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Background: Cannabis is one of the most commonly used substances in the United States. Prior literature using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified that individuals with Cannabis use disorder (CUD) show impairments in emotion processing circuitry. However, whether the functional networks involving these regions are also altered in CUD remains poorly understood. Aims: Investigate changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in regions related to emotional processing in CUD. Methods: Sixty-two participants completed resting-state fMRI, including 21 with CUD, 20 with histories of illicit substance use but no current CUD diagnosis, and 21 with no history of illicit substance use. Whole-brain seed-based connectivity analyses were performed and one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to detect group differences in the bilateral amygdalae, hippocampi, and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices. Results: The CUD group exhibited significant reductions in rsFC between the amygdala and the cuneus, paracentral lobule, and supplementary motor area, and between the cingulate cortices and the occipital and temporal lobes. There were no significant group differences in hippocampal functional connectivity. In addition, CUD symptom counts based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID) and the Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test (CUDIT) significantly correlated with multiple connectivity metrics. Conclusion: These data expand on emerging literature indicating that CUD is associated with dysfunction in the neural circuits underlying emotion processing. Dysfunction in emotion processing circuits may play a role in the behavioral impairments seen in emotion processing tasks in individuals with CUD, and the severity of CUD symptoms appears to be directly related to the degree of dysfunction in these circuits.

Background: The human paracentral lobule (PCL) is the medial continuation of the precentral and postcentral gyri. It has important functional area related to the lower limb and perineum. Its visible surface that corresponds to magnetic resonance imaging scout images varies in morphology, so it requires exact data. Studies related to such data are rare. With such a facile, we studied the morphology and morphometry of PCL. Materials and Methods: Fifty formalin-fixed adult human brains dissected in the midsagittal plane were used in this study. First, the morphological types of PCL and its boundary were determined, followed by morphometry of its extrasulcal surface using digital vernier calipers. Measurements were done along the anteroposterior axis (length) and vertical axis (height). In addition to that, the extent of motor and sensory area into PCL was also measured. Results: Three distinct morphological types of PCL were found: continuous (2%), partially segmented (91%), and completely segmented type (7%). In completely segmented type, a short transitional lobulolimbic gyrus was also found in three cases. The mean extrasulcal surface of the left PCL was significantly larger, both in males (left 10.67 cm2 vs. right 8.80 cm2) and in females (left 8.80 cm2 vs. right 6.99 cm2). Irrespective of gender and sidedness, motor area was significantly larger than the sensory area. Conclusion: Reported data will be useful in diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the human PCL. Variations in the distribution of sensorimotor cortex over PCL may help further assessment of hemispheric lateralization and the location of central sulcus as a reliable indicator of cytoarchitectonic borders.

BACKGROUND Adolescence is a critical period for neural development and has been associated with high rates of alcohol abuse. This research examined potential long-term brain and behavioral effects of early versus late-onset adolescent binge drinking in an adult sample of post-9/11 Veterans. METHODS We compared cortical thickness measures in Veterans with a history of binge drinking that began before the age of 15 (n = 50; mean age = 32.1 years) to those with a history of binge drinking with onset after the age of 15 (n = 300; mean age = 32.1 years). Data processing was conducted with FreeSurfer. A targeted neuropsychological battery (Digit Span test, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Color-Word Interference Test, California Verbal Learning Test-II) was used to examine the relationships between cortical thickness and attention, memory, and inhibition. A reference group of social drinkers with no history of early binge drinking (n = 31) was used to provide normative data. RESULTS Early-onset adolescent binge drinkers (EBD) had greater cortical thickness in several regions than late-onset adolescent binge drinkers (LBD); both binge-drinking groups had greater cortical thickness than the reference group. There was a stronger negative association between cortical thickness and age in EBDs than LBDs in the (i) lateral orbitofrontal cortex, (ii) supramarginal gyrus, (iii) paracentral lobule, and (iv) anterior caudal cingulate. Poorer performance on the attention and inhibition tasks in the EBDs was also associated with thicker cortices. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates greater cortical thickness across frontoparietal regions in adults who began binge drinking in early versus late adolescence. A stronger negative association between cortical thickness and age in the EBDs suggests that early-onset adolescent binge drinking may be associated with accelerated cortical thinning. Thicker cortex in these regions, which are known to mediate inhibitory control, may increase impulsive behavior and contribute to the risk of alcohol addiction.

Background It has been proposed that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) show dysfunctional computations related to approach-avoidance decision-making. However, few studies have examined the neural basis of this impairment, particularly in adolescents with GAD. The goal of the current study was to address this gap in the literature. Method The study involved 51 adolescents with GAD and 51 typically developing (TD) comparison individuals matched on age (16.10 and 15.75 respective means), gender (30 F/21 M and 24 F/27 M), and IQ (103.20 and 103.18 respective means). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a passive avoidance task. Results We found a significant Group-by-Reinforcement interaction within reward-related brain regions including the caudate, putamen, mid cingulate/paracentral lobule, and superior and middle frontal gyrus. TD adolescents showed a greater differential response to reward versus punishment feedback within these regions relative to adolescents with GAD. In particular, this reflected reduced responses to rewards in the adolescents with GAD. There were no group differences in neural responses when making approach/avoidance responses. Conclusion The results of this study suggest reduced differential responsiveness to reinforcement as a component of the pathophysiology seen in adolescents with GAD. This dysfunction likely underpins decision-making impairments that may exacerbate the participants' worry.

