Brain-computer interface relieves chronic chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) includes negative sensations that remain a major chronic problem for cancer survivors. Previous research demonstrated that neurofeedback (a closed-loop brain-computer interface [BCI]) was effective at treating CIPN versus a waitlist control (WLC). The authors' a priori hypothesis was that BCI would be superior to placebo feedback (placebo control [PLC]) and to WLC in alleviating CIPN and that changes in brain activity would predict symptom report. METHODS: Randomization to one of three conditions occurred between November 2014 and November 2018. Breast cancer survivors no longer in treatment were assessed at baseline, at the end of 20 treatment sessions, and 1 month later. Auditory and visual rewards were given over 20 sessions based on each patient's ability to modify their own electroencephalographic signals. The Pain Quality Assessment Scale (PQAS) at the end of treatment was the primary outcome, and changes in electroencephalographic signals and 1-month data also were examined. RESULTS: The BCI and PLC groups reported significant symptom reduction. The BCI group demonstrated larger effect size differences from the WLC group than the PLC group (mean change score: BCI vs. WLC, -2.60 vs. 0.38; 95% confidence interval, -3.67, -1.46 [p = .000; effect size, 1.07]; PLC, -2.26; 95% confidence interval, -3.33, -1.19 [p = .001 vs. WLC; effect size, 0.9]). At 1 month, symptoms continued to improve only for the BCI group. Targeted brain changes at the end of treatment predicted symptoms at 1 month for the BCI group only. CONCLUSIONS: BCI is a promising treatment for CIPN and may have a longer lasting effect than placebo (nonspecific BCI), which is an important consideration for long-term symptom relief. Although scientifically interesting, the ability to separate real from placebo treatment may not be as important as understanding the placebo effects differently from effects of the intervention. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Chemotherapy-induced nerve pain (neuropathy) can be disabling for cancer survivors; however, the way symptoms are felt depends on how the brain interprets the signals from nerves in the body. We determined that the perception of neuropathy can be changed by working directly with the brain. Survivors in our trial played 20 sessions of a type of video game that was designed to change the way the brain processed sensation and movement. In this, our second trial, we again observed significant improvement in symptoms that lasted after the treatment was complete.

Development and initial psychometric evaluation of a COVID-related psychosocial experiences questionnaire for cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors are at elevated risk of psychological problems related to COVID-19, yet no published measure adequately assesses their psychosocial experiences during the pandemic. PURPOSE: Describe the development and factor structure of a comprehensive, self-report measure (COVID-19 Practical and Psychosocial Experiences questionnaire [COVID-PPE]) assessing the pandemic's impact on US cancer survivors. METHODS: The sample (n = 10,584) was divided into three groups to assess COVID-PPE factor structure by conducting: (1) initial calibration/exploratory analysis of the factor structure of 37 items (n = 5070), (2) confirmatory factor analysis of the best-fitting model (36 items after item removal; n = 5140), and (3) post-hoc confirmatory analysis with an additional six items not collected in the first two groups (42 items; n = 374). RESULTS: The final COVID-PPE was divided into two sets of subscales, conceptualized as Risk Factors and Protective Factors. The five Risk Factors subscales were labeled Anxiety Symptoms, Depression Symptoms, Health Care Disruptions, Disruptions to Daily Activities and Social Interactions, and Financial Hardship. The four Protective Factors subscales were labeled Perceived Benefits, Provider Satisfaction, Perceived Stress Management Skills, and Social Support. Internal consistency was acceptable for seven subscales (αs = 0.726-0.895; ωs = 0.802-0.895) but poor or questionable for the remaining two subscales (αs = 0.599-0.681; ωs = 0.586-0.692). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first published self-report measure comprehensively capturing psychosocial impact-both positive and negative-of the pandemic on cancer survivors. Future work should evaluate predictive utility of COVID-PPE subscales, particularly as the pandemic evolves, which may inform recommendations for cancer survivors and facilitate identification of survivors most in need of intervention.

A Bayesian Dirichlet process community occupancy model to estimate community structure and species similarity.

