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NeuroImage. Clinical 2023The physiopathologic mechanism of Meige syndrome (MS) has not been clarified, and neuroimaging studies centering on cerebellar changes in MS are scarce. Moreover, even...
BACKGROUND
The physiopathologic mechanism of Meige syndrome (MS) has not been clarified, and neuroimaging studies centering on cerebellar changes in MS are scarce. Moreover, even though deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been recognized as an effective surgical treatment for MS, there has been no reliable biomarker to predict its efficacy.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the volumetric alterations of gray matter (GM) in the cerebellum in MS and to identify GM measurements related to a good STN-DBS outcome.
METHODS
We used voxel-based morphometry and lobule-based morphometry to compare the regional and lobular GM differences in the cerebellum between 47 MS patients and 52 normal human controls (HCs), as well as between 31 DBS responders and 10 DBS non-responders. Both volumetric analyses were achieved using the Spatially Unbiased Infratentorial Toolbox (SUIT). Further, we performed partial correlation analyses to probe the relationship between the cerebellar GM changes and clinical scores. Finally, we plotted the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to select biomarkers for MS diagnosis and DBS outcomes prediction.
RESULTS
Compared to HCs, MS patients had GM atrophy in lobule Crus I, lobule VI, lobule VIIb, lobule VIIIa, and lobule VIIIb. Compared to DBS responders, DBS non-responders had lower GM volume in the left lobule VIIIb. Moreover, partial correlation analyses revealed a positive relationship between the GM volume of the significant regions/lobules and the symptom improvement rate after DBS surgery. ROC analyses demonstrated that the GM volume of the significant cluster in the left lobule VIIIb could not only distinguish MS patients from HCs but also predict the outcomes of STN-DBS surgery with high accuracy.
CONCLUSION
MS patients display bilateral GM shrinkage in the cerebellum relative to HCs. Regional GM volume of the left lobule VIIIb can be a reliable biomarker for MS diagnosis and DBS outcomes prediction.
Topics: Humans; Gray Matter; Meige Syndrome; Deep Brain Stimulation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Cerebellum
PubMed: 36610311
DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103316 -
Brain Sciences Jun 2022Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects a child's ability to learn motor skills. Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) is one of the...
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects a child's ability to learn motor skills. Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) is one of the recommended treatments to help achieve functional motor goals. The purpose of this study was to determine if CO-OP intervention induces functional improvements and structural changes in the cerebellum of children with DCD. Using a randomized waitlist-controlled trial, we investigated the effects of CO-OP intervention on cerebellar volume in 47 children with DCD (8-12 years old). Outcome measures included the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Performance Quality Rating Scale (PQRS), and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2. The SUIT toolbox was used to carry out voxel-based morphometry using T1-weighted MRI scans. Children with DCD showed improved motor outcomes and increased gray matter volume in the brainstem, right crus II, bilateral lobules VIIIb, and left lobule IX following CO-OP. Significant associations were found between PQRS scores and regional gray matter changes in the brainstem, right crus II, right lobule VIIb, right and left lobule VIIIb, and vermis IX. Given the improved motor and brain outcomes with CO-OP, it is recommended that children with DCD be referred for this rehabilitation intervention.
PubMed: 35884662
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12070856 -
Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford,... Jul 2021Cannabis use has been associated with abnormalities in cerebellar mediated motor and non-motor (i.e. cognition and personality) phenomena. Since the cerebellum is a...
BACKGROUND
Cannabis use has been associated with abnormalities in cerebellar mediated motor and non-motor (i.e. cognition and personality) phenomena. Since the cerebellum is a region with high cannabinoid type 1 receptor density, these impairments may reflect alterations of signaling between the cerebellum and other brain regions.
AIMS
We hypothesized that cerebellar-cortical resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) would be altered in cannabis users, relative to their non-using peers. It was also hypothesized that differences in rsFC would be associated with cannabis use features, such as age of initiation and lifetime use.
