Objective: Anxiety disorders of childhood are prevalent, debilitating conditions that do not always respond to existing treatments. Attentional biases towards threatening stimuli have been reported in anxious children...Objective: Anxiety disorders of childhood are prevalent, debilitating conditions that do not always respond to existing treatments. Attentional biases towards threatening stimuli have been reported in anxious children and hypothesized to interfere with treatment response. Therefore, we examined such biases in children with anxiety disorders in relation to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes. Method: Thirty-eight children diagnosed with anxiety disorders in a specialized clinic (21 girls and 17 boys;age = 10.50 ± 1.11 years) and 36 unaffected community controls (19 girls and 17 boys;age = 10.20 ± 1.07 years) participated. Participants completed standardized questionnaire measures of anxiety and a probe position task (PPT) with facial cues. This task often reveals a response slowing effect related to threatening faces in vulnerable individuals. Children with anxiety disorders repeated these measures after completing CBT. Results: Groups did not differ in performance on the PPT, but angry/calm incongruent difference scores were significantly associated with self-reports of social anxiety and state anxiety. When controlling for pre-CBT anxiety levels, incongruent difference scores involving angry faces predicted post-CBT anxiety disorders index scores on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. PPT scores did not change significantly with CBT. Conclusions: Attentional bias towards threat on the PPT task may predict response to CBT and appears linked to social anxiety. Interventions to ameliorate this bias merit further study, as they might improve treatment outcomes for anxious, especially socially anxious, children.展开更多
Multivariate pattern analysis（MVPA） is a recently-developed approach for functional magnetic resonance imaging（fMRI） data analyses.Compared with the traditional univariate methods,MVPA is more sensitive to subtle ...Multivariate pattern analysis（MVPA） is a recently-developed approach for functional magnetic resonance imaging（fMRI） data analyses.Compared with the traditional univariate methods,MVPA is more sensitive to subtle changes in multivariate patterns in fMRI data.In this review,we introduce several significant advances in MVPA applications and summarize various combinations of algorithms and parameters in different problem settings.The limitations of MVPA and some critical questions that need to be addressed in future research are also discussed.展开更多
Impaired cognitive function,along with positive and negative symptoms,is a core clinical feature of schizophrenia.Earlier studies suggest that impaired cognitive functioning should be assessed from the perspective of ...Impaired cognitive function,along with positive and negative symptoms,is a core clinical feature of schizophrenia.Earlier studies suggest that impaired cognitive functioning should be assessed from the perspective of brain networks.The recently developed brainnetome approach to evaluating brain networks-an approach that was initially developed by Chinese scientists-provides a new methodology for studying this issue.In this paper we first introduce the concept of brainnetome.We then review recent progress in developing a brainnetome of impaired cognitive function in people with schizophrenia.The models of the relevant brain networks considered were created using data obtained from functional and anatomical brain imaging technologies at different levels of analysis:networks centered on regions of interest,networks related to specific cognitive functions,whole brain networks,and the attributes of brain networks.Finally,we discuss the current challenges and potential new directions for research about brainnetome.展开更多
The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavior...The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavioral and multi-modal MRI approaches in a large group of healthy Han Chinese participants （n = 233）. In contrast to findings in Caucasians, we found that long-allele （L） carriers had higher anxiety scores. In another group （n = 64） experiencing significant levels of depression or anxiety, the L-allele frequency was also significantly higher. In healthy participants, L-carriers had reduced functional and anatomical connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex （PFC）, which was correlated with anxiety or depression scores. Our findings demonstrated that in Chinese Han participants, in contrast to Caucasians, the L-allele confers vulnerability to anxiety or depression and weakens top-down emotional control between the PFC and amygdala. Therefore, ethnic background should be taken into account in gene-related studies and their potential clinical applications.展开更多
Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between th...Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex （PFC） and other brain regions, and how this dysconnectivity is linked to the impaired cognitive functions and aberrant behaviors of schizophrenia. Critical advances in neuroimaging technologies, including diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, make it possible to explore these issues. DTI affords the possibility to explore anatomical connectivity in the human brain in vivo and fMRI can be used to make inferences about functional connections between brain regions. In this review, we present major advances in the understanding of PFC anatomical and functional dysconnectivity and their implications in schizophrenia. We then briefly discuss future prospects that need to be explored in order to move beyond simple mapping of connectivity changes to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms underlying schizophrenia.展开更多
Objective The left-lateralized N170, an event-related potential component consistently shown in response to alphabetic words, is a robust electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in an alphabetic language. In...Objective The left-lateralized N170, an event-related potential component consistently shown in response to alphabetic words, is a robust electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in an alphabetic language. In contrast, such a marker is lacking for expertise in reading Chinese, because the existing results about the lateralization of N170 for Chinese characters are mixed, reflecting complicated factors such as top-down modulation that contribute to the relative magnitudes of N170 in the left and right hemispheres. The present study aimed to explore a potential electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in Chinese with minimal top-down influence. Methods We recorded N170 responses to Chinese characters and three kinds of control stimuli in a content-irrelevant task, minimizing potential top-down effects. Results Direct comparison of the N170 amplitude in response to Chinese characters between the hemispheres showed a marginally significant left-lateralization effect. However, detailed analyses of N170 in each hemisphere revealed a more robust pattern of left-lateralization - the N170 in the left but not the right hemisphere differentiated Chinese characters from control stimuli. Conclusion These results suggest that the selectivity of N170 （a greater N170 in response to Chinese characters than to control stimuli） within the left hemisphere rather than the hemispheric difference of N170 with regard to Chinese characters is an electrophysiological marker for expertise in reading Chinese.展开更多
