AIM:To analyze whether alterations of voxel mirror homology connectivity(VMHC)values,as determined by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rsfMRI),occur in cerebral regions of patients with hypertensive...AIM:To analyze whether alterations of voxel mirror homology connectivity(VMHC)values,as determined by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rsfMRI),occur in cerebral regions of patients with hypertensive retinopathy(HR)and to determine the relationship between VMHC values and clinical characteristics in patients with HR.METHODS:Twenty-one patients with HR and 21 agematched healthy controls(HCs)were assessed by rsfMRI scanning.The functional connectivity between the hemispheres of the cerebrum was assessed by measuring VMHC,with the ability of VMHC to distinguish between the HR and HC groups assessed using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics of the HR and HC groups were analyzed by independent sample t-tests.The relationship between average VMHC in several brain areas of HR patients and clinical features was determined using Pearson correlation analysis.RESULTS:Mean VMHC values of the bilateral cuneus gyrus(BA19),bilateral middle orbitofrontal gyrus(BA47),bilateral middle temporal gyrus(BA39)and bilateral superior medial frontal gyrus(BA9)were lower in the HR than in the HC group.CONCLUSION:VMHC values can predict the development of early HR,prevent the transformation of hypertensive microangiopathy,and provide useful information explaining the changes in neural mechanism associated with HR.展开更多
Dear Editor,Sleep deprivation and loss can have detrimental effects on brain function.Among common patterns of sleep loss are delayed sleep onset(early night sleep loss,EL)and premature awakening(late night sleep loss...Dear Editor,Sleep deprivation and loss can have detrimental effects on brain function.Among common patterns of sleep loss are delayed sleep onset(early night sleep loss,EL)and premature awakening(late night sleep loss,LL).Here,we investigated the distinct impacts of EL and LL on resting-state brain activity.A total of 100 healthy students from several universities in Beijing were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups:EL,LL,or full sleep(FS).Restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)scans were conducted following the sleep manipulations.Compared to the FS group,the LL group showed abnormal low-frequency fluctuation(fALFF)in the prefrontal cortex and insula.展开更多
AIM:To assess the alterations in the resting-state function connections between the two cerebral hemispheres in patients with optic neuritis(ON)and healthy controls(HCs).METHODS:A total of 12 ON patients(six males and...AIM:To assess the alterations in the resting-state function connections between the two cerebral hemispheres in patients with optic neuritis(ON)and healthy controls(HCs).METHODS:A total of 12 ON patients(six males and six females)and 12 HCs(six males and six females)who were highly matched for sex,age,and educational level were recruited.They underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI),testing and brain activities were assessed using the degree centrality(DC)method.Correlation analysis between the mean DC values in specific brain areas and behavior performances was analyzed as well.Linear correlations between A anxiety scale(AS)and depression scale(DS)values and DC values in brain regions of patients with ON were also analyzed.RESULTS:The areas that showed a higher DC value in ON patients were the right angular gyrus and bilateral precuneus,while the left insula and left superior temporal gyrus(LSTG)were regions that presented a lower DC value in ON patients.A receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis confirmed the accuracy of the area under the curve(AUC)assessment.Linear analysis showed anxiety scale(AS)and depression scale(DS)values in the left insula were both negatively correlated with DC values,while best corrected visual acuity logMAR-R(BCVA logMAR-R)showed a negative correlation with DC in the LSTG.CONCLUSION:The study explores altered brain activities of specific regions in patients with ON.The results provide clues for revealing the underlying mechanism of ON development.展开更多
Functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） technique has been more widely applied to related studies of acupuncture central integration mechanisms with the advantages of non-invasion and real-time monitor, etc. Di...Functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） technique has been more widely applied to related studies of acupuncture central integration mechanisms with the advantages of non-invasion and real-time monitor, etc. Discovery of resting state brain activities and the default brain network challenges to the acupuncture-related studies based on traditional block design. The paper reviews some obvious advances of fMRI in studies of acupoint specificity, and research methods and progresses of the resting state brain functional network in recent years, and raises the thinking about leading the resting state fMRI and the brain functional network into acupuncture-related studies, in the hope of probing into the effect and modulation of acupuncture on the default network, promoting development of acupuncture mechanism studies and strengthening scientific basis of acupuncture and moxibustion theories.展开更多
Epilepsy is a disease characterized by abnormal spontaneous activity in the brain.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI） is a powerful technique for exploring this activity.With good spatial an...Epilepsy is a disease characterized by abnormal spontaneous activity in the brain.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI） is a powerful technique for exploring this activity.With good spatial and temporal resolution,RS-fMRI is a promising approach for accurate localization of the focus of seizure activity.Although simultaneous electroencephalogram-fMRI has been performed with patients in the resting state,most studies focused on activation.This mini-review focuses on RS-fMRI alone,including its computational methods and its application to epilepsy.展开更多
AIM： To investigate the functional networks underlying the brain-activity changes of patients with high myopia using the voxel-wise degree centrality（DC） method.METHODS： In total, 38 patients with high myopia（HM...AIM： To investigate the functional networks underlying the brain-activity changes of patients with high myopia using the voxel-wise degree centrality（DC） method.METHODS： In total, 38 patients with high myopia（HM）（17 males and 21 females）, whose binocular refractive diopter were-6.00 to-7.00 D, and 38 healthy controls（17 males and 21 females）, closely matched in age, sex, and education levels, participated in the study. Spontaneous brain activities were evaluated using the voxel-wise DC method. The receiver operating characteristic curve was measured to distinguish patients with HM from healthy controls. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance.RESULTS： Compared with healthy controls, HM patients had significantly decreased DC values in the right inferior frontal gyrus/insula, right middle frontal gyrus, and right supramarginal/inferior parietal lobule（P〈0.05）. In contrast, HM patients had significantly increased DC values in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, left precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus, and right middle cingulate gyrus（P〈0.05）. However, no relationship was found between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance（P〉0.05）.CONCLUSION： HM is associated with abnormalities in many brain regions, which may indicate the neural mechanisms of HM. The altered DC values may be used as a useful biomarker for the brain activity changes in HM patients.展开更多
