Human brain mapping
-
Human brain mapping · Apr 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialThe salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network modulation.
Human and animal studies suggest that acupuncture produces many beneficial effects through the central nervous system. However, the neural substrates of acupuncture actions are not completely clear to date. fMRI studies at Hegu (LI4) and Zusanli (ST36) indicated that the limbic system may play an important role for acupuncture effects. To test if this finding applies to other major classical acupoints, fMRI was performed on 10 healthy adults during manual acupuncture at Taichong (LV3), Xingjian (LV2), Neiting (ST44), and a sham point on the dorsum of the left foot. ⋯ The sensorimotor cortices (somatosensory cortices, supplementary motor cortex), thalamus and occasional paralimbic structures such as the insula and anterior middle cingulate cortex showed activation. Our results provide additional evidence in support of previous reports that acupuncture modulates the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network. We hypothesize that acupuncture may mediate its antipain, antianxiety, and other therapeutic effects via this intrinsic neural circuit that plays a central role in the affective and cognitive dimensions of pain as well as in the regulation and integration of emotion, memory processing, autonomic, endocrine, immunological, and sensorimotor functions.
-
Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (nTMS-EEG), allows noninvasive studies of cortical excitability and connectivity in humans. We investigated the reproducibility of nTMS-EEG in seven healthy subjects by repeating left motor and prefrontal cortical stimulation with a 1-week interval. TMS was applied at three intensities: 90, 100, and 110% of subjects' motor threshold (MT). ⋯ The responses were recorded by a 60-channel whole head TMS-compatible EEG amplifier. A high overall reproducibility (r > 0.80) was evident in nTMS-EEG responses over both hemispheres for both motor and prefrontal cortical stimulation. The results suggest that nTMS-EEG is a reliable tool for studies investigating cortical excitability changes in the test-retest designs.
-
Human brain mapping · Apr 2009
A voxel-based morphometry study of frontal gray matter correlates of impulsivity.
Impulsivity is a personality trait exhibited by healthy individuals, but excessive impulsivity is associated with some mental disorders. Lesion and functional neuroimaging studies indicate that the ventromedial prefrontal region (VMPFC), including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala may modulate impulsivity and aggression. However, no morphometric study has examined the association between VMPFC and impulsivity. ⋯ Right OFC GM volumes were inversely correlated with BIS nonplanning impulsivity, and left OFC GM volumes were inversely correlated with motor impulsivity. There were no significant WM volume correlations with impulsivity. The results of this morphometry study indicate that small OFC volume relate to high impulsivity and extend the prior finding that the VMPFC is involved in the circuit modulating impulsivity.
-
Human brain mapping · Apr 2009
Correlation study of optimized voxel-based morphometry and (1)H MRS in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis.
: To assess whether structural and metabolic brain abnormalities are correlated in MTLE/HS syndrome. ⋯ : Structural and metabolic abnormalities as detected by optimized voxel-based morphometry and (1)H MRS in hippocampal and thalamic regions are only partially correlated in MTLE/HS patients. It seems therefore reasonable that both methods reflect different aspects of brain pathology, which, at least to some degree, might be independently ongoing.