD, GCD-out, RSLA and brain entropy were decreased in the DMN, while FCD, long FCD, GCD-in and GCD-int were increased in CAE. The Dice coefficient of long FCD was the highest (0.365),FCD was 0.362, while the Hurst index showed the lowest (0.142).Conclusions:Rs-fMRI indices variously revealed abnormal brain activity in CAE, in which the FCD is better for detection of epileptic activity. Rs-fMRI could be helpful to understand the pathophysiological mechanism of CAE, and to find reliable imaging markers.

Differences of resting-state percent amplitude of fluctuations among migraineurs without aura with different efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To explore the differences of resting-state spontaneous neural activity between migraine without aura (MwoA) patients with response or nonresponse to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and its correlation with migraine-related features.Methods:From February 2021 to April 2022, thirty MwoA patients with response to NSAIDs, 30 MwoA patients with nonresponse to NSAIDs, and 30 healthy controls were recruited in the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.All subjects were scanned with a 3.0 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner.The percent amplitude of fluctuation (perAF) approach was used to calculate the differences of the resting state brain functional activities among the three groups (Bonferroni multiple comparison correction). SPSS 24.0 software and RESTplus software were used for statistical analysis.Analysis of variance was used for the perAF values of three groups.Correlation analysis was performed between perAF values of brain regions with significant differences and migraine-related features.Results:The brain areas showing significant differences of perAF among the three groups located in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)( x, y, z = -6, 9, -3), left middle frontal gyrus (MFG)( x, y, z =-39, 48, 9) and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG)( x, y, z = -57, -30, -15)(all P<0.05, Bonferroni correction). Compared with nonresponse group, the perAF in response group showed significant decreased in the left ACC, MFG and MTG.There was positive correlation between the perAF of left ACC and disease duration ( r=0.506, P=0.007). Compared with healthy controls, the perAF of nonresponse group showed increased in the left ACC, which was negatively correlated with frequency ( r=-0.414, P=0.032). Conclusion:The neural activity of prefrontal cortex and ACC may be the neuropathological basis underlying response to NSAIDs in MwoA treatment.Moreover, the ACC has certain correlations with migraine-related characteristics, which may serve as a potential neuroimaging biomarker to evaluate the efficacy of NSAIDs.

Multi-index analysis of regional brain activity in patients with Alzheimer's disease during resting state / 解剖学报

Objective To investigate the spontaneous neural activity in the brain of patients with Alzheimer' s disease (AD) used 3 indicators of resting state-functional magnetic resonance (rs-fMRI) amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and percentage amplitude fluctuation (PerAF). Methods Totally 36 clinically diagnosed AD patients and 40 healthy volunteers were scanned by fMRI in resting state respectively. ALFF, fALFF and PerAF were used to calculate and compare the changes of brain regions between the two groups. Results Compared with the normal control group, mALFF value in AD group increased significantly in bilateral caudate nucleus, medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, gyrus rectus, anterior cingulate gyrus, olfactive cortex, left middle frontal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus (P<0. 05). mALFF values decreased significantly in the right middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, bilateral calcarine, cuneus, lingual gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, vermis, precuneus and other regions (P<0. 05). In AD group, mfALFF value of right inferior temporal gyrus, anterior cerebellar lobe, fusiform gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, gyrus rectus and anterior cingulate gyrus increased significantly (P<0. 05); mfALFF values decreased significantly in bilateral lingual gyrus, left calcarine, cuneus, superior occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and vermis (P<0. 05). In AD group, mPerAF value increased significantly in bilateral gyrus rectus, anterior cingulate gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, olfactive cortex and insula (P<0. 05); mPerAF values decreased significantly in bilateral calcarine, cuneus, superior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, precuneus, left fusiform gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, right superior parietal lobule, angular gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus and middle occipital gyrus (P < 0. 05). Conclusion The default mode network (DMN) and visual network of AD patients are characterized by abnormal brain activity, with the most significant neural activity in the prefrontal cortex and visual cortex.

