Relationship between SLC6A2 gene polymorphisms and brain volume in Han Chinese adults who lost their sole child.

BACKGROUND: Norepinephrine transporter (NET) is encoded by the SLC6A2 gene and is a potential target for studying the pathogenesis of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, no prior investigations have examined SLC6A2 polymorphism-related neuroimaging abnormalities in PTSD patients. METHODS: In 218 Han Chinese adults who had lost their sole child, we investigated the association between the T-182 C SLC6A2 genotype and gray matter volume (GMV). Participants included 57 PTSD sufferers and 161 non-PTSD sufferers, and each group was further separated into three subgroups based on each participant's SLC6A2 genotype (TT, CT, and CC). All participants received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical evaluation. To assess the effects of PTSD diagnosis, genotype, and genotype × diagnosis interaction on GMV, 2 × 3 full factorial designs were used. Pearson's correlations were used to examine the association between GMV and CAPS, HAMD, and HAMA. RESULTS: The SLC6A2 genotype showed significant main effects on GMV of the left superior parietal gyrus (SPG) and the bilateral middle cingulate gyrus (MCG). Additionally, impacts of the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction were discovered in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG). The CAPS, HAMA, and HAMD scores, as well as the genotype main effect and diagnostic SLC6A2 interaction, did not significantly correlate with each other. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate a modulatory effect that the SLC6A2 polymorphism exerts on the SPG and MCG, irrespective of PTSD diagnosis. We found evidence to suggest that the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction on SFG may potentially contribute to PTSD pathogenesis in adults who lost their sole child.

Examining the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and disruptions in cortical networks identified using data-driven methods.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with lower cortical thickness (CT) in prefrontal, cingulate, and insular cortices in diverse trauma-affected samples. However, some studies have failed to detect differences between PTSD patients and healthy controls or reported that PTSD is associated with greater CT. Using data-driven dimensionality reduction, we sought to conduct a well-powered study to identify vulnerable networks without regard to neuroanatomic boundaries. Moreover, this approach enabled us to avoid the excessive burden of multiple comparison correction that plagues vertex-wise methods. We derived structural covariance networks (SCNs) by applying non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to CT data from 961 PTSD patients and 1124 trauma-exposed controls without PTSD. We used regression analyses to investigate associations between CT within SCNs and PTSD diagnosis (with and without accounting for the potential confounding effect of trauma type) and symptom severity in the full sample. We performed additional regression analyses in subsets of the data to examine associations between SCNs and comorbid depression, childhood trauma severity, and alcohol abuse. NMF identified 20 unbiased SCNs, which aligned closely with functionally defined brain networks. PTSD diagnosis was most strongly associated with diminished CT in SCNs that encompassed the bilateral superior frontal cortex, motor cortex, insular cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, medial occipital cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. CT in these networks was significantly negatively correlated with PTSD symptom severity. Collectively, these findings suggest that PTSD diagnosis is associated with widespread reductions in CT, particularly within prefrontal regulatory regions and broader emotion and sensory processing cortical regions.

Characterizing Typhoon-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Based on Multimodal Fusion of Structural, Diffusion, and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using only single-modality images is controversial. We aimed to use multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combining structural, diffusion, and functional MRI to possibly provide a more comprehensive viewpoint on the decisive characteristics of PTSD patients. Typhoon-exposed individuals with (n = 26) and without PTSD (n = 32) and healthy volunteers (n = 30) were enrolled. Five MRI features from three modalities, including two resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) features (amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, ALFF; and regional homogeneity, ReHo), one structural MRI feature (gray matter density, GM), and two diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) features (fractional anisotropy, FA; and mean diffusivity, MD) were investigated simultaneously with a multimodal canonical correlation analysis + joint independent component analysis model to identify abnormalities in the PTSD brain. We identified statistical differences between PTSD patients and healthy controls in terms of 1 rs-fMRI (ALFF, ReHo) alterations in the superior frontal gyrus, precuneus, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), 2 DTI (FA, MD) changes in the pons, genu, and splenium of the corpus callosum, and 3 Structural MRI abnormalities in the precuneus, IPL, ACC, and PCC. A novel ReHo component was found to distinguish PTSD and trauma-exposed controls, including the precuneus, IPL, middle frontal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and cerebellum. This study reveals that PTSD individuals exhibit intertwined functional and structural anomalies within the default mode network. Some alterations within this network may serve as a potential marker to distinguish between PTSD patients and trauma-exposed controls.