Auditory verbal hallucination(AVH)is emphasized as a pathological hallmark of schizophrenia.Neuroimaging studies provide evidence linking AVH to overlapping functional abnormalities in distributed networks.However,no ...Auditory verbal hallucination(AVH)is emphasized as a pathological hallmark of schizophrenia.Neuroimaging studies provide evidence linking AVH to overlapping functional abnormalities in distributed networks.However,no clear conclusion has still been reached.This study aimed to further explore the brain activity of patients with schizophrenia having AVH from both local activity(LA)and functional connectivity(FC)insights,while excluding confounding factors from other positive symptoms.A total of 42 patients with AVH(AVH patients group,APG),26 without AVH(non-AVH patients group,NPG),and 82 normal controls(NC)underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI).LA measures,including regional homogeneity(ReHo)and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations(fALFF),and FC measures were evaluated to understand the neuroimaging mechanism of AVH.APG showed increased ReHo and fALFF in the bilateral putamen(Put)compared with NPG and NC.FC analysis(using bilateral putamen as seeds)revealed that all patients showed abnormal FC of multiple resting state network regions,including the anterior and post cingulate cortex,middle frontal gyrus,inferior parietal gyrus,and left angular gyrus.Interestingly,APG showed significantly decreased FC of insula extending to the superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus compared with NPG and NC.The present findings suggested a significant correlation of abnormal LA and dysfunctional putamen-auditory cortical connectivity with the neuropathological mechanism of AVH,providing evidence for the functional disconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia.展开更多
An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic c...An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic causal modeling analyses, we investigated the functional interactions between regions involved in the decision- making process while participants performed temporal discounting tasks in both the gains and losses domains. We found two distinct intrinsic valuation systems underlying temporal discounting in the gains and losses domains： gains were specifically evaluated in the medial regions, including the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, and losses were evaluated in the lateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, immediate reward or pun- ishment was found to modulate the functional interactions between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and distinct regions in both the gains and losses domains： in the gains domain, the mesolimbic regions; in the losses domain, the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. These findings suggest that intertemporal choice of gains and losses might involve distinct valuation systems, and more importantly, separate neural interactions may implement the intertemporal choices of gains and losses. These findings may provide a new biological perspective for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying intertemporal choice of gains and losses.展开更多
People as third-party observers,without direct self-interest,may punish norm violators to maintain social norms.However,third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame(i.e.,v...People as third-party observers,without direct self-interest,may punish norm violators to maintain social norms.However,third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame(i.e.,verbally describe)a norm violation.We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon,which we call the“third-party framing effect”.In these experiments,participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain(described as“harming others”in one condition and“not helping others”in the other condition),then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost.Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame,manifesting a framing effect.Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect.Meanwhile,activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect;the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect.These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.展开更多
Background: Dermatological conditions can be associated with high psychiatric comorbidity. Several studies reported high rates of depression and anxiety particularly for specific dermatological disorders such as psori...Background: Dermatological conditions can be associated with high psychiatric comorbidity. Several studies reported high rates of depression and anxiety particularly for specific dermatological disorders such as psoriasis and acne. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the rates of psychiatric symptoms in patients with psoriasis, acne, vitiligo, and eczema versus patients who had other dermatological conditions;and to compare each dermatological group versus healthy control subjects. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in dermatology outpatient clinics in Khartoum. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess symptoms of anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). ICD-10 criteria were used for clinical psychiatric diagnosis. Tabulated results were analyzed using Chi-square test. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: HADS-D scores above the cut off points were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis (P = 0.0062), vitiligo (P = 0.0054), acne (P = 0.0103) and eczema (P = 0.0359) compared with healthy subjects. Similarly, HADS-A scores above the cut off points were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis (P < 0. 0.0001), vitiligo (P = 0.0001), acne (P = 0.0143) and eczema (P = 0.0281) compared with healthy subjects. No significant difference between the control group and patients with other dermatologic conditions regarding both HADS-D and HADS-A scores. Using ICD-10 criteria for clinical psychiatric diagnoses indicated that 52.3% of dermatology patients had an associated ICD-10 diagnosis;most commonly anxiety disorders (28.6%), and depression (21.9%). ICD-10 diagnoses of anxiety disorders included: OCD (13.3%) generalized anxiety disorder (5.7%), panic disorder (4.8%), phobic anxiety disorder (3.8%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (0.95%). Conclusion: Dermatological conditions are associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity. Screening for anxiety and depressive symptoms may be helpful for early diagnosis and management of associated psychiatric symptoms.展开更多