The cingulate gyrus is part of the limbic system with extensive connectivity to different anatomical and functional areas. The traditional transcortical approach for a cingulate gyrus glioma contains high risk of transient or even irreversible postoperative hemiplegia. We present a case of gravity-assisted, fully endoscopic resection of a cingulate gyrus glioma with improvement of motor dysfunction while preserving the paracentral lobule, corticospinal tracts, and supplementary motor area. This case demonstrates the value of gravity-assisted endoscopic resection in the dominant cingulate gyrus tumor which is surrounded by eloquent parenchyma.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is characterized by chronic pain in pelvic area and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated that chronic pain was associated with the altered brain activity. However, the pathological mechanisms associated with altered brain control of CP/CPPS are not well-understood. Therefore, we sought to investigate the topological properties of white matter brain networks in patients with CP/CPPS and whether the topological configuration of frontal-parietal control network was disrupted. We collected 19 patients with CP/CPPS and 32 matched healthy controls (HCs). Diffusion tensor imaging data of all participates were used to map the white matter structural networks. Graph theoretical method was applied to investigate the alterations of topological properties of brain network in patients. Moreover, we also investigated whether the alerted brain regions might be correlated with any clinical features of patients by the method of Pearson correlation analysis. Both CP/CPPS patients and HCs exhibited a 'small-world' behavior or economical small-world architecture of the white matter brain networks. In addition, CP/CPPS had a lower global efficiency in the right middle frontal gyrus (orbital part) and a higher global efficiency in the left middle cingulate and paracingulate gyri. CP/CPPS also showed increased local efficiency in the left middle cingulate and paracingulate gyri and paracentral lobule. Moreover, the local efficiency of the left middle cingulate gyrus was positively correlated with the scores of the influence of symptoms on the quality of life. The local efficiency of the left precuneus and right supplementary motor area were positively correlated with the total scores of NIH-CPSI and the scores of pain and discomfort symptoms, respectively. Together, we found that patients with CP/CPPS had alterations of connections within the frontal-parietal control network, which suggested that the altered connectivity involved in the executive control processing procedures might contribute to the pathogenesis of the pelvic pain and LUTS in CP/CPPS. Thus these results provided new insights into the understanding of CP/CPPS.

Object. To explore the specific effect of the international standard scalp acupuncture (ISSA) on patients with brain dysfunction after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI). Design. A parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Participants. 30 hemiplegic patients with middle cerebral artery acute infarction of the dominant hemisphere. Interventions. 30 patients were divided into 2 groups randomly. 15 patients in the treatment group (TG) were treated with ISSA, needling at the parietal midline (MS5) and left anterior/posterior parietal-temporal oblique lines (MS6 and MS7), combined with western routine treatment. While another 15 patients in the control group (CG) received routine treatment only. Main Outcome Measures. (1) Functional connectivity (FC): patients received brain scan using 3.0 T MRI after the treatment for 1 week. Based on the Matlab2012a platform, SPM12 software and DPABI software were used to process the scanning data and finally the functional connectivity of the brain was obtained. (2) National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. Results. The difference in the NIHSS score between the two groups of patients before and after treatment was statistically significant (tNIHSS = 2.225; PNIHSS = 0.038), indicating that TG had a better effect. Centered to the seed region of the left supplementary motor area (SMA) (−5.32, 4.85, 61.38), FC increased at the left middle cerebellar peduncle, left cerebellum posterior lobe (uvula and declive), vermis, fusiform gyrus, lingual gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, calcarine, cuneus, precuneus, BA7, BA18 and BA19, etc. Centered to the seed region of the left parahippocampal gyrus (PG) (−21.17, −15.95, −20.70), FC increased at the left precuneus, inside-paracingulate, inferior parietal gyrus, paracentral lobule, BA5, BA6, BA7, and BA40, right median cingulate, precuneus, BA19, BA23, and BA31, etc. Conclusions. It is indicated that ISSA can regulate the brain functional connection in patients with middle cerebral artery acute infarction in the dominant hemisphere and specifically strengthen the connections between visual, cognitive, motor control, and planning-related brain regions, which may be related to the recovery of movement in the mechanism. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-IOR-15007672.

Multiple reports for brain functional and structural alterations in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) were published. The current study aimed to meta-analyze the existing neuroimaging data and hence produce a brain map revealing areas with functional and structural differences between patients with CD and healthy controls. Original studies published until 2019 were identified from Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases, and included into the analysis if they reported relevant results from task-related or resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI or rsfMRI) or voxel-based morphometry (VBM), in the form of standardized brain coordinates based on whole-brain analysis. The brain coordinates and sample size of significant results were extracted from eligible studies to be meta-analyzed with the activation likelihood estimation method using the GingerALE software. Sixteen original studies comprised of a total of 865 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Compared to healthy controls, patients with CD had reduced resting state brain connectivity in the paracentral lobule and cingulate gyrus as well as reduced grey matter volume in the medial frontal gyrus. No significant results were found vice versa. These neural correlates allow a better understanding on the effects of CD on the pain expectation, emotion, and quality of life of patients and potentially serve as useful biomarkers for evaluating treatment efficacy.

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to investigate the anatomical consistency, morphology, axonal connectivity, and correlative topography of the dorsal component of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF-I) since the current literature is limited and ambiguous.METHODSFifteen normal, adult, formalin-fixed cerebral hemispheres were studied through a medial to lateral fiber microdissection technique. In 5 specimens, the authors performed stepwise focused dissections of the lateral cerebral aspect to delineate the correlative anatomy between the SLF-I and the other two SLF subcomponents, namely the SLF-II and SLF-III.RESULTSThe SLF-I was readily identified as a distinct fiber tract running within the cingulate or paracingulate gyrus and connecting the anterior cingulate cortex, the medial aspect of the superior frontal gyrus, the pre–supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the SMA proper, the paracentral lobule, and the precuneus. With regard to the morphology of the SLF-I, two discrete segments were consistently recorded: an anterior and a posterior segment. A clear cleavage plane could be developed between the SLF-I and the cingulum, thus proving their structural integrity. Interestingly, no anatomical connection was revealed between the SLF-I and the SLF-II/SLF-III complex.CONCLUSIONSStudy results provide novel and robust anatomical evidence on the topography, morphology, and subcortical architecture of the SLF-I. This fiber tract was consistently recorded as a distinct anatomical entity of the medial cerebral aspect, participating in the axonal connectivity of high-order paralimbic areas.