Effect of acupuncture at the acupoints for Yizhi Tiaoshen on the functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the brain in the patients with Alzheimer's disease / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVES@#To analyze the effect of acupuncture at the acupoints for Yizhi Tiaoshen (benefiting the intelligence and regulating the spirit) on the functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the whole brain in the patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and reveal the brain function mechanism of acupuncture in treatment of AD using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).@*METHODS@#Sixty patients with mild to moderate AD were randomly divided into an acupuncture + medication group (30 cases, 3 cases dropped out) and a western medication group (30 cases, 2 cases dropped out). In the western medication group, the donepezil hydrochloride tablets were administered orally, 2.5 mg to 5 mg each time, once daily; and adjusted to be 10 mg each time after 4 weeks of medication. Besides the therapy as the western medication group, in the acupuncture + medication group, acupuncture was supplemented at the acupoints for Yizhi Tiaoshen, i.e. Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), and bilateral Shenmen (HT 7), Neiguan (PC 6), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Xuanzhong (GB 39). The needles were retained for 30 min in one treatment, once daily; and 6 treatments were required weekly. The duration of treatment was 6 weeks in each group. The general cognitive function was assessed by the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive part (ADAS-Cog) before and after treatment in the two groups. Using the rs-fMRI, the changes in the functional connectivity (FC) of the left hippocampus and the whole brain before and after treatment were analyzed in the patients of the two groups (11 cases in the acupuncture + medication group and 12 cases in the western medication group).@*RESULTS@#After treatment, compared with those before treatment, MMSE scores increased and ADAS-Cog scores decreased in the two groups (P<0.05); MMSE score was higher, while the ADAS-Cog score was lower in the acupuncture + medication group when compared with those in the western medication group (P≤0.05). After treatment, in the western medication group, FC of the left hippocampus was enhanced with the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus of the left triangular region, the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and the right superior parietal gyrus (P<0.05), while FC was weakened with the left inferior temporal gyrus, the left middle frontal gyrus and the right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus when compared with that before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, in the acupuncture + medication group, FC of the left hippocampus was increased with the right gyrus rectus, the left inferior occipital gyrus, the right superior temporal gyrus and the left middle occipital gyrus (P<0.05), and it was declined with the left thalamus (P<0.05) when compared with those before treatment. After treatment, in the acupuncture + medication group, FC of the left hippocampus was strengthened with the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, the right gyrus rectus, the bilateral superior occipital gyrus, the left lenticular nucleus putamen, the left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus of the left insulae operculum, the left medial superior frontal gyrus and the right posterior central gyrus (P<0.05) compared with that of the western medication group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Acupuncture at the acupoints for Yizhi Tiaoshen improves the cognitive function of AD patients, and its main brain functional mechanism is related to intensifying the functional connectivity of the left hippocampus with the default network (inferior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus, gyrus rectus), as well as with the sensory (posterior central gyrus) and visual (calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex and superior occipital gyrus) brain regions.

Changes of spontaneous brain activity in end-stage renal disease patients: A study based on dynamic regional homogeneity / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

【Objective】 To investigate dynamic regional homogeneity (dReHo) abnormality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). 【Methods】 A total of 26 ESRD patients and 26 healthy controls (HC) matched in gender, education level and age were included. Rs-fMRI scanning was performed in all subjects. All the subjects were tested by using auditory verbal learning test Huashan version (AVLT-H) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to assess cognitive function before collection of MRI data. T-test was used to observe the difference in dReHo at global level between the two groups. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were made to estimate the correlation between abnormal brain regions and clinical scales. 【Results】 Compared with HC group, the dReHo value in ESRD patients reduced on the bilateral superior margin gyrus, left insula, left posterior central gyrus, and left putamen (P<0.05, replacement test correction). The dReHo values of left superior margin gyrus (r=-0.534, P=0.005) and left insula in ESRD patients (r=-0.422, P=0.032) were negatively correlated with the LR-S score, and the dReHo value of the left margin was negatively correlated with the SR-S score (r=-0.468, P=0.016). 【Conclusion】 There are abnormal dReHo values in several brain regions in ESRD patients during resting state, which is related to the patients’ cognitive function. The variation of dReHo value provides a new objective imaging basis for evaluating the cognitive function of ESRD patients.