Background The neuroimaging mechanism of major depressive episodes with mixed features(MMF)is not clear.Aims This study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity of the default mode network(DMN)subsystems among...Background The neuroimaging mechanism of major depressive episodes with mixed features(MMF)is not clear.Aims This study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity of the default mode network(DMN)subsystems among patients with MMF and patients with major depressive disorder without mixed features(MDD_(noMF)).Methods This study recruited 47 patients with MDD_(noMF)and 27 patients with MMF from Beijing Anding Hospital,Capital Medical University,between April 2021 and June 2022.Forty-five healthy controls(HCs)were recruited.All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning and clinical assessments.Intranetwork and internetwork functional connectity were computed in the DMN core subsystem,dorsal medial prefrontal cortex(dMPFC)subsystem and medial temporal lobe(MTL)subsystem.Analysis of covariance method was performed to compare the intranetwork and internetwork functional connectivity in the DMN subsystems among the MDD_(noMP)MMF and HC groups.Results The functional connectivity within the DMN core(F=6.32,P_(FDR)=0.008)and MTL subsystems(F=4.45,P_(FDR)=0.021)showed significant differences among the MDD_(noMP) MMF and HC groups.Compared with the HC group,the patients with MDD_(noMF) and MMF had increased functional connectivity within the DMN MTL subsystem,and the patients with MMF also showed increased functional connectivity within the DMN core subsystem.Meanwhile,compared with the MDD_(noMP) the patients with MMF had increased functional connectivity within the DMN core subsystem(mean difference(MDD_(noMF)-MMF)=-0.08,SE=0.04,p=0.048).However,no significant differences were found within the DMN dMPFC subsystem and all the internetwork functional connectivity.Conclusions Our results indicated abnormal functional connectivity patterns of DMN subsystems in patients with MMF,findings potentially beneficial to deepen our understanding of MMF's neural basis.展开更多
Stress from dominance ranks in human societies, or that of other social animals, especially nonhuman primates, can have negative influences on health. Individuals holding different social status may be burdened with v...Stress from dominance ranks in human societies, or that of other social animals, especially nonhuman primates, can have negative influences on health. Individuals holding different social status may be burdened with various stress levels. The middle class experiences a special stress situation within the dominance hierarchy due to its position between the higher and lower classes. Behaviorally, questions about where middle-class stress comes from and how individuals adapt to middle-class stress remain poorly understood in nonhuman primates. In the present study, social interactions, including aggression, avoidance, grooming and mounting behaviors, between beta males, as well as among group members holding higher or lower social status, were analyzed in captive male-only cynomolgus monkey groups. We found that aggressive tension from the higher hierarchy members was the main origin of stress for middle- class individuals. However, behaviors such as attacking lower hierarchy members immediately after being the recipient of aggression, as well as increased avoidance, grooming and mounting toward both higher and lower hierarchy members helped alleviate middle-class stress and were particular adaptations to middle-class social status.展开更多
In this study,we investigated how empathic neural responses unfold over time in different empathy networks when viewing same-race and other-race individuals in dynamic painful conditions.We recorded magnetoencephalogr...In this study,we investigated how empathic neural responses unfold over time in different empathy networks when viewing same-race and other-race individuals in dynamic painful conditions.We recorded magnetoencephalography signals from Chinese adults when viewing video clips showing a dynamic painful(or non-painful)stimulation to Asian and White models’faces to trigger painful(or neutral)expressions.We found that perceived dynamic pain in Asian models modulated neural activities in the visual cortex at 100 ms–200 ms,in the orbitofrontal and subgenual anterior cingulate cortices at 150 ms–200 ms,in the anterior cingulate cortex around 250 ms–350 ms,and in the temporoparietal junction and middle temporal gyrus around 600 ms after video onset.Perceived dynamic pain in White models modulated activities in the visual,anterior cingulate,and primary sensory cortices after 500 ms.Our findings unraveled earlier dynamic activities in multiple neural circuits in response to same-race(vs other-race)individuals in dynamic painful situations.展开更多
Previous research has shown that ocular dominance can be biased by prolonged attention to one eye.The ocular-opponency-neuron model of binocular rivalry has been proposed as a candidate account for this phenomenon.Yet...Previous research has shown that ocular dominance can be biased by prolonged attention to one eye.The ocular-opponency-neuron model of binocular rivalry has been proposed as a candidate account for this phenomenon.Yet direct neural evidence is still lacking.By manipulating the contrast of dichoptic testing gratings,here we measured the steady-state visually evoked potentials(SSVEPs)at the intermodulation frequencies to selectively track the activities of ocular-opponency-neurons before and after the“dichoptic-backward-movie”adaptation.One hour of adaptation caused a shift of perceptual and neural ocular dominance towards the unattended eye.More importantly,we found a decrease in the intermodulation SSVEP response after adaptation,which was significantly greater when high-contrast gratings were presented to the attended eye than when they were presented to the unattended eye.These results strongly support the view that the adaptation of ocular-opponency-neurons contributes to the ocular dominance plasticity induced by prolonged eye-based attention.展开更多
