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Aims: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by demyelinated white matter plaque throughout the central nervous system. Plaque involvement in regions that regulate micturition may be associated with urinary symptom severity in patients with MS. The aim of this prospective study is to investigate the relationship between cerebral plaque volume (PV), location, and urinary symptoms in women with MS. Methods: We conducted a case‐control pilot study of women with MS undergoing routine yearly brain MRI. Women were administered the American Urologic Association‐Symptom Index (AUA‐SI) and divided into two groups: severe urinary symptoms (AUA‐SI ≥20) and mild symptoms (AUA‐SI ≤7). PV and location in the brain were determined using a validated automated white matter lesion segmentation algorithm. Results: This study of 36 women found that the median total PV did not differ between groups. Women with severe urinary symptoms had larger median PV in the left frontal lobe (LFL) and right limbic lobe (RLL) compared with women with mild urinary symptoms. Within the RLL, women with severe symptoms had a larger median PV in the right cingulate gyrus (RCG). There was a moderate correlation between LFL lesion volume and RLL lesion volume with the AUA emptying subscore; however, these regions did not correlate with the storage subscore. Conclusions: This preliminary study found urinary symptom severity in women with MS is associated with PV in the RCG and LFL, and not total cerebral PV. These findings may explain why disease burden alone is not a predictor of severity or type of voiding dysfunction in patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Prior studies relating body mass index (BMI) to brain volumes suggest an overall inverse association. However, BMI might not be an ideal marker, as it disregards different fat compartments, which carry different metabolic risks. Therefore, we analyzed MR-based fat depots and their association with gray matter (GM) volumes of brain structures, which show volumetric changes in neurodegenerative diseases.Methods: Warp-based automated brain segmentation of 3D FLAIR sequences was obtained in a population-based study cohort. Associations of temporal lobe, cingulate gyrus, and hippocampus GM volume with BMI and MR-based quantification of visceral adipose tissue (VAT), as well as hepatic and pancreatic proton density fat fraction (PDFFhepatic and PDFFpanc, respectively), were assessed by linear regression.Results: In a sample of 152 women (age 56.2 ± 9.0 years) and 199 men (age 56.1 ± 9.1 years), we observed a significant inverse association of PDFFhepatic and cingulate gyrus volume (p < 0.05) as well as of PDFFhepatic and hippocampus volume (p < 0.05), when adjusting for age and sex. This inverse association was further enhanced for cingulate gyrus volume after additionally adjusting for hypertension, smoking, BMI, LDL, and total cholesterol (p < 0.01) and also alcohol (p < 0.01). No significant association was observed between PDFFhepatic and temporal lobe and between temporal lobe, cingulate gyrus, or hippocampus volume and BMI, VAT, and PDFFpanc.Conclusions: We observed a significant inverse, independent association of cingulate gyrus and hippocampus GM volume with hepatic fat, but not with other obesity measures. Increased hepatic fat could therefore serve as a marker of high-risk fat distribution.Key Points: • Obesity is associated with neurodegenerative processes. • In a population-based study cohort, hepatic fat was superior to BMI and visceral and pancreatic fat as a risk biomarker for decreased brain volume of cingulate gyrus and hippocampus. • Increased hepatic fat could serve as a marker of high-risk fat distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the hypothesis that hypoperfusion in brain areas known to be involved in emotional disturbances in primary psychiatric disorders is also linked to emotional difficulties in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and that these are not secondary to the physical and social burden incurred by the disease. Nineteen SLE patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations (non-NPSLE), 31 NPSLE patients, and 23 healthy controls were examined. Dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI was used and cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume values were estimated in six manually selected regions of interest of brain regions suspected to play a role in anxiety and depression (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampi, caudate nuclei and putamen). NPSLE patients reported high rates of anxiety and depression symptomatology. Significantly reduced cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume values were detected in the NPSLE group compared to healthy controls in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, bilaterally. Within the NPSLE group, anxiety symptomatology was significantly associated with lower perfusion in frontostriatal regions and in the right anterior cingulate gyrus. Importantly, the latter associations appeared to be specific to anxiety symptoms, as they persisted after controlling for depression symptomatology and independent of the presence of visible lesions on conventional MRI. In conclusion, hypoperfusion in specific limbic and frontostriatal regions is associated with more severe anxiety symptoms in the context of widespread haemodynamic disturbances in NPSLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The TRPV1 channel is endogenously expressed in cingulate gyrus and medial frontal cortex of the human brain. • Abundant expression of TRPV1 is found in astrocytes. • The potential to use TRPV1 as an actuator for direct neuromodulation seems restricted. • Non-neuronal network modulation through astrocytes might offer opportunities. The transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype-1 (TRPV1) channel is a calcium selective ion channel that responds to various stimuli such as heat, low pH, and capsaicin. Recently this channel was studied as an actuator for wireless neuromodulation in rodents, e.g., heat-induced activation of TRPV1 resulted in neuronal excitation. From a translational perspective, we addressed if TRPV1 is endogenously expressed in the human medial frontal gyrus (MFG) and cingulate gyrus (CG) in depressed and control subjects and if it can be used as a means for neuromodulation in mood and other neuropsychiatric disorders. We assessed TRPV1 expression levels by Western blotting and evaluated its tissue and cellular distribution by means of immunohistochemistry. TRPV1 was observed in all tissue samples, i.e., depressed and control, MFG and CG, yet the expression level as assessed by Western blotting varied between individuals. No intra-individual