Objective Little is known about the brain systems that contribute to vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD）. Comparison of the resting-state patterns of intrinsic functional synchronization, as measu...Objective Little is known about the brain systems that contribute to vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD）. Comparison of the resting-state patterns of intrinsic functional synchronization, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, between groups with and without PTSD following a traumatic event can help identify the neural mechanisms of the disorder and targets for intervention. Methods Fifty-four PTSD patients and 72 matched traumatized subjects who experienced the 2008 Sichuan earthquake were imaged with blood oxygen level-dependent （BOLD） fMRI and analyzed using the measure of regional homogeneity （ReHo） during the resting state. Results PTSD patients presented enhanced ReHo in the left inferior parietal lobule and right superior frontal gyrus, and reduced ReHo in the right middle temporal gyrus and lingual gyrus, relative to traumatized individuals without PTSD. Conclusion Our findings showed that abnormal brain activity exists under resting conditions in PTSD patients who had been exposed to a major earthquake. Alterations in the local functional connectivity of cortical regions are likely to contribute to the neural mechanisms underlying PTSD.展开更多
Tension-type headache（TTH） is the most prevalent type of primary headache. Many studies have shown that the pathogenesis of primary headache is associated with fine structural or functional changes. However, these s...Tension-type headache（TTH） is the most prevalent type of primary headache. Many studies have shown that the pathogenesis of primary headache is associated with fine structural or functional changes. However, these studies were mainly based on migraine. The present study aimed to investigate whether TTH patients show functional disturbances compared with healthy subjects. We used restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging（f MRI） and regional homogeneity（Re Ho） analysis to identify changes in the local synchronization of spontaneous activity in patients with TTH. Ten patients with TTH and 10 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls participated in the study. After demographic and clinical characteristics were acquired, a 3.0-T MRI system was used to obtain restingstate f MRIs. Compared with healthy controls, the TTH group exhibited significantly lower Re Ho values in the bilateral caudate nucleus, the precuneus, the putamen, the left middle frontal gyrus, and the superior frontal gyrus. There was no correlation between mean Re Ho values in TTH patients and duration of TTH, number of attacks, duration of daily attacks, Visual Analogue Scale score, or Headache Impact Test-6 score. These results suggest that TTHpatients exhibit reduced synchronization of neuronal activity in multiple regions involved in the integration and processing of pain signals.展开更多
Mood disorders/psychosis have been associated with dysfunctions in the default mode network(DMN).However,the relative contributions of DMN regions to state and trait disturbances in pediatric bipolar disorder(PBD)rema...Mood disorders/psychosis have been associated with dysfunctions in the default mode network(DMN).However,the relative contributions of DMN regions to state and trait disturbances in pediatric bipolar disorder(PBD)remain unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the possible mechanisms of PBD through brain imaging and explore the influence of psychotic symptoms on functional alterations in PBD patients.Twenty-nine psychotic and 26 non-psychotic PBD patients,as well as 19 age-and sex-matched healthy controls underwent a restingstate functional MRI scan and the data were analyzed by independent component analysis.The DMN component from the fMRI data was extracted for each participant.Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed between aberrant connectivity and clinical measurements.The results demonstrated that psychotic PBD was characterized by aberrant DMN connectivity in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex,bilateral caudate nucleus,bilateral angular gyri,and left middle temporal gyrus,while non-psychotic PBD was not,suggesting further impairment with the development of psychosis.In summary,we demonstrated unique impairment in DMN functional connectivity in the psychotic PBD group.These specific neuroanatomical abnormalities may shed light on the underlying pathophysiology and presentation of PBD.展开更多
Previous studies on brain functional connectivity networks in children have mainly focused on changes in function in specific brain regions, as opposed to whole brain connectivity in healthy children. By analyzing the...Previous studies on brain functional connectivity networks in children have mainly focused on changes in function in specific brain regions, as opposed to whole brain connectivity in healthy children. By analyzing the independent components of activation and network connectivity between brain regions, we examined brain activity status and development trends in children aged 3 and 5 years. These data could provide a reference for brain function rehabilitation in children with illness or abnormal function. We acquired functional magnetic resonance images from 15 3-year-old children and 15 5-year-old children under natural sleep cond让ions. The participants were recruited from five kindergartens in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen City, China. The parents of the participants signed an informed consent form with the premise that they had been fully informed regarding the experimental protocol. We used masked independent component analysis and BrainNet Viewer software to explore the independent components of the brain and correlation connections between brain regions. We identified seven independent components in the two groups of children, including the executive control network, the dorsal attention network, the default mode network, the left frontoparietal network, the right frontoparietal network, the salience network, and the motor network. In the default mode network, the posterior cingulate cortex, medial frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule were activated in both 3- and 5-year-old children, supporting the "three-brain region theory” of the default mode network. In the frontoparietal network, the frontal and parietal gyri were activated in the two groups of children, and functional connectivity was strengthened in 5-year-olds compared with 3-year-olds, although the nodes and network connections were not yet mature. The high-correlation network connections in the default mode networks and dorsal attention networks had been significantly strengthened in 5-year-olds vs. 3-year-olds. Further, the salience network in the 3-year-old children included an activated insula/inferior frontal gyrus-anterior cingulate cortex network circu让 and an activated thalamus-parahippocampal-posterior cingulate cortex-subcortical regions network circuit. By the age of 5 years, no des and high-correlation network connections (edges) were reduced in the salience network. Overall, activation of the dorsal attention network, default mode network, left frontoparietal network, and right frontoparietal network increased (the volume of activation increased, the signals strengthened, and the high-correlation connections increased and strengthened) in 5-year-olds compared with 3-year-olds, but activation in some brain nodes weakened or disappeared in the salience network, and the network connections (edges) were reduced. Between the ages of 3 and 5 years, we observed a tendency for function in some brain regions to be strengthened and for the generalization of activation to be reduced, indicating that specialization begins to develop at this time. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China with approval No. SIAT-IRB- 131115-H0075 on November 15, 2013.展开更多