Various studies indicate that low levels of estradiol negatively impact cognitive abilities. Extracts from the fungus Hericium erinaceus (HE) contain bioactive components that promote the proper functioning of the ner...Various studies indicate that low levels of estradiol negatively impact cognitive abilities. Extracts from the fungus Hericium erinaceus (HE) contain bioactive components that promote the proper functioning of the nervous system and potential effects on protection against neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and motor dysfunctions. The objective was to evaluate the effects of the administration of the HE mushroom extract on visuospatial memory and morphology of neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus in ovariectomized rats. 40 young Wistar rats weighing 90 ± 10 g BW were used, which were distributed into four groups of 10 animals;Control Group, non-ovariectomized and untreated rats;Group E2, ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol (2 μg/kg/body weight);Group HE, ovariectomized rats treated with the extract of the fungus Hericium erinaceus (0.5 mg/kg body weight) and Group Ovx/ST, ovariectomized rats, without treatment. The animals were tested in the Barnes and Open Field maze, then they were sacrificed, and their brains were obtained to perform a histological analysis of neuronal morphology in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus. The most outstanding results showed that the Ovx/ST group recorded the longest time to arrive at the escape box and stay in the Barnes maze. A correlation was observed between neuronal damage and function;in the groups that did not present satisfactory performance in the maze tests, morphological alterations were identified such as the presence of some neuronal somata with degeneration characteristics such as pyknosis, nuclear basophilia and shrinkage of the cells. Its soma, as well as a decrease in the nuclear area of CA1 and CA3 neurons. It is concluded that the fungus Hericium erinaceus exerted a neuroprotective effect on the neuronal bodies of the hippocampus, associated with better performance in the visuospatial recognition memory test.展开更多
Much like genomics, brain connectomics has rapidly become a core component of most national brain projects around the world. Beyond the ambitious aims of these projects, a fundamental challenge is the need for an effi...Much like genomics, brain connectomics has rapidly become a core component of most national brain projects around the world. Beyond the ambitious aims of these projects, a fundamental challenge is the need for an efficient, robust, reliable and easy-to-use pipeline to mine such large neuroscience datasets. Here, we introduce a computational pipeline--namely the Connectome Compu- tation System （CCS）-for discovery science of human brain connectomes at the macroscale with multimodal magnetic resonance imaging technologies. The CCS is designed with a three-level hierarchical structure that includes data cleaning and preprocessing, individual connectome mapping andconnectome mining, and knowledge discovery. Several functional modules are embedded into this hierarchy to implement quality control procedures, reliability analysis and connectome visualization. We demonstrate the utility of the CCS based upon a publicly available dataset, the NKI- Rockland Sample, to delineate the normative trajectories of well-known large-scale neural networks across the natural life span （6-85 years of age）. The CCS has been made freely available to the public via GitHub （https：//github.com/ zuoxinian/CCS） and our laboratory＇s Web site （http：//lfcd. psych.ac.cn/ccs.html） to facilitate progress in discovery science in the field of human brain connectomics.展开更多
The 3rd International Conference on Human Brain Development(ICHBD)was held during October 10–15,2017 in Nanning,Guangxi,China.ICHBD was initiated in 2014 by Drs.Xi-Nian Zuo,Olaf Sporns and Michael P.Milham(co-chairs)...The 3rd International Conference on Human Brain Development(ICHBD)was held during October 10–15,2017 in Nanning,Guangxi,China.ICHBD was initiated in 2014 by Drs.Xi-Nian Zuo,Olaf Sporns and Michael P.Milham(co-chairs),and has been consistently supported by a major international collaboration grant from Natural Science Foundation of China(81220108014).The goal of ICHBD is to bring together international scientists from a展开更多
In 2011,a court near Milan,Italy,reduced the sentence of a convicted murderer from life to 20years in jail,after considering results from neuroimaging and genetic tests.These tests had been used to convince the judge ...In 2011,a court near Milan,Italy,reduced the sentence of a convicted murderer from life to 20years in jail,after considering results from neuroimaging and genetic tests.These tests had been used to convince the judge that the trial's female defendant,Stefania Albertani,was suffering from partial mental illness(http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09]italian_court_reduces_murde_s.html).The structural MRI images showed that Albertani's grey matter volume was different from the average volume of a randomly-selected group-10healthy women with no history of mental or neurological disorders-in brain areas including the anterior cingulate gyrus(ACC)and insula.The expert testimony concluded that"these alterations(of brain structures)have to be considered in causal relation to the psychiatric symptomatology of the murderer."展开更多
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI)[1,2] provides relatively high spatial and temporal resolution for mapping spontaneous brain activity non-invasively. It has been widely used in cognitive n...Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI)[1,2] provides relatively high spatial and temporal resolution for mapping spontaneous brain activity non-invasively. It has been widely used in cognitive neuroscience and clinical studies. A number of comprehensive software packages have been developed for RS-fMRI data analysis, among which a MATLAB package named REST (RESing-state fMRI data analysis Toolkit, released in October 2008 at http://www.restfmri.net)[3] is the earliest one dedicated to RS-fMRI analysis. REST focuses on RS-fMRI postprocessing metrics.展开更多