differences were seen between the MFG and CG. Immunohistochemistry showed that TRPV1 was expressed by glial-like cells but also in neurites, endothelial cells, and to a lesser extent in neuronal cell bodies. Fluorescent co-labeling of TRPV1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) identified most glial cells expressing TRPV1 to be astrocytes. These findings indicate that TRPV1 is endogenously expressed in the human CG and MFG. As TRPV1 is predominantly expressed by glial cells, this may suggest an opportunity for non-neuronal network modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of self-representation is vitally important for internalizing typical behavior and for building interpersonal relationships. Taking into account the neuronal underpinnings of cognitive functions, symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been related to impairments of neuronal systems underlying self-perception. The present paper reviews research implementing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to study the neural mechanisms of self-related information processing in persons with ASD. These experiments address the psychological aspects of self-representation associated with the appraisal of one's own traits and of the symbolic, as well as physical, representation of self in response to the perception of one's own name and face. Furthermore, results of a study that employed fMRI to assess the perception of changeability of personal traits across time among subjects with ASD are also included. The studies under review support the hypotheses of atypical neuronal mechanisms of cognitive self-representation and anomalous perception of social feedback in persons diagnosed with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic lesions rarely affect the cingulate cortex (CC) in isolation, restricting human lesion/behavioural change correlational analysis. The aim of this study was to determine clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging features of isolated cingulate infarcts. We studied, 3800 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke included in our Stroke Registry between 2012 and 2018. Among them we studied 7 patients with an acute isolated cingulate infarct confirmed by MRI. Among all patients, 7 patients (0.01%) showed ischemic lesions in the territory of cingulate cortex territory, allowing us to delineate 2 substantial distributions; (1) Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) infarction (4 patients [57%]) was presented low vigilance level with apathy, mutism, deficits in executive function, attention, and disturbances of working, episodic and verbal memory; (2) Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) infarction (3 patients [43%]) developed topographic disorientation, visual memory deficit and affective-emotional behavioural changes. According rarely seen CC infarction events, we suggest that anterior and posterior CC are functionally separated and differences in clinical presentation are explained by considering; ACC plays a role in executive functions, episodic and working memory, set maintenance, and PCC is focused on spatial and verbal attention, and memory system. We considered that different patterns of cingulate infarcts are the result of variation in cingulate arterial supply or suggest a source of embolism. • Anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) plays a role in executive functions, episodic and working memory, set maintenance. • AAC was associated with impairments of retrograde (plannig and reasoning) and anterograde (working and episodic memories) parts of cognitive functions. • Posterior cingulate gyrus (PCC) plays a role on spatial and verbal attention, and memory system. • PCC plays a more direct role in regulating the focus of attention, perhaps controlling the balance between internally and externally focused thought. • PCC lesion may cause affective-emotional disturbances which are consistent with the suggestion that this region may mediate interactions of emotional and memory-related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cingulum bundle is a major fiber tract that extends into the cingulate gyrus and reaches to the temporal tip. It carries striatal, projection, association and commissural fibers. Therefore, it has an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of many psychiatric and neurological diseases. Our aim; to describe the structure of the cingulum fiber, to reveal its neighborhood and connections and to find an anatomical-functional classification that clinicians can use. Method: Ten human cadaver brains were prepared by using the Klingler method. In all brains, medial to lateral, inferior to superior, and superior to inferior dissection were performed. Dissection was performed under microscopic magnification. All dissection stages were visualized with the camera. Results: Singulum fiber is a long and major fiber of the brain that is approximately 9-10 cm. It starts from the orbitofrontal cortex and extends on the corpus callosum. It turns to the lateral and inferior on the splenium level. And it reaches the temporal pole. It divides into 5 segments. These are subgenual, anterior cingulate, mid-cingulate, retrosplenial and parahippocampal cingulum segments. Each segment has different projections. Conclusions: The functional and anatomical relationships and segments of the cingulum bundle will guide the diagnosis and treatment of some psychiatric and neurological diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cortical part of the limbic system, the cingulate gyrus (CG), is a conspicuous structure present in the central aspect of the cerebral cortex. It is associated with various cognitive, emotional, and behavioral purposes and has a significant impact on the limbic system, which is responsible for emotions and memory processes. The aim of the study is to comprehensively document and evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy intervention in managing a rare case of glioma specifically located in the CG through a concise and impactful online presentation. A CG lesion refers to damage or injury to the CG, a part of the brain located in the cerebral cortex's medial (inner) aspect. A 45-year-old female was admitted to the neurosurgery ICU with a complaint of diminished vision and headaches for the past 1.5 months. She had a history of fever and vomiting. She was diagnosed with a CG lesion on the contrast-enhanced MRI of the brain. This report of a rare case highlights the potential benefits of physiotherapy intervention in a patient with a glioma of the CG. The unique challenges posed by this specific brain tumor location necessitate a tailored and multidisciplinary approach to patient care., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Telrandhe et al.)