Disorganized Functional Connectivity of Anterior Insular Subnetworks in Adults with Executive Dysfunction after Trauma Exposure.

There is increasing evidence that major trauma can adversely affect the brain and cognition. In some cases, trauma may lead to deficits in executive function (EF). The anterior insula may be a causal outflow hub acting to coordinate EF-related brain networks. To clarify the neural underpinnings of EF deficits (EFD) after trauma, we performed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) study of anterior insular subnetworks in adults who have lost their only child. A total of 167 participants completed various psychological and cognitive assessments to assess EF-related deficits. Correlations were computed between abnormal connectivity and cognitive/post-traumatic stress symptoms. The results showed abnormal anterior insular subregion connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), prefrontal lobe, and cerebellum lobe in participants with EFD. No correlation was found between abnormal connectivity and cognitive/post-traumatic stress symptoms in participants with EFD. These results suggest that excessive connections between the insula and DMN could contribute to EFD after trauma. Overall, this study provides novel references into the neural mechanisms of EF status after trauma exposure.

Altered brain degree centrality and functional connectivity in adults with executive dysfunction after trauma exposure.

Losing an only child is undoubtedly a huge blow that can adversely affect the prefrontal lobe, a highly sensitive brain region. Neuropsychological evidence emphasizes that executive function (EF) is closely related to the optimal functioning of the frontal cortex. However, the characteristics and potential mechanisms underlying changes in executive function following the huge shock of losing an only child remain insufficiently studied and understood. In this study, we performed degree centrality (DC) and functional connectivity (FC) analyses to explore the organization of the executive function deficits (EFD) network among adults who have lost their only child. In addition, we performed correlation analyses to establish an association between abnormal DC and FC values and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Finally, we used support vector machine analyses to assess the accuracy of abnormal DC and FC values in distinguishing adults with EFD who have lost their only child from those without EFD. Our findings revealed increased DC in the left superior frontal gyrus and right angular gyrus (ANG), whereas decreased DC in the left superior occipital gyrus among adults with EFD. Further FC analysis revealed that the altered FC primarily involved the prefrontal and temporal lobes and cerebellum. Notably, the altered FC between the right ANG and left inferior temporal gyrus exhibited a negative correlation with irritability symptoms (R = -0.047, p = 0.003) in the EFD group. A combined model incorporating altered DC and FC values enabled the classification of 96.69% of adults with EFD, with a sensitivity of 0.8837 and specificity of 0.9558. These findings provide valuable insights into the neural mechanisms underlying distinct EF statuses following trauma exposure, distinguishing adults with and without EFD.

Persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder in Chinese Shidu parents is associated with combined gray and white matter abnormalities.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common mental health disorders among Shidu parents. Identification of gray and white matter differences between persistence of PTSD (P-PTSD) and remission of PTSD (R-PTSD) is crucial to determine their prognosis. A total of 37 Shidu parents with PTSD were followed for five years. Surface-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging were carried out to analyze the differences in gray and white matter between P-PTSD and R-PTSD. Finally, 30 patients with PTSD were enrolled, including 12 with P-PTSD and 18 with R-PTSD. Compared with patients with R-PTSD, patients with P-PTSD exhibited lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in Cluster 1 (including body of the corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, corticospinal tract) and Cluster 2 (including inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, splenium of the corpus callosum) in the left cerebral hemisphere and higher cortical thickness in the right lateral occipital cortex (LOC). In patients with P-PTSD, FA values of Cluster 2 were negatively correlated with cortical thickness of the right LOC. These results suggest that among Shidu parents, differences were observed in gray and white matter between P-PTSD and R-PTSD. Moreover, some certain gray and white matter abnormalities were often present simultaneously in P-PTSD.

Longitudinal changes in brain structure and their relationship with subclinical psychiatric symptoms in parents who lost their only child in China.