文摘Objective: Anxiety disorders of childhood are prevalent, debilitating conditions that do not always respond to existing treatments. Attentional biases towards threatening stimuli have been reported in anxious children and hypothesized to interfere with treatment response. Therefore, we examined such biases in children with anxiety disorders in relation to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes. Method: Thirty-eight children diagnosed with anxiety disorders in a specialized clinic (21 girls and 17 boys;age = 10.50 ± 1.11 years) and 36 unaffected community controls (19 girls and 17 boys;age = 10.20 ± 1.07 years) participated. Participants completed standardized questionnaire measures of anxiety and a probe position task (PPT) with facial cues. This task often reveals a response slowing effect related to threatening faces in vulnerable individuals. Children with anxiety disorders repeated these measures after completing CBT. Results: Groups did not differ in performance on the PPT, but angry/calm incongruent difference scores were significantly associated with self-reports of social anxiety and state anxiety. When controlling for pre-CBT anxiety levels, incongruent difference scores involving angry faces predicted post-CBT anxiety disorders index scores on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. PPT scores did not change significantly with CBT. Conclusions: Attentional bias towards threat on the PPT task may predict response to CBT and appears linked to social anxiety. Interventions to ameliorate this bias merit further study, as they might improve treatment outcomes for anxious, especially socially anxious, children.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30900366,31070905)
文摘Multivariate pattern analysis（MVPA） is a recently-developed approach for functional magnetic resonance imaging（fMRI） data analyses.Compared with the traditional univariate methods,MVPA is more sensitive to subtle changes in multivariate patterns in fMRI data.In this review,we introduce several significant advances in MVPA applications and summarize various combinations of algorithms and parameters in different problem settings.The limitations of MVPA and some critical questions that need to be addressed in future research are also discussed.
基金Supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2011CB707800)the Young Program from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30900487)the Open Project of National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition
文摘Impaired cognitive function,along with positive and negative symptoms,is a core clinical feature of schizophrenia.Earlier studies suggest that impaired cognitive functioning should be assessed from the perspective of brain networks.The recently developed brainnetome approach to evaluating brain networks-an approach that was initially developed by Chinese scientists-provides a new methodology for studying this issue.In this paper we first introduce the concept of brainnetome.We then review recent progress in developing a brainnetome of impaired cognitive function in people with schizophrenia.The models of the relevant brain networks considered were created using data obtained from functional and anatomical brain imaging technologies at different levels of analysis:networks centered on regions of interest,networks related to specific cognitive functions,whole brain networks,and the attributes of brain networks.Finally,we discuss the current challenges and potential new directions for research about brainnetome.
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program(973)(2011CB707800)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB02030300)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of China(91132301and81000582)the Beijing Nova Program(2010B06)
文摘The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavioral and multi-modal MRI approaches in a large group of healthy Han Chinese participants （n = 233）. In contrast to findings in Caucasians, we found that long-allele （L） carriers had higher anxiety scores. In another group （n = 64） experiencing significant levels of depression or anxiety, the L-allele frequency was also significantly higher. In healthy participants, L-carriers had reduced functional and anatomical connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex （PFC）, which was correlated with anxiety or depression scores. Our findings demonstrated that in Chinese Han participants, in contrast to Caucasians, the L-allele confers vulnerability to anxiety or depression and weakens top-down emotional control between the PFC and amygdala. Therefore, ethnic background should be taken into account in gene-related studies and their potential clinical applications.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China (2011CB707800)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB02030300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91132301 and 81371476)
文摘Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex （PFC） and other brain regions, and how this dysconnectivity is linked to the impaired cognitive functions and aberrant behaviors of schizophrenia. Critical advances in neuroimaging technologies, including diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, make it possible to explore these issues. DTI affords the possibility to explore anatomical connectivity in the human brain in vivo and fMRI can be used to make inferences about functional connections between brain regions. In this review, we present major advances in the understanding of PFC anatomical and functional dysconnectivity and their implications in schizophrenia. We then briefly discuss future prospects that need to be explored in order to move beyond simple mapping of connectivity changes to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms underlying schizophrenia.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31070905,30870779)
文摘Objective The left-lateralized N170, an event-related potential component consistently shown in response to alphabetic words, is a robust electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in an alphabetic language. In contrast, such a marker is lacking for expertise in reading Chinese, because the existing results about the lateralization of N170 for Chinese characters are mixed, reflecting complicated factors such as top-down modulation that contribute to the relative magnitudes of N170 in the left and right hemispheres. The present study aimed to explore a potential electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in Chinese with minimal top-down influence. Methods We recorded N170 responses to Chinese characters and three kinds of control stimuli in a content-irrelevant task, minimizing potential top-down effects. Results Direct comparison of the N170 amplitude in response to Chinese characters between the hemispheres showed a marginally significant left-lateralization effect. However, detailed analyses of N170 in each hemisphere revealed a more robust pattern of left-lateralization - the N170 in the left but not the right hemisphere differentiated Chinese characters from control stimuli. Conclusion These results suggest that the selectivity of N170 （a greater N170 in response to Chinese characters than to control stimuli） within the left hemisphere rather than the hemispheric difference of N170 with regard to Chinese characters is an electrophysiological marker for expertise in reading Chinese.