METHODS
Cerebellar-cortical and subcortical rsFCs were computed between 28 cerebellar lobules, defined by a spatially unbiased atlas template of the cerebellum, and individual voxels in the cerebral regions, in 41 regular cannabis users (20 female) and healthy non-using peers ( = 31; 18 female). We also investigated associations between rsFC and cannabis use features (e.g. lifetime cannabis use and age of initiation).
RESULTS
Cannabis users demonstrated hyperconnectivity between the anterior cerebellar regions (i.e. lobule I-IV) with the posterior cingulate cortex, and hypoconnectivity between the rest of the cerebellum (i.e. Crus I and II, lobule VIIb, VIIIa, VIIIb, IX, and X) and the cortex. No associations were observed between features of cannabis use and rsFC.
CONCLUSIONS
Cannabis use was associated with altered patterns of rsFC from the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex which may have a downstream impact on behavior and cognition.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cerebellum; Cerebral Cortex; Connectome; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Marijuana Use; Young Adult
PubMed: 34034553
DOI: 10.1177/02698811211019291 -
World Journal of Surgical Oncology Aug 2011Among anterior mediastinal lesions, thymoma is the most common. Thymomas are tumors of thymic epithelial cell origin that are distinguished by inconsistent histological... (Review)
Review
Among anterior mediastinal lesions, thymoma is the most common. Thymomas are tumors of thymic epithelial cell origin that are distinguished by inconsistent histological and biologic behavior. Chest imaging studies typically show a round or lobulated tumor in the anterior mediastinum. Calcifications in thymomas are classically punctuate or amorphous, positioned within the lesion. Chest computed tomography (CT) features suggesting higher risk thymoma consist of tumor heterogeneity, vascular involvement, lobulation, pulmonary nodules, lymphadenopathy, and pleural manifestations. Imaging findings have an imperfect ability to predict stage and prognosis for thymoma patients. Our objective is to highlight the clinical implications of thymoma calcifications on the diagnosis, clinical manifestation and prognosis. A pubmed and google search was performed using the following words: thymoma calcification, calcified thymus, mediastinal calcification, anterior mediastinal calcification, and calcified thymoma. After reviewing 370 articles, 32 eligible articles describing thymoma calcifications were found and included in this review. Although the presence of thymus calcifications was more common in patients with invasive thymomas, they were present in significant portion of non-invasive thymomas. The presence of calcifications was not a significant factor in differentiating between benign and malignant thymoma. As a result, the type, location, size or other characteristics of thymus gland calcifications were not relevant features in clinical and radiologic diagnosis of thymoma. The histopathological diagnosis is still the only possible way to confirm the neoplastic nature of thymoma. All types of thymomas should be evaluated and managed independently of the presence of calcifications.
Topics: Biopsy; Calcinosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Radionuclide Imaging; Thymoma; Thymus Gland; Thymus Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 21861913
DOI: 10.1186/1477-7819-9-95 -
Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF Jan 2022Mathematical expressions mainly include arithmetic (such as 8 - (1 + 3)) and algebra (such as a - (b + c)). Previous studies have shown that both...
BACKGROUND
Mathematical expressions mainly include arithmetic (such as 8 - (1 + 3)) and algebra (such as a - (b + c)). Previous studies have shown that both algebraic processing and arithmetic involved the bilateral parietal brain regions. Although previous studies have revealed that algebra was dissociated from arithmetic, the neural bases of the dissociation between algebraic processing and arithmetic is still unclear. The present study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the specific brain networks for algebraic and arithmetic processing.
METHODS
Using fMRI, this study scanned 30 undergraduates and directly compared the brain activation during algebra and arithmetic. Brain activations, single-trial (item-wise) interindividual correlation and mean-trial interindividual correlation related to algebra processing were compared with those related to arithmetic. The functional connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analysis.