BACKGROUND: Losing an only child (Shidu) is a grievous traumatic event that may affect brain structure, even if it does not lead to psychiatric disorders. However, longitudinal changes in brain structure and their relationship to subclinical psychiatric symptoms (SPS) have not been well investigated in Shidu parents without any psychiatric disorders (SDNP). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and surface area in SDNP, and to explore their relationship with SPS. METHODS: A total of 50 SDNP and 40 matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. All participants underwent structural MRI scans and clinical assessment at baseline and at the 5-year follow-up. Differences in brain structural phenotypes (cortical thickness, surface area, and their annual rate of change) between the SDNP and HC groups were compared using FreeSurfer. Correlations between significant brain structural phenotypes and SPS in the SDNP group were evaluated using multiple linear regressions. RESULTS: The SDNP group showed a smaller surface area in the left inferior parietal cortex than the HC group at baseline and follow-up. The SDNP group showed slower rates of cortical thinning and surface area loss in several brain regions than the HC group from baseline to follow-up. Moreover, slower rates of cortical thinning in the left insula, superior frontal cortex, and superior temporal cortex were associated with greater reductions in avoidance, depression, and trauma re-experiencing symptoms scores over time in the SDNP group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Shidu trauma-induced structural abnormalities in the inferior parietal cortex may persist over time and be independent of the severity of psychiatric symptoms. The expansion of prefrontal, temporal, and insular cortex implicated in emotional regulation may contribute to improvements in psychiatric symptoms in Shidu parents.

This study focused on longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and surface area and their relationship with subclinical psychiatric symptoms in Shidu parents without any psychiatric disorders.Shidu trauma-induced structural abnormalities in the inferior parietal cortex may persist over time and be independent of the severity of psychiatric symptoms.The expansion of prefrontal, temporal, and insular cortex implicated in emotional regulation may contribute to improvements in psychiatric symptoms in Shidu parents.

Altered whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity and brain network topology in typhoon-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Altered resting-state functional connectivity has been found in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the alteration of resting-state functional connectivity at whole-brain level in typhoon-traumatized individuals with PTSD remains largely unknown. Objectives: To investigate changes in whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity and brain network topology in typhoon-traumatized subjects with and without PTSD. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with typhoon-related PTSD, 33 trauma-exposed controls (TEC), and 30 healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional MRI scanning. The whole brain resting-state functional connectivity network was constructed based on the automated anatomical labeling atlas. The graph theory method was used to analyze the topological properties of the large-scale resting-state functional connectivity network. Whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity and the topological network property were compared by analyzing the variance. Results: There was no significant difference in the area under the curve of γ, λ, σ, global efficiency, and local efficiency among the three groups. The PTSD group showed increased dorsal cingulate cortex (dACC) resting-state functional connectivity with the postcentral gyrus (PoCG) and paracentral lobe and increased nodal betweenness centrality in the precuneus relative to both control groups. Compared with the PTSD and HC groups, the TEC group showed increased resting-state functional connectivity between the hippocampus and PoCG and increased connectivity strength in the putamen. In addition, compared with the HC group, both the PTSD and TEC groups showed increased connectivity strength and nodal efficiency in the insula. Conclusion: Aberrant resting-state functional connectivity and topology were found in all trauma-exposed individuals. These findings broaden our knowledge of the neuropathological mechanisms of PTSD.