Regional homogeneity（ReHo）and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation（ALFF）are two approaches to depicting different regional characteristics of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI）dat...Regional homogeneity（ReHo）and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation（ALFF）are two approaches to depicting different regional characteristics of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI）data.Whether they can complementarily reveal brain regional functional abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）remains unknown.In this study,we applied ReHo and ALFF to 23 medication-na ve boys diagnosed with ADHD and 25 age-matched healthy male controls using whole-brain voxel-wise analysis.Correlation analyses were conducted in the ADHD group to investigate the relationship between the regional spontaneous brain activity measured by the two approaches and the clinical symptoms of ADHD.We found that the ReHo method showed widely-distributed differences between the two groups in the fronto-cingulo-occipitocerebellar circuitry,while the ALFF method showed a difference only in the right occipital area.When a larger smoothing kernel and a more lenient threshold were used for ALFF,more overlapped regions were found between ALFF and ReHo,and ALFF even found some new regions with group differences.The ADHD symptom scores were correlated with the ReHo values in the right cerebellum,dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left lingual gyrus in the ADHD group,while no correlation was detected between ALFF and ADHD symptoms.In conclusion,ReHo may be more sensitive to regional abnormalities,at least in boys with ADHD,than ALFF.And ALFF may be complementary to ReHo in measuring local spontaneous activity.Combination of the two may yield a more comprehensive pathophy-siological framework for ADHD.展开更多
Age-related changes in the brain connectivity of healthy older adults have been widely studied in recent years,with some differences in the obtained results.Most of these studies showed decreases in general functional...Age-related changes in the brain connectivity of healthy older adults have been widely studied in recent years,with some differences in the obtained results.Most of these studies showed decreases in general functional connectivity,but they also found increases in some particular regions and areas.Frequently,these studies compared young individuals with older subjects,but few studies compared different age groups only in older populations.The purpose of this study is to analyze whole-brain functional connectivity in healthy older adult groups and its network characteristics through functional segregation.A total of 114 individuals,48 to 89 years old,were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in a resting state paradigm and were divided into six different age groups(<60,60–64,65–69,70–74,75–79,≥80 years old).A partial correlation analysis,a pooled correlation analysis and a study of 3-cycle regions with prominent connectivity were conducted.Our results showed progressive diminution in the functional connectivity among different age groups and this was particularly pronounced between 75 and 79 years old.The oldest group(≥80 years old)showed a slight increase in functional connectivity compared to the other groups.This occurred possibly because of compensatory mechanism in brain functioning.This study provides information on the brain functional characteristics of every age group,with more specific information on the functional progressive decline,and supplies methodological tools to study functional connectivity characteristics.Approval for the study was obtained from the ethics committee of the Comision de Bioetica de la Universidad de Barcelona(approval No.PSI2012-38257)on June 5,2012,and from the ethics committee of the Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic(approval No.2009-5306 and 2011-6604)on October 22,2009 and April 7,2011 respectively.展开更多
This study investigated the changes in interhemispheric functional connectivity （FC） of the whole brain in open globe injury （OGI） patients, using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity （VMHC）, and their relation...This study investigated the changes in interhemispheric functional connectivity （FC） of the whole brain in open globe injury （OGI） patients, using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity （VMHC）, and their relationships with clinical features. Totally, 16 male and 2 female acute OGI patients and 18 sex, age, and education-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All subjects were scanned through functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves analyses had been used to identify the VMHC in these brain areas could be used as biomarkers to distinguish OGI and from healthy control （HC）. The mean VMHC values in multiple brain areas and clinical OGI manifestations were evaluated with a Pearson correlation analysis. OGI patients had significantly decreased VMHC in the bilateral calcarine/lingual/cuneus （BA18, 19, 30） and middle occipital gyrus （BA18, 19）. The OGI patients had abnormal interhemispheric FC in the dorsal visual pathway, which may represent the pathophysiological mechanism that underlies acute vision loss after OGI.展开更多
The specific mechanisms by which acupuncture affects the central nervous system are unclear. In the International Standard Scalp Acupuncture system, acupuncture needles are applied at the middle line of the vertex, an...The specific mechanisms by which acupuncture affects the central nervous system are unclear. In the International Standard Scalp Acupuncture system, acupuncture needles are applied at the middle line of the vertex, anterior parietal-temporal oblique line, and the posterior parietal-temporal oblique line. We conducted a single-arm prospective clinical trial in which seven healthy elderly volunteers (three men and four women;50–70 years old) received International Standard Scalp Acupuncture at MS5 (the mid-sagittal line between Baihui (DU20) and Qianding (DU21)), the left MS6 (line joining Sishencong (EX-HN1) and Xuanli (GB6)), and the left MS7 (line joining DU20 and Qubin (GB7)). After acupuncture, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated changes in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity in various areas, showing remarkable enhancement of regional homogeneity in the bilateral anterior cingulate, left medial frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Functional connectivity based on a seed region at the right middle frontal gyrus (42, 51, 9) decreased at the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus. Our data preliminarily indicates that the international standard scalp acupuncture in healthy elderly participants specifcally enhances the correlation between the brain regions involved in cognition and implementation of the brain network regulation system and the surrounding adjacent brain regions. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the China-Japan Union Hospital at Jilin University, China, on July 18, 2016 (approval No. 2016ks043).展开更多
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）is a common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder that has been linked to the dopaminergic system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of regulation of the dopamin...Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）is a common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder that has been linked to the dopaminergic system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of regulation of the dopamine D4 receptor（DRD4） on functional brain activity during the resting state in ADHD children using the methods of regional homogeneity（Re Ho） and functional connectivity（FC）. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed in 49 children with ADHD. All participants were classified as either carriers of the DRD44-repeat/4-repeat（4 R/4 R） allele（n = 30） or the DRD42-repeat（2 R） allele（n = 19）. The results showed that participants with the DRD4 2 R allele had decreased Re Ho bilaterally in the posterior lobes of the cerebellum, while Re Ho was increased in the left angular gyrus. Compared with participants carrying the DRD4 4 R/4 R allele, those with the DRD4 2 R allele showed decreased FC to the left angular gyrus in the left striatum, right inferior frontal gyrus, and bilateral lobes of the cerebellum. The increased FC regions included the left superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and rectus gyrus. These data suggest that the DRD4 polymorphisms are associated with localized brain activity and specific functional connections, including abnormality in the frontal-striatal-cerebellar loop. Our study not only enhances the understanding of the correlation between the cerebellar lobes and ADHD, but also provides an imaging basis for explaining the neural mechanisms underlying ADHD in children.展开更多