RESULTS
Brain activation analyses showed that algebra elicited greater activation in the angular gyrus and arithmetic elicited greater activation in the bilateral supplementary motor area, left insula, and left inferior parietal lobule. Interindividual single-trial brain-behavior correlation revealed significant brain-behavior correlations in the semantic network, including the middle temporal gyri, inferior frontal gyri, dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, and left angular gyrus, for algebra. For arithmetic, the significant brain-behavior correlations were located in the phonological network, including the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor area, and in the visuospatial network, including the bilateral superior parietal lobules. For algebra, significant positive functional connectivity was observed between the visuospatial network and semantic network, whereas for arithmetic, significant positive functional connectivity was observed only between the visuospatial network and phonological network.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that algebra relies on the semantic network and conversely, arithmetic relies on the phonological and visuospatial networks.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Semantic Web; Temporal Lobe
PubMed: 34996499
DOI: 10.1186/s12993-022-00186-4 -
Human Brain Mapping Aug 2020Abnormalities of cerebellar function have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Since the cerebellum has afferent and efferent projections to diverse...
Abnormalities of cerebellar function have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Since the cerebellum has afferent and efferent projections to diverse brain regions, abnormalities in cerebellar lobules could affect functional connectivity with multiple functional systems in the brain. Prior studies, however, have not examined the relationship of individual cerebellar lobules with motor and nonmotor resting-state functional networks. We evaluated these relationships using resting-state fMRI in 30 patients with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and 37 healthy comparison participants. For connectivity analyses, the cerebellum was parcellated into 18 lobular and vermal regions, and functional connectivity of each lobule to 10 major functional networks in the cerebrum was evaluated. The relationship between functional connectivity measures and behavioral performance on sensorimotor tasks (i.e., finger-tapping and postural sway) was also examined. We found cerebellar-cortical hyperconnectivity in schizophrenia, which was predominantly associated with Crus I, Crus II, lobule IX, and lobule X. Specifically, abnormal cerebellar connectivity was found to the cerebral ventral attention, motor, and auditory networks. This cerebellar-cortical connectivity in the resting-state was differentially associated with sensorimotor task-based behavioral measures in schizophrenia and healthy comparison participants-that is, dissociation with motor network and association with nonmotor network in schizophrenia. These findings suggest that functional association between individual cerebellar lobules and the ventral attentional, motor, and auditory networks is particularly affected in schizophrenia. They are also consistent with dysconnectivity models of schizophrenia suggesting cerebellar contributions to a broad range of sensorimotor and cognitive operations.
Topics: Adult; Cerebellum; Cerebral Cortex; Connectome; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Nerve Net; Postural Balance; Psychomotor Performance; Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia; Sensorimotor Cortex; Young Adult
PubMed: 32250008
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25002 -
Psychiatry Investigation Apr 2023This study uses structural magnetic resonance imaging to explore changes in the cerebellar lobules in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and further analyze...
OBJECTIVE
This study uses structural magnetic resonance imaging to explore changes in the cerebellar lobules in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and further analyze the correlation between cerebellar structural changes and clinical symptoms of ASD.
METHODS
A total of 75 patients with ASD and 97 typically developing (TD) subjects from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange dataset were recruited. We adopted an advanced automatic cerebellar lobule segmentation technique called CEREbellum Segmentation to segment each cerebellar hemisphere into 12 lobules. Normalized cortical thickness of each lobule was recorded, and group differences in the cortical measures were evaluated. Correlation analysis was also performed between the normalized cortical thickness and the score of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised.
RESULTS
Results from analysis of variance showed that the normalized cortical thickness of the ASD group differed significantly from that of the TD group; specifically, the ASD group had lower normalized cortical thickness than the TD group. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the differences were more predominant in the left lobule VI, left lobule Crus I and left lobule X, and in the right lobule VI and right lobule Crus I. Lowered normalized cortical thickness in the left lobule Crus I in the ASD patients correlated positively with the abnormality of development evident at or before 36 months subscore.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest abnormal development of cerebellar lobule structures in ASD patients, and such abnormality might significantly influence the pathogenesis of ASD. These findings provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of ASD, which may be clinically relevant to ASD diagnosis.