Resting-state fMRI study of Parkinson disease patients with peak-dose dyskinesia: an ALFF analysis / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To observe the characteristics of resting-state brain activity in Parkinson disease (PD) patients with peak-dose dyskinesia, and to explore its pathogenesis.Methods:From March 2017 to November 2019, totally 27 PD patients with peak-dose dyskinesia (dyskinetic group), and 29 PD patients without dyskinesia (non-dyskinetic group) treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and 27 healthy controls from the community were recruited.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and clinical scale data were collected.SPSS 26.0 software and REST software were used for data analysis.The whole brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values were compared among the three groups.Correlation analysis was performed between ALFF values of the significant brain regions and the scale scores.Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of ALFF values of significant brain regions in identifying three groups of subjects.Results:The peak-dose dyskinetic group showed decreased ALFF in right inferior frontal gyrus(MNI: x=36, y=21, z=30; x=36, y=18, z=30)and increased ALFF in right supplementary motor area (MNI: x=9, y=0, z=69; x=6, y=-3, z=72)(all P<0.05, Alphasim correction) compared with non-dyskinetic group and healthy controls.ALFF value in right inferior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with unified dyskinesia rating scale (UDysRS) scores ( r=-0.47, P=0.018). The ALFF value of the right inferior frontal gyrus was more effective in identifying peak-dose dyskinetic patients from non-dyskinetic patients and healthy controls, and the area under the curve of right inferior frontal gyrus were 0.881 and 0.787 (both P<0.01), respectively. Conclusion:Abnormal spontaneous brain activity in right inferior frontal gyrus and right supplementary motor area can be the neurobiological basis of peak-dose dyskinesia in PD patients.The severity of peak-dose dyskinesia is associated with abnormal brain activity of right inferior frontal gyrus.The ALFF value of right inferior frontal gyrus is a potential imaging marker for identifying peak-dose dyskinetic patient.

Changes in default network topology properties of brain function in maintenance dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease with cognitive impairment / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the changes of default network topology properties of brain function and cognitive function in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).Methods:A total of 31 patients with ESRD were enrolled in the Department of Nephrology, Changzhou Second Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from January 2019 to December 2020, and 18 healthy persons were included in the same period as the control group.The cognitive function was evaluated with the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and trail making tests, and then the subjects were examined by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). After preprocessing, the brain functional network was constructed and the topology properities of the network were calculated.The SPSS 20.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Independent sample t-test, chi square test and Pearson correlation analysis were used for data statistics. Results:(1) The score of MoCA in the ESRD group(23.37±1.77) was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group(27.94±1.13)( t=9.537, P<0.001). (2) The levels of Eglobal, Elocal, Cp and Sigma in ESRD group ((0.129±0.025), (0.148±0.040), (0.188±0.046), (1.593±0.650)) were significantly lower than those in healthy control group ((0.160±0.040), (0.212±0.024), (0.276±0.049), (2.004±0.864))( t=3.591, 7.474, 7.058, 2.034, all P<0.05). The Lp value of the ESRD group (8.131±1.905) was significantly higher than that of the control group (6.777±2.150)( t=2.583, P< 0.05). The node efficiency values of bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, right hippocampus, left superior marginal gyrus, bilateral angular gyrus and bilateral cuneate anterior lobe in ESRD group ((0.133±0.071), (0.201±0.047), (0.211±0.106), (0.175±0.066), (0.276±0.113), (0.122±0.146), (0.042±0.075), (0.171±0.027), (0.154±0.078), (0.240±0.095), (0.161±0.056))were lower than those in the healthy control group((0.312±0.075), (0.289±0.091), (0.277±0.132), (0.284±0.053), (0.368±0.063), (0.231±0.227), (0.120±0.162), (0.296±0.064), (0.310±0.186), (0.318±0.066), (0.286±0.103))( t=2.107-9.436, all P<0.05). (3)Pearson correlation analysis showed that the node efficiency values of bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus and right hippocampus in ESRD group were positively correlated with the score of MoCA( r=0.36, 0.49, 0.53, all P<0.05). Conclusion:The topological structure of brain functional network is abnormal in ESRD patients, which can affect the cognitive function of patients.

