Hypocretin-deficient narcolepsy patients have abnormal brain activation during humor processing.

Background: Stroke with basal ganglia damage (SBG) is a neurological disorder characterized by cognitive impairment. The neurobiological mechanism of cognitive impairment in stroke patients with basal ganglia damage (SBG patients) remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the underlying neurobiological mechanism of cognitive impairment in SBG patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).Methods: The differences in functional connectivity (FC) between 14 SBG patients (average age: 61.00 ± 7.45 years) and 21 healthy controls (HC) (average age: 60.67 ± 6.95 years) were examined using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and degree centrality (DC). Moreover, we compared the cognitive functions of SBG patients with HC using the Chinese Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-RC) and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS).Results: Full-scale intelligence quotient (FIQ) (t = 2.810, p < 0.010) and memory quotient (MQ) (t = 2.920, p < 0.010) scores of SBG patients were significantly lower than those of HC. Compared with HC, significantly decreased VMHC values in the bilateral angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, hippocampus, precuneus, precentral gyrus, and middle occipital gyrus and decreased DC values in the right supramarginal gyrus, bilateral angular gyrus, and right postcentral gyrus were observed in SBG patients. Moreover, the VMHC values in the angular gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus and the DC values in the right supramarginal gyrus were significantly correlated with cognitive functions in all participants.Conclusion: Our findings may provide a neural basis for cognitive impairments in SBG patients. Furthermore, local abnormalities of functional networks and interhemispheric interaction deficits may provide new ideas and insights for understanding and treating SBG patients' cognitive impairments.

BackgroundHumans can recognize the physical properties of objects by touching them, even when vision is unavailable. Tactile perception is important for humans in interacting with the environment. The triangular ridged textures are usually added to surface to improve the grip reliability of products, but the sharp edge of triangular ridge induces sharp and uncomfortable feeling.Materials and methodsTo study the effect of the edge shape of triangular ridged texture on brain activity, functional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to obtain the blood oxygen level‐dependent (BOLD) signal of subjects during the touching of textured surfaces. Samples with sharp, round, and flat shape ridged textures were chosen as the tactile stimulus.ResultsThe contralateral postcentral gyrus, the precentral gyrus, the inferior parietal lobule, and the supramarginal gyrus, corresponding with the functional regions of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII), and the primary motor cortex (MI) were related to the perception of three shape ridged textures. The main brain activation located in the postcentral gyrus and the SI. The tactile information of three shape ridged textures was received by Brodmann area (BA) 3 of the SI, and then inputted to BA 2 of the SI, the further tactile discrimination of shape of ridged textures was involved in BA40 of the SII. The intensity, the areas, and the percent signal change (PSC) of brain activation that were evoked by different shape ridged textures were related to the geometric structures of the ridged textures. The more complex the geometric structures of texture are, the larger the intensity, the area, and the PSC in brain activation are. The negative BOLD responses of the ipsilateral sensory cortex that were evoked by the flat ridged texture indicated the ipsilateral neuronal inhibition within the sensory systems. The bilateral precuneus, the superior parietal gyrus, and the inferior parietal gyrus, corresponding with the functional areas of the SII (BA40) and the SSA(BA7), were involved in the tactile discriminate of the differences in shapes of ridged textures. The differences in brain activation were related to the differences in geometric structures of the ridged texture. The larger the differences in geometric structure of texture are, the larger the differences in brain activation are. This study revealed the activated location of brain related to the tactile stimulation of different edge shape of ridged textures and the relationship between the geometric structures of ridged texture and brain activities. This research contributes to optimize surface tactile characteristics on products, especially effective surface textures design for good grip.

This study aimed to explore the structural and functional characteristics of the neural network of resting-state brain activities in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology. Resting state fMRI scanning was performed on 10 clinically diagnosed aMCI patients and 10 healthy volunteers, and the difference in the resting-state brain activities between aMCI patients and healthy volunteers was compared using the brain function network regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis method. Results of the ReHo analysis of aMCI patients and healthy volunteers revealed that the ReHo value significantly increased in the posterior cingulate gyrus region, medial frontal lobe, medial cortex of the prefrontal lobe, and part of the parietal lobe. Compared with the normal elderlies, ReHo decreased in aMCI patients in the left temporal lobe (middle temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus), left parahippocampal gyrus, occipital lobe, lingual gyrus, precuneus, and other regions while ReHo increased in regions of the right frontal lobe (inferior frontal gyrus), left superior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus (frontal lobe), right thalamus, left fusiform gyrus, and other regions. In the resting state, there may be regional abnormalities in brain functional areas in aMCI patients, which may be associated with cognitive impairment.