Identifying faces is a process central for social interaction and a relevant factor in eyewitness theory. False recognition is a critical mistake during an eyewitness's identification scenario because it can lead to a wrongful conviction. Previous studies have described neural areas related to false facial recognition using the standard Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm, triggering related false recognition. Nonetheless, misidentification of faces without trying to elicit false memories (unrelated false recognition) in a police lineup could involve different cognitive processes, and distinct neural areas. To delve into the neural circuitry of unrelated false recognition, we evaluated the memory and response confidence of participants while watching faces photographs in an fMRI task. Functional activations of unrelated false recognition were identified by contrasting the activation on this condition vs. the activations related to recognition (hits) and correct rejections. The results identified the right precentral and cingulate gyri as areas with distinctive activations during false recognition events suggesting a conflict resulting in a dysfunction during memory retrieval. High confidence suggested that about 50% of misidentifications may be related to an unconscious process. These findings add to our understanding of the construction of facial memories and its biological basis, and the fallibility of the eyewitness testimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cortical parcellation is an essential neuroimaging tool for identifying and characterizing morphometric and connectivity brain changes occurring with age and disease. A variety of software packages have been developed for parcellating the brain's cortical surface into a variable number of regions but interpackage differences can undermine reproducibility. Using a ground truth dataset (Edinburgh_NIH10), we investigated such differences for grey matter thickness (GMth), grey matter volume (GMvol) and white matter surface area (WMsa) for the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), supramarginal gyrus (SMG), and cingulate gyrus (CG) from 4 parcellation protocols as implemented in the FreeSurfer, BrainSuite, and BrainGyrusMapping (BGM) software packages. Results: Corresponding gyral definitions and morphometry approaches were not identical across the packages. As expected, there were differences in the bordering landmarks of each gyrus as well as in the manner in which variability was addressed. Rostral and caudal SFG and SMG boundaries differed, and in the event of a double CG occurrence, its upper fold was not always addressed. This led to a knock-on effect that was visible at the neighbouring gyri (e.g., knock-on effect at the SFG following CG definition) as well as gyral morphometric measurements of the affected gyri. Statistical analysis showed that the most consistent approaches were FreeSurfer's Desikan-Killiany-Tourville (DKT) protocol for GMth and BrainGyrusMapping for GMvol. Package consistency varied for WMsa, depending on the region of interest. Conclusions: Given the significance and implications that a parcellation protocol will have on the classification, and sometimes treatment, of subjects, it is essential to select the protocol which accurately represents their regions of interest and corresponding morphometrics, while embracing cortical variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cingulum bundle is a prominent white matter tract that interconnects frontal, parietal, and medial temporal sites, while also linking subcortical nuclei to the cingulate gyrus. Despite its apparent continuity, the cingulum’s composition continually changes as fibres join and leave the bundle. To help understand its complex structure, this review begins with detailed, comparative descriptions of the multiple connections comprising the cingulum bundle. Next, the impact of cingulum bundle damage in rats, monkeys, and humans is analysed. Despite causing extensive anatomical disconnections, cingulum bundle lesions typically produce only mild deficits, highlighting the importance of parallel pathways and the distributed nature of its various functions. Meanwhile, non-invasive imaging implicates the cingulum bundle in executive control, emotion, pain (dorsal cingulum), and episodic memory (parahippocampal cingulum), while clinical studies reveal cingulum abnormalities in numerous conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the seemingly diverse contributions of the cingulum will require better ways of isolating pathways within this highly complex tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with prominent impairments in sociocommunicative abilities, which have been linked to anomalous brain network organization. Despite ample evidence of atypical long-distance connectivity, the literature on local connectivity remains small and divergent. We used resting-state functional MRI regional homogeneity (ReHo) as a local connectivity measure in comparative analyses across several well-matched low-motion subsamples from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange and in-house data, with a grand total of 147 ASD and 184 typically developing (TD) participants, ages 7-18 years. We tested for group differences in each subsample, with additional focus on the difference between eyes-open and eyes-closed resting states. Despite selection of highest