Functional connectivity analysis of sensory motor network in patients with bipolar disorder type Ⅰ / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To analyze the functional connectivity (FC) characteristics of sensory motor network (SMN) in patients with bipolar disorder type Ⅰ (BD-Ⅰ) by independent component analysis (ICA), and explore the correlation between abnormal SMN and clinical symptoms.Methods:Eighteen patients with BD-Ⅰ (BD-Ⅰ group) and 20 matched normal controls (HC group) were included.Both groups received resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) scanning.Based on ICA-fMRI data, one-sample t-test and two-sample t-test were used to analyze the components of SMN and to explore abnormal brain regions between the two groups.Functional network analysis (FNC) was also used to explore the functional connectivity between SMN and other brain networks.Pearson correlation analysis were conducted by SPSS 17.0 to measure the potential associations between intra-and inter-network functional connectivity and age, education, score of Bech-Rafaelsen mania rating scale (BRMS), score of positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) and other indicators. Results:In BD-Ⅰ group, the functional connection in the right paracentral lobule (MIN: x=8, y=-32, z=68, t=4.86, P<0.001) and the right postcentral gyrus (MIN: x=41, y=-26, z=53, t=3.33, P<0.001) in SMN were higher than those in HC group.Compared with HC group, the connectivity value in patients with BD-Ⅰ increased between SMN-DAN (0.247±0.073, -0.078±0.080, t=-2.974, P<0.01, FDR adjusted), while the connectivity value decreased between SMN-DMN(-0.037±0.054, 0.272±0.067, t=3.520, P<0.01, FDR adjusted) and between SMN-rFPN(-0.034±0.055, 0.231±0.070, t=2.939, P<0.01, FDR adjusted). Conclusion:The sensorimotor network of patients with BD-Ⅰ has abnormal functional connections within and between networks, and FC values in some networks are positively correlated with manic symptoms, which may be part of the neural mechanisms of patients with BD-Ⅰ.

Study on large-scale resting-state functional networks in first-episode untreated adult patients with major depressive disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To investigate the value of large-scale brain network research based on independent component analysis (ICA) in discovering the changes of intrinsic functional connections within and between resting-state networks (RSNs) in first-episode untreated adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods:From January 2019 to June 2021, twenty-three patients with MDD (MDD group) and 30 healthy volunteers (HC group) matched with gender, age and years of education were selected. All participants underwent resting-state brain function imaging (rs-fMRI), and the MDD group completed the 17-item Hamilton depression scale(HAMD-17). The independent component analysis (ICA) method was used to analyze rs-fMRI data, and meaningful RSNs were obtained. SPM12 and Gift softwares were used to compare the strength of intrinsic functional connection within and between the RSNs of the MDD group and HC group, and the Pearson correlation analysis was conducted by IBM SPSS statistics 25.0 to evaluate the correlation between the functional connection strength and HAMD-17 scores in MDD group.Results:Compared with the HC group, intrinsic functional connection strength of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (MNI: x, y, z=-6, 54, 25)in MDD group was significantly enhanced, while the intrinsic functional connection strength of the left angular gyrus (AG) (MNI: x, y, z=-48, -66, 21), the left precuneus (PCu) (MNI: x, y, z=-6, -63, 33), the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) (MNI: x, y, z=-36, 12, 51)and the right anterior insula (AI) (MNI: x, y, z=36, 21, 0)were significantly weakened. Compared with the HC group, functional connection strength between posterior default mode net work(pDMN) and anterior default mode network(aDMN) in MDD group was significantly weakened ( t=-2.206, P=0.032), and function connection strength between pDMN and left frontal parietal network(lFPN) was significantly strengthened ( t=2.318, P=0.025). In MDD group, intrinsic functional connection strength of mPFC and the functional connection strength of pDMN-lFPN were positively correlated with the HAMD-17 score ( r=0.524, P=0.010; r=0.441, P=0.035). Conclusion:Large-scale brain network study based on the ICA can find abnormal functional connections within and between RSNs in first-episode untreated adult patients with MDD, and provide objective imaging markers for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of MDD.