Introduction The projection of the human male urogenital system onto the paracentral lobule has not previously been mapped comprehensively. Aim To map specific urogenital structures onto the primary somatosensory cortex toward a better understanding of sexual response in men. Methods Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we mapped primary somatosensory cortical responses to self-stimulation of the penis shaft, glans, testicles, scrotum, rectum, urethra, prostate, perineum, and nipple. We further compared neural response with erotic and prosaic touch of the penile shaft. Main Outcome Measure We identified the primary mapping site of urogenital structures on the paracentral lobule and identified networks involved in perceiving touch as erotic. Results We mapped sites on the primary somatosensory cortex to which components of the urogenital structures project in men. Evidence is provided that penile cutaneous projection is different from deep penile projection. Similar to a prior report in women, we show that the nipple projects to the same somatosensory cortical region as the genitals. Evidence of differential representation of erotic and nonerotic genital self-stimulation is also provided, the former activating sensory networks other than the primary sensory cortex, indicating a role of “top-down” activity in erotic response. Clinical Implications We map primary sites of projection of urogenital structures to the primary somatosensory cortex and differentiate cortical sites of erotic from nonerotic genital self-stimulation. Strength & Limitations To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive mapping onto the primary somatosensory cortex of the projection of the components of the urogenital system in men and the difference in cortical activation in response to erotic vs nonerotic self-stimulation. The nipple was found to project to the same cortical region as the genitals. Evidence is provided that superficial and deep penile stimulation project differentially to the cortex, suggesting that sensory innervation of the penis is provided by more than the (pudendal) dorsal nerve. Conclusion This study reconciles prior apparently conflicting findings and offers a comprehensive mapping of male genital components to the paracentral lobule. We provide evidence of differential projection of light touch vs pressure applied to the penile shaft, suggesting differential innervation of its superficial, vs deep structure. Similar to the response in women, we found nipple projection to genital areas of the paracentral lobule. We also provide evidence of differential representation of erotic and nonerotic genital self-stimulation, the former activating sensory networks other than the primary sensory cortex, indicating a role of top-down activity in erotic response.

Background It is difficult to distinguish bipolar disorder (BD) from major depressive disorder (MDD), especially with the initial depressive episode. In this study, we compared neural activities of BD and MDD patients during the first-episode (FE) to investigate common and distinct neural activities and further explore predictive indicators in the two diseases. Methods FE-MDD patients were performed resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging and followed up after scanning. After follow-up, FE-MDD patients were regrouped into FE-BD and FE-MDD patients. The study included 24 FE-BD patients, 28 FE-MDD patients, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) to investigate neural activities with regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis among the 3 groups. Results Compared to HC, FE-BD patients displayed significantly higher ReHo values in the superior frontal gyrus, the medial superior frontal gyrus within right-side cerebral hemisphere than FE-MDD patients and HC. Compared to HC, FE-BD and FE-MDD patients displayed significant decreased ReHo values in the paracentral lobule, the precuneus and the median cingulate and paracingulate gyrus within bilateral cerebral hemisphere, and the postcentral gyrus and the precentral gyrus within the right-side. FE-BD displayed significant lower ReHo values than FE-MDD patients in these regions. Limitations The potential effects of medicine, age, course of disease and handedness on results could not be ignored. Conclusions Abnormal neural activities of frontoparietal network may provide common and distinct markers to affective disorders and scientific basis for further prediction researches of affective disorders.

In addition to the well-established somatotopy in the pre- and post-central gyrus, there is now strong evidence that somatotopic organization is evident across other regions in the sensorimotor network. This raises several experimental questions: To what extent is activity in the sensorimotor network effector-dependent and effector-independent? How important is the sensorimotor cortex when predicting the motor effector? Is there redundancy in the distributed somatotopically organized network such that removing one region has little impact on classification accuracy? To answer these questions, we developed a novel experimental approach. fMRI data were collected while human subjects performed a precisely controlled force generation task separately with their hand, foot, and mouth. We used a simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) algorithm to segment whole-brain beta coefficient maps to build an adaptive brain parcellation and then classified effectors using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) based on parcellations at various spatial resolutions. This allowed us to understand how data-driven adaptive brain parcellation granularity altered classification accuracy. Results revealed effector-dependent activity in regions of the post-central gyrus, precentral gyrus, and paracentral lobule. SMA, regions of the inferior and superior parietal lobule, and cerebellum each contained effector-dependent and effector-independent representations. Machine learning analyses showed that increasing the spatial resolution of the data-driven model increased classification accuracy, which reached 94% with 1755 supervoxels. Our SLIC-based supervoxel parcellation outperformed classification analyses using established brain templates and random simulations. Occlusion experiments further demonstrated redundancy across the sensorimotor network when classifying effectors. Our observations extend our understanding of effector-dependent and effector-independent organization within the human brain and provide new insight into the functional neuroanatomy required to predict the motor effector used in a motor control task.

Strabismus occurs in about 2% of children and may result in amblyopia or lazy eyes and loss of depth perception. However, whether/how long-term strabismus shapes the brain structure and functions in children with concomitant strabismus (CS) is still unclear. In this study, a total of 26 patients with CS and 28 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging examination. The cortical thickness and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) were calculated to assess the structural and functional plasticity in children with CS. Compared with HCs group, patients with CS showed increased cortical thickness in the precentral gyrus and angular gyrus while decreased cortical thickness in the left intraparietal sulcus, parieto-occipital sulcus, superior and middle temporal gyrus, right ventral premotor cortex, anterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and paracentral lobule. Meanwhile, CS patients exhibited increased ALFF in the prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus, and decreased ALFF in the caudate and hippocampus. These results show that children with CS have abnormal structure and function in brain regions subserving eye movement, controls, and high-order cognitive functions. Our findings revealed the structural and functional abnormalities induced by CS and may provide new insight into the underlying neural mechanisms for CS.