Community occupancy models estimate species-specific parameters while sharing information across species by treating parameters as sampled from a common distribution. When communities consist of discrete groups, shrinkage of estimates toward the community mean can mask differences among groups. Infinite-mixture models using a Dirichlet process (DP) distribution, in which the number of latent groups is estimated from the data, have been proposed as a solution. In addition to community structure, these models estimate species similarity, which allows testing hypotheses about whether traits drive species response to environmental conditions. We develop a community occupancy model (COM) using a DP distribution to model species-level parameters. Because clustering algorithms are sensitive to dimensionality and distinctiveness of clusters, we conducted a simulation study to explore performance of the DP-COM with different dimensions (i.e., different numbers of model parameters with species-level DP random effects) and under varying cluster differences. Because the DP-COM is computationally expensive, we compared its estimates to a COM with a normal random species effect. We further applied the DP-COM model to a bird data set from Uganda. Estimates of the number of clusters and species cluster identity improved with increasing difference among clusters and increasing dimensions of the DP; but the number of clusters was always overestimated. Estimates of number of sites occupied and species and community-level covariate coefficients on occupancy probability were generally unbiased with (near-) nominal 95% Bayesian Credible Interval coverage. Accuracy of estimates from the normal and the DP-COM was similar. The DP-COM clustered 166 bird species into 27 clusters regarding their affiliation with open or woodland habitat and distance to oil wells. Estimates of covariate coefficients were similar between a normal and the DP-COM. Except sunbirds, species within a family were not more similar in their response to these covariates than the overall community. Given that estimates were consistent between the normal and the DP-COM, and considering the computational burden for the DP models, we recommend using the DP-COM only when the analysis focuses on community structure and species similarity, as these quantities can only be obtained under the DP-COM.

Randomized controlled trial of neurofeedback on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a significant problem for cancer patients, and there are limited treatment options for this often debilitating condition. Neuromodulatory interventions could be a novel modality for patients trying to manage CIPN symptoms; however, they are not yet the standard of care. This study examined whether electroencephalogram (EEG) neurofeedback (NFB) could alleviate CIPN symptoms in survivors. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial with survivors assigned to an NFB group or a wait-list control (WLC) group. The NFB group underwent 20 sessions of NFB, in which visual and auditory rewards were given for voluntary changes in EEGs. The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) worst-pain item was the primary outcome. The BPI, the Pain Quality Assessment Scale, and EEGs were collected before NFB and again after treatment. Outcomes were assessed with general linear modeling. RESULTS: Cancer survivors with CIPN (average duration of symptoms, 25.3 mo), who were mostly female and had a mean age of 62.5 years, were recruited between April 2011 and September 2014. One hundred percent of the participants starting the NFB program completed it (30 in the NFB group and 32 in the WLC group). The NFB group demonstrated greater improvement than the controls on the BPI worst-pain item (mean change score, -2.43 [95% confidence interval, -3.58 to -1.28] vs 0.09 [95% confidence interval, -0.72 to -0.90]; P =·.001; effect size, 0.83). CONCLUSIONS: NFB appears to be effective at reducing CIPN symptoms. There was evidence of neurological changes in the cortical location and in the bandwidth targeted by the intervention, and changes in EEG activity were predictive of symptom reduction. Cancer 2017;123:1989-1997. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Qigong/tai chi for sleep and fatigue in prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep disturbances and fatigue are common in prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Prior research suggests mind-body techniques may improve these outcomes. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of qigong/tai chi (QGTC) in men with prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy. METHODS: Men with prostate cancer starting definitive radiation were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: (1) QGTC; (2) light exercise (LE); or (3) waiting list control. Sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory) were assessed at baseline, midway through radiotherapy (T2), during the last week of radiotherapy (T3), and at 1 (T4) and 3 months (T5) after the end of radiotherapy. Patients in the QGTC and LE groups attended three 40-minute classes per week throughout radiotherapy. RESULTS: Ninety patients were randomized to the 3 groups (QGTC = 26; LE = 26; waiting list control = 24). The QGTC group reported longer sleep duration midway through radiotherapy (QGTC = 7.01 h; LE = 6.42; WL = 6.50; P = .05), but this difference did not persist over time. There were no group differences in other domains of sleep or fatigue. Exploratory analyses conducted to examine the effect of health-related quality of life (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite and American Urological Association Symptom score) on sleep and fatigue showed significant correlations across multiple domains. CONCLUSIONS: Qigong/tai chi during radiation for prostate cancer resulted in superior sleep duration midway through radiation, but this effect was not durable, and there were no differences in other domains of sleep or fatigue. Exploratory analysis demonstrated that both sleep and fatigue were highly correlated with prostate cancer-related physical symptoms. Future mind-body intervention studies should incorporate multimodal therapy focused on improving physical symptoms in this population.

