Emotion processing in Parkinson's disease: a blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia are the major symptoms of the disease. These motor impairments are often accompanied by affective and emotional dysfunctions which have been largely studied over the last decade. The aim of this study was to investigate emotional processing organization in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease and to explore whether there are differences between recognition of different types of emotions in Parkinson's disease. We examined 18 patients with Parkinson's disease(8 men, 10 women) with no history of neurological or psychiatric comorbidities. All these patients underwent identical brain blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging for emotion evaluation. Blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed that the occipito-temporal cortices, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and parietal cortex which are involved in emotion processing, were activated during the functional control. Additionally, positive emotions activate larger volumes of the same anatomical entities than neutral and negative emotions. Results also revealed that Parkinson's disease associated with emotional disorders are increasingly recognized as disabling as classic motor symptoms. These findings help clinical physicians to recognize the emotional dysfunction of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Blood Oxygenation Level-dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Breast Cancer： Correlation with Carbonic Anhydrase IX and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Background： Blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging （BOLD-MRI） is a functional MRI technique which involves using the paramagnetic properties of deoxyhemoglobin to image the local tissue oxygen concentration. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether BOLD-MRI could evaluate hypoxia and angiogenesis of breast invasive ductal carcinoma （IDC）. Methods： Ninety-eight female patients with IDC were retrospectively included in this research. All patients underwent breast BOLD-MRI at 3.0 T before surgery. R2＊ values of BOLD-MR1 were measured. The expression of carbonic anhydrase IX （CA IX） and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Spearman＇s correlation analysis was used to correlate R2＊ value with CA IX and VEGF levels. Results： Heterogeneous intensity on BOLD-MRI images was the main finding of IDCs. The mean R2＊ value was 52.8 ± 18.6 Hz. The R2＊ values in patients with axillary lymph node metastasis were significantly higher than the R2＊ values in patients without axillary lymph node metastasis （t = 2.882, P = 0.005）. R2＊ values increased with CA IX level and positively correlated with the level of CA 1X （r = 0.616, P 〈 0.001）; however, R2＊ value had no significantly correlation with the level of VEGF （r = 0.110, P = 0.281）. Conclusion： B OLD-MRI could noninvasively evaluate chronic hypoxia of IDC, but not angiogenesis.

Low-frequency blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations in the brain white matter： more than just noise

The spontaneous activity of the blood oxygen level-dependent(BOLD)signal has been demonstrated as a promising way for understanding how the brain intrinsically organized.However,most of these studies focused solely on the spontaneous activity in gray matter(GM)and not on white matter(WM).This is

Advanced imaging techniques in the therapeutic response of transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease. Transarterial chemoembolization(TACE) can significantly improve the survival rate of patients with HCC and is the first treatment choice for patients who are not suitable for surgical resections. The evaluation of the response to TACE treatment affects not only the assessment of the therapy efficacy but also the development of the next step in the treatment plan. The use of imaging to examine changes in tumor volume to assess the response of solid tumors to treatment has been controversial. In recent years, the emergence of new imaging technology has made it possible to observe the response of tumors to treatment prior to any morphological changes. In this article, the advances in studies reporting the use of computed tomography perfusion imaging, diffusionweighted magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), intravoxel incoherent motion, diffusion kurtosis imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetic resonance perfusionweighted imaging, blood oxygen level-dependent MRI, positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography and PET/MRI to assess the TACE treatment response are reviewed.

Abnormal characterization of dynamic functional connectivity in Alzheimer’s disease

Numerous studies have shown abnormal brain functional connectivity in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease(AD)or amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI).However,most studies examined traditional resting state functional connections,ignoring the instantaneous connection mode of the whole brain.In this case-control study,we used a new method called dynamic functional connectivity(DFC)to look for abnormalities in patients with AD and aMCI.We calculated dynamic functional connectivity strength from functional magnetic resonance imaging data for each participant,and then used a support vector machine to classify AD patients and normal controls.Finally,we highlighted brain regions and brain networks that made the largest contributions to the classification.We found differences in dynamic function connectivity strength in the left precuneus,default mode network,and dorsal attention network among normal controls,aMCI patients,and AD patients.These abnormalities are potential imaging markers for the early diagnosis of AD.