PubMed: 37098660
DOI: 10.30773/pi.2022.0254 -
TheScientificWorldJournal 2013Spleen can have a wide range of anomalies including its shape, location, number, and size. Although most of these anomalies are congenital, there are also acquired... (Review)
Review
Spleen can have a wide range of anomalies including its shape, location, number, and size. Although most of these anomalies are congenital, there are also acquired types. Congenital anomalies affecting the shape of spleen are lobulations, notches, and clefts; the fusion and location anomalies of spleen are accessory spleen, splenopancreatic fusion, and wandering spleen; polysplenia can be associated with a syndrome. Splenosis and small spleen are acquired anomalies which are caused by trauma and sickle cell disease, respectively. These anomalies can be detected easily by using different imaging modalities including ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and also Tc-99m scintigraphy. In this pictorial essay, we review the imaging findings of these anomalies which can cause diagnostic pitfalls and be interpreted as pathologic processes.
Topics: Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Spleen; Splenosis; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 23710135
DOI: 10.1155/2013/321810 -
Cells Feb 2023Purkinje cells (PCs) are the principal cells of the cerebellar cortex and form a central element in the modular organization of the cerebellum. Differentiation of PCs...
Purkinje cells (PCs) are the principal cells of the cerebellar cortex and form a central element in the modular organization of the cerebellum. Differentiation of PCs based on gene expression profiles revealed two subpopulations with distinct connectivity, action potential firing and learning-induced activity changes. However, which basal cell physiological features underlie the differences between these subpopulations and to what extent they integrate input differentially remains largely unclear. Here, we investigate the cellular electrophysiological properties of PC subpopulation in adult and juvenile mice. We found that multiple fundamental cell physiological properties, including membrane resistance and various aspects of the action potential shape, differ between PCs from anterior and nodular lobules. Moreover, the two PC subpopulations also differed in the integration of negative and positive current steps as well as in size of the hyperpolarization-activated current. A comparative analysis in juvenile mice confirmed that most of these lobule-specific differences are already present at pre-weaning ages. Finally, we found that current integration in PCs is input history-dependent for both positive and negative currents, but this is not a distinctive feature between anterior and nodular PCs. Our results support the concept of a fundamental differentiation of PCs subpopulations in terms of cell physiological properties and current integration, yet reveals that history-dependent input processing is consistent across PC subtypes.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Purkinje Cells; Action Potentials; Cerebellum; Learning
PubMed: 36831290
DOI: 10.3390/cells12040623 -
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology May 2023Currently, there is no effective treatment for pediatric patients with complete spinal cord injury. Motor imagery has been proposed as an alternative to physical...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, there is no effective treatment for pediatric patients with complete spinal cord injury. Motor imagery has been proposed as an alternative to physical training for patients who are unable to move voluntarily. Our aim was to reveal the potential mechanism of motor imagery in the rehabilitation of pediatric complete spinal cord injury.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-six pediatric patients with complete spinal cord injury and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy children as healthy controls were recruited. All participants underwent the motor imagery task-related fMRI scans, and additional motor execution scans were performed only on healthy controls. First, we compared the brain-activation patterns between motor imagery and motor execution in healthy controls. Then, we compared the brain activation of motor imagery between the 2 groups and compared the brain activation of motor imagery in pediatric patients with complete spinal cord injury and that of motor execution in healthy controls.
RESULTS
In healthy controls, compared with motor execution, motor imagery showed increased activation in the left inferior parietal lobule and decreased activation in the left supplementary motor area, paracentral lobule, middle cingulate cortex, and right insula. In addition, our results revealed that the 2 groups both activated the bilateral supplementary motor area, middle cingulate cortex and left inferior parietal lobule, and supramarginal gyrus during motor imagery. Compared with healthy controls, higher activation in the bilateral paracentral lobule, supplementary motor area, putamen, and cerebellar lobules III-V was detected in pediatric complete spinal cord injury during motor imagery, and the activation of these regions was even higher than that of healthy controls during motor execution.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrated that part of the motor imagery network was functionally preserved in pediatric complete spinal cord injury and could be activated through motor imagery. In addition, higher-level activation in sensorimotor-related regions was also found in pediatric complete spinal cord injury during motor imagery. Our findings may provide a theoretic basis for the application of motor imagery training in pediatric complete spinal cord injury.
Topics: Humans; Child; Brain; Spinal Cord Injuries; Brain Mapping; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 37080724
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A7847