Psychological states, serum markers and survival: associations and predictors of survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

This study sought to determine if there was an association between prognostic-based serum biomarkers, survival, and psychosocial factors in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Associations were found between psychosocial factors and biomarker levels (hemoglobin with depressive symptoms (r = -0.29), positive affect (r = 0.30), social support (r = 0.19), and perceived stress (r = -0.27); albumin with depressive symptoms (r = -0.19), positive affect (r = 0.22), and social support (r = 0.20); alkaline phosphatase with depressive symptoms (r = 0.21), all p values <0.05. After adjustment for disease-related risk factors, only the associations between positive affect and perceived stress with hemoglobin remained significant (p's < 0.05). Positive affect (HR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.83, 0.97; p = 0.009) and depressive symptom total scores (HR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.06; p = 0.013), and alkaline phosphatase (HR 2.72; 95% CI = 1.41, 5.24; p = 0.003) were associated with survival. This study suggests that measures of positive and negative psychological outlook may contribute differently to health, well-being, and survival.

Mind-body practices in cancer care.

Being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease such as cancer and undergoing treatment can cause unwanted distress and interferes with quality of life. Uncontrolled stress can have a negative effect on a number of biological systems and processes leading to negative health outcomes. While some distress is normal, it is not benign and must be addressed, as failure to do so may compromise health and QOL outcomes. We present the evidence for the role of stress in cancer biology and mechanisms demonstrating how distress is associated with worse clinical outcomes. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network states that all patients be screened with the single-item distress thermometer and to also indicate the source of distress and to get appropriate referral. In addition to the many conventional approaches for managing distress from the fields of psychology and psychiatry, many patients are seeking strategies to manage their distress that are outside conventional medicine such as mind-body techniques. Mind-body techniques such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qigong have been found to lower distress and lead to improvements in different aspects of quality of life. It is essential that the standard of care in oncology include distress screening and the delivery of different techniques to help patients manage the psychosocial challenges of diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Decoding the clinical effects of low-grade glioma-induced cortical excitability.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with low-grade glioma (LGG) in eloquent regions often present with seizures, and findings on detailed neuropsychological testing are often abnormal. This study evaluated the association between cortical excitability, seizures, and cognitive function in patients with LGG. METHODS: LGG patients who underwent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) from January 2021 to December 2022 were studied. Cortical excitability was measured using the resting motor thresholds (RMTs) of the upper and lower extremities. Early postoperative seizures served as the seizure endpoint. Neuropsychological assessment was completed prior to surgery contemporaneous with the TMS studies. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients were analyzed for seizure outcome. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) upper-extremity RMT was 39% (34%-46%) of maximum stimulator output, and the median (IQR) lower-extremity RMT was 69% (51%-79%). Lower-extremity RMT was higher in patients with early postoperative seizures, especially in those with motor region tumors (p = 0.02); however, RMT was not associated with seizures at presentation or long-term seizure control. A total of 26 patients completed neuropsychological assessment. There were significant negative correlations between upper-extremity RMT and psychomotor processing speed (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition [WAIS-IV] Processing Speed Index r = -0.42, p = 0.031; WAIS-IV Coding r = -0.41, p = 0.036; WAIS-IV Symbol Search r = -0.39, p = 0.048), executive function (Trail Making Test Part B r = -0.41, p = 0.036), and hand dexterity (Grooved Pegboard Test r = -0.50, p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: RMT was positively correlated with early postoperative seizure risk and negatively correlated with psychomotor processing speed, executive function, and hand dexterity. These findings support the theory of local and regional resting oscillatory network dysfunction from a glioma-brain network.