Optimized multi-scale entropy to localize epileptogenic hemisphere of temporal lobe epilepsy based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging / 生物医学工程学杂志

Entropy model is widely used in epileptic electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis, but there are few reports on how to objectively select the parameters to compute the entropy model in the analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI). Therefore, an optimization algorithm to confirm the parameters in multi-scale entropy (MSE) model was proposed, and the location of epileptogenic hemisphere was taken as an example to test the optimization effect by supervised machine learning. The rfMRI data of 20 temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with hippocampal sclerosis, positive on structural magnetic resonance imaging, were divided into left and right groups. Then, the parameters in MSE model were optimized by the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and area under ROC curve (AUC) values in sensitivity analysis, and the entropy value of the brain regions with statistically significant difference between the groups were taken as sensitive features to epileptogenic hemisphere lateral. The optimized entropy values of these bio-marker brain areas were considered as feature vectors input into the support vector machine (SVM). Finally, combining optimized MSE model with SVM could accurately distinguish epileptogenic hemisphere in TLE at an average accuracy rate of 95%, which was higher than the current level. The results show that the MSE model parameter optimization algorithm can accurately extract the functional imaging markers sensitive to the epileptogenic hemisphere, and achieve the purpose of objectively selecting the parameters for MSE in rfMRI, which provides the basis for the application of entropy in advanced technology detection.

Changes of Brain Functional Connections in Patients with Overactive Bladder / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective:To explore the central mechanism of overactive bladder (OAB) using the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods:From October, 2019 to January, 2021, 13 patients with OAB aged (46.9 ±13.4) years were enrolled. Under urodynamic monitoring, rs-fMRI scans were performed in these subjects under empty bladder and strong desire to void. Matlab 2016, SPM 12 and DPABI software were used to process and analyze these obtained image data, six brain regions related to bladder control: right superior frontal gyrus (X = 3, Y=24, Z = 48), right anterior cingulate gyrus (X = 12, Y = 33, Z = 3), left postcentral gyrus (X = -18, Y = -26, Z = 48), right supplementary motor area (X = 3, Y = -12, Z = 63), left insular (X = -42, Y = -12, Z = -3) and right insular (X = 3, Y = -12, Z = 63),were extracted as the regions of interest to analyze the functional connection with the whole brain. Results:The functional connection of the right superior frontal gyrus with the right middle frontal gyrus increased, while the connection with the right cuneus decreased. The connection of the right anterior cingulate gyrus with the right superior temporal gyrus increased, while the connection with the left posterior cingulate gyrus decreased. The connection of the left postcentral gyrus with the right cuneus decreased. The functional connection of the right supplementary motor area with the left cuneus, the connection of the right insular with the medial superior frontal gyrus, and the connection of the left insular with the inferior parietal lobule increased. Conclusion:The functional connections between the brain areas related to continence and other brain regions involved in bladder control changes in patients with OAB. These changes may be one of the potential pathogenic mechanisms of OAB.

Small-world Network Features of Brain Functional Network as Strong Void Perception for Healthy Female / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective:To identify the small-world network property of brain functional network provoked by a strong desire to void in healthy women. Methods:From 2017 to 2018, 21 healthy women were enrolled, and scanned with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging under the empty bladder and strong desire to void, respectively. Brain connection matrix was established with Pearson's correlation analysis, and the differences in topologic properties between the two conditions were identified with paired t-test and Bonferroni correction. The small-world parameters, named clustering coefficient (Cp), characteristic path length (Lp), global efficiency (Eglob), local efficiency (Eloc) and nodal efficiency (Enodal) were calculated. Results:There were two women dropped down because of head moving. For the other 19 women, the brain connection presented a small-world network property under the both conditions. Compared with the empty bladder, Cp, Lp, and Eloc decreased, and Eglob increased under the strong desire to void (P < 0.05); while Enodal increased in left inferior frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus; right cingulate gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and middle temporal gyrus; and bilateral gyrus rectus and inferior parietal lobes; and decreased in bilateral fusiform gyrus, calcarine fissure and surrounding, and lingual gyrus (P < 0.05). Conclusion:Brain functional network presents a small-world network property under both empty bladder and a strong desire to void. The regulation of lower urinary tract function involves the coordination of multiple brain regions.