quality data and tight demographic and motion matching between groups and across samples, few effects in exactly identical loci (voxels) were found across samples. However, there was gross consistency across all eyes-open samples of local overconnectivity (ASD > TD) in posterior, visual regions. There was also gross consistency of local underconnectivity (ASD < TD) in cingulate gyrus, although exact loci varied between mid/posterior and anterior sections. While all eyes-open datasets showed the described gross similarities, the pattern of group differences for participants scanned with eyes closed was different, with local overconnectivity in ASD in posterior cingulate gyrus, but underconnectivity in some visual regions. Our findings suggest that fMRI local connectivity measures may be relatively susceptible to site and cohort variability and that some previous inconsistencies in the ASD ReHo literature may be reconciled by more careful consideration of eye status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cingulum bundle (CB) connects gray matter structures of the limbic system and as such has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. There is growing evidence to suggest that the CB is actually comprised of a conglomeration of discrete sub-connections. The present study aimed to use Diffusion Tensor tractography to subdivide the CB into its constituent sub-connections, and to investigate the structural integrity of these sub-connections in patients with schizophrenia and matched healthy controls. Diffusion Tensor Imaging scans were acquired from 24 patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia and 26 matched healthy controls. Deterministic tractography was used in conjunction with FreeSurfer-based regions-of-interest to subdivide the CB into 5 sub-connections (I1 to I5). The patients with schizophrenia exhibited subnormal levels of FA in two cingulum sub-connections, specifically the fibers connecting the rostral and caudal anterior cingulate gyrus (I1) and the fibers connecting the isthmus of the cingulate with the parahippocampal cortex (I4). Furthermore, while FA in the I1 sub-connection was correlated with the severity of patients' positive symptoms (specifically hallucinations and delusions), FA in the I4 sub-connection was correlated with the severity of patients' negative symptoms (specifically affective flattening and anhedonia/asociality). These results support the notion that the CB is a conglomeration of structurally interconnected yet functionally distinct sub-connections, of which only a subset are abnormal in patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, while acknowledging the fact that the present study only investigated the CB, these results suggest that the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia may have distinct neurobiological underpinnings.

This study presents data from a magnetic-resonance morphometric (MRMM) analysisof the main regions of the cingulate cortex (in both hemispheres) and theirrole in memory processes in a group of healthy, females of older age. The resultsdemonstrate a statistically reliable correlation between overall performance andthe type of errors in different neuropsychological memory tests and the relativesize of these regions. The discovered pattern of correlations can be explained byhypothesizing the reciprocal functional influence of the two major areas of thecingulate cortex – its anterior and posterior dorsal parts – on performance in neuropsychologicalmemory tests.

We present the case of a 13-year-old child with nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) related to a right cingulate gyrus cortical dysplasia, who also presented with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and interictal antisocial behavior. The association of drug-resistant epilepsy with behavioral disorders is well established, but the role of epilepsy surgery in these patients is still controversial, especially in children. The key finding is represented by the excellent long-term outcome on both epilepsy and behavioral dysfunction after the surgical excision of the cingulate gyrus cortical dysplasia.

The nucleus accumbens (NA) and the cingulate gyrus (CG) are two vital limbic brain structures. They have attracted attention as deep brain stimulation (DBS) targets in the treatment of common refractory psychiatric illness. The primary purpose of this article was to review the current knowledge regarding the way that NA DBS affects the CG and vice versa. Methodologically, a thorough literature review was performed. According to the current literature, NA DBS modulates the function of several brain areas including the CG cortex. It specifically causes activation in the ipsilateral CG cortex and voltage-dependent reduction of its blood oxygenation. It also reverses anterior mid-CG cortex dysfunction and decreases metabolism in the subgenual CG. Moreover, NA DBS that induces mirth inhibits the function of the anterior CG cortex and enhances effective connectivity from anterior CG to the ventral striatum. On the other hand, although it is highly probable that CG DBS affects the NA, the exact nature of its effects remains unclear. Despite the increasing interest in psychiatric DBS, the available data on how NA DBS affects the CG and vice versa are restricted. This conclusion probably reflects the high complexity of the limbic circuits and necessitates further research.