Objective:Cervical disease,a type of chronic pain,can greatly impact quality of life.Traditional Chinese tuina,a form of therapeutic massage and manipulation,has been shown to be effective in relieving pain and other ...Objective:Cervical disease,a type of chronic pain,can greatly impact quality of life.Traditional Chinese tuina,a form of therapeutic massage and manipulation,has been shown to be effective in relieving pain and other symptoms in patients with chronic neck pain.This study applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the features of the resting state network of patients with chronic neck pain caused by cervical radiculopathy,and how tuina affects the causality between intrinsic brain networks.Methods:Using Granger causality analysis,effective connectivity of brain networks of 10 patients with chronic neck pain was compared with 10 healthy control subjects.Resting state fMRI data were using magnetic resonance scanning.Cervical spondylosis symptom scores were evaluated before and after 4 weeks of tuina therapy.Independent component analysis was applied to extract the specific networks related to sensation,execution,and cognition,including sensorimotor network (SMN),visual network (VN),auditory network (AN),anterior and posterior default mode network (aDMN,pDMN),left frontoparietal network and right frontoparietal network.Results:Compared with the control group,data from the treatment group revealed two major findings:before tuina therapy,SMN had a profound influence on aDMN and AN greatly affected pDMN;however,after 4 weeks of tuina therapy,aDMN and SMN showed reversed causality.Conclusion:Chronic neck pain caused by cervical radiculopathy may influence the DMN,which plays an important role in emotion,cognition,and memory,by stimulating the sensory afferent network.Tuina not only significantly relieves pain and discomfort,but also reverses the causality between aDMN and SMN.展开更多
Abstract Previous studies have suggested that cortical functional reorganization is associated with motor recovery after stroke and that normal afferent sensory information is very important in that process. In this s...Abstract Previous studies have suggested that cortical functional reorganization is associated with motor recovery after stroke and that normal afferent sensory information is very important in that process. In this study, we selected patients who had a stroke in or under the thalamus, with potentially impaired afferent sensory information and analyzed the differences between these patients and healthy controls at three levels： brain regions, the functional con- nectivity between brain areas, and the whole-brain func- tional network. Compared with healthy controls, regionalhomogeneities in the left middle temporal gyrus decreased and functional connectivity between the left middle tem- poral gyrus and the stroke area increased in the patients. However, there was no significant change in the whole- brain functional network. By focusing on stroke located in or under the thalamus, our study contributes to wider inquiries into understanding and treating stroke.展开更多
Methylphenidate （MPH） is one of the most commonly used stimulants for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （ADHD）. Although several studies have evaluated the effects of MPH on human brain act...Methylphenidate （MPH） is one of the most commonly used stimulants for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （ADHD）. Although several studies have evaluated the effects of MPH on human brain activation during specific cognitive tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, few studies have focused on spontaneous brain activity. In the current study, we investigated the effect of MPH on the intra-regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity during the resting state in 18 normal adult males. A handedness questionnaire and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale were applied before medication, and a resting-state fMRI scan was obtained 1 h after medication （20 mg MPH or placebo, order counterbalanced between participants）. We demonstrated that： （1） there were no significant differences in the performance of behavioral tasks between the MPH and placebo groups; （2） the left middle and superior temporal gyri had stronger MPH-related regional homogeneity （ReHo）; and （3） the left lingual gyrus had weaker MPH-related ReHo. Our findings showed that the ReHo in some brain areas changes with MPH compared to placebo in normal adults, even though there are no behavioral differences. This method can be applied to patients with mental illness who may be treated with MPH, and be used to compare the difference between patients taking MPH and normal participants, to help reveal the mechanism of how MPH works.展开更多
The main symptom of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive dysfunction. Alzheimer’s disease is mainly diagnosed based on changes in brain structure. Functional connectivity reflects the synchrony of function...The main symptom of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive dysfunction. Alzheimer’s disease is mainly diagnosed based on changes in brain structure. Functional connectivity reflects the synchrony of functional activities between non-adjacent brain regions, and changes in functional connectivity appear earlier than those in brain structure. In this study, we detected resting-state functional connectivity changes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease to provide reference evidence for disease prediction. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with Alzheimer’s disease were used to show whether particular white and gray matter areas had certain functional connectivity patterns and if these patterns changed with disease severity. In nine white and corresponding gray matter regions, correlations of normal cognition, early mild cognitive impairment, and late mild cognitive impairment with blood oxygen level-dependent signal time series were detected. Average correlation coefficient analysis indicated functional connectivity patterns between white and gray matter in the resting state of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Functional connectivity pattern variation correlated with disease severity, with some regions having relatively strong or weak correlations. We found that the correlation coefficients of five regions were 0.3–0.5 in patients with normal cognition and 0–0.2 in those developing Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, in the other four regions, the range increased to 0.45–0.7 with increasing cognitive impairment. In some white and gray matter areas, there were specific connectivity patterns. Changes in regional white and gray matter connectivity patterns may be used to predict Alzheimer’s disease;however, detailed information on specific connectivity patterns is needed. All study data were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Library of the Image and Data Archive Database.展开更多
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82160195,No.82460203).