Abnormal static and dynamic brain function in patients with temporomandibular disorders: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#This study was conducted to investigate the brain function of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) by combining the static and dynamic amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF).@*METHODS@#Thirty patients with TMD and 20 healthy controls were enrolled. All the participants completed their questionnaires, received clinical examinations, and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. We compared the static and dynamic ALFF between the patients and healthy controls by conducting a two-sample @*RESULTS@#The patients with TMD showed increased static and dynamic ALFF in the posterior cingulate cortex compared with that of the controls (whole-brain level, uncorrected @*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings revealed that the resting-state brain function of the posterior cingulate cortex and the medial orbitofrontal cortex of patient with TMD increased. These changes probably indicated the potential central mechanisms underlying the increased self-relevant thoughts, negative emotion, and abnormal emotion regulation in TMD.

Effect of acupuncture on default mode network in patients with migraine based on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: a preliminary study / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of acupuncture on default mode network (DMN) in migraine patients without aura based on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).@*METHODS@#Fifteen patients with migraine were included and treated with acupuncture based on "root-knot" theory (Zuqiaoyin [GB 44] for @*RESULTS@#Compared before acupuncture, the functional connections of left parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and anterior medial prefrontal cortex (aMPFC), dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) and lateral temporal cortex (LTC) in DMN after acupuncture were weakened (@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture shows good clinical efficacy for migraine without aura, and could adjust the functional connection of DMN.

The changes in resting-state functional connectivity in stroke survivors with depression / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To analyze any changes in the functional connectivity between the seed points of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the whole brain, as well as any fluctuations in the low-frequency amplitude among persons with post-stroke depression (PSD). The aim was to develop correlations among functional imaging results, clinical scales, and inflammation indicators including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 17a (IL-17a) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ).Methods:Between 2016 and 2020, 55 ischemic stroke survivors were tested. The 28 scoring 7 or more on the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) formed the PSD group, while the 27 others formed the control group. Functional magnetic resonance images were collected, and serum inflammation indicators were determined.Results:When seed points in the left DLPFC were used, in the PSD group the frontal cortex (FC) decreased in one cluster, with a voxel of 129mm3 and the MNI coordinates (x=9, y=30, z=33) indicating that the anatomical automatic labeling (AAL) brain regions were the Cingulum_Ant_L, Cingulum_Mid_R and the frontal_Sup_Medial_L. When the right DLPFC was used as the seed point the FC again decreased in one cluster, with voxels of 44mm 3 and the MNI coordinates (x=-27, y=12, z=47) referring to the AAL brain region of the frontal_Mid_L. In the PSD group, the FC value of abnormal brain areas with the R-DLPFC as the seed point was positively correlated with time since stroke. In the control group, the FC value of abnormal brain areas with L-DLPFC as the seed point was negatively correlated with MoCA, while with R-DLPFC as the seed point it was positively correlated with IFN-γ. The FC values of abnormal areas of the brain showed no significant correlation with other clinical scales, inflammation indicators or lesion volume. Conclusion:Abnormal functional connections within the executive control network and between the salience networks may participate in the mechanism of PSD, and may be related to the time since stroke, cognitive functioning, and IFN-γ levels.

Resting-state fMRI study of hippocampus in patients with Crohn′s disease / 中华全科医师杂志

Fifteen patients with Crohn′s disease (CD) in remission diagnosed at Shanghai Jing′an District Central Hospital from February 2018 to June 2019, and 26 matched healthy subjects were recruited. All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of hippocampus. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was calculated to determine differences in the brain. Left hippocampus was selected as seeds for functional connectivity (FC) analysis, and the results were compared between two groups. The relationship between disease duration and ALFF/FC values in abnormal regions were analyzed with Pearson correlation. Compared with the controls, the ALFF of the left hippocampus (voxel size 32) of CD patients decreased [family-wise error correstion(FWE correction), cluster level P<0.05], and the ALFF of the left medial superior frontal gyrus (voxel size 126), left supplementary motor area (voxel size 126) and left anterior cingulate gyrus increased (voxel size 37) (FWE corrected, cluster level P<0.05). Using the left hippocampus as the seed point for the whole brain functional connectivity analysis, CD patients showed increased FC strength with the left superior temporal gyrus, left medial superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus (opercular part), and right supplementary motor area(FEW corrected, cluster level P<0.05). Correlation analysis did not show a significantly differences between ALFF/FC value of altered brain areas and the disease duration. It suggests that there are changes in spontaneous activities and functional connectivity in the left hippocampus in patients with CD.