IntroductionResting state functional connectivity (FC) is widely used to assess functional brain alterations in patients with chronic pain. However, reports of FC changes accompanying tonic pain in pain-free persons is rare. A brain network disrupted during chronic pain is a network we term the Descending Pain Modulatory Network (DPMN). Here, we evaluate the effect of tonic pain on FC of this network: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala (AMYG), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and parabrachial nuclei (PBN).MethodsIn 50 pain-free participants (30F), we induced tonic pain using a capsaicin-heat pain model. We used functional MRI to measure resting BOLD signal during pain-free rest where participants experienced warmth and tonic pain where participants experienced the same temperature thermode combined with capsaicin. We evaluated FC from ACC, AMYG, PAG, and PBN with correlation of self-report pain intensity with FC during both states. We hypothesized tonic pain would disrupt FC dyads within the DPMN. We used partial correlation to determine FC correlated with pain intensity and BOLD signal.ResultsOf hypothesized FC dyads, PAG and subgenual ACC was weakly disrupted during tonic pain (F=3.34; p=0.074; pain-free>pain d=0.25). sgACC-PAG FC became positively related to pain intensity (R=0.38; t=2.81; p=0.007). Right PBN-PAG FC during pain-free rest positively correlated with subsequently experienced pain (R=0.44; t=3.43; p=0.001). During tonic pain, FC of this connection was abolished (paired t=-3.17; p=0.0026). During pain-free rest, FC between left AMYG and right superior parietal lobule and caudate nucleus were positively correlated with subsequent pain. During tonic pain, FC between left AMYG and right inferior temporal and superior frontal gyri negatively correlated with pain. Subsequent pain positively correlated with right AMYG FC and right claustrum; left and right primary visual cortex; right middle temporal gyrus and right temporo-occipitoparietal junction. Finally, subsequent pain positively correlated with PAG FC and left cerebellum, left dorsolateral prefrontal, right posterior cingulate cortex and paracentral lobule, inferior parietal lobule, medial precuneus and PBN.ConclusionWe demonstrate 1) tonic pain weakly disrupts of sgACC-PAG FC; 2) sgACC-PAG tonic pain FC positively correlates with pain; 3) right PBN-PAG FC predicts subsequent pain and is abolished during tonic pain. Finally, we reveal PAG- and right AMYG-anchored networks which predict intensity of tonic pain. Our findings suggest specific connectivity patterns within the DPMN at rest predict experienced pain and are modulated by tonic pain. These nodes and their functional modulation may reveal new therapeutic targets for neuromodulation and biomarkers to guide interventions.HighlightsParabrachial-periaqueductal gray (PAG) functional connectivity (FC) predicts painSubgenual anterior cingulate cortex-PAG FC correlates with pain during tonic painPAG- and amydalocortical networks at rest predict tonic pain intensityResting FC of PAG supports cortical targets of neuromodulation to control pain

Background. Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) undergoing deep brain electrode implantation experience a temporary improvement in motor symptoms before the electrical stimulation begins. We usually call this the microlesion effect (MLE), but the mechanism behind it is not clear. Purpose. This study aimed to assess the alterations in brain functions at the regional and whole-brain levels, using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC), during the postoperative microlesion period after deep brain stimulation (DBS) in PD patients. Method. Resting-state functional MRI data were collected from 27 PD patients before and after the first day of DBS and 12 healthy controls (HCs) in this study. The ReHo in combination with FC analysis was used to investigate the alterations of regional brain activity in all the subjects. Results. There were increased ReHo in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit (left supplementary motor area and bilateral paracentral lobule), whereas decreased ReHo in the default mode network (DMN) (left angular gyrus, bilateral precuneus), prefrontal cortex (bilateral middle frontal gyrus), and the cerebello-thalamocortical (CTC) circuit (Cerebellum_crus2/1_L) after DBS. In addition, we also found abnormal FC in the lingual gyrus, cerebellum, and DMN. Conclusion. Microlesion of the thalamus caused by electrode implantation can alter the activity of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit, prefrontal cortex, DMN, and CTC circuit and induce abnormal FC in the lingual gyrus, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and DMN among PD patients. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of MLE.

Highlights • Volumetric abnormalities detected in the perirhinal, entorhinal memory regions. • Volumetric abnormalities detected in key additional brain regions. • Extensive clinical validation of previous Down Syndrome findings included. • Perirhinal and entorhinal involvement in Alzheimer’s etiology hypothesized., Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21 and characterized by intellectual disability. We hypothesize that performing a retrospective analysis of 73 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of participants with DS (aged 0 to 22 years) and comparing them to a large cohort of 993 brain MRI examinations of neurotypical participants (aged 0 to 32 years), will assist in better understanding what brain differences may explain phenotypic developmental features in DS, as well as to provide valuable confirmation of prospective literature findings clinically. Measurements for both absolute volumes and volumes corrected as a percentage of estimated total intracranial volume (%ETIV) were extracted from each examination. Our results presented novel findings such as volume increases (%ETIV) in the perirhinal cortex, entorhinal cortex, choroid plexus, and Brodmann’s areas (BA) 3a, 3b, and 44, as well as volume decreases (%ETIV) in the white matter of the cuneus, the paracentral lobule, the postcentral gyrus, and the supramarginal gyrus. We also confirmed volumetric brain abnormalities previously discussed in the literature. Findings suggest the presence of volumetric brain abnormalities in DS that can be detected clinically with MRI.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder clinically characterized by muscle atrophy and progressive paralysis. In addition to the classical ALS affecting both the upper and lower motoneurons (UMN and LMN), other subtypes with the predominant (or even exclusive) affection of the UMN or LMN have been identified. This work sought to detect specific patterns of cortical brain atrophy in the UMN and LMN phenotypes to distinguish these two forms from the healthy state. Methods: Using high-resolution structural MRI and cortical thickness analysis, 38 patients with a diagnosis of ALS and predominance of either the UMN (n = 20) or the LMN (n = 18) phenotype were investigated. Results: Significant cortical thinning in the temporal lobe was found in both the ALS groups. Additionally, UMN patients displayed a significant thinning of the cortical thickness in the pre- and postcentral gyrus, as well as the paracentral lobule. By applying multivariate analyses based on the cortical thicknesses of 34 brain regions, ALS patients with either a predominant UMN or LMN phenotype were distinguished from healthy controls with an accuracy of 94% and UMN from LMN patients with an accuracy of 75%. Conclusions: These findings support previous hypothesis that neural degeneration in ALS is not confined to the sole motor regions. In addition, the amount of cortical thinning in the temporal lobe helps to distinguish ALS patients from healthy controls, that is, to support or discourage the diagnosis of ALS, while the cortical thickness of the precentral gyrus specifically helps to distinguish the UMN from the LMN phenotype.