Background and Objectives: This article aims to investigate the subcortical microanatomy of the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and angular gyrus (AnG) using a microfiber dissection technique and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)/fiber tractography (FT). The cortical and subcortical structures of this region are highly functional, and their lesions often present clinically. For this reason, the possibility of post-surgical deficits is high. We focused on the supramarginal gyrus and the angular gyrus and reviewed their anatomy from a topographic, functional and surgical point of view, and aimed to raise awareness especially for neurosurgeons. Methods: Four previously frozen, formalin-fixed human brains were examined under the operating microscope using the fiber dissection technique. Four hemispheres were dissected from medial to lateral under the surgical microscope. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 20 healthy adults was examined. Pre-central and post-central gyrus were preserved to achieve topographic dominance in dissections of brain specimens. Each stage was photographed. Tractographic brain magnetic resonance imaging of 10 healthy adults was examined radiologically. Focusing on the supramarginal and angular gyrus, the white matter fibers passing under this region and their intersection areas were examined. These two methods were compared anatomically from the lateral view and radiologically from the sagittal view. Results: SMG and AnG were determined in brain specimens. The pre-central and post-central gyrus were topographically preserved. The superior and medial temporal gyrus, and inferior and superior parietal areas were decorticated from lateral to medial. U fibers, superior longitudinal fasciculus II (SLF II), superior longitudinal fasciculus III (SLF III), arcuat fasciculus (AF) and middle longitudinal fasciculus (MdLF) fiber groups were shown and subcortical fiber structures belonging to these regions were visualized by the DTI/FT method. The subcortical fiber groups under the SMG and the AnG were observed anatomically and radiologically to have a dense and complex structure. Conclusions: Due to the importance of the subcortical connections of SMG and AnG on speech function, tumoral lesions and surgeries of this region are of particular importance. The anatomical architecture of the complex subcortical structure, which is located on the projection of the SMG and AnG areas, was shown with a DTI/FT examination under a topographic dominance, preserving the pre-central and post-central gyrus. In this study, the importance of the anatomical localization, connections and functions of the supramarginal and angular gyrus was examined. More anatomical and radiological studies are needed to better understand this region and its connections.

Binocular depth inversion illusion (BDII), a visual, 'top-down'-driven information process, is impaired in schizophrenia and particularly in its early stages. BDII is a sensitive measure of impaired visual information processing and represents a valid diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.However, neurobiological underpinnings of aberrant BDII in first-episode schizophrenia are largely unknown at present. In this study, 22 right-handed, first-episode, antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients underwent BDII assessment and MRI scanning at 1.5T. The surface-based analysis via new version of Freesurfer (6.0) enabled calculation of cortical thickness and surface area. BDII total and faces scores were related to the two distinct cortical measurements. We found a significant correlation between BDII performance and cortical thickness in the inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus (p < 0.003, Bonferroni corr.), as well as superior parietal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and precentral gyrus (p < 0.05, CWP corr.), respectively. BDII performance was significantly correlated with surface area in the superior parietal gyrus and right postcentral gyrus (p < 0.003, Bonferroni corr.). BDII performance may be linked to cortical thickness and surface area variations in regions involved in "adaptive" or "top-down" modulation and stimulus processing, i.e., frontal and parietal lobes. Our results suggest that cortical features of distinct evolutionary and genetic origin differently contribute to BDII performance in first-episode, antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients.

Objective To explore the alterations of hippocampal functional connectivity in patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (ITLE) with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).Methods Eighteen patients with ITLE,admitted to our hospital from August 2013 to May 2014,and 18 healthy controls were chosen in our study; the fMRI data of the two groups were obtained; analysis of the resting state brain functional connectivity was performed by choosing the left and right hippocampus as the regions of interest (ROIs),and then,the differences of hippocampal functional connectivity were compared between ITLE group and healthy control group.Results When the left hippocampus was selected as ROI,significantly enhanced functional connectivity in the ITLE group was observed in the right cuneus,significantly weakened functional connectivity in the ITLE group was observed in the bilateral caudate nucleus,bilateral septal area and right gyrus rectus,as compared with those in the healthy control group (P＜0.05); when the right hippocampus was selected as ROI,significantly enhanced functional connectivity in the ITLE group was observed in the bilateral cuneus,bilateral lingual gyrus,and left calcarine,significantly weakened functional connectivity in the ITLE group was observed in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus,right middle temporal gyrus,left supramarginal gyrus,left precentral gyrus and left postcentral gyrus,as compared with those in the healthy control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Hippocampal dysfunction of patients with ITLE could be found based on rs-fMRI,which prompts that the hippocampus plays an important role in the epilepsy network of patients with ITLE. Key words: Temporal lobe epilepsy; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional connectivity; Hippocampus