Strength of spatial correlation between gray matter connectivity and patterns of proto-oncogene and neural network construction gene expression is associated with diffuse glioma survival.

Introduction: Like other forms of neuropathology, gliomas appear to spread along neural pathways. Accordingly, our group and others have previously shown that brain network connectivity is highly predictive of glioma survival. In this study, we aimed to examine the molecular mechanisms of this relationship via imaging transcriptomics. Methods: We retrospectively obtained presurgical, T1-weighted MRI datasets from 669 adult patients, newly diagnosed with diffuse glioma. We measured brain connectivity using gray matter networks and coregistered these data with a transcriptomic brain atlas to determine the spatial co-localization between brain connectivity and expression patterns for 14 proto-oncogenes and 3 neural network construction genes. Results: We found that all 17 genes were significantly co-localized with brain connectivity (p < 0.03, corrected). The strength of co-localization was highly predictive of overall survival in a cross-validated Cox Proportional Hazards model (mean area under the curve, AUC = 0.68 +/- 0.01) and significantly (p < 0.001) more so for a random forest survival model (mean AUC = 0.97 +/- 0.06). Bayesian network analysis demonstrated direct and indirect causal relationships among gene-brain co-localizations and survival. Gene ontology analysis showed that metabolic processes were overexpressed when spatial co-localization between brain connectivity and gene transcription was highest (p < 0.001). Drug-gene interaction analysis identified 84 potential candidate therapies based on our findings. Discussion: Our findings provide novel insights regarding how gene-brain connectivity interactions may affect glioma survival.

The impact of negative COVID-19 experiences on cancer survivors' health-related quality of life and psychological distress: a moderated mediation model.

Introduction: Cancer survivors experienced poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and greater psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic than those without cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms that may explain how negative experiences during the pandemic are associated with distress and HRQoL remain unknown. We examined whether psychosocial risk factors (i.e., healthcare disruption, disruption to daily activities and social interaction [DDASI], and financial hardship) mediated the relationship between negative COVID-19-related experiences and cancer survivors' HRQoL and psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, and anxiety) and whether the mediating effects were moderated by psychosocial protective factors (i.e., stress management ability and social support). Methods: A total of 9,651 cancer survivors completed a questionnaire assessing negative COVID-19-related experiences, psychosocial and practical experiences, and HRQoL. Conditional process analysis was used to evaluate the proposed moderated mediation models. Results: Participants had a mean age of 63.8 years (SD = 12.3) and were mostly non-Hispanic White (82.3%). DDASI and financial hardship mediated the relationship between negative COVID-19-related experiences and cancer survivor's HRQoL and psychological distress. Stress management ability buffered the indirect effect of DDASI on cancer survivors' HRQoL and psychological distress. Social support buffered the indirect effect of financial hardship on HRQoL and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Financial resources and social interactions may buffer negative effects of major disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies should assess the longitudinal impact of these associations.

Intraoperative language mapping guided by real-time visualization of gamma band modulation electrocorticograms: Case report and proof of concept.

Background: Electrocorticography (ECoG) language mapping is often performed extraoperatively, frequently involves offline processing, and relationships with direct cortical stimulation (DCS) remain variable. We sought to determine the feasibility and preliminary utility of an intraoperative language mapping approach guided by real-time visualization of electrocorticograms. Methods: A patient with astrocytoma underwent awake craniotomy with intraoperative language mapping, utilizing a dual iPad stimulus presentation system coupled to a real-time neural signal processing platform capable of both ECoG recording and delivery of DCS. Gamma band modulations in response to 4 language tasks at each electrode were visualized in real-time. Next, DCS was conducted for each neighboring electrode pair during language tasks. Results: All language tasks resulted in strongest heat map activation at an electrode pair in the anterior to mid superior temporal gyrus. Consistent speech arrest during DCS was observed for Object and Action naming tasks at these same electrodes, indicating good correspondence with ECoG heat map recordings. This region corresponded well with posterior language representation via preoperative functional MRI. Conclusions: Intraoperative real-time visualization of language task-based ECoG gamma band modulation is feasible and may help identify targets for DCS. If validated, this may improve the efficiency and accuracy of intraoperative language mapping.