文摘AIM:To analyze whether alterations of voxel mirror homology connectivity(VMHC)values,as determined by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rsfMRI),occur in cerebral regions of patients with hypertensive retinopathy(HR)and to determine the relationship between VMHC values and clinical characteristics in patients with HR.METHODS:Twenty-one patients with HR and 21 agematched healthy controls(HCs)were assessed by rsfMRI scanning.The functional connectivity between the hemispheres of the cerebrum was assessed by measuring VMHC,with the ability of VMHC to distinguish between the HR and HC groups assessed using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics of the HR and HC groups were analyzed by independent sample t-tests.The relationship between average VMHC in several brain areas of HR patients and clinical features was determined using Pearson correlation analysis.RESULTS:Mean VMHC values of the bilateral cuneus gyrus(BA19),bilateral middle orbitofrontal gyrus(BA47),bilateral middle temporal gyrus(BA39)and bilateral superior medial frontal gyrus(BA9)were lower in the HR than in the HC group.CONCLUSION:VMHC values can predict the development of early HR,prevent the transformation of hypertensive microangiopathy,and provide useful information explaining the changes in neural mechanism associated with HR.
基金supported by the STI2030-Major Projects(2021ZD0202100,2021ZD0200801,and 2021ZD0201900)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82130040,82288101).
文摘Dear Editor,Sleep deprivation and loss can have detrimental effects on brain function.Among common patterns of sleep loss are delayed sleep onset(early night sleep loss,EL)and premature awakening(late night sleep loss,LL).Here,we investigated the distinct impacts of EL and LL on resting-state brain activity.A total of 100 healthy students from several universities in Beijing were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups:EL,LL,or full sleep(FS).Restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)scans were conducted following the sleep manipulations.Compared to the FS group,the LL group showed abnormal low-frequency fluctuation(fALFF)in the prefrontal cortex and insula.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82160195No.82460203)Key R&D Program of Jiangxi Province(No.20223BBH80014).
文摘AIM:To assess the alterations in the resting-state function connections between the two cerebral hemispheres in patients with optic neuritis(ON)and healthy controls(HCs).METHODS:A total of 12 ON patients(six males and six females)and 12 HCs(six males and six females)who were highly matched for sex,age,and educational level were recruited.They underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI),testing and brain activities were assessed using the degree centrality(DC)method.Correlation analysis between the mean DC values in specific brain areas and behavior performances was analyzed as well.Linear correlations between A anxiety scale(AS)and depression scale(DS)values and DC values in brain regions of patients with ON were also analyzed.RESULTS:The areas that showed a higher DC value in ON patients were the right angular gyrus and bilateral precuneus,while the left insula and left superior temporal gyrus(LSTG)were regions that presented a lower DC value in ON patients.A receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis confirmed the accuracy of the area under the curve(AUC)assessment.Linear analysis showed anxiety scale(AS)and depression scale(DS)values in the left insula were both negatively correlated with DC values,while best corrected visual acuity logMAR-R(BCVA logMAR-R)showed a negative correlation with DC in the LSTG.CONCLUSION:The study explores altered brain activities of specific regions in patients with ON.The results provide clues for revealing the underlying mechanism of ON development.
基金Supported by National Key Basic Research Development Grant(973 Grant):2006 CB 504501Natural Science Foundation of China Grants:30772835
文摘Functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） technique has been more widely applied to related studies of acupuncture central integration mechanisms with the advantages of non-invasion and real-time monitor, etc. Discovery of resting state brain activities and the default brain network challenges to the acupuncture-related studies based on traditional block design. The paper reviews some obvious advances of fMRI in studies of acupoint specificity, and research methods and progresses of the resting state brain functional network in recent years, and raises the thinking about leading the resting state fMRI and the brain functional network into acupuncture-related studies, in the hope of probing into the effect and modulation of acupuncture on the default network, promoting development of acupuncture mechanism studies and strengthening scientific basis of acupuncture and moxibustion theories.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(2009MS1163)National Natural Science Foundation of China(81020108022,30770594)
文摘Epilepsy is a disease characterized by abnormal spontaneous activity in the brain.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI） is a powerful technique for exploring this activity.With good spatial and temporal resolution,RS-fMRI is a promising approach for accurate localization of the focus of seizure activity.Although simultaneous electroencephalogram-fMRI has been performed with patients in the resting state,most studies focused on activation.This mini-review focuses on RS-fMRI alone,including its computational methods and its application to epilepsy.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.81760179 No.81360151)+2 种基金Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No.20171BAB205046)Jiangxi Province Education Department Key Foundation (No. GJJ160033)Health Development Planning Commission Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No.20185118)
文摘AIM： To investigate the functional networks underlying the brain-activity changes of patients with high myopia using the voxel-wise degree centrality（DC） method.METHODS： In total, 38 patients with high myopia（HM）（17 males and 21 females）, whose binocular refractive diopter were-6.00 to-7.00 D, and 38 healthy controls（17 males and 21 females）, closely matched in age, sex, and education levels, participated in the study. Spontaneous brain activities were evaluated using the voxel-wise DC method. The receiver operating characteristic curve was measured to distinguish patients with HM from healthy controls. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance.RESULTS： Compared with healthy controls, HM patients had significantly decreased DC values in the right inferior frontal gyrus/insula, right middle frontal gyrus, and right supramarginal/inferior parietal lobule（P〈0.05）. In contrast, HM patients had significantly increased DC values in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, left precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus, and right middle cingulate gyrus（P〈0.05）. However, no relationship was found between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance（P〉0.05）.CONCLUSION： HM is associated with abnormalities in many brain regions, which may indicate the neural mechanisms of HM. The altered DC values may be used as a useful biomarker for the brain activity changes in HM patients.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30830046,30625024, 81171286)the National Science and Technology Program of China (2007BAI17B02)+2 种基金the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China(2009CB918303)the Science and Technology Program of the Ministry of Education, China (20090162110011)the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863 program:2008AA02Z408)