IntroductionA computationally fast machine learning method is introduced for uncovering the wholebrain voxel-level connectomic spectra that differentiates different status of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The method is applied to the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Fluorinefluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) imaging and clinical data and identified novel AD/MCI differentiating connectomic neuroimaging biomarkers.MethodsA divide-and-conquer algorithm is introduced for detect informative local brain networks at voxel level and whole-brain scale. The connection information within the local networks is integrated into the node voxels, which makes detection of the marginally weak signals possible. Prediction accuracy is significantly improved by incorporating the local brain networks and marginally weak signals.ResultsBrain connectomic structures differentiating AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD and healthy, and MIC and healthy were discovered. We identified novel AD/MCI-associated neuroimaging biomarkers by integrating local brain networks and marginally weak signals. For example, networkbased signals in paracentral lobule (p-value=6.1e-5), olfactory cortex (p-value=4.6e-5), caudate nucleus (1.8e-3) and precentral gyrus (1.8e-3) are informative in differentiating AD and MCI. Connections between calcarine sulcus and lingual gyrus (p-value=0.049), between parahippocampal gyrus and Amygdala (p-value=0.025), between rolandic opercula and insula lobes (p-values=0.0028 and 0.0026). An overall prediction accuracy of 95.3% was achieved by integrating the selected local brain networks and marginally weak signals, compared to 84.0% by not considering the inter-voxel connections and using marginally strong signals only.Conclusion(i) The connectomic structures differentiating AD and MCI are significantly different to that differentiating MCI and healthy, which may indicate different neuronal etiology for AD and MCI. (ii) Many neuroimaging biomarkers exert their effects on the outcome diseases through their connections to other markers. Integrating such connections can help identify novel neuroimaging biomarkers and improve disease prediction accuracy.

Background Previous studies have found widespread pain processing alterations in the brain in chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients. We aimed to (1) identify brain regions showing altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) using MRI and use these regions to discriminate cLBP patients from healthy controls (HCs) and (2) identify brain regions that are sensitive to cLBP pain intensity changes. Methods We compared ALFF differences by MRI between cLBP subjects (90) and HCs (74), conducted a discriminative analysis to validate the results, and explored structural changes in key brain regions of cLBP. We also compared ALFF changes in cLBP patients after pain-exacerbating manoeuvres. Results ALFF was increased in the post-/precentral gyrus (PoG/PrG), paracentral lobule (PCL)/supplementary motor area (SMA), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and grey matter volume was increased in the left ACC in cLBP patients. PCL/SMA ALFF reliably discriminated cLBP patients from HCs in an independent cohort. cLBP patients showed increased ALFF in the insula, amygdala, hippocampal/parahippocampal gyrus, and thalamus and decreased ALFF in the default mode network (DMN) when their spontaneous low back pain intensity increased after the pain-exacerbating manoeuvre. Conclusions Brain low-frequency oscillations in the PCL, SMA, PoG, PrG, and ACC may be associated with the neuropathology of cLBP. Low-frequency oscillations in the insula, amygdala, hippocampal/parahippocampal gyrus, thalamus, and DMN are sensitive to manoeuvre-induced spontaneous back pain intensity changes.

The precuneus is a functionally heterogeneous area located on the medial face of the parietal cortex, wedged between the occipital cortex and the paracentral lobule. In view of its topological positioning, this associative cortex is well-placed to play an important role in multisensory integration, specific aspects of which participate to bodily awareness. However, this potential implication remains unestablished. We assessed bodily awareness longitudinally in 14 rare patients who underwent a surgery for a low-grade glioma mainly infiltrating the precuneus. To determine the brain locus the most frequently affected in patients showing bodily awareness disorders, we first contrasted the resection cavity distributions of patients with versus without bodily awareness disorders. We next applied ‘lesion network mapping’ to identify the networks functionally coupled with lesion locations causing bodily awareness disorder. Bodily awareness disorders were observed in half of patients after surgery, especially alien hand, macrosomatognosia and fading limb. Importantly, a dissociation was revealed between the antero-dorsal precuneus (bodily awareness disorders) and postero-dorsal precuneus (no bodily awareness disorders). Furthermore, bodily awareness disorder-related regions were specifically connected to a network of sensorimotor regions while others were connected with the default network. Altogether, the present findings indicate a critical role of the antero-dorsal precuneus in specific aspects of bodily awareness and in the maintenance of body schema.

Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease in which cerebral structural impairment is a consistent feature. Purpose To investigate cerebral microstructural changes in ALS using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for the first time. Study type Prospective. Subjects Eighteen ALS patients and 20 healthy controls. Field strength/sequence DKI images were obtained by a spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence on a 3T MRI scanner, with three b-values (0, 1000, and 2000 s/mm2 ) and 64 diffusion encoding directions. Assessment The revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) was administered to assess disease severity, and the symptom duration and disease progression rate were also recorded. Voxel-based analysis was applied to examine the alteration of DKI metrics (ie, mean kurtosis metrics [MK], axial kurtosis [AK], and radial kurtosis [RK]) and the conventional diffusion metrics (ie, fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity). Statistical tests Student's t-test, chi-square test, and Pearson correlation analysis. Results ALS patients showed MK reductions in gray matter areas, including the bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral paracentral lobule, and left anterior cingulate gyrus; they also showed decreased MK values in white matter (WM) in the bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral corona radiata, bilateral middle corpus callosum, left occipital lobe, and right superior parietal lobule. The spatial distribution of the regions with reduced RK was similar to those with decreased MK. No significant AK difference was found between groups. The correlation analysis revealed significant associations between DKI metrics and clinical assessments such as ALSFRS-R score and disease duration. Additionally, several WM regions showed between-group differences in conventional diffusion metrics; but the spatial extent was smaller than that with reduced DKI metrics. Data conclusion The reduction in DKI metrics indicates decreased microstructural complexity in ALS, involving both motor-related areas and extramotor regions. DKI metrics can serve as potential biomarkers for assessing disease severity. Level of evidence 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:554-562.