Compensatory recombination phenomena of neurological functions in central dysphagia patients

We speculate that cortical reactions evoked by swallowing activity may be abnormal in patients with central infarction with dysphagia. The present study aimed to detect functional imaging features of cerebral cortex in central dysphagia patients by using blood oxygen level-depen- dent functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques. The results showed that when normal controls swallowed, primary motor cortex （BA4）, insula （BA13）, premotor cortex （BA6/8）, supramarginal gyrus （BA40）, and anterior cingulate cortex （BA24/32） were activated, and that the size of the activated areas were larger in the left hemisphere compared with the right. In re- current cerebral infarction patients with central dysphagia, BA4, BA13, BA40 aild BA6/8 areas were activated, while the degree of activation in BA24/32 was decreased. Additionally, more areas were activated, including posterior cingulate cortex （BA23/31）, visual association cortex （BA18/19）, primary auditory cortex （BA41） and parahippocampal cortex （BA36）. Somatosen- sory association cortex （BA7） and left cerebellum in patients with recurrent cerebral infarction with central dysphagia were also activated. Experimental findings suggest that the cerebral cortex has obvious hemisphere lateralization in response to swallowing, and patients with recurrent cerebral infarction with central dysphagia show compensatory recombination phenomena of neurological functions. In rehabilitative treatment, using the favorite food of patients can stimu- late swallowing through visual, auditory, and other nerve conduction pathways, thus promoting compensatory recombination of the central cortex functions.

Alteration of functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease revealed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging

The main symptom of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive dysfunction. Alzheimer’s disease is mainly diagnosed based on changes in brain structure. Functional connectivity reflects the synchrony of functional activities between non-adjacent brain regions, and changes in functional connectivity appear earlier than those in brain structure. In this study, we detected resting-state functional connectivity changes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease to provide reference evidence for disease prediction. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with Alzheimer’s disease were used to show whether particular white and gray matter areas had certain functional connectivity patterns and if these patterns changed with disease severity. In nine white and corresponding gray matter regions, correlations of normal cognition, early mild cognitive impairment, and late mild cognitive impairment with blood oxygen level-dependent signal time series were detected. Average correlation coefficient analysis indicated functional connectivity patterns between white and gray matter in the resting state of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Functional connectivity pattern variation correlated with disease severity, with some regions having relatively strong or weak correlations. We found that the correlation coefficients of five regions were 0.3–0.5 in patients with normal cognition and 0–0.2 in those developing Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, in the other four regions, the range increased to 0.45–0.7 with increasing cognitive impairment. In some white and gray matter areas, there were specific connectivity patterns. Changes in regional white and gray matter connectivity patterns may be used to predict Alzheimer’s disease;however, detailed information on specific connectivity patterns is needed. All study data were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Library of the Image and Data Archive Database.

Central swallowing in normal adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND： While brain-imaging studies in healthy adults have indicated that multiple cortical regions are involved in swallowing, these functional imaging techniques have not been extensively applied to the complete understand neurophysiology of swallowing in China. A full understanding of normal swallowing neurophysiology is important for improving functional outcomes for dysphagia due to neurologic disorders or damage with increasing age. Thus the interpretations of the functional contributions of various brain areas in swallowing should be scientifically researched. OBJECTIVE： To identify the activation and characteristic of swallowing center in healthy adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： An uncontrolled neuroimaging study was performed at the Outpatient Clinic, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University between March and November 2008. PARTICIPANTS： Ten healthy right-handed volunteers, aged over 20 years with a mean age of （34.2 ＋ 8.1） years, a range of 25-45 years and including five males and five females participated. A medical history was obtained from all potential subjects and all subjects were free of systemic diseases and neurological disorders. METHODS： The healthy volunteers were examined with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging of blood oxygenation level-dependent while laryngeal swallow-related movements were recorded. Subjects were scanned during voluntary saliva swallowing and water bolus swallowing activation tasks. Data was processed using the General Linear Model. A voxel by voxel group comparison was performed using random effect analysis. Any cluster with a corrected P 〈 0.05 for spatial extent was considered significant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The cerebral cortical activation maps of voluntary swallowing of saliva and swallowing of water bolus in healthy adults were observed. RESULTS： A multifocal cortical representation of swallowing was in the precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, insula, anterior cingulate gyrus, thalamus, basal ganglia and cerebellum, in a bilateral and asymmetrical manner, predominantly on the left hemisphere in the volunteers （P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Activation of the cortex during normal swallowing tasks may be functionally linked to basal nuclei, thalamus, and cerebellum, greatly appearing in the left hemisphere.