Association Between MRI-Assessed Patterns of Connectome Gradient and Gene-Expression Profiles in Two Independent Patient Cohorts With Hepatitis B Virus-Related Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-RC) exhibit progressive neurologic dysfunction from primary sensorimotor to high-order cognition, as their disease advances. However, the exact neurobiologic mechanisms and the potential association with gene-expression profiles are not fully understood. PURPOSE: To explore the hierarchical disorganization in the large-scale functional connectomes in HBV-RC patients and to investigate its potential underlying molecular basis. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. POPULATION: Fifty HBV-RC patients and 40 controls (Cohort 1) and 30 HBV-RC patients and 38 controls (Cohort 2). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: Gradient-echo echo-planar and fast field echo sequences at 3.0 T (Cohort 1) and 1.5 T (Cohort 2). ASSESSMENT: Data were processed with Dpabi and the BrainSpace package. Gradient scores were evaluated from global to voxel level. Cognitive measurement and patients grouping were based on psychometric hepatic encephalopathy scores. The whole-brain microarray-based gene-expression data were obtained from the AIBS website. STATISTICAL TESTS: One-way ANOVA, chi-square test, two-sample t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's correlation coefficient (r), the gaussian random field correction, false discovery rate (FDR) correction and the Bonferroni correction. Significance level: P < 0.05. RESULTS: HBV-RC patients exhibited a robust and replicable connectome gradient dysfunction, which was significantly associated with the gene-expression profiles in both cohorts (r = 0.52 and r = 0.56, respectively). The most correlated genes were enriched in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and GABA-related receptor genes (FDR q value <0.05). Moreover, the connectome gradient dysfunction at network level observed in HBV-RC patients correlated with their poor cognitive performance (Cohort 2: visual network, r = -0.56; subcortical network, r = 0.66; frontoparietal network, r = 0.51). DATA CONCLUSION: HBV-RC patients had hierarchical disorganization in the large-scale functional connectomes, which may underly their cognitive impairment. In addition, we showed the potential molecular mechanism of the connectome gradient dysfunction, which suggested the importance of GABA and GABA-related receptor genes. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Altered dynamic functional connectivity associates with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Research has been looking into neural pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dynamic functioning connectivity (dFC) applying resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Previous studies showed that PTSD related impairments are associated with alterations distributed across different brain regions and disorganized functional connectivity, especially in Default Mode Network and the cerebellar area. In this study, we specifically looked into dFC on a whole brain level, and we focused on critical regions such as DMN and cerebellum. To explore the characteristics of dFC among patients with PTSD, we collected rs-fMRI data from 27 PTSD patients and 30 healthy controls. The study also added a control group of 33 trauma-exposed individuals to further look into trauma impact. Utilizing group spatial independent component analysis (ICA), the dynamic properties on whole brain level were detected with sliding time window approach, and k-means clustering. Two reoccurring FC "States" were identified, with connections being more concentrated on a within-network level in one state and more strongly inter-connected in the other state. Abnormalities in dFC were found within DMN, between DMN and cerebellum, and between DMN and visual network for PTSD patients. The findings were in accordance with the study hypothesis that the dFC alterations might point to deficits in emotional modulation and dysfunctional self-referential thought. Abnormalities in dFC among PTSD patients might also be indicators of PTSD symptoms including depression and anxiety, hypervigilance, impaired cognitive functioning and self-referential information processing.

Transcriptional signal and cell specificity of genes related to cortical structural differences of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Due to the diversity of traumatic events, the diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is heterogeneous. The pathogenesis has been explored in the fields of brain imaging and genomics separately, but the results are inconsistent. Previous research evidenced that there existed structural differences between PTSD and healthy controls in multiple brain regions. This study further looked into the differences of brain structure in PTSD at the whole brain level and analyzed the difference-related genomes. The brain structure imaging data of 36 patients and 32 healthy controls were taken as morphological indexes. Partial least squares regression and transcriptome data were used to extract genomes related to structural differences. Additional data sets were used to study transcription characteristics of genome. Morphological differences were found in cingulate gyrus between patients and control group. Differentially expressed genes related to Morphometric similarity networks difference space were also observed. The obtained genes (i.e., RORA, PRKG1 and FKBP5) were proved to be related to the disorder with no significant correlation with other mental illnesses. In the subsequent cell type analysis, astrocytes, excitatory neurons and inhibitory neurons were evidenced to have the most significant correlation with these genes. This study found morphologically different brain regions related to PTSD. The related genome transcription analysis connects the structural differences and molecular mechanisms.