Background REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) occurs frequently in patients with synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy body, or multiple system atrophy, but may also occur as a prodromal stage of those diseases; and is termed idiopathic RBD (iRBD) when not accompanied by other symptoms. Cholinergic degeneration of the mesopontine nuclei have been described in synucleinopathies with or without RBD, but this has not yet been explored in iRBD. We sought to assess cholinergic neuronal integrity in iRBD using PET neuroimaging with the 18F-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (FEOBV). Methods The sample included 10 participants evenly divided between healthy subjects and patients with iRBD. Polysomnography and PET imaging with FEOBV were performed in all participants. Standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were compared between the two groups using voxel wise t-tests. Non-parametric correlations were also computed in patients with iRBD between FEOBV uptake and muscle tonic and phasic activity during REM sleep. Results Compared with healthy participants, significantly higher FEOBV uptakes were observed in patients with iRBD. The largest differences were observed in specific brainstem areas corresponding to the bulbar reticular formation, pontine coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex, tegmental periacqueductal grey, and mesopontine cholinergic nuclei. FEOBV uptake in iRBD was also higher than in controls in the ventromedial area of the thalamus, deep cerebellar nuclei, and some cortical territories (including the paracentral lobule, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex). Significant correlation was found between muscle activity during REM sleep, and SUVR increases in both the mesopontine area and paracentral cortex. Conclusion We showed here for the first time the brain cholinergic alterations in patients with iRBD. As opposed to the cholinergic depletion described previously in RBD associated with clinical Parkinson's disease, increased cholinergic innervation was found in multiple areas in iRBD. The most significant changes were observed in brainstem areas containing structures involved in the promotion of REM sleep and muscle atonia. This suggests that iRBD might be a clinical condition in which compensatory cholinergic upregulation in those areas occurs in association with the initial phases of a neurodegenerative process leading to a clinically observable synucleinopathy.

International audience; The supplementary motor area (SMA) has been shown to be involved in interval timing but its precise role remains a matter of debate. The present study was aimed at examining, by means of intracerebral EEG recordings, the time course of the activity in this structure, as well as in other functionally connected cortical (frontal, cingulate, insular and temporal) areas, during a visual time reproduction task. Four patients undergoing stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) for presurgical investigation of refractory focal epilepsy were enrolled. They were selected on the presence of depth electrodes implanted within the SMA. They were instructed to encode, keep in memory and then reproduce the duration (3, 5 and 7 s) of emotionally-neutral or negative pictures. Emotional stimuli were used with the aim of examining neural correlates of temporal distortions induced by emotion. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were analyzed during three periods: During and at the extinction of the target interval (TI) and at the beginning of the reproduction interval (RI). Electrophysiological data revealed an ERP time-locked to TI-offset whose amplitude varied monotonically with TI-duration. This effect was observed in three out of the four patients, especially within the SMA and the insula. It also involved the middle and anterior cingulate cortex, the superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri and the paracentral lobule. These effects were modulated by the prior TI-duration and predicted variations in temporal reproduction accuracy. In contrast, modulations of ERPs with TI-duration, emotion or temporal performance during the target or the reproduction interval were modest and less consistent across patients. These results demonstrate that, during reproduction of supra-second time intervals, the SMA, in concert with a fronto-insular network, is involved at the end of the target interval, and suggest a role in the duration categorization and decision making operations or alternatively in the preparedness of the timing of the future movement that will be executed during the reproduction phase.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with social communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors and is characterized by large-scale atypical subcortical-cortical connectivity, including impaired resting-state functional connectivity between thalamic and sensory regions. Previous studies have typically focused on the abnormal static connectivity in ASD and overlooked potential valuable dynamic patterns in brain connectivity. However, resting-state brain connectivity is indeed highly dynamic, and abnormalities in dynamic brain connectivity have been widely identified in psychiatric disorders. In this study, we investigated the dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) between 51 intrinsic connectivity networks in 170 individuals with ASD and 195 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls using independent component analysis and a sliding window approach. A hard clustering state analysis and a fuzzy meta-state analysis were conducted respectively, for the exploration of local and global aberrant dynamic connectivity patterns in ASD. We examined the group difference in dFNC between thalamic and sensory networks in each functional state and group differences in four high-dimensional dynamic measures. The results showed that compared with TD controls, individuals with ASD show an increase in transient connectivity between hypothalamus/subthalamus and some sensory networks (right postcentral gyrus, bi paracentral lobule, and lingual gyrus) in certain functional states, and diminished global meta-state dynamics of the whole-brain functional network. In addition, these atypical dynamic patterns are significantly associated with autistic symptoms indexed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. These converging results support and extend previous observations regarding hyperconnectivity between thalamic and sensory regions and stable whole-brain functional configuration in ASD. Dynamic brain connectivity may serve as a potential biomarker of ASD and further investigation of these dynamic patterns might help to advance our understanding of behavioral differences in this complex neurodevelopmental disorder.

Psychosis disorders share overlapping symptoms and are characterized by a wide-spread breakdown in functional brain integration. Although neuroimaging studies have identified numerous connectivity abnormalities in affective and non-affective psychoses, whether they have specific or unique connectivity abnormalities, especially within the early stage is still poorly understood. The early phase of psychosis is a critical period with fewer chronic confounds and when treatment intervention may be most effective. In this work, we examined whole-brain functional network connectivity (FNC) from both static and dynamic perspectives in patients with affective psychosis (PAP) or with non-affective psychosis (PnAP) and healthy controls (HCs). A fully automated independent component analysis (ICA) pipeline called “Neuromark” was applied to high-quality functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data with 113 early-phase psychosis patients (32 PAP and 81 PnAP) and 52 HCs. Relative to the HCs, both psychosis groups showed common abnormalities in static FNC (sFNC) between the thalamus and sensorimotor domain, and between subcortical regions and the cerebellum. PAP had specifically decreased sFNC between the superior temporal gyrus and the paracentral lobule, and between the cerebellum and the middle temporal gyrus/inferior parietal lobule. On the other hand, PnAP showed increased sFNC between the fusiform gyrus and the superior medial frontal gyrus. Dynamic FNC (dFNC) was investigated using a combination of a sliding window approach, clustering analysis, and graph analysis. Three reoccurring brain states were identified, among which both psychosis groups had fewer occurrences in one antagonism state (state 2) and showed decreased network efficiency within an intermediate state (state 1). Compared with HCs and PnAP, PAP also showed a significantly increased number of state transitions, indicating more unstable brain connections in affective psychosis. We further found that the identified connectivity features were associated with the overall positive and negative syndrome scale, an assessment instrument for general psychopathology and positive symptoms. Our findings support the view that subcortical-cortical information processing is disrupted within five years of the initial onset of psychosis and provide new evidence that abnormalities in both static and dynamic connectivity consist of shared and unique features for the early affective and non-affective psychoses.