基金'This study was supported by grants from the National 973 Program of China(No.201 lCB707805)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.91132301)the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province(No.2014CFB732).
文摘Auditory verbal hallucination(AVH)is emphasized as a pathological hallmark of schizophrenia.Neuroimaging studies provide evidence linking AVH to overlapping functional abnormalities in distributed networks.However,no clear conclusion has still been reached.This study aimed to further explore the brain activity of patients with schizophrenia having AVH from both local activity(LA)and functional connectivity(FC)insights,while excluding confounding factors from other positive symptoms.A total of 42 patients with AVH(AVH patients group,APG),26 without AVH(non-AVH patients group,NPG),and 82 normal controls(NC)underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI).LA measures,including regional homogeneity(ReHo)and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations(fALFF),and FC measures were evaluated to understand the neuroimaging mechanism of AVH.APG showed increased ReHo and fALFF in the bilateral putamen(Put)compared with NPG and NC.FC analysis(using bilateral putamen as seeds)revealed that all patients showed abnormal FC of multiple resting state network regions,including the anterior and post cingulate cortex,middle frontal gyrus,inferior parietal gyrus,and left angular gyrus.Interestingly,APG showed significantly decreased FC of insula extending to the superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus compared with NPG and NC.The present findings suggested a significant correlation of abnormal LA and dysfunctional putamen-auditory cortical connectivity with the neuropathological mechanism of AVH,providing evidence for the functional disconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71471171,71071150,91432302,31620103905,31471005,and 71761167001)the Science Frontier Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(QYZDJSSW-SMC019)+2 种基金the Shenzhen Peacock Plan(KQTD2015033016104926)the Guangdong Pearl River Talents Plan Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team(2016ZT06S220)the CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science,Institute of Psychology(Y5CX052003)
文摘An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic causal modeling analyses, we investigated the functional interactions between regions involved in the decision- making process while participants performed temporal discounting tasks in both the gains and losses domains. We found two distinct intrinsic valuation systems underlying temporal discounting in the gains and losses domains： gains were specifically evaluated in the medial regions, including the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, and losses were evaluated in the lateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, immediate reward or pun- ishment was found to modulate the functional interactions between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and distinct regions in both the gains and losses domains： in the gains domain, the mesolimbic regions; in the losses domain, the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. These findings suggest that intertemporal choice of gains and losses might involve distinct valuation systems, and more importantly, separate neural interactions may implement the intertemporal choices of gains and losses. These findings may provide a new biological perspective for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying intertemporal choice of gains and losses.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31871109,32071083,and 31900779)Shenzhen–Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science—Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions(2021SHIBS0003).
文摘People as third-party observers,without direct self-interest,may punish norm violators to maintain social norms.However,third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame(i.e.,verbally describe)a norm violation.We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon,which we call the“third-party framing effect”.In these experiments,participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain(described as“harming others”in one condition and“not helping others”in the other condition),then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost.Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame,manifesting a framing effect.Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect.Meanwhile,activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect;the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect.These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.
文摘Background: Dermatological conditions can be associated with high psychiatric comorbidity. Several studies reported high rates of depression and anxiety particularly for specific dermatological disorders such as psoriasis and acne. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the rates of psychiatric symptoms in patients with psoriasis, acne, vitiligo, and eczema versus patients who had other dermatological conditions;and to compare each dermatological group versus healthy control subjects. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in dermatology outpatient clinics in Khartoum. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess symptoms of anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). ICD-10 criteria were used for clinical psychiatric diagnosis. Tabulated results were analyzed using Chi-square test. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: HADS-D scores above the cut off points were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis (P = 0.0062), vitiligo (P = 0.0054), acne (P = 0.0103) and eczema (P = 0.0359) compared with healthy subjects. Similarly, HADS-A scores above the cut off points were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis (P < 0. 0.0001), vitiligo (P = 0.0001), acne (P = 0.0143) and eczema (P = 0.0281) compared with healthy subjects. No significant difference between the control group and patients with other dermatologic conditions regarding both HADS-D and HADS-A scores. Using ICD-10 criteria for clinical psychiatric diagnoses indicated that 52.3% of dermatology patients had an associated ICD-10 diagnosis;most commonly anxiety disorders (28.6%), and depression (21.9%). ICD-10 diagnoses of anxiety disorders included: OCD (13.3%) generalized anxiety disorder (5.7%), panic disorder (4.8%), phobic anxiety disorder (3.8%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (0.95%). Conclusion: Dermatological conditions are associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity. Screening for anxiety and depressive symptoms may be helpful for early diagnosis and management of associated psychiatric symptoms.