Human aggression typologies largely correspond with those for other animals. While there may be no non-human equivalent of angry reactive aggression, we propose that human proactive aggression is similar to offense in other animals' dominance contests for territory or social status. Like predation/hunting, but unlike defense, offense and proactive aggression are positively reinforcing, involving dopamine release in accumbens. The drive these motivational states provide must suffice to overcome fear associated with initiating risky fights. We term the neural activity motivating proactive aggression "non-angry aggressive arousal", but use "angriffsberietschaft" for offense motivation in other animals to acknowledge possible differences. Temporal variation in angriffsberietschaft partitions fights into bouts; engendering reduced anti-predator vigilance, redirected aggression and motivational over-ride. Increased aggressive arousal drives threat-to-attack transitions, as in verbal-to-physical escalation and beyond that, into hyper-aggression. Proactive aggression and offense involve related neural activity states. Cingulate, insular and prefrontal cortices energize/modulate aggression through a subcortical core containing subnuclei for each aggression type. These proposals will deepen understanding of aggression across taxa, guiding prevention/intervention for human violence. • Human proactive aggression is motivated by non-angry aggressive arousal. • Offense in other animals is motivated by functionally similar angriffsbereitschaft. • Aggressive motivation controls threat-to-attack escalation and four other phenomena. • Aggressive motivation circuits include medial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus. • Anomalies in this circuitry drive hyper-aggression in humans and other animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with hyperarousal and active fight or flight defensive responses. By contrast, the dissociative subtype of PTSD, characterized by depersonalization and derealization symptoms, is frequently accompanied by additional passive or submissive defensive responses associated with autonomic blunting. Here, the periaqueductal gray ( PAG) plays a central role in defensive responses, where the dorsolateral ( DL- PAG) and ventrolateral PAG ( VL- PAG) are thought to mediate active and passive defensive responses, respectively. Methods We examined PAG subregion (dorsolateral and ventrolateral) resting-state functional connectivity in three groups: PTSD patients without the dissociative subtype ( n = 60); PTSD patients with the dissociative subtype ( n = 37); and healthy controls ( n = 40) using a seed-based approach via PickAtlas and SPM12. Results All PTSD patients showed extensive DL- and VL- PAG functional connectivity at rest with areas associated with emotional reactivity and defensive action as compared to controls ( n = 40). Although all PTSD patients demonstrated DL- PAG functional connectivity with areas associated with initiation of active coping strategies and hyperarousal (e.g., dorsal anterior cingulate; anterior insula), only dissociative PTSD patients exhibited greater VL- PAG functional connectivity with brain regions linked to passive coping strategies and increased levels of depersonalization (e.g., temporoparietal junction; rolandic operculum). Conclusions These findings suggest greater defensive posturing in PTSD patients even at rest and demonstrate that those with the dissociative subtype show unique patterns of PAG functional connectivity when compared to those without the subtype. Taken together, these findings represent an important first step toward identifying neural and behavioral targets for therapeutic interventions that address defensive strategies in trauma-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Default mode network (DMN) has been reported to be susceptible to APOE ε 4 genotype. However, the APOE ε 4-related brain changes in young carriers are different from the ones in elderly carriers. The current study aimed to evaluate the cortical morphometry of DMN subregions in cognitively normal elderly with APOE ε 4.Method: 11 cognitively normal senior APOE ε 4 carriers and 27 matched healthy controls (HC) participated the neuropsychological tests, genotyping, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was used to assess the global volumetric changes. Surface-based morphometry (SBM) analysis was performed to measure regional gray matter volume (GMV) and gray matter thickness (GMT).Results: Advancing age was associated with decreased GMV of DMN subregions. Compared to HC, APOE ε 4 carriers presented cortical atrophy in right cingulate gyrus (R_CG) (GMV: APOE carriers: 8475.23 ± 1940.73 mm3, HC: 9727.34 ± 1311.57 mm3, t = 2.314, p = 0.026, corrected) and left insular (GMT: APOE ε 4 carriers: 3.83 ± 0.37 mm, HC: 4.05 ± 0.25 mm, t = 2.197, p = 0.033, corrected).Conclusions: Our results highlight the difference between different cortical measures and suggest that the cortical reduction of CG and insular maybe a potential neuroimaging marker for APOE 4 ε senior carriers, even in the context of relatively intact cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The aim of this study was to determine neurochemical alterations in bipolar disorder using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Method. We investigated a group of 27 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (with manic and mixed episodes, depression and after remission of symptoms) and 10 healthy subjects. MR imaging and 1H-MRS were performed on a 1.5 T scanner. Voxels of 8 cm3 were positioned in the anterior cingulate, left frontal lobe and left temporal lobe. Spectral peaks of NAA (N-acetylaspartate), Glx (glutamate/glutamine/GABA complex), Cho (choline), Cr (creatine/phosphocreatine) and mI (myo-inositol) were analyzed and the ratios of these metabolites to creatine (Cr) and non-suppressed water signal were determined. Results. In the anterior cingulate cortex of patients with bipolar disorder a significantly higher Cho/H2O ratio (p = 0.029) and a trend toward higher Cho/Cr ratio values (p = 0.096) were observed as compared to healthy controls. Conclusions. The findings of our study prove that neurochemical changes occurring in the anterior cingulate cortex of bipolar patients are related to altered choline levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Reduced brain glucose metabolism and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron degeneration are common features of Alzheimer’s disease and have been correlated with memory function. Although regions representing glucose hypometabolism in patients with Alzheimer’s disease are targets of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons, the interaction between cholinergic denervation and glucose hypometabolism is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate glucose metabolism changes caused by cholinergic deficits. Materials and Methods: We lesioned basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in rats using 192 immunoglobulin G-saporin. After 3 weeks, lesioned animals underwent water maze testing or were analyzed by 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Results: During water maze probe testing, performance of the lesioned group decreased with respect to time spent in the target quadrant and platform zone. Cingulate cortex glucose metabolism in the lesioned group decreased, compared with the normal group. Additionally, acetylcholinesterase activity and glutamate decarboxylase 65/67 expression declined in the cingulate cortex. Conclusion: Our results reveal that spatial memory impairment in animals with selective basal forebrain cholinergic neuron damage is associated with a