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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a deadly neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. Studies have reported on atrophy within segments of the cervical cord, but we are not aware of previous investigations of the whole spinal cord. Herein we present our findings from a 3T MRI study involving 32 subjects (15 ALS participants and 17 healthy controls) characterizing cross-sectional area along the entire cord. We report atrophy of the cervical enlargement in ALS participants, but no evidence of atrophy of the thoracolumbar enlargement. These results suggest that MR-based analyses of the cervical cord may be sufficient for in vivo investigations of spinal cord atrophy in ALS, and that atrophy of the cervical enlargement (C4–C7) is a potential imaging marker for quantifying lower motor neuron degradation.

Background: Chronic pain and mood disorders share common neuroanatomical substrates involving disruption of the reward system. Although increase in negative affect (NA) and decrease in positive affect (PA) are well-known factors complicating the clinical presentation of chronic pain patients, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interaction between pain and PA/NA remains limited. Here, we used a validated task probing behavioral and neural responses to monetary rewards and losses in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test the hypothesis that dysfunction of the striatum, a key mesolimbic structure involved in the encoding of motivational salience, relates to mood alterations comorbid with chronic pain. Methods: Twenty-eight chronic musculoskeletal pain patients (chronic low back pain, n=15; fibromyalgia, n=13) and 18 healthy controls underwent fMRI while performing the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task. Behavioral and neural responses were compared across groups and correlated against measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and hedonic capacity (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale). Results: Compared to controls, patients demonstrated higher anhedonia and depression scores, and a dampening of striatal activation and incentive-related behavioral facilitation (reduction in reaction times) during reward and loss trials of the MID task (ps ​