Brain imaging and behavior
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Brain Imaging Behav · Jul 2020
Early deafness leads to re-shaping of functional connectivity beyond the auditory cortex.
Early sensory deprivation, such as deafness, shapes brain development in multiple ways. Deprived auditory areas become engaged in the processing of stimuli from the remaining modalities and in high-level cognitive tasks. Yet, structural and functional changes were also observed in non-deprived brain areas, which may suggest the whole-brain network changes in deaf individuals. ⋯ Deaf adults showed weaker connections between auditory and somatomotor regions, stronger coupling between the fronto-parietal network and several other large-scale networks (visual, memory, cingulo-opercular and somatomotor), and an enlargement of the default mode network. Our findings suggest that brain plasticity in deaf adults is not limited to changes in the auditory cortex but additionally alters the coupling between other large-scale networks and the development of functional brain modules. These widespread functional connectivity changes may provide a mechanism for the superior behavioral performance of the deaf in visual and attentional tasks.
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Brain Imaging Behav · Jun 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialTraining endogenous pain modulation: a preliminary investigation of neural adaptation following repeated exposure to clinically-relevant pain.
Analgesic treatments that aim to eliminate pain display marginal success in relieving chronic pain and may increase pain vulnerability. Repeated exposure to pain may result in increased pain modulation via engagement of anti-nociceptive brain regions. It was hypothesized that repeated exposure to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) would result in increased pain modulatory capacity (PMC) via functional neural adaptation. 23 healthy participants completed Baseline and Follow Up resting-state fMRI and quantitative sensory testing (QST) visits 40 days apart. ⋯ Changes in SMN-PFC connectivity correlated with reductions in post-DOMS affective distress. Results suggest that repeated exposure to clinically-relevant pain results in adaptations among brain regions involved in pain modulation. Repeated exposure to clinically-relevant pain may serve as a mechanism to increase PMC via inhibition of emotional valuation of painful stimuli.
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Brain Imaging Behav · Jun 2020
Functional connectivity dysfunction of insular subdivisions in cognitive impairment after acute mild traumatic brain injury.
This study aimed to investigate the early functional connectivity alterations between insula subdivisions and other cortical regions in patients with acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and subsequently to explore the relationship between functional connectivity changes of insula subdivisions with other cortical regions and cognitive function. ⋯ The present study demonstrated functional connectivity dysfunction of insula subdivisions and correlations between these alterations and cognitive performance, which provide a novel insight into the neurophysiological mechanism of cognitive impairment in patients with mTBI at the acute stage.
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Brain Imaging Behav · Jun 2020
Neuroanatomical and functional alterations of insula in mild traumatic brain injury patients at the acute stage.
Cognitive impairment is a major cause of disability and decline in quality of life in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) survivors, but the underlying pathophysiology is still poorly understood. The insula has extensive connections to other cortex and is believed to responsible for integrating external and internal processes and controlling cognitive functions. To explore this hypothesis, we investigated early alterations in the gray matter volume (GMV) and brain functional connectivity (FC) of insula in mTBI patients within 7 days after injury and any possible correlations with cognitive function. ⋯ In the mTBI group, the changes in GMV in the right insula were positively correlated with poor attention performance (r = 0.316, p = 0.016). Our data demonstrated alterations of the GMV and resting-stateFC of the right insula in mTBI patients at the acute stage. These early changes in GMV and resting-state FC perhaps serve as a potential biomarker for improving the understanding of cognitive decline for mTBI in the acute setting.
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Brain Imaging Behav · Apr 2020
Characterization of brain microstructural abnormalities in cirrhotic patients without overt hepatic encephalopathy using diffusion kurtosis imaging.
Cirrhosis is a major public health concern. However, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying brain microstructure alterations in cirrhotic patients. The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate brain microstructural alterations in cirrhosis with or without minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and their relationship with patients' neurocognitive performance and disease duration using voxel-based analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). ⋯ In conclusion, DKI is useful for detecting brain microstructural abnormalities in MHE and NMHE patients. Abnormal DKI parameters suggest alterations in brain microstructural complexity in cirrhotic patients, which may contribute to the neurobiological basis of neurocognitive impairment. These results may provide additional information on the pathophysiology of cirrhosis.