Impact of COVID-19-related experiences on health-related quality of life in cancer survivors in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Little evidence exists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer survivors, limiting recommendations to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in this population. We describe survivors' pandemic experiences and examine associations between COVID-19-related exposures, psychosocial experiences, and HRQoL. METHODS: Between May 2020-April 2021, survivors completed cross-sectional questionnaires capturing COVID-19-related exposures (e.g., exposure to virus, job loss); psychosocial experiences (i.e., COVID-19-related anxiety/depression, disruptions to health care and daily activities/social interactions, satisfaction with providers' response to COVID, financial hardship, perceived benefits of the pandemic, social support, and perceived stress management ability); and HRQoL. RESULTS: Data were collected from N = 11,325 survivors in the United States. Participants were mostly female (58%), White (89%) and non-Hispanic (88%), and age 63 on average. Breast cancer was the most common diagnosis (23%). Eight percent of participants reported being exposed to COVID-19; 1% tested positive. About 6% of participants lost their jobs, while 24% lost household income. Nearly 30% avoided attending in-person oncology appointments because of the pandemic. Poorer HRQoL was associated with demographic (younger age; female; non-Hispanic White), clinical (Medicare; stage IV disease; hematologic/digestive/respiratory system cancer), and psychosocial factors (low perceived benefits and stress management ability; more disruption to health care and daily activities/social interactions; financial hardship). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19-related stressors were associated with various psychosocial experiences in cancer survivors, and these psychosocial experiences were associated with HRQoL above and beyond demographic and clinical factors.

Neuroimaging based biotypes for precision diagnosis and prognosis in cancer-related cognitive impairment.

Cancer related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly associated with cancer and its treatments, yet the present binary diagnostic approach fails to capture the full spectrum of this syndrome. Cognitive function is highly complex and exists on a continuum that is poorly characterized by dichotomous categories. Advanced statistical methodologies applied to symptom assessments have demonstrated that there are multiple subclasses of CRCI. However, studies suggest that relying on symptom assessments alone may fail to account for significant differences in the neural mechanisms that underlie a specific cognitive phenotype. Treatment plans that address the specific physiologic mechanisms involved in an individual patient's condition is the heart of precision medicine. In this narrative review, we discuss how biotyping, a precision medicine framework being utilized in other mental disorders, could be applied to CRCI. Specifically, we discuss how neuroimaging can be used to determine biotypes of CRCI, which allow for increased precision in prediction and diagnosis of CRCI via biologic mechanistic data. Biotypes may also provide more precise clinical endpoints for intervention trials. Biotyping could be made more feasible with proxy imaging technologies or liquid biomarkers. Large cross-sectional phenotyping studies are needed in addition to evaluation of longitudinal trajectories, and data sharing/pooling is highly feasible with currently available digital infrastructures.

Behavioral and biologic characteristics of cancer-related cognitive impairment biotypes.

Psychiatric diagnosis is moving away from symptom-based classification and towards multi-dimensional, biologically-based characterization, or biotyping. We previously identified three biotypes of chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment based on functional brain connectivity. In this follow-up study of 80 chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors and 80 non-cancer controls, we evaluated additional factors to help explain biotype expression: neurofunctional stability, brain age, apolipoprotein (APOE) genotype, and psychoneurologic symptoms. We also compared the discriminative ability of a traditional, symptom-based cognitive impairment definition with that of biotypes. We found significant differences in cortical brain age (F = 10.50, p < 0.001), neurofunctional stability (F = 2.83, p = 0.041), APOE e4 genotype (X2 = 7.68, p = 0.050), and psychoneurological symptoms (Pillai = 0.378, p < 0.001) across the three biotypes. The more resilient Biotype 2 demonstrated significantly higher neurofunctional stability compared to the other biotypes. Symptom-based classification of cognitive impairment did not differentiate biologic or other behavioral variables, suggesting that traditional categorization of cancer-related cognitive effects may miss important characteristics which could inform targeted treatment strategies. Additionally, biotyping, but not symptom-typing, was able to distinguish survivors with cognitive versus psychological effects. Our results suggest that Biotype 1 survivors might benefit from first addressing symptoms of anxiety and fatigue, Biotype 3 might benefit from a treatment plan which includes sleep hygiene, and Biotype 2 might benefit most from cognitive skills training or rehabilitation. Future research should include additional demographic and clinical information to further investigate biotype expression related to risk and resilience and examine integration of more clinically feasible imaging approaches.