文摘Objective Little is known about the brain systems that contribute to vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD）. Comparison of the resting-state patterns of intrinsic functional synchronization, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, between groups with and without PTSD following a traumatic event can help identify the neural mechanisms of the disorder and targets for intervention. Methods Fifty-four PTSD patients and 72 matched traumatized subjects who experienced the 2008 Sichuan earthquake were imaged with blood oxygen level-dependent （BOLD） fMRI and analyzed using the measure of regional homogeneity （ReHo） during the resting state. Results PTSD patients presented enhanced ReHo in the left inferior parietal lobule and right superior frontal gyrus, and reduced ReHo in the right middle temporal gyrus and lingual gyrus, relative to traumatized individuals without PTSD. Conclusion Our findings showed that abnormal brain activity exists under resting conditions in PTSD patients who had been exposed to a major earthquake. Alterations in the local functional connectivity of cortical regions are likely to contribute to the neural mechanisms underlying PTSD.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81071140)
文摘Tension-type headache（TTH） is the most prevalent type of primary headache. Many studies have shown that the pathogenesis of primary headache is associated with fine structural or functional changes. However, these studies were mainly based on migraine. The present study aimed to investigate whether TTH patients show functional disturbances compared with healthy subjects. We used restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging（f MRI） and regional homogeneity（Re Ho） analysis to identify changes in the local synchronization of spontaneous activity in patients with TTH. Ten patients with TTH and 10 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls participated in the study. After demographic and clinical characteristics were acquired, a 3.0-T MRI system was used to obtain restingstate f MRIs. Compared with healthy controls, the TTH group exhibited significantly lower Re Ho values in the bilateral caudate nucleus, the precuneus, the putamen, the left middle frontal gyrus, and the superior frontal gyrus. There was no correlation between mean Re Ho values in TTH patients and duration of TTH, number of attacks, duration of daily attacks, Visual Analogue Scale score, or Headache Impact Test-6 score. These results suggest that TTHpatients exhibit reduced synchronization of neuronal activity in multiple regions involved in the integration and processing of pain signals.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81171291, 81371531, 81571344, 81871344)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (BK20161109)+2 种基金the Key Program for Guangming Lu (BWS11J063, and 10z026)the Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province, China (18KJB190003)the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2014M552700)
文摘Mood disorders/psychosis have been associated with dysfunctions in the default mode network(DMN).However,the relative contributions of DMN regions to state and trait disturbances in pediatric bipolar disorder(PBD)remain unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the possible mechanisms of PBD through brain imaging and explore the influence of psychotic symptoms on functional alterations in PBD patients.Twenty-nine psychotic and 26 non-psychotic PBD patients,as well as 19 age-and sex-matched healthy controls underwent a restingstate functional MRI scan and the data were analyzed by independent component analysis.The DMN component from the fMRI data was extracted for each participant.Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed between aberrant connectivity and clinical measurements.The results demonstrated that psychotic PBD was characterized by aberrant DMN connectivity in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex,bilateral caudate nucleus,bilateral angular gyri,and left middle temporal gyrus,while non-psychotic PBD was not,suggesting further impairment with the development of psychosis.In summary,we demonstrated unique impairment in DMN functional connectivity in the psychotic PBD group.These specific neuroanatomical abnormalities may shed light on the underlying pathophysiology and presentation of PBD.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province,No.2016A030313180(to FCJ)
文摘Previous studies on brain functional connectivity networks in children have mainly focused on changes in function in specific brain regions, as opposed to whole brain connectivity in healthy children. By analyzing the independent components of activation and network connectivity between brain regions, we examined brain activity status and development trends in children aged 3 and 5 years. These data could provide a reference for brain function rehabilitation in children with illness or abnormal function. We acquired functional magnetic resonance images from 15 3-year-old children and 15 5-year-old children under natural sleep cond让ions. The participants were recruited from five kindergartens in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen City, China. The parents of the participants signed an informed consent form with the premise that they had been fully informed regarding the experimental protocol. We used masked independent component analysis and BrainNet Viewer software to explore the independent components of the brain and correlation connections between brain regions. We identified seven independent components in the two groups of children, including the executive control network, the dorsal attention network, the default mode network, the left frontoparietal network, the right frontoparietal network, the salience network, and the motor network. In the default mode network, the posterior cingulate cortex, medial frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule were activated in both 3- and 5-year-old children, supporting the "three-brain region theory” of the default mode network. In the frontoparietal network, the frontal and parietal gyri were activated in the two groups of children, and functional connectivity was strengthened in 5-year-olds compared with 3-year-olds, although the nodes and network connections were not yet mature. The high-correlation network connections in the default mode networks and dorsal attention networks had been significantly strengthened in 5-year-olds vs. 3-year-olds. Further, the salience network in the 3-year-old children included an activated insula/inferior frontal gyrus-anterior cingulate cortex network circu让 and an activated thalamus-parahippocampal-posterior cingulate cortex-subcortical regions network circuit. By the age of 5 years, no des and high-correlation network connections (edges) were reduced in the salience network. Overall, activation of the dorsal attention network, default mode network, left frontoparietal network, and right frontoparietal network increased (the volume of activation increased, the signals strengthened, and the high-correlation connections increased and strengthened) in 5-year-olds compared with 3-year-olds, but activation in some brain nodes weakened or disappeared in the salience network, and the network connections (edges) were reduced. Between the ages of 3 and 5 years, we observed a tendency for function in some brain regions to be strengthened and for the generalization of activation to be reduced, indicating that specialization begins to develop at this time. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China with approval No. SIAT-IRB- 131115-H0075 on November 15, 2013.