Morphological and functional evaluation of chronic kidney disease using magnetic resonance imaging

X-ray computed tomography(CT),ultrasonography(US)and radionuclide scanning are important clinical methods for evaluating morphology of the kidney.These modalities are also applicable for estimating kidney function with time lapse analysis using proper contrastmedia as may be necessary.In the case of US,it can estimate kidney function based on the measurement of blood flow using the Doppler effect.Formerly,magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)was an inappropriate diagnostic imaging technique for abdominal organs because of their respiratory displacements.However,MRI is now actively used for kidney as well as liver or other parenchymal organs,in tandem with the technological advances.Unlike unenhanced X-ray CT,"conventional"MRI can distinguish the border between cortex and medulla in T1 or T2 weighted images.It was known that the border blurred with decreasing kidney function.Moreover,several other particular imaging methods were introduced in recent years,and these could be called"functional"MRI.In this review,the following are discussed:functional MRI for chronic kidney disease,which include blood oxygenation level-dependent MRI for evaluation of hypoxia,diffusion-weighted imagingfor evaluation of fibrosis,diffusion tensor imaging for evaluation of microstructure,and arterial spin labeling to evaluate the amount of organ perfusion,accompanied with several related articles.The ultimate goal of functional MRI is to provide useful in vivo information repeatedly for daily medical treatment non-invasively.

Meranzin Hydrate Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Hypomotility via Ghrelin and Neurocircuitry

Objective To investigate whether meranzin hydrate(MH)can alleviate depression-like behavior and hypomotility similar to Chaihu Shugan Powder(CSP),and further explore the potential common mechanisms.Methods Totally 120 Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5–8 groups including sham,vehicle,fluoxetine(20 mg/kg),mosapride(10 mg/kg),CSP(30 g/kg),MH(9.18 mg/kg),[D-Lys3]-GHRP-6(Dlys,0.5 mg/kg),and MH+Dlys groups by a random number table,8 rats in each group.And 32 mice were randomly divided into wild-type,MH(18 mg/kg),growth hormone secretagogue receptor-knockout(GHSR-KO),and GHSR+MH groups,8 mice in each group.The forced swimming test(FST),open field test(OFT),tail suspension test(TST),gastric emptying(GE)test,and intestinal transit(IT)test were used to assess antidepressant and prokinetic(AP)effects after drug single administration for 30 min with absorbable identification in rats and mice,respectively.The protein expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)and phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin(p-mTOR)in the hippocampus of rats were evaluated by Western blot.The differences in functional brain changes were determined via 7.0 T functional magnetic resonance imaging-blood oxygen level-dependent(fMRI-BOLD).Results MH treatment improved depression-like behavior(FST,OFT)and hypomotility(GE,IT)in the acute forced swimming(FS)rats(all P<0.05),and the effects are similar to the parent formula CSP.The ghrelin antagonist[D-Lys3]-GHRP-6 inhibited the effect of MH on FST and GE(P<0.05).Similarly,MH treatment also alleviated depression-like behavior(FST,TST)in the wild-type mice,however,no effects were found in the GHSR KO mice.Additionally,administration of MH significantly stimulated BDNF and p-mTOR protein expressions in the hippocampus(both P<0.01),which were also prevented by[D-Lys3]-GHRP-6(P<0.01).Besides,3 main BOLD foci following acute FS rats implicated activity in hippocampus—thalamus—basal ganglia(HTB)circuits.The[D-Lys3]-GHRP-6 synchronously inhibited BOLD HTB foci.As expected,prokinetic mosapride only had effects on the thalamus and basal ganglia,but not on the hippocampus.Within the HTB,the hippocampus is implicated in depression and FD.Conclusions MH accounts for part of AP effects of parent formula CSP in acute FS rats,mainly via ghrelin-related shared regulation coupled to BOLD signals in brain areas.This novel functionally connection of HTB following acute stress,treatment,and regulation highlights anti-depression unified theory.