Aberrant white matter microstructure evaluation by automated fiber quantification in typhoon-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

Super typhoons can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can adversely affect a person's mental health after a disaster. Neuroimaging studies suggest that patients with PTSD may have post-exposure abnormalities of the white matter. However, little is known about these defects, if they are localized to specific regions of the white matter fibers, or whether they may be potential biomarkers for PTSD. Typhoon survivors with PTSD (n = 27), trauma-exposed controls (TEC) (n = 33), and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 30) were enrolled. We used automated fiber quantification (AFQ) to process the participants' DTI and compared diffusion metrics among the three groups. To evaluate diagnostic value, we used support vector machine (SVM) and a random forest (RF) classifier to build a machine learning model. White matter fiber segmentation between the three groups was found to be statistically significant for the fractional anisotropy (FA) value of the right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) (26-50 nodes) and right uncinate fasciculus (UF) (60-72 nodes) (FDR correction, p < 0.05). By analyzing the characteristics of the machine learning model, the two most important variables were the right ATR and right UF for differentiating PTSD and trauma-exposed controls (TEC) from the healthy controls (HC). In addition, the left cingulum cingulate and left UF were the most critical variables in the differentiation of PTSD and TEC. AFQ with machine learning can localize abnormalities in specific regions of white matter fibers. These regions may be used as a diagnostic biomarker for PTSD.

Study on the changes of Structural Covariance Network in post-traumatic stress disorder.

The topological properties of functional brain networks in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been thoroughly examined, whereas the topology of structural covariance networks has been researched much less. Based on graph theoretical approaches, we investigated the topological architecture of structural covariance networks among PTSD, trauma-exposed controls (TEC), and healthy controls (HC) by constructing covariance networks driven by inter-regional correlations of cortical thickness. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) scans and clinical scales were performed on 27 PTSD, 33 TEC, and 29 HC subjects. Group-level structural covariance networks were established using pearson correlations of cortical thickness between 68 brain areas, and the graph theory method was utilized to study the global and nodal properties. PTSD and HC subjects did not differ at the global level. When PTSD subjects were compared to TEC subjects, they had significantly higher clustering coefficient (p = .014) and local efficiency (p = .031). Nodes having different nodal centralities between groups did not pass the false-discovery rate correction at the node level. According to the structural brain network topological characteristics discovered in this study, PTSD manifests differently compared to the TEC group. In the PTSD group, the SCN keeps the small-world characteristics, but the degree of functional separation is enhanced. The TEC group's reduced small worldness and the tendency for brain network randomization could be signs of trauma recovery.

RORA rs8042149 polymorphism moderates the association between PTSD symptom severity and transverse temporal gyrus thickness in Han Chinese adults who lost their only child.

BACKGROUND: The G allele in retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA, rs8042149) gene is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and more severe symptoms, reported in the first genome-wide association study of PTSD and subsequent replication studies. Although recent MRI studies identified brain structural deficits in RORA rs8042149 risk G allele carriers, the neural mechanism underlying RORA-related brain structural changes in PTSD remains poorly understood. METHODS: This study included 227 Han Chinese adults who lost their only child. Cortical thickness and subcortical volume were extracted using FreeSurfer, and PTSD severity was assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the interaction effect between RORA genotypes (T/T, G/T, and G/G) and PTSD severity on cortical and subcortical structures. RESULTS: Significant genotype × PTSD symptom severity interaction effects were found for bilateral transverse temporal gyrus thickness. For individuals with the homozygous T/T genotype, current PTSD symptom severity was positively associated with bilateral transverse temporal gyrus thickness. For individuals with heterozygous G/T genotype, current PTSD symptom severity was negatively associated with the left transverse temporal gyrus thickness. No significant main or interaction effects were found in any subcortical regions. LIMITATION: Cross-sectional design of this study. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the non-risk T/T genotype - but not the risk G allele carriers - has a potentially protective or compensatory role on temporal gyrus thickness in adults who lost their only child. These results highlight the moderation effect of RORA polymorphism on the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and cortical structural changes.

Evaluation of gray matter reduction in patients with typhoon-related posttraumatic stress disorder using causal network analysis of structural MRI.