Study on the Occurrence and Neural Bases of Hemispatial Neglect With Different Reference Frames

Background: Recent studies have addressed the role of structures other than the basal ganglia in the pathophysiology of craniocervical dystonia (CCD). Neuroimaging studies have attempted to identify structural abnormalities in CCD but a clear pattern of alteration has not been established. We performed whole-brain evaluation using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify patterns of gray matter (GM) changes in CCD.Methods: We compared 27 patients with CCD matched in age and gender to 54 healthy controls. VBM was used to compare GM volumes. We created a two-sample t-test corrected for subjects’ age, and we tested with a level of significance of p < 0.001 and false discovery rate (FDR) correction (p < 0.05).Results: Voxel-based morphometry demonstrated significant reductions of GM using p < 0.001 in the cerebellar vermis IV/V, bilaterally in the superior frontal gyrus, precuneus, anterior cingulate and paracingulate, insular cortex, lingual gyrus, and calcarine fissure; in the left hemisphere in the supplementary motor area, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, temporal pole, supramarginal gyrus, rolandic operculum, hippocampus, middle occipital gyrus, cerebellar lobules IV/V, superior, and middle temporal gyri; in the right hemisphere, the middle cingulate and precentral gyrus. Our study did not report any significant result using the FDR correction. We also detected correlations between GM volume and age, disease duration, duration of botulinum toxin treatment, and the Marsden–Fahn dystonia scale scores.Conclusion: We detected large clusters of GM changes chiefly in structures primarily involved in sensorimotor integration, motor planning, visuospatial function, and emotional processing.

Objective To explore the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive-behavior therapy（CBT）for major depressive disorder（MDD） by detecting the neural changes of patients following CBT. Methods Thirteen first-episode treatment-naive patients with MDD and 13 matched healthy volunteers underwent fMRI scan. All the patients were treated with 6-week CBT only and scanned again after treatment. A gender recognition task with neutral, positive and negative expressions was performed by all subjects during each scan. The fMRI data was processed by SPM8 to detect the brain activation in negative and positive condition. Results In negative condition, patients showed decrease of activation in right cerebellum and postcentral gyrus compared to the healthy. After treatment, the activation in vermis was still lower in patients than the healthy. The patients exhibited increased activation in left fusiform gyrus, right insula, left caudate, right middle frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule after treatment, and reversed activation in left precentral gyrus （Montreal Neurological Institute（x,y,z）: -54，0，21，t=4.67,P＜0.05）, right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (Montreal Neurological Institute（x,y,z）: 48，15，15，t=5.10,P＜0.05） and bilateral supramarginal gyrus (right:Montreal Neurological Institute（x,y,z）: 54，-21，27，t=5.19；left: Montreal Neurological Institute（x,y,z）: -60，-24，33，t=4.81；P＜0.05） to positive expressions. Conclusion CBT may work via down-regulation of response inhibition systems and up-regulation of emotional processing and cognitive monitor system. Key words: Cognitive therapy; Magnetic resonance imaging; Depressive disorder; Task-state

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. Treatments against ALL might lead to later cognitive effects and alterations in brain structure in survivors but to the authors' knowledge the observed variability in the severity of neurocognitive deficits is not fully understood. The objective of the current study was to investigate abnormalities in visual short-term memory (VSTM) brain activation in survivors of childhood ALL using magnetoencephalography. A VSTM task was completed by 40 survivors of ALL and 26 controls. VSTM capacity (Cowan K) and brain activation were assessed during the retention period of the task (400-1400milliseconds) using a standard minimum norm source localization method. Performance (Cowan K) was found to be similar between survivors of ALL and controls. Atypical brain activation was found in survivors of ALL during the task, including overactivation of regions usually involved in VSTM (lateral occipital, precentral gyrus, and postcentral gyrus), recruitment of regions that typically are not involved in VSTM (superior/middle temporal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus), and lower activation of frontal brain regions (inferior frontal gyrus). These patterns of activation were modulated by the age at the time of cancer onset (P=.01) because activity was found to be reduced in participants who were younger at diagnosis. The results of the current study suggest a pattern of neural inefficiency and compensatory activity during VSTM in survivors of ALL.