基金supported by the Commonwealth Sciences Foundation, Ministry of Health, China (200802073)the National Basic Research Development Program, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2007BAI17B03)+1 种基金the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (30970802, 81000593, 81020108022, 81271652)the Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning
文摘Regional homogeneity（ReHo）and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation（ALFF）are two approaches to depicting different regional characteristics of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging（RS-fMRI）data.Whether they can complementarily reveal brain regional functional abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）remains unknown.In this study,we applied ReHo and ALFF to 23 medication-na ve boys diagnosed with ADHD and 25 age-matched healthy male controls using whole-brain voxel-wise analysis.Correlation analyses were conducted in the ADHD group to investigate the relationship between the regional spontaneous brain activity measured by the two approaches and the clinical symptoms of ADHD.We found that the ReHo method showed widely-distributed differences between the two groups in the fronto-cingulo-occipitocerebellar circuitry,while the ALFF method showed a difference only in the right occipital area.When a larger smoothing kernel and a more lenient threshold were used for ALFF,more overlapped regions were found between ALFF and ReHo,and ALFF even found some new regions with group differences.The ADHD symptom scores were correlated with the ReHo values in the right cerebellum,dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left lingual gyrus in the ADHD group,while no correlation was detected between ALFF and ADHD symptoms.In conclusion,ReHo may be more sensitive to regional abnormalities,at least in boys with ADHD,than ALFF.And ALFF may be complementary to ReHo in measuring local spontaneous activity.Combination of the two may yield a more comprehensive pathophy-siological framework for ADHD.
基金the Grup de Recerca en Tecniques Estadistiques Avancades Aplicades a la Psicologia(GTEAAP)members of the Generalitat de Catalunya’s 2014 SGR 326 Consolidated Research Group(GRC)the PSI2013-41400-P project of Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government
文摘Age-related changes in the brain connectivity of healthy older adults have been widely studied in recent years,with some differences in the obtained results.Most of these studies showed decreases in general functional connectivity,but they also found increases in some particular regions and areas.Frequently,these studies compared young individuals with older subjects,but few studies compared different age groups only in older populations.The purpose of this study is to analyze whole-brain functional connectivity in healthy older adult groups and its network characteristics through functional segregation.A total of 114 individuals,48 to 89 years old,were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in a resting state paradigm and were divided into six different age groups(<60,60–64,65–69,70–74,75–79,≥80 years old).A partial correlation analysis,a pooled correlation analysis and a study of 3-cycle regions with prominent connectivity were conducted.Our results showed progressive diminution in the functional connectivity among different age groups and this was particularly pronounced between 75 and 79 years old.The oldest group(≥80 years old)showed a slight increase in functional connectivity compared to the other groups.This occurred possibly because of compensatory mechanism in brain functioning.This study provides information on the brain functional characteristics of every age group,with more specific information on the functional progressive decline,and supplies methodological tools to study functional connectivity characteristics.Approval for the study was obtained from the ethics committee of the Comision de Bioetica de la Universidad de Barcelona(approval No.PSI2012-38257)on June 5,2012,and from the ethics committee of the Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic(approval No.2009-5306 and 2011-6604)on October 22,2009 and April 7,2011 respectively.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81660158No.81400372)+1 种基金Natural Science Key Project of Jiangxi Province(No.20161ACB21017)Health Development Planning Commission Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province(No.20175116)
文摘This study investigated the changes in interhemispheric functional connectivity （FC） of the whole brain in open globe injury （OGI） patients, using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity （VMHC）, and their relationships with clinical features. Totally, 16 male and 2 female acute OGI patients and 18 sex, age, and education-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All subjects were scanned through functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves analyses had been used to identify the VMHC in these brain areas could be used as biomarkers to distinguish OGI and from healthy control （HC）. The mean VMHC values in multiple brain areas and clinical OGI manifestations were evaluated with a Pearson correlation analysis. OGI patients had significantly decreased VMHC in the bilateral calcarine/lingual/cuneus （BA18, 19, 30） and middle occipital gyrus （BA18, 19）. The OGI patients had abnormal interhemispheric FC in the dorsal visual pathway, which may represent the pathophysiological mechanism that underlies acute vision loss after OGI.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81403455(to JQC)
文摘The specific mechanisms by which acupuncture affects the central nervous system are unclear. In the International Standard Scalp Acupuncture system, acupuncture needles are applied at the middle line of the vertex, anterior parietal-temporal oblique line, and the posterior parietal-temporal oblique line. We conducted a single-arm prospective clinical trial in which seven healthy elderly volunteers (three men and four women;50–70 years old) received International Standard Scalp Acupuncture at MS5 (the mid-sagittal line between Baihui (DU20) and Qianding (DU21)), the left MS6 (line joining Sishencong (EX-HN1) and Xuanli (GB6)), and the left MS7 (line joining DU20 and Qubin (GB7)). After acupuncture, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated changes in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity in various areas, showing remarkable enhancement of regional homogeneity in the bilateral anterior cingulate, left medial frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Functional connectivity based on a seed region at the right middle frontal gyrus (42, 51, 9) decreased at the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus. Our data preliminarily indicates that the international standard scalp acupuncture in healthy elderly participants specifcally enhances the correlation between the brain regions involved in cognition and implementation of the brain network regulation system and the surrounding adjacent brain regions. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the China-Japan Union Hospital at Jilin University, China, on July 18, 2016 (approval No. 2016ks043).
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (No. LY14H180006, LQ18H090009)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20160142)
文摘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）is a common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder that has been linked to the dopaminergic system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of regulation of the dopamine D4 receptor（DRD4） on functional brain activity during the resting state in ADHD children using the methods of regional homogeneity（Re Ho） and functional connectivity（FC）. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed in 49 children with ADHD. All participants were classified as either carriers of the DRD44-repeat/4-repeat（4 R/4 R） allele（n = 30） or the DRD42-repeat（2 R） allele（n = 19）. The results showed that participants with the DRD4 2 R allele had decreased Re Ho bilaterally in the posterior lobes of the cerebellum, while Re Ho was increased in the left angular gyrus. Compared with participants carrying the DRD4 4 R/4 R allele, those with the DRD4 2 R allele showed decreased FC to the left angular gyrus in the left striatum, right inferior frontal gyrus, and bilateral lobes of the cerebellum. The increased FC regions included the left superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and rectus gyrus. These data suggest that the DRD4 polymorphisms are associated with localized brain activity and specific functional connections, including abnormality in the frontal-striatal-cerebellar loop. Our study not only enhances the understanding of the correlation between the cerebellar lobes and ADHD, but also provides an imaging basis for explaining the neural mechanisms underlying ADHD in children.