基金This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81901368,82171526 and 82071531)the Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research(CFH2020-4-2125)+1 种基金the Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Programme(PX2018064 and PX2020072)Beijing Hospitals Authority Youth Programme(QMS20211901).
文摘Background The neuroimaging mechanism of major depressive episodes with mixed features(MMF)is not clear.Aims This study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity of the default mode network(DMN)subsystems among patients with MMF and patients with major depressive disorder without mixed features(MDD_(noMF)).Methods This study recruited 47 patients with MDD_(noMF)and 27 patients with MMF from Beijing Anding Hospital,Capital Medical University,between April 2021 and June 2022.Forty-five healthy controls(HCs)were recruited.All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning and clinical assessments.Intranetwork and internetwork functional connectity were computed in the DMN core subsystem,dorsal medial prefrontal cortex(dMPFC)subsystem and medial temporal lobe(MTL)subsystem.Analysis of covariance method was performed to compare the intranetwork and internetwork functional connectivity in the DMN subsystems among the MDD_(noMP)MMF and HC groups.Results The functional connectivity within the DMN core(F=6.32,P_(FDR)=0.008)and MTL subsystems(F=4.45,P_(FDR)=0.021)showed significant differences among the MDD_(noMP) MMF and HC groups.Compared with the HC group,the patients with MDD_(noMF) and MMF had increased functional connectivity within the DMN MTL subsystem,and the patients with MMF also showed increased functional connectivity within the DMN core subsystem.Meanwhile,compared with the MDD_(noMP) the patients with MMF had increased functional connectivity within the DMN core subsystem(mean difference(MDD_(noMF)-MMF)=-0.08,SE=0.04,p=0.048).However,no significant differences were found within the DMN dMPFC subsystem and all the internetwork functional connectivity.Conclusions Our results indicated abnormal functional connectivity patterns of DMN subsystems in patients with MMF,findings potentially beneficial to deepen our understanding of MMF's neural basis.
基金Foundation items： This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China Grant （2012CB825500） and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences （2012075）
文摘Stress from dominance ranks in human societies, or that of other social animals, especially nonhuman primates, can have negative influences on health. Individuals holding different social status may be burdened with various stress levels. The middle class experiences a special stress situation within the dominance hierarchy due to its position between the higher and lower classes. Behaviorally, questions about where middle-class stress comes from and how individuals adapt to middle-class stress remain poorly understood in nonhuman primates. In the present study, social interactions, including aggression, avoidance, grooming and mounting behaviors, between beta males, as well as among group members holding higher or lower social status, were analyzed in captive male-only cynomolgus monkey groups. We found that aggressive tension from the higher hierarchy members was the main origin of stress for middle- class individuals. However, behaviors such as attacking lower hierarchy members immediately after being the recipient of aggression, as well as increased avoidance, grooming and mounting toward both higher and lower hierarchy members helped alleviate middle-class stress and were particular adaptations to middle-class social status.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32230043)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2019YFA0707103)+1 种基金Das Chinesisch-Deutsche Zentrum fur Wissenschaftsforderung(M-0093)the High-performance Computing Platform of Peking University。
文摘In this study,we investigated how empathic neural responses unfold over time in different empathy networks when viewing same-race and other-race individuals in dynamic painful conditions.We recorded magnetoencephalography signals from Chinese adults when viewing video clips showing a dynamic painful(or non-painful)stimulation to Asian and White models’faces to trigger painful(or neutral)expressions.We found that perceived dynamic pain in Asian models modulated neural activities in the visual cortex at 100 ms–200 ms,in the orbitofrontal and subgenual anterior cingulate cortices at 150 ms–200 ms,in the anterior cingulate cortex around 250 ms–350 ms,and in the temporoparietal junction and middle temporal gyrus around 600 ms after video onset.Perceived dynamic pain in White models modulated activities in the visual,anterior cingulate,and primary sensory cortices after 500 ms.Our findings unraveled earlier dynamic activities in multiple neural circuits in response to same-race(vs other-race)individuals in dynamic painful situations.
基金supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2021ZD0203800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31871104 and 31830037).
文摘Previous research has shown that ocular dominance can be biased by prolonged attention to one eye.The ocular-opponency-neuron model of binocular rivalry has been proposed as a candidate account for this phenomenon.Yet direct neural evidence is still lacking.By manipulating the contrast of dichoptic testing gratings,here we measured the steady-state visually evoked potentials(SSVEPs)at the intermodulation frequencies to selectively track the activities of ocular-opponency-neurons before and after the“dichoptic-backward-movie”adaptation.One hour of adaptation caused a shift of perceptual and neural ocular dominance towards the unattended eye.More importantly,we found a decrease in the intermodulation SSVEP response after adaptation,which was significantly greater when high-contrast gratings were presented to the attended eye than when they were presented to the unattended eye.These results strongly support the view that the adaptation of ocular-opponency-neurons contributes to the ocular dominance plasticity induced by prolonged eye-based attention.