Strength of spatial correlation between structural brain network connectivity and brain-wide patterns of proto-oncogene and neural network construction gene expression is associated with diffuse glioma survival.

Like other forms of neuropathology, gliomas appear to spread along neural pathways. Accordingly, our group and others have previously shown that brain network connectivity is highly predictive of glioma survival. In this study, we aimed to examine the molecular mechanisms of this relationship via imaging transcriptomics. We retrospectively obtained presurgical, T1-weighted MRI datasets from 669 adult patients, newly diagnosed with diffuse glioma. We measured brain connectivity using gray matter networks and coregistered these data with a transcriptomic brain atlas to determine the spatial co-localization between brain connectivity and expression patterns for 14 proto-oncogenes and 3 neural network construction genes. We found that all 17 genes were significantly co-localized with brain connectivity (p < 0.03, corrected). The strength of co-localization was highly predictive of overall survival in a cross-validated Cox Proportional Hazards model (mean area under the curve, AUC = 0.68 +/- 0.01) and significantly (p < 0.001) more so for a random forest survival model (mean AUC = 0.97 +/- 0.06). Bayesian network analysis demonstrated direct and indirect causal relationships among gene-brain co-localizations and survival. Gene ontology analysis showed that metabolic processes were overexpressed when spatial co-localization between brain connectivity and gene transcription was highest (p < 0.001). Drug-gene interaction analysis identified 84 potential candidate therapies based on our findings. Our findings provide novel insights regarding how gene-brain connectivity interactions may affect glioma survival.

Comparative study of preoperative functional imaging combined with tractography for prediction of iatrogenic motor deficits.

OBJECTIVE: Robust preoperative imaging can improve the extent of resection in patients with brain tumors while minimizing postoperative neurological morbidity. Both structural and functional imaging techniques can provide helpful preoperative information. A recent study found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) tractography has significant predictive value for permanent deficits. The present study directly compares the predictive value of TMS tractography and task-based functional MRI (fMRI) tractography in the same cohort of glioma patients. METHODS: Clinical outcome data were collected from charts of patients with motor eloquent glioma and preoperative fMRI and TMS studies. The primary outcome was a new or worsened motor deficit present at the 3-month postoperative follow-up, which was termed a "permanent deficit." Postoperative MR images were overlaid onto preoperative plans to determine which imaging features were resected. Multiple fractional anisotropic thresholds (FATs) were screened for both TMS and fMRI tractography. The predictive value of the various thresholds was modeled using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: Forty patients were included in this study. Six patients (15%) sustained permanent postoperative motor deficits. A significantly greater predictive value was found for TMS tractography than for fMRI tractography regardless of the FAT. Despite 35% of patients showing clinically relevant neuroplasticity captured by TMS, only 2.5% of patients showed a blood oxygen level-dependent signal displaced from the precentral gyrus. Comparing the best-performing FAT for both modalities, TMS seeded tractography showed superior predictive value across all metrics: sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that the prediction of permanent deficits with TMS tractography is superior to that with fMRI tractography, possibly because TMS tractography captures clinically relevant neuroplasticity. However, future large-scale prospective studies are needed to fully illuminate the proper role of each modality in comprehensive presurgical workups for patients with motor-eloquent tumors.

Predicting overall survival in diffuse glioma from the presurgical connectome.

