Search

Abstract Ex vivo studies of the brain are often employed as experimental systems in neuroscience. In general, brains for ex vivo MRI studies are usually fixed with paraformaldehyde to preserve molecular structure and prevent tissue destruction during long-term storage. As a result, fixing brain tissue causes microstructural changes and a decrease in brain volume. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the regional effect of brain volume and microstructural changes on the restricted diffusion of water molecules in the common marmoset brain using in vivo and ex vivo brains from the same individual. We used 9.4T magnetic resonance imaging and also compared the T2-weighted images and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data between in vivo and ex vivo brains to investigate changes in brain volume and diffusion of water molecules in 12 common marmosets. We compared fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, AD (axial diffusivity), and radial diffusivity values in white matter and gray matter between in vivo and ex vivo brains. We observed that AD showed the strongest correlation with regional volume changes in gray matter. The results showed a strong correlation between AD and changes in brain volume. By comparing the in vivo and ex vivo brains of the same individual, we identified significant correlations between the local effects of perfusion fixation on microstructural and volumetric changes of the brain and alterations in the restricted diffusion of water molecules within the brain. These findings provide valuable insights into the complex relationships between tissue fixation, brain structure, and water diffusion properties in the marmoset brain.

The common marmoset is an essential model for understanding social cognition and neurodegenerative diseases. This study explored the structural and functional brain connectivity in a marmoset under isoflurane anesthesia, aiming to statistically overcome the effects of high inter-individual variability and noise-related confounds such as physiological noise, ensuring robust and reliable data. Similarities and differences in individual subject data, including assessments of functional and structural brain connectivities derived from resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging were meticulously captured. The findings highlighted the high consistency of structural neural connections within the species, indicating a stable neural architecture, while functional connectivity under anesthesia displayed considerable variability. Through independent component and dual regression analyses, several distinct brain connectivities were identified, elucidating their characteristics under anesthesia. Insights into the structural and functional features of the marmoset brain from this study affirm its value as a neuroscience research model, promising advancements in the field through fundamental and translational studies.

Abstract Quantitative susceptibility mapping is a magnetic resonance imaging technique that measures brain tissues’ magnetic susceptibility, including iron deposition and myelination. This study examines the relationship between subcortical volume and magnetic susceptibility and determines specific differences in these measures among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), patients with schizophrenia, and healthy controls (HCs). This was a cross-sectional study. Sex- and age- matched patients with MDD (n = 49), patients with schizophrenia (n = 24), and HCs (n = 50) were included. Magnetic resonance imaging was conducted using quantitative susceptibility mapping and T1-weighted imaging to measure subcortical susceptibility and volume. The acquired brain measurements were compared among groups using analyses of variance and post hoc comparisons. Finally, a general linear model examined the susceptibility–volume relationship. Significant group-level differences were found in the magnetic susceptibility of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala (p = 0.045). Post-hoc analyses indicated that the magnetic susceptibility of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala for the MDD group was significantly higher than that for the HC group (p = 0.0054, p = 0.0065, respectively). However, no significant differences in subcortical volume were found between the groups. The general linear model indicated a significant interaction between group and volume for the nucleus accumbens in MDD group but not schizophrenia or HC groups. This study showed susceptibility alterations in the nucleus accumbens and amygdala in MDD patients. A significant relationship was observed between subcortical susceptibility and volume in the MDD group’s nucleus accumbens, which indicated abnormalities in myelination and the dopaminergic system related to iron deposition.

Using theta burst stimulation (TBS) to induce neural plasticity has played an important role in improving the treatment of neurological disorders. However, the variability of TBS-induced synaptic plasticity in the primary motor cortex prevents its clinical application. Thus, factors associated with this variability should be explored to enable the creation of a predictive model. Statistical approaches, such as regression analysis, have been used to predict the effects of TBS. Machine learning may potentially uncover previously unexplored predictive factors due to its increased capacity for capturing nonlinear changes. In this study, we used our prior dataset (Katagiri et al., 2020) to determine the factors that predict variability in TBS-induced synaptic plasticity in the lower limb motor cortex for both intermittent (iTBS) and continuous (cTBS) TBS using machine learning. Validation of the created model showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.85 and 0.69 and positive predictive values of 77.7 and 70.0% for iTBS and cTBS, respectively; the negative predictive value was 75.5% for both patterns. Additionally, the accuracy was 0.76 and 0.72, precision was 0.82 and 0.67, recall was 0.82 and 0.67, and F1 scores were 0.82 and 0.67 for iTBS and cTBS, respectively. The most important predictor of iTBS was the motor evoked potential amplitude, whereas it was the intracortical facilitation for cTBS. Our results provide additional insights into the prediction of the effects of TBS variability according to baseline neurophysiological factors.

Abstract Punctate white matter lesions (PWMLs) in infants may be related to neurodevelopmental outcomes based on the location or number of lesions. This study aimed to assess the automatic detectability of PWMLs in infants on deep learning using composite images created from several cases. To create the initial composite images, magnetic resonance (MR) images of two infants with the most PWMLs were used; their PWMLs were extracted and pasted onto MR images of infants without abnormality, creating many composite PWML images. Deep learning models based on a convolutional neural network, You Only Look Once v3 (YOLOv3), were constructed using the training set of 600, 1200, 2400, and 3600 composite images. As a result, a threshold of detection probability of 20% and 30% for all deep learning model sets yielded a relatively high sensitivity for automatic PWML detection (0.908–0.957). Although relatively high false-positive detections occurred with the lower threshold of detection probability, primarily, in the partial volume of the cerebral cortex (≥ 85.8%), those can be easily distinguished from the white matter lesions. Relatively highly sensitive automatic detection of PWMLs was achieved by creating composite images from two cases using deep learning.

Background: Superficial siderosis is a progressively disabling disease caused by recurrent subarachnoid hemorrhage with accumulation of hemosiderin in the surface of the central nervous system. Although a wide variety of conditions may cause superficial siderosis, approximately half of the cases are reported to be associated with a defect in the ventral spinal dura mater, in which case treatment entails surgical repair of the defect. Here, we report a case of superficial siderosis and report on our method to pinpoint the dural defect using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Methods and Results: A 74-year-old female presented suffering from hearing loss and progressive ataxia over a duration of seven years. A T2-weighted MRI study revealed hypointensity in the superficial areas of the central nervous system, leading to the diagnosis of superficial siderosis, and the presence of a fluid-filled collection in the anterior spinal canal of C7 to T10 suggested that a dural defect was the cause of the repeated hemorrhage. A balanced turbo field echo (BTFE) MRI sequence revealed possible dural defects at T1–T2 and T5–T6, and a dynamic improved motion-sensitized driven-equilibrium steady-state free precession (dynamic iMSDE SSFP) sequence revealed an irregular flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the dura at the T5–T6 level. The dural defect was confirmed and sutured through a minimal T5–T6 laminectomy without neurological consequences, and the patient reported mild improvement in gait one year after surgery. Conclusions: A combination of MRI sequences provided the necessary information to confidently perform minimal surgery to repair the dural defect. We recommend coupling a balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence to provide high resolution, high contrast images of anatomical structures and a dynamic iMSDE SSFP sequence to confirm cerebrospinal fluid motion through the defect.