Clinical effects of anti-cholinergic drugs implicate cholinergic systems alterations in the pathophysiology of some cardinal motor impairments in Parkinson’s disease. The topography of affected cholinergic systems deficits and motor domain specificity are poorly understood. Parkinson's disease patients (n = 108) underwent clinical and motor assessment and vesicular acetylcholine transporter [18F]-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol PET imaging. Volumes-of-interest-based analyses included detailed thalamic and cerebellar parcellations. Successful PET sampling for most of the small-sized parcellations was available in 88 patients. A data-driven approach, stepwise regression using the forward selection method, was used to identify cholinergic brain regions associating with cardinal domain-specific motor ratings. Regressions with motor domain scores for model-selected regions followed by confounder analysis for effects of age of onset, duration of motor disease and levodopa equivalent dose were performed. Among 7 model-derived regions associating with postural instability and gait difficulties domain scores three retained significance in confounder variable analysis: medial geniculate nucleus (standardized β = −0.34, t = −3.78, P = 0.0003), lateral geniculate nucleus (β = −0.32, t = −3.4, P = 0.001) and entorhinal cortex (β = −0.23, t = −2.6, P = 0.011). A sub-analysis of non-episodic postural instability and gait difficulties scores demonstrated significant effects of the medial geniculate nucleus, entorhinal cortex and globus pallidus pars interna. Among 6 tremor domain model-selected regions two regions retained significance in confounder variable analysis: cerebellar vermis section of lobule VIIIb (β = −0.22, t = −2.4, P = 0.021) and the putamen (β = −0.23, t = −2.3, P = 0.024). None of the three model-selected variables for the rigidity domain survived confounder analysis. Two out of the four model-selected regions for the distal limb bradykinesia domain survived confounder analysis: globus pallidus pars externa (β = 0.36, t = 3.9, P = 0.0097) and the paracentral lobule (β = 0.26, t = 2.5, P = 0.013). Emphasizing the utility of a systems-network conception of the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease cardinal motor features, our results are consistent with specific deficits in basal forebrain corticopetal, peduncupontine-laterodorsal tegmental complex, and medial vestibular nucleus cholinergic pathways, against the background of nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficits, contributing significantly to postural instability, gait difficulties, tremor and distal limb bradykinesia cardinal motor features of Parkinson’s disease. Our results suggest significant and distinct consequences of degeneration of cholinergic peduncupontine-laterodorsal tegmental complex afferents to both segments of the globus pallidus. Non-specific regional cholinergic nerve terminal associations with rigidity scores likely reflect more complex multifactorial signalling mechanisms with smaller contributions from cholinergic pathways., Bohnen et al. investigated cholinergic PET correlates of cardinal motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease using complementary analysis approaches. Axial motor and tremor scores significantly associated with different and system-wide cholinergic pathways but evidence for distal limb bradykinesia scores was limited. No specific cholinergic transporter associations were found for rigidity scores., Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract

Background Using fMRI to analysis of brain function state in migraineurs at different phases, and combined with the clinical symptoms to explore the mechanisms and outcomes of migraine. Methods It's a case-control study. We analyzed the resting-state brain functional magnetic resonance imaging in 19 patients with episodes, 22 patients with interictal phase, and 22 healthy controls. The ReHo method was used for post-processing. All subjects were evaluated using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scale, simple mental state examination (MMSE), Hamilton anxiety (HAMA) scale, and Hamilton depression (HAMD) scale. The subjects' clinical indicators (such as frequency of attack, course of disease, duration of each headache, and severity of headache) were correlated with the ReHo values of brain regions. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Yangtze River Shipping General Hospital. Results Compared with the interictal, patients in the episode group had lower activation in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), with Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) (-9, 42, 15); and had stronger activation in bilateral paracentral lobule (PCL), with MNI (-3, -24, 66). Compared with the control group, patients in interictal phase had lower activation in the bilateral cuneus and bilateral lingual gyrus, with MNI scores of (9, -84, 36) and (0, -72, 6), respectively. No significant difference in brain area was found between the episodes group and the control group. In the episodes group, a significant correlation was observed between attack frequency and ReHo value of the bilateral PCL (r=0.492; P=0.038). Conclusions We need to observe the course of migraine as a whole. In the interictal period, the cuneus and lingual gyrus may affect the development of the disease. The ACC regulates different states of migraine by inducing anti-injury sensation regulation function. The paracentric lobule is not only associated with migraine attacks, but also with the frequency. This may have an effect on the outcome of subsequent migraines, as well as whether the condition becomes chronic, and the remodeling of the brain.

Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are more likely to develop into Alzheimer disease (AD) in the future. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies have shown alterations of intrinsic brain activity (IBA) in SCD individuals. However, rs-fMRI studies to date have mainly focused on static characteristics of IBA, with few studies reporting dynamics- and concordance-related changes in IBA indices in SCD individuals. To investigate these aberrant changes, a temporal dynamic analysis of rs-fMRI data was conducted on 94 SCD individuals (71.07 ± 6.18 years, 60 female), 75 (74.36 ± 8.42 years, 35 female) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 82 age-, gender-, and education-matched controls (NCs; 73.88 ± 7.40 years, 49 female) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. The dynamics and concordance of the rs-fMRI indices were calculated. The results showed that SCD individuals had a lower amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations dynamics in bilateral hippocampus (HP)/parahippocampal gyrus (PHG)/fusiform gyrus (FG) and bilateral cerebellum, a lower fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation dynamics in bilateral precuneus (PreCu) and paracentral lobule, and a lower regional homogeneity dynamics in bilateral cerebellum, vermis, and left FG compared with the other two groups, whereas those in MCI patients were higher (Gaussian random field–corrected, voxel-level P < 0.001, cluster-level P < 0.05). Furthermore, SCD individuals had higher concordance in bilateral HP/PHG/FG, temporal lobe, and left midcingulate cortex than NCs, but those in MCI were lower than those in NCs. No correlation between concordance values and neuropsychological scale scores was found. SCD individuals showed both dynamics and concordance-related alterations in IBA, which indicates a compensatory mechanism in SCD individuals. Temporal dynamics analysis offers a novel approach to capturing brain alterations in individuals with SCD.

Introduction: Bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (BSCP) is the most common subtype of cerebral palsy (CP), which is characterized by various motor and cognitive impairments, as well as emotional instability. However, the neural basis of these problems and how repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can make potential impacts on the disrupted structural brain network in BSCP remain unclear. This study was aimed to explore the topological characteristics of the structural brain network in BSCP following the treatment of rTMS.Methods: Fourteen children with BSCP underwent 4 weeks of TMS and 15 matched healthy children (HC) were enrolled. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were acquired from children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy before treatment (CP1), children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy following treatment (CP2) and HC. The graph theory analysis was applied to construct the structural brain network. Then nodal clustering coefficient (Ci) and shortest path length (Li) were measured and compared among groups.Results: Brain regions with significant group differences in Ci were located in the left precental gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, calcarine fissure, cuneus, lingual gyrus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal gyri, angular gyrus, precuneus, paracentral lobule and the right inferior frontal gyrus (triangular part), insula, posterior cingulate gyrus, precuneus, paracentral lobule, pallidum. In addition, significant differences were detected in the Li of the left precental gyrus, lingual gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, precuneus and the right median cingulate gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, putamen, thalamus. Post hoc t-test revealed that the CP2 group exhibited increased Ci in the right inferior frontal gyrus, pallidum and decreased Li in the right putamen, thalamus when compared with the CP1 group.Conclusion: Significant differences of node-level metrics were found in various brain regions of BSCP, which indicated a disruption in structural brain connectivity in BSCP. The alterations of the structural brain network provided a basis for understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of motor and cognitive impairments in BSCP. Moreover, the right inferior frontal gyrus, putamen, thalamus could potentially be biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of TMS.

BackgroundCognitive abilities are impaired by sleep deprivation and can be recovered when sufficient sleep is obtained. Changes in alpha-band oscillations are considered to be highly related to sleep deprivation. The effect of sleep deprivation on brain activation and functional connectivity in the resting-state alpha band remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate how sleep deprivation and recovery sleep could change resting-state alpha-band neural oscillations.MethodsIn this study, thirty young, healthy participants obtained approximately 8 h of normal sleep, followed by 36 h of sleep deprivation. On the following recovery night, subjects underwent recovery sleep. Resting-state EEG after normal sleep, sleep deprivation and recovery sleep was recorded. Power spectrum, source localization and functional connectivity analyses were used to investigate the changes in resting-state alpha-band activity after normal sleep, sleep deprivation and recovery sleep.ResultsThe results showed that the global alpha power spectrum decreased and source activation was notably reduced in the precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, cingulate gyrus, and paracentral lobule after sleep deprivation. Functional connectivity analysis after sleep deprivation showed a weakened functional connectivity pattern in a widespread network with the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex as the key nodes. Furthermore, the changes caused by sleep deprivation were reversed to a certain extent but not significantly after one night of sleep recovery, which may be due to inadequate time for recovery sleep.ConclusionsIn conclusion, large-scale resting-state alpha-band activation and functional connectivity were weakened after sleep deprivation, and the inhibition of default mode network function with the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex as the pivotal nodes may be an important cause of cognitive impairment. These findings provide new insight into the physiological response of sleep deprivation and determine how sleep deprivation disrupts brain alpha-band oscillations.

Object control skills are one of the most important abilities in daily life. Knowledge of object manipulation is an essential factor in improving object control skills. Although males and females equally try to use object manipulation knowledge, their object control abilities often differ. To explain this difference, we investigated how structural brain networks in males and females are differentially organized in the tool-preferring areas of the object manipulation network. The structural connectivity between the primary motor and premotor regions and between the inferior parietal regions in males was significantly higher than that in females. However, females showed greater structural connectivity in various regions of the object manipulation network, including the paracentral lobule, inferior parietal regions, superior parietal cortices, MT+ complex and neighboring visual areas, and dorsal stream visual cortex. The global node strength found in the female parietal network was significantly higher than that in males but not for the entire object manipulation, ventral temporal, and motor networks. These findings indicated that the parietal network in females has greater inter-regional structural connectivity to retrieve manipulation knowledge than that in males. This study suggests that differential structural networks in males and females might influence object manipulation knowledge retrieval.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to estimate neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex of six participants undergoing cutaneous tactile stimulation on skin areas spread across the entire body. Differences between the accepted somatotopic maps derived from Penfield's work and those generated by this fMRI study were sought, including representational transpositions or replications across the cortex. MR-safe pneumatic devices mimicking the action of a Wartenberg wheel supplied touch stimuli in eight areas. Seven were on the left side of the body: foot, lower, and upper leg, trunk beneath ribcage, anterior forearm, middle fingertip, and neck above the collarbone. The eighth area was the glabella. Activation magnitude was estimated as the maximum cross-correlation coefficient at a certain phase shift between ideal time series and measured blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) time courses on the cortical surface. Maximally correlated clusters associated with each cutaneous area were calculated, and cortical magnification factors were estimated. Activity correlated to lower limb stimulation was observed in the paracentral lobule and superomedial postcentral region. Correlations to upper extremity stimulation were observed in the postcentral area adjacent to the motor hand knob. Activity correlated to trunk, face and neck stimulation was localized in the superomedial one-third of the postcentral region, which differed from Penfield's cortical homunculus.