Diffuse gliomas are incurable brain tumors, yet there is significant heterogeneity in patient survival. Advanced computational techniques such as radiomics show potential for presurgical prediction of survival and other outcomes from neuroimaging. However, these techniques ignore non-lesioned brain features that could be essential for improving prediction accuracy. Gray matter covariance network (connectome) features were retrospectively identified from the T1-weighted MRIs of 305 adult patients diagnosed with diffuse glioma. These features were entered into a Cox proportional hazards model to predict overall survival with 10-folds cross-validation. The mean time-dependent area under the curve (AUC) of the connectome model was compared with the mean AUCs of clinical and radiomic models using a pairwise t-test with Bonferroni correction. One clinical model included only features that are known presurgery (clinical) and another included an advantaged set of features that are not typically known presurgery (clinical +). The median survival time for all patients was 134.2 months. The connectome model (AUC 0.88 ± 0.01) demonstrated superior performance (P < 0.001, corrected) compared to the clinical (AUC 0.61 ± 0.02), clinical + (AUC 0.79 ± 0.01) and radiomic models (AUC 0.75 ± 0.02). These findings indicate that the connectome is a feasible and reliable early biomarker for predicting survival in patients with diffuse glioma. Connectome and other whole-brain models could be valuable tools for precision medicine by informing patient risk stratification and treatment decision-making.

Cross-Cultural Brain Activity Differences Between True and Sham Acupuncture for Xerostomia During Head and Neck Cancer Radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: A prior phase III, multicenter (United States and China), clinical trial found true acupuncture (TA) resulted in lower xerostomia scores 12 months after radiotherapy than that of a standard care control group. This small pilot study examined brain function changes comparing TA to sham acupuncture (SA) in US and Fudan patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy. METHODS: To determine cerebral activity during TA versus SA acupuncture, patients underwent electroencephalogram evaluation (EEG) immediately prior, during and after both conditions. Acupuncture occurred during weeks 3 to 5 of radiotherapy, with patients receiving either TA or SA, followed 2 to 3 days later by the other treatment in a counterbalanced manner. RESULTS: In the TA minus SA condition (N = 14 Fudan; N = 13 US), most changes were in the delta (0.5-3.5 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) bandwidths. Delta was present in the frontal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus. Alpha was present in the anterior and posterior cingulate, lingual gyrus, amygdala, precuneus, medial frontal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus. Maximal cortical differences in the Fudan cohort between TA and SA were in areas previously shown to be associated with (TA). In the US cohort, maximal differences between TA and SA were associated with areas which are usually decreased in TA conditions. CONCLUSIONS: There were distinct differences in brain function between those receiving TA and SA and there were clear differences between cultures, helping to explain the lack of placebo effect in the Fudan participants and strong placebo effect in the US patients.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation tractography and the facilitation of gross total resection in a patient with a motor eloquent glioblastoma: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: In patients with perieloquent tumors, neurosurgeons must use a variety of techniques to maximize survival while minimizing postoperative neurological morbidity. Recent publications have shown that conventional anatomical features may not always predict postoperative deficits. Additionally, scientific conceptualizations of complex brain function have shifted toward more dynamic, neuroplastic theories instead of traditional static, localizationist models. Functional imaging techniques have emerged as potential tools to incorporate these advances into modern neurosurgical care. In this case report, we describe our observations using preoperative transcranial magnetic stimulation data combined with tractography to guide a nontraditional surgical approach in a patient with a motor eloquent glioblastoma. OBSERVATIONS: The authors detail the use of preoperative functional and structural imaging to perform a gross total resection despite tumor infiltration of conventionally eloquent anatomical structures. The authors resected the precentral gyrus, specifically the paracentral lobule, localized using intraoperative mapping techniques. The patient demonstrated mild transient postoperative weakness and made a full neurological recovery by discharge 1 week later. LESSONS: Preoperative functional and structural imaging has potential to not only optimize patient selection and surgical planning, but also facilitate important intraoperative decisions. Innovative preoperative imaging techniques should be optimized and used to identify safely resectable structures.