文摘Various studies indicate that low levels of estradiol negatively impact cognitive abilities. Extracts from the fungus Hericium erinaceus (HE) contain bioactive components that promote the proper functioning of the nervous system and potential effects on protection against neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and motor dysfunctions. The objective was to evaluate the effects of the administration of the HE mushroom extract on visuospatial memory and morphology of neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus in ovariectomized rats. 40 young Wistar rats weighing 90 ± 10 g BW were used, which were distributed into four groups of 10 animals;Control Group, non-ovariectomized and untreated rats;Group E2, ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol (2 μg/kg/body weight);Group HE, ovariectomized rats treated with the extract of the fungus Hericium erinaceus (0.5 mg/kg body weight) and Group Ovx/ST, ovariectomized rats, without treatment. The animals were tested in the Barnes and Open Field maze, then they were sacrificed, and their brains were obtained to perform a histological analysis of neuronal morphology in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus. The most outstanding results showed that the Ovx/ST group recorded the longest time to arrive at the escape box and stay in the Barnes maze. A correlation was observed between neuronal damage and function;in the groups that did not present satisfactory performance in the maze tests, morphological alterations were identified such as the presence of some neuronal somata with degeneration characteristics such as pyknosis, nuclear basophilia and shrinkage of the cells. Its soma, as well as a decrease in the nuclear area of CA1 and CA3 neurons. It is concluded that the fungus Hericium erinaceus exerted a neuroprotective effect on the neuronal bodies of the hippocampus, associated with better performance in the visuospatial recognition memory test.
基金partially supported by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (2015CB351702)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81220108014, 81471740, 81201153, 81171409, and 81270023)+4 种基金the Key Research Program (KSZD-EW-TZ-002)the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of SciencesDr. Xiu-Xia Xing acknowledges the Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project (No. YETP1593)Dr. Zhi Yang acknowledges the Foundation of Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders (2014JSJB03)the Outstanding Young Researcher Award from Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y4CX062008)
文摘Much like genomics, brain connectomics has rapidly become a core component of most national brain projects around the world. Beyond the ambitious aims of these projects, a fundamental challenge is the need for an efficient, robust, reliable and easy-to-use pipeline to mine such large neuroscience datasets. Here, we introduce a computational pipeline--namely the Connectome Compu- tation System （CCS）-for discovery science of human brain connectomes at the macroscale with multimodal magnetic resonance imaging technologies. The CCS is designed with a three-level hierarchical structure that includes data cleaning and preprocessing, individual connectome mapping andconnectome mining, and knowledge discovery. Several functional modules are embedded into this hierarchy to implement quality control procedures, reliability analysis and connectome visualization. We demonstrate the utility of the CCS based upon a publicly available dataset, the NKI- Rockland Sample, to delineate the normative trajectories of well-known large-scale neural networks across the natural life span （6-85 years of age）. The CCS has been made freely available to the public via GitHub （https：//github.com/ zuoxinian/CCS） and our laboratory＇s Web site （http：//lfcd. psych.ac.cn/ccs.html） to facilitate progress in discovery science in the field of human brain connectomics.
文摘The 3rd International Conference on Human Brain Development(ICHBD)was held during October 10–15,2017 in Nanning,Guangxi,China.ICHBD was initiated in 2014 by Drs.Xi-Nian Zuo,Olaf Sporns and Michael P.Milham(co-chairs),and has been consistently supported by a major international collaboration grant from Natural Science Foundation of China(81220108014).The goal of ICHBD is to bring together international scientists from a
文摘In 2011,a court near Milan,Italy,reduced the sentence of a convicted murderer from life to 20years in jail,after considering results from neuroimaging and genetic tests.These tests had been used to convince the judge that the trial's female defendant,Stefania Albertani,was suffering from partial mental illness(http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09]italian_court_reduces_murde_s.html).The structural MRI images showed that Albertani's grey matter volume was different from the average volume of a randomly-selected group-10healthy women with no history of mental or neurological disorders-in brain areas including the anterior cingulate gyrus(ACC)and insula.The expert testimony concluded that"these alterations(of brain structures)have to be considered in causal relation to the psychiatric symptomatology of the murderer."
基金supported by Department of Science and Technology, Zhejiang Province (2015C03037)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81520108016, 81661148045, 61671198, 81671774, 81701776, 81471653)
文摘Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI)[1,2] provides relatively high spatial and temporal resolution for mapping spontaneous brain activity non-invasively. It has been widely used in cognitive neuroscience and clinical studies. A number of comprehensive software packages have been developed for RS-fMRI data analysis, among which a MATLAB package named REST (RESing-state fMRI data analysis Toolkit, released in October 2008 at http://www.restfmri.net)[3] is the earliest one dedicated to RS-fMRI analysis. REST focuses on RS-fMRI postprocessing metrics.