Objective To analyze the brain structure changes of the first-episode obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients who were scanned by three-dimensional structure magnetic resonance imaging. Methods According to the diagnostic criteria of OCD in American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the fist-episode obsessive compulsive disorder patients as case group(OCD, n=26) and the adult healthy volunteers as control group (control group, n=25) were selected.All subjects were assessed with Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale(Y-BOCS), Hamilton Anxiety rating Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD), and then, they received 3D-MRI scanning runs.All the data was processed with freesurfer software and analyzed about cerebral cortical volume, cortical thickness, cortical surface area, the local gyrification index and subcortical nuclei volume. Results Compared with control group, the cerebral cortical thickness of OCD group increased at the left postcentral gyrus((2.223±0.118)mm), left supramarginal gyrus((2.486±0.027)mm) and left parahippocampal gyrus((2.399±0.164)mm). The cerebral cortical surface area larged at the right inferior frontal gyrus((1.036±0.079)mm2), right paracentral lobule((0.827±0.048)mm2)and medial orbitofrontal((0.990±0.083)mm2), and decreased at right superior parietal lobule((0.779±0.040)mm2), right inferior parietal lobule((0.767±0.093)mm2)and right inferior temporal gyrus((0.888±0.070)mm2). The cerebral cortical volume increased at the right inferior frontal gyrus((2.330±0.223)mm3). The cerebral cortical local gyrification index decreased at right middle temporal gyrus(2.893±0.288)and left inferior temporal gyrus(2.589±0.100). Conclusion The first-episode OCD patients have multiple changes of brain structures, and this changes were priority for the frontal lobes, orbital frontal, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and hippocampus.The changes in these regions maybe have close relationship with symptoms of OCD. Key words: First-episode obsessive-compulsive disorder; Magnetic resonance imaging; Freesurfer scanning images software; The local gyrification index

PurposeTo examine the brain activation responses to visual food cues in ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescents before and after the daily incorporation of 500 kcal breakfast meals containing either normal protein (NP) (15% of energy as pro) or higher protein (HP) (40% of energy as pro).Methods12 overweight/obese adolescent girls (age 15 ± 1 y; BMI 93 ± 1.3%ile; skip breakfast 6 ± 1 times/week) completed a baseline (‘breakfast skipping’, BS) testing day then randomly consumed NP or HP breakfast meals at home for six consecutive days. On day seven of each breakfast pattern, the subjects came to the laboratory to consume their respective breakfast meal followed by an fMRI brain scan prior to lunch (i.e., 3‐h post‐breakfast).ResultsBoth breakfast meals led to reductions in brain activation in the prefrontal cortex, cingulated gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus compared to BS (all regions, P &lt;0.001). In addition to these responses, the PN meal also led to reductions in brain activation in the amygdala (P&lt;0.001), whereas the PR meal led to reductions in the insula (P&lt;0.001).ConclusionThe daily addition of breakfast led to reductions in brain activation in specific brain regions associated with food motivation and reward in overweight and obese ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescent girls with differential responses attributable to the dietary protein of the breakfast meal. Support: NIH‐5 K12 HD052027‐04Grant Funding Source: NIH‐5 K12 HD052027‐04

IntroductionRolandic epilepsy (RE) is a childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal (rolandic) spikes, that is increasingly associated with language impairment. In this study, we tested for a white matter (connectivity) correlate, employing diffusion weighted MRI and language testing.MethodsTwenty-three children with RE and 23 matched controls (age: 8–14 years) underwent structural (T1-weighted) and diffusion-weighted MRI (b = 1200 s/mm2, 66 gradient directions) at 3T, as well as neuropsychological language testing. Combining tractography and a cortical segmentation derived from the T1-scan, the rolandic tract were reconstructed (pre- and postcentral gyri), and tract fractional anisotropy (FA) values were compared between patients and controls. Aberrant tracts were tested for correlations with language performance.ResultsSeveral reductions of tract FA were found in patients compared to controls, mostly in the left hemisphere; the most significant effects involved the left inferior frontal (p = 0.005) and supramarginal (p = 0.004) gyrus. In the patient group, lower tract FA values were correlated with lower language performance, among others for the connection between the left postcentral and inferior frontal gyrus (p = 0.043, R = 0.43).ConclusionIn RE, structural connectivity is reduced for several connections involving the rolandic regions, from which the epileptiform activity originates. Most of these aberrant tracts involve the left (typically language mediating) hemisphere, notably the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s area) and the supramarginal gyrus (Wernicke’s area). For the former, reduced language performance for lower tract FA was found in the patients. These findings provide a first microstructural white matter correlate for language impairment in RE.

Exploring the correlation between frequency-dependent brain activity and cognitive function in social anxiety disorder.

Cortical gamma oscillations modulated by word association tasks: Intracranial recording