BACKGROUND: The structural changes recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subjects were rarely investigated. This study was to compare temporal and causal relationships of structural changes in recent-onset PTSD with trauma-exposed control (TEC) subjects and non-TEC subjects. METHODS: T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of 27 PTSD, 33 TEC and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy control (HC) subjects were studied. The causal network of structural covariance was used to evaluate the causal relationships of structural changes in PTSD patients. RESULTS: Volumes of bilateral hippocampal and left lingual gyrus were significantly smaller in PTSD patients and TEC subjects than HC subjects. As symptom scores increase, reduction in gray matter volume began in the hippocampus and progressed to the frontal lobe, then to the temporal and occipital cortices (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). The hippocampus might be the primary hub of the directional network and demonstrated positive causal effects on the frontal, temporal and occipital regions (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). The frontal regions, which were identified to be transitional points, projected causal effects to the occipital lobe and temporal regions and received causal effects from the hippocampus (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). CONCLUSIONS: The results offer evidence of localized abnormalities in the bilateral hippocampus and remote abnormalities in multiple temporal and frontal regions in typhoon-exposed PTSD patients.

White Matter Abnormalities in Patients With Typhoon-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might have white matter abnormalities. However, less is known about white matter changes after exposing a specific traumatic event. The purpose of this study was to explore the abnormalities of diffusion in cerebral white matter and its relationship with the clinical symptoms in patients with PTSD by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Diffusion-weighted imaging of the cerebrum was performed in typhoon survivors with (n = 27) and without PTSD (n = 33) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 30). Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were calculated among groups using voxel-based analysis of the DTI data. Correlations between diffusion indices and clinical symptoms in patients with PTSD were also assessed. Both patients with PTSD and trauma-exposed control (TEC) group showed increased FA in the anterior limb of the internal capsule, forceps of the corpus callosum, and corona radiata relative to the HC group. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between FA values in the white matter and the clinical symptoms. Trauma exposure may result in disruption of cerebral white matter in individuals with or without PTSD, particularly in the frontal fibers. Aberrant white matter alterations may be associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms.

Sex Differences in Re-experiencing Symptoms Between Husbands and Wives Who Lost Their Only Child in China: A Resting-State Functional Connectivity Study of Hippocampal Subfields.

Background: Losing one's only child may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of which re-experiencing is the core symptom. However, neuroimaging studies of sex differences in re-experiencing in the context of the trauma of losing one's only child and PTSD are scarce; comparisons of the functional networks from the hippocampal subfields to the thalamus might clarify the neural basis. Methods: Thirty couples without any psychiatric disorder who lost their only child (non-PTSD group), 55 patients with PTSD, and 50 normal controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The functional connectivity (FC) from the hippocampal subregions to the thalamus and the correlations of FC with re-experiencing symptoms were analyzed within and between the sexes. Results: Compared with husbands without PTSD, wives without PTSD had higher re-experiencing symptoms and weaker FC between the right hippocampal cornu ammonis 3 (RCA3) and the right thalamus (RT; RCA3-RT). Moreover, only the correlation between the RCA3-RT FC and re-experiencing in wives without PTSD was significant. Among the three groups, only the RCA3-RT FC in female subjects was markedly different. Additionally, the RCA3-RT FC in wives without PTSD was remarkably lower relative to female patients with PTSD. Conclusion: Wives without PTSD who lost their only child had worse re-experiencing symptoms relative to their husbands, which was associated with the FC alteration between the hippocampal subregions and the thalamus. Importantly, the low level of the RCA3-RT FC may play a potentially protective role against the development of PTSD in wives who have lost their only child.

Distributed Functional Connectome of White Matter in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia.

Purpose: We aimed to find out the distributed functional connectome of white matter in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: 20 patients with FD and 24 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included into the study. The functional connectome of white matter and graph theory were used to these participants. Two-sample t-test was used for the detection the abnormal graph properties in FD. Pearson correlation was used for the relationship between properties and the clinical and neuropshychological information. Results: Patients with FD and healthy controls showed small-world properties in functional connectome of white matter. Compared with healthy controls, the FD group showed decreased global properties (Cp, S, Eglobal, and Elocal). Four pairs of fiber bundles that are connected to the frontal lobe, insula, and thalamus were affected in the FD group. Duration and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index positively correlated with the betweenness centrality of white matter regions of interest. Conclusion: FD patients turned to a non-optimized functional organization of WM brain network. Frontal lobe, insula, and thalamus were key regions in brain information exchange of FD. It provided some novel imaging evidences for the mechanism of FD.

BCCT: A GUI Toolkit for Brain Structural