The effect of mindfulness training on resting-state networks in pre-adolescent children with sub-clinical anxiety related attention impairments.

Mindfulness training has been associated with improved attention and affect regulation in preadolescent children with anxiety related attention impairments, however little is known about the underlying neurobiology. This study sought to investigate the impact of mindfulness training on functional connectivity of attention and limbic brain networks in pre-adolescents. A total of 47 children with anxiety and/or attention issues (aged 9-11 years) participated in a 10-week mindfulness intervention. Anxiety and attention measures and resting-state fMRI were completed at pre- and post-intervention. Sustained attention was measured using the Conners Continuous Performance Test, while the anxiety levels were measured using the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. Functional networks were estimated using independent-component analysis, and voxel-based analysis was used to determine the difference between the time-points to identify the effect of the intervention on the functional connectivity. There was a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms and improvement in attention scores following the intervention. From a network perspective, the results showed increased functional connectivity post intervention in the salience and fronto-parietal networks as well as the medial-inferior temporal component of the default mode network. Positive correlations were identified in the fronto-parietal network with Hit Response Time and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale total and between the default mode network and Hit Response Time. A 10-week mindfulness intervention in children was associated with a reduction in anxiety related attention impairments, which corresponded with concomitant changes in functional connectivity.

Altered Motor and Motor Perceptual Cognitive Imagery Task-Related Activation in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: Insights From Functional MRI.

OBJECTIVE: To compare central nervous system (CNS) activation in patients with and without diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) during motor and motor imagery tasks and to correlate activation with functional performance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Twenty-six participants (13 with DPN, 13 without DPN) underwent functional MRI during three tasks: ankle dorsi plantar flexion (motor task [MT]) and motor imagery tasks of walking on a smooth surface (SMIT) and rough surface (RMIT). Functional assessment included gait analysis, ankle muscle strength, and ankle range of motion. RESULTS: The tasks activated the sensorimotor, motor preparation, visual processing, and decision-making regions. Activation was significantly lower in patients with DPN than in those without DPN during MT and SMIT but not RMIT. Poor functional performance in patients with DPN was associated with greater activation in motor preparation regions. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with DPN, CNS responses appear muted compared with patients without DPN, but they remain capable of enhancing CNS activation when tasks are more challenging or when functional deficits are substantial.

Functional topography of the primary motor cortex during motor execution and motor imagery as revealed by functional MRI.

Controversy exists regarding the involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) during motor imagery (MI) and also regarding the differential somatotopic representation of motor execution (ME) and mental simulation of movement, that is, MI within M1. Although some research reported clear M1 involvement during MI without overt motor output, others did not. However, possible somatotopic representation between execution and imagery has not been clearly investigated to date. The aim of the present study was to aid in the resolution of this controversy by investigating the possible involvement of M1 during MI, and the differential, within M1, somatotopic representation between execution and imagery by quantitatively assessing different location markers such as activation peak and center of mass as well as intensity differences between the two tasks in case of with and without the overlap between the two representations. Forty-one healthy volunteers participated in two functional MRI runs of mouth-stretching ME and MI tasks. Our findings suggest the clear involvement of M1 (BA 4) during MI with lower signal intensity compared with ME, and further showed distinct centers for each representation along the y-axis (anteroposterior plane), with MI showing more involvement of the anterior sector of M1 (BA 4a), whereas ME recruited more of the posterior sector (BA 4p). These results parallel the pioneering findings of a functional distinction between BA 4a and BA 4p, where BA 4a is more involved in the cognitive aspects of MI, whereas BA 4p is more related to executive function, promoting the idea of distinctive somatotopic mapping between execution and imagery within M1 sectors.

Effect of acupuncture and its influence on cerebral activity in functional dyspepsia patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent gastric disorder that is difficult to manage due to lack of satisfactory treatments. Acupuncture has been studied with regard to the rising need for treating FD, but the mechanism verifying its efficacy has not yet been fully revealed. The aim of this study is to explore the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture for FD compared with a sham group. METHODS/DESIGN: We describe a proposal for a randomized, assessor-blind, sham-controlled trial with 70 eligible participants who will be randomly allocated either into an acupuncture or a sham group. Participants in the acupuncture group will receive 10 sessions of real acupuncture treatment and those in the sham group will be treated with identical sessions using a Streitberger needle. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and metabolomics studies will be implemented before and after 4 weeks of treatment to investigate the mechanism of acupuncture. The primary outcome is a proportion of responders with adequate symptom relief and the secondary outcomes include the Nepean Dyspepsia Index - Korean version, Functional Dyspepsia-Related Quality of Life questionnaire, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, perception of bodily sensation questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale. The outcomes will be evaluated before and after the treatment. DISCUSSION: This is the first large-scale trial evaluating the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture with fMRI and metabolomic methods. We will compare real acupuncture with the Streitberger sham needle to verify the specific effect of acupuncture. The results of this trial are expected to be relevant evidences affecting policy and decision-makers associated with routine healthcare. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02358486 . Date of Registration: 21 January 2015.

Effect of Acupuncture on Functional Connectivity of Anterior Cingulate Cortex for Bell's Palsy Patients with Different Clinical Duration.

Acupuncture is widely used in the treatment of Bell's palsy (BP) in many countries, but its underlying physiological mechanism remained controversial. In order to explore the potential mechanism, changes of functional connectivity (FC) of anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) were investigated. We collected 20 healthy (control group) participants and 28 BP patients with different clinical duration accepted resting state functional MRI (rfMRI) scans before and after acupuncture, respectively. The FC of ACC before and after acupuncture was compared with paired t-test and the detailed results are presented in the paper. Our results showed that effects of the acupuncture on FC were closely related to clinical duration in patients with BP, which suggested that brain response to acupuncture was closely connected with the status of brain functional connectivity and implied that acupuncture plays a homeostatic role in the BP treatment.

Increasing functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex during the course of recovery from Bell's palsy.

Bell's palsy (BP), a unilateral and idiopathic palsy of the facial nerve, is a common disorder generally followed by a good natural recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the recovery process of BP. Thirty-seven healthy volunteers and 67 patients were studied by functional MRI (fMRI). The seed regions of bilateral ACC were first extracted from the task-state fMRI data of healthy participants performing the task of mouth opening and closing. The connectivity of bilateral ACC was calculated from resting-state fMRI data of patients in whom only resting-state fMRI data were collected. The correlation between the strength of ACC's connectivity with the duration (time course of disease) was computed by analysis of covariance. It was found that the functional connectivity of the ACC ipsilateral to the lesioned side was enforced as the duration increased. The enforced brain areas included the sensorimotor areas and the ACC contralateral to the palsy. It was suggested that enforced functional connectivity of ACC might be related to cortical reorganization, which is important in the process of BP recovery.

Acupuncture-induced changes in functional connectivity of the primary somatosensory cortex varied with pathological stages of Bell's palsy.

Bell's palsy is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis. In China, Bell's palsy is frequently treated with acupuncture. However, its efficacy and underlying mechanism are still controversial. In this study, we used functional MRI to investigate the effect of acupuncture on the functional connectivity of the brain in Bell's palsy patients and healthy individuals. The patients were further grouped according to disease duration and facial motor performance. The results of resting-state functional MRI connectivity show that acupuncture induces significant connectivity changes in the primary somatosensory region of both early and late recovery groups, but no significant changes in either the healthy control group or the recovered group. In the recovery group, the changes also varied with regions and disease duration. Therefore, we propose that the effect of acupuncture stimulation may depend on the functional connectivity status of patients with Bell's palsy.