Regional homogeneity and whole brain functional connectivity in subjects with mild cognitive impairment / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To investigate regional homogeneity(ReHo)and whole brain functional connectivity(FC)in patients with mild cognitive impairment(MCI), and to explore the mechanisms of MCI in the resting state.Methods:Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(RS-fMRI)was performed on 24 patients with MCI and 30 age, gender and nationality-matched normal controls.Abnormal brain areas in the MCI group were screened and analyzed by using the DPARSFA2.3 and SPM8 software programs.Whole brain FC analysis was performed with the posterior cingulate cortex(PCC)/precuneus as the seed points.Results:Compared with the control group, MCI subjects displayed higher ReHo values in the frontal-middle-Left, precentral-Left, postcentral-Left, rolandic-opercular-Left, and frontal-inferior-opercular-Left and lower ReHo values in the temporal-superior-right, temporal-middle-right, postcentral-right, and temporal -pole -superior -right(Voxel level, Alphasim correction, P<0.05). Whole brain FC analysis showed greater functional connectivity of PCC/precuneus with fusiform-right, thalamus-right, lingual-right and parahippocampal-right in subjects with MCI, and less functional connectivity of the PCC/precuneus with temporal-middle-Left, angular-Left, temporal-superior-Left and occipital-middle-Left in subjects with MCI(Voxel level, Alphasim correction, P<0.05). Conclusions:Abnormalities of the default mode network may be associated with the onset of MCI, and abnormalities in posterior cingulate/precuneus connectivity may be helpful in finding imaging evidence with high sensitivity to MCI.

Cerebellar-cerebral resting-state functional connectivity alterations in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To investigate the alterations of cerebellar and cerebral functional connectivity (FC) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and associations with clinical parameters.Methods:Eighteen acute RRMS patients, 25 remitting RRMS patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) who underwent 3.0 T brain MRI using resting-state functional protocols were collected retrospectively from September 2012 to June 2019 at the First Hospital of Nanchang University. After data preprocessing, the functional connectivity coefficients were calculated between each seed of the cerebellum and every other voxel in the cerebrum for comparison of the inter-groups difference and correlation analysis with clinical variables.Results:Compared with HC, the acute RRMS patients showed significant decreased FC of left cerebellar lobule Ⅵ, the right cerebellar lobule Ⅵ and the left vermis ( P<0.001, Gaussian Random Field theory correction at cluster level P<0.05), the remitting RRMS patients showed the decreased FC of the right cerebellar Crus I, the left cerebellar Crus Ⅰ, the left cerebellar lobule Ⅴ and right cerebellar lobule Ⅴ ( P<0.001, Gaussian Random Field theory correction at cluster level P<0.05). In the acute RRMS patients, FC between the left cerebellar lobule Ⅵ and the right precentral/postcentral gyrus was negatively correlated with illness duration ( r=-0.492, P=0.038). FC between the right cerebellar lobule Ⅵ and the right postcentral gyrus/right superior parietal gyrus was negatively correlated with the expanded disability status scale scores ( r=-0.611, P=0.007). FC between the left vermis and the left calcarine gyrus was negatively correlated with illness duration ( r=-0.534, P=0.02). In the remitting RRMS patients, FC between the right Crus Ⅰ and the left anterior insula was negatively correlated with normalized total white matter lesion load ( r=-0.453, P=0.023). FC between the right Crus Ⅰ and the right anterior insula was negatively correlated with modified fatigue impact scale ( r=-0.450, P=0.024). Conclusions:The cerebello-cerebral connection of cognitive related networks is decreased in both acute attack and remission stages of RRMS patients. In addition, the cerebello-cerebral connection in sensorimotor network can also be significantly impacted in acute attack stage, while the cerebello-cerebral connection of emotional network may be decreased in remission stage.