基金This research was supported by the Young Teachers Foundation of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine,No.2013-JYBZZ-JS-047The funders had no role in study design,data collection and analysis,decision to publish,or preparation of the manuscript.
文摘Objective:Cervical disease,a type of chronic pain,can greatly impact quality of life.Traditional Chinese tuina,a form of therapeutic massage and manipulation,has been shown to be effective in relieving pain and other symptoms in patients with chronic neck pain.This study applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the features of the resting state network of patients with chronic neck pain caused by cervical radiculopathy,and how tuina affects the causality between intrinsic brain networks.Methods:Using Granger causality analysis,effective connectivity of brain networks of 10 patients with chronic neck pain was compared with 10 healthy control subjects.Resting state fMRI data were using magnetic resonance scanning.Cervical spondylosis symptom scores were evaluated before and after 4 weeks of tuina therapy.Independent component analysis was applied to extract the specific networks related to sensation,execution,and cognition,including sensorimotor network (SMN),visual network (VN),auditory network (AN),anterior and posterior default mode network (aDMN,pDMN),left frontoparietal network and right frontoparietal network.Results:Compared with the control group,data from the treatment group revealed two major findings:before tuina therapy,SMN had a profound influence on aDMN and AN greatly affected pDMN;however,after 4 weeks of tuina therapy,aDMN and SMN showed reversed causality.Conclusion:Chronic neck pain caused by cervical radiculopathy may influence the DMN,which plays an important role in emotion,cognition,and memory,by stimulating the sensory afferent network.Tuina not only significantly relieves pain and discomfort,but also reverses the causality between aDMN and SMN.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31230032,31171083, and 31471071)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China(WK2070000033)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province,China(1208085MH179)Hefei Science Center,CAS "User with Potential"(2015HSC-UP017)
文摘Abstract Previous studies have suggested that cortical functional reorganization is associated with motor recovery after stroke and that normal afferent sensory information is very important in that process. In this study, we selected patients who had a stroke in or under the thalamus, with potentially impaired afferent sensory information and analyzed the differences between these patients and healthy controls at three levels： brain regions, the functional con- nectivity between brain areas, and the whole-brain func- tional network. Compared with healthy controls, regionalhomogeneities in the left middle temporal gyrus decreased and functional connectivity between the left middle tem- poral gyrus and the stroke area increased in the patients. However, there was no significant change in the whole- brain functional network. By focusing on stroke located in or under the thalamus, our study contributes to wider inquiries into understanding and treating stroke.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30600181)a Key Project of the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province,China(2006C23030)
文摘Methylphenidate （MPH） is one of the most commonly used stimulants for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （ADHD）. Although several studies have evaluated the effects of MPH on human brain activation during specific cognitive tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, few studies have focused on spontaneous brain activity. In the current study, we investigated the effect of MPH on the intra-regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity during the resting state in 18 normal adult males. A handedness questionnaire and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale were applied before medication, and a resting-state fMRI scan was obtained 1 h after medication （20 mg MPH or placebo, order counterbalanced between participants）. We demonstrated that： （1） there were no significant differences in the performance of behavioral tasks between the MPH and placebo groups; （2） the left middle and superior temporal gyri had stronger MPH-related regional homogeneity （ReHo）; and （3） the left lingual gyrus had weaker MPH-related ReHo. Our findings showed that the ReHo in some brain areas changes with MPH compared to placebo in normal adults, even though there are no behavioral differences. This method can be applied to patients with mental illness who may be treated with MPH, and be used to compare the difference between patients taking MPH and normal participants, to help reveal the mechanism of how MPH works.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.61401308,61572063(both to XHW)the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing of China,No.L172055(to XHW)+3 种基金the Beijing Municipal Science&Technology Commission Research Fund of China,No.Z171100000417004(to XHW)the China Postdoctoral Fund,No.2018M631755(to XHW)the Special Fund for Improving Comprehensive Strength of Hebei University in the Midwest of China,No.801260201011(to XHW)the High-Level Talent Funding Project—Selective Post-doctoral Research Project Fund of Hebei Province of China,No.B2018003002(to XHW)
文摘The main symptom of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive dysfunction. Alzheimer’s disease is mainly diagnosed based on changes in brain structure. Functional connectivity reflects the synchrony of functional activities between non-adjacent brain regions, and changes in functional connectivity appear earlier than those in brain structure. In this study, we detected resting-state functional connectivity changes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease to provide reference evidence for disease prediction. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with Alzheimer’s disease were used to show whether particular white and gray matter areas had certain functional connectivity patterns and if these patterns changed with disease severity. In nine white and corresponding gray matter regions, correlations of normal cognition, early mild cognitive impairment, and late mild cognitive impairment with blood oxygen level-dependent signal time series were detected. Average correlation coefficient analysis indicated functional connectivity patterns between white and gray matter in the resting state of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Functional connectivity pattern variation correlated with disease severity, with some regions having relatively strong or weak correlations. We found that the correlation coefficients of five regions were 0.3–0.5 in patients with normal cognition and 0–0.2 in those developing Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, in the other four regions, the range increased to 0.45–0.7 with increasing cognitive impairment. In some white and gray matter areas, there were specific connectivity patterns. Changes in regional white and gray matter connectivity patterns may be used to predict Alzheimer’s disease;however, detailed information on specific connectivity patterns is needed. All study data were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Library of the Image and Data Archive Database.