functional decline in the GABAergic and cholinergic system associated with cingulate cortex glucose hypometabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Imaging can provide noninvasive neural markers of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) that are related to behavioral and cognitive symptoms. Past work suggests that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a measure of white matter pathology, including demyelination and axonal counts. Objectives: In the current study, the authors investigate the relationship of DTI measures in the cingulum bundle to common deficits in MS, including episodic memory, working memory, and information processing speed. Methods: Fifty-seven patients with MS and 17 age- and education-matched controls underwent high-spatial resolution diffusion scans and cognitive testing. Probabilistic tracking was used to generate tracks from the posterior cingulate cortex to the entorhinal cortex. Results: Radial and axial diffusivity values were significantly different between patients and controls (p < 0.031), and in patients bilateral diffusion measures were significantly related to measures of episodic memory and speed of processing (p < 0.033). Conclusions: The tractography-based measures of posterior cingulum integrity reported here support further development of DTI as a viable measure of axonal integrity and cognitive function in patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The brain region responsible for the initiation of K-complexes has not been identified to date. Objective To determine the brain region responsible for originating K-complexes. Methods We reviewed all 269 patients assessed for epilepsy surgery with intracranial electrodes and single pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) at King's College Hospital between 1999 and 2013. Intracranial EEG responses to electrical stimulation at orbitofrontal, frontal, cingulate, temporal and parietal loci were compared visually with each patient's K-complexes and the degree of resemblance was quantified. Results Among the 269 patients, K-complex-like responses were exclusively observed in all 6 patients who had depth electrodes in the cingulate cortex. In each patient, the stimulation site eliciting the response of greatest similarity to the patient's K-complex was located within the dorso-caudal anterior cingulate. The K-complex like responses were evoked when the patients were awake. Conclusion Our findings provide the first causal evidence that the cingulate gyrus initiates the widespread synchronous activity that constitutes the K-complex. The induction of K-complex-like responses during wakefulness suggests that the mechanisms required for the initiation of K-complexes are separate from those involved in sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress is a common experience of daily life and all organisms have evolved mechanisms and strategies to deal with crucial alterations in their internal and external environment. Events early in post-weaning life influence brain development and subsequent adult behaviour. This study was conducted to observe neurodegeneration in normal and stressed condition in Postweaning age group of mice. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of restraint stress and foot shock stress applied for 5 days (short duration) and 21 days (long duration). BALB/ C strain of Albino mice were used. In restraint stress, animals were restrained for 6 hours daily in a restraining device. In foot shock group, animals were given intermittent electric foot shock for 3 hours daily in an electric foot shock apparatus. Animal were sacrificed at the end of stress exposure period along with their age matched control mice and the brains were processed for histological examination both in control and experimental groups. Numbers of viable neurons in the cingulate gyrus regions were counted. The data were analysed between the groups. Results of the study revealed neurodegenerative changes in the stressed group compared to control in both the experimental groups. Severe neurodegenerative changes were observed on prolonged exposure to stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report a case of a 49-year-old man with long-standing, chronic cluster headache (CH) refractory to medical therapy and occipital nerve stimulation that resolved a few weeks prior to the diagnosis of glioblastoma involving primarily the right cingulate gyrus. An attempt to explore the underlying role of the cingulate cortex in pain modulation by appraising the current literature is presented. This report suggests that the cingulate gyri could be a potential target for neuromodulation in patients with medically refractory chronic CH. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives There is both direct and indirect evidence suggesting abnormalities of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β and β-catenin, two important components of the Wingless-type (Wnt) signaling pathway, in the pathophysiology of bipolar illness and possibly schizophrenia ( SZ). In order to further clarify the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder ( BP) and SZ, we studied GSK-3β and β-catenin in the postmortem brains of subjects with these disorders. Methods We determined the protein expression of GSK-3β, phosphorylated form at serine 9 position (pGSK-3-ser-9), and β-catenin using the western blot technique, and mRNA using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR) method, in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cingulate gyrus (CG), and temporal cortex (TEMP) obtained from 19 subjects with BP, 20 subjects with SZ, and 20 normal control (NC) subjects. Results We found that the protein expression of GSK-3β, pGSK-3β-ser-9, and β-catenin was significantly decreased in the DLPFC and TEMP, but not in the CG, of subjects with BP compared with NC subjects. The mRNA expression of GSK-3β and β-catenin was significantly decreased in the DLPFC and TEMP, but not in the CG, of subjects with BP compared with NC subjects. There were no significant differences in the protein or mRNA expression of GSK-3β, pGSK-3β-ser-9, or β-catenin between subjects with SZ and NC subjects in any of the brain areas studied. Conclusions These studies show region-specific abnormalities of both protein and mRNA expression of GSK-3β and β-catenin in postmortem brains of subjects with BP but not subjects with SZ. Thus, abnormalities of the Wnt signaling pathway may be associated with the pathophysiology of bipolar illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to use a voxel-based MRI method to investigate the neuroanatomical characteristics in subjects at high risk of developing psychosis compared with those of healthy controls and first-episode schizophrenia patients. Methods: This study included 14 subjects with at-risk mental state (ARMS), 34 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, and 51 healthy controls. We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with the Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie Algebra (DARTEL) tools to investigate the whole-brain difference in gray matter volume among the three groups. Results: Compared with the healthy controls, the schizophrenia patients showed significant gray matter reduction in the left anterior cingulate gyrus. There was no significant difference in the gray matter volume between the ARMS and other groups. Conclusion: The present study suggests that alteration of the anterior cingulate gyrus may be associated with development of frank psychosis. Further studies with a larger ARMS subjects would be required to examine the potential role of neuroimaging methods in the prediction of future transition into psychosis.

Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder (UD) may be different in brain structure. In the present study, we performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to quantify the grey matter volumes in 23 patients with bipolar I depressive disorder (BP1) and 23 patients with UD, and 23 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) using magnetic resonance imaging. We found that compared with the HC and UD groups, the BP1 group showed reduced grey matter volumes in the right inferior frontal gyrus and middle cingulate gyrus, while the UD group showed reduced volume in the right inferior frontal gyrus compared to HCs. In addition, correlation analyses revealed that the grey matter volumes of these regions were negatively correlated with the Hamilton depression rating scores. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that decreased grey matter volume of the right inferior frontal gyrus is a common abnormality in BP1 and UD, and decreased grey matter volume in the right middle cingulate gyrus may be specific to BP1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Physical activity (PA) was found to influence human brain morphology. However, the impact of PA on brain morphology was mainly demonstrated in seniors. We investigated healthy individuals across a broad age range for the relation between habitual PA and brain morphology. Methods. Ninety-five participants (19-82 years) were assessed for self-reported habitual PA with the 'Baecke habitual physical activity questionnaire', and T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were evaluated with whole brain voxel based morphometry for gray and white matter volumes and densities. Results. Regression analyses revealed a positive relation between the extent of physical activity and gray matter volume bilaterally in the anterior hippocampal and parahippocampal gyrus independent of age and gender. Age as well as leisure and locomotion activities were linked to enhanced white matter volumes in the posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus, suggesting a positive interaction especially in seniors. Conclusions. Habitual physical activity is associated with regional volumetric gray and white matter alterations. The positive relation of hippocampal volume and physical activity seems not to be restricted to seniors. Thus, habitual physical activity should be generally considered as an influencing factor in studies investigating medial temporal lobe volume and associated cognitive functions (memory), especially in psychiatric research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Clinical trials have shown promising results with the use of subcallosal cingulate gyrus deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-resistant depression. However, strategies to manage patients who do not respond to this therapy have not been explored in detail. In rats, DBS in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) induces a significant antidepressant-like response in the forced swim test (FST). We have used this test to investigate potential interactions between DBS and clinically used augmentative regimens. Methods: Rats undergoing the FST were treated with vmPFC DBS along with different augmentative drugs, namely buspirone, risperidone and pindolol. Locomotor activity was tested in an open field. Results: DBS induced a significant reduction in immobility scores as compared to saline treated controls. These antidepressant-like effects, however, were not potentiated by the co-administration of buspirone, risperidone or pindolol. Limitations: Despite having good predictive validity, animal models are limited from a translational perspective. Conclusions: Our results indicate that that the antidepressant-like effects of vmPFC DBS in the FST are not enhanced by augmentative therapies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent research has modified both the conceptualization and treatment of eating disorders. New diagnostic criteria reducing the 'not otherwise specified' category should facilitate the early recognition and treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Technology-based studies identify AN and BN as 'brain circuit' disorders; epidemiologic studies reveal that the narrow racial, ethnic and income profile of individuals no longer holds true for AN. The major organs affected long term-the brain and skeletal system-both respond to improved nutrition, with maintenance of body weight the best predictor of recovery. Twin studies have revealed gene x environment interactions, including both the external (social) and internal (pubertal) environments of boys and of girls. Family-based treatment has the best evidence base for effectiveness for younger patients. Medication plays a limited role in AN, but a major role in BN. Across diagnoses, the most important medicine is food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Despite strong evidence that the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome (TS) involves structural and functional disturbances of the basal ganglia and cortical frontal areas, findings from in vivo imaging studies have provided conflicting results. In this study we used whole brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the microstructural integrity of white matter pathways and brain tissue in 19 unmedicated, adult, male patients with TS "only" (without comorbid psychiatric disorders) and 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Results Compared to normal controls, TS patients showed a decrease in the fractional anisotropy index (FA) bilaterally in the medial frontal gyrus, the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus, the middle occipital gyrus, the right cingulate gyrus, and the medial premotor cortex. Increased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were detected in the left cingulate gyrus, prefrontal areas, left precentral gyrus, and left putamen. There was a negative correlation between tic severity and FA values in the left superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus bilaterally, cingulate gyrus bilaterally, and ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the right thalamus, and a positive correlation in the body of the corpus callosum, left thalamus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus. There was also a positive correlation between regional ADC values and tic severity in the left cingulate gyrus, putamen bilaterally, medial frontal gyrus bilaterally, left precentral gyrus, and ventral anterior nucleus of the left thalamus. Conclusions Our results confirm prior studies suggesting that tics are caused by alterations in prefrontal areas, thalamus and putamen, while changes in the cingulate gyrus seem to reflect secondary compensatory mechanisms. Due to the study design, influences from comorbidities, gender, medication and age can be excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study examined whole-brain structural abnormalities in schizophrenia, with a special focus on the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC, PCC) as this is an understudied issue in schizophrenia. Method: Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) were performed to detect volumetric differences between 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls matched for age, sex, educational level and parents' educational level. We examined within-group GM and WM correlations and completed the analysis with measurements of sulci in medial cortical areas. Results: Compared with the healthy controls, the schizophrenic patients showed significant decreases in GM volumes in the ACC and PCC, and in neighboring WM regions such as the corpus callosum and the fimbriae of the fornix. Moreover, the patient group also displayed a negative correlation between volumes of GM and WM in the ACC. Finally, the patients showed significantly reduced volumes in the right cingulate sulci and left inferior frontal sulci. Conclusion: Our results replicate typical brain-structural abnormalities with new findings in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggested to be a key region in this disorder. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Abnormalities of cyclic-AMP (cAMP) response element binding protein (CREB) function has been suggested in bipolar (BP) illness and schizophrenia (SZ), based on both indirect and direct evidence. To further elucidate the role of CREB in these disorders, we studied CREB expression and function in two brain areas implicated in these disorders, i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and cingulate gyrus (CG). Methods: We determined CREB protein expression using Western blot technique, CRE-DNA binding using gel shift assay, and mRNA expression using real-time RT-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in DLPFC and CG of the postmortem brain of BP (n=19), SZ (n=20), and normal control (NC, n=20) subjects. Results: We observed that CREB protein and mRNA expression and CRE-DNA binding activity were significantly decreased in the nuclear fraction of DLPFC and CG obtained from BP subjects compared with NC subjects. However, the protein and mRNA expression and CRE-DNA binding in SZ subjects was significantly decreased in CG, but not in DLPFC, compared with NC. Conclusion: These studies thus indicate region-specific abnormalities of CREB expression and function in both BP and SZ. They suggest that abnormalities of CREB in CG may be associated with both BP and SZ, but its abnormality in DLPFC is specific to BP illness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To investigate the human limbic system using cortico-cortical evoked potential (CCEP), which reveals the brain networks. Methods: Five patients with nonlesional medically intractable focal epilepsy with ictal onset outside the limbic system were enrolled. All patients underwent stereoelectroencephalogram electrode implantation in order to delineate the epileptogenic zone. Alternating 1Hz electrical stimuli were delivered to the hippocampus and posterior cingulate gyrus. A total of sixty stimuli were averaged in each trial to obtain CCEP responses. Results: Hippocampal stimulation elicited prominent CCEP responses in the posterior cingulate gyrus. The latencies of early (N1) and late (N2) negative peak ranged 20–60ms and 102–175ms respectively. In addition, CCEP responses were observed in the posterior parahippocampal gyrus, medial superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and orbitofrontal cortex. Stimulation of posterior cingulate contacts induced CCEPs in the hippocampus with N1 and N2 latencies of 25–43ms and 90–234ms respectively in all five patients. Conclusion: This finding supports the assertion that the hippocampus is connected with the posterior cingulate gyrus, posterior parahippocampal gyrus, medial SFG and orbitofrontal cortex. The hippocampus and posterior cingulate gyrus have a bidirectional network through the cingulum. Significance: The present study provides new insight into the human limbic network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most portions of the Papez circuit have been identified by diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). However, no DTT study on the proportion of the Papez circuit between the anterior thalamic nuclei and cingulate gyrus has been reported. We attempted to reconstruct the thalamocortical tract between the anterior thalamic nuclei and cingulate gyrus using DTT. All the reconstructed thalamocortical tracts originated from the anterior thalamic nuclei, ascended through the genu of the internal capsule, the anterior limb of the internal capsule, and the white matter around the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle in the anterior and lateral direction, and then terminated at the anterior cingulate gyrus. In terms of FA, MD, and tract volume, no significant differences were observed between hemispheres ( p > 0.05). We reconstructed the thalamocortical tract between the anterior thalamic nucleus and cingulate gyrus in the human brain using DTT. We believe that the methodology and results of this study will be helpful to researchers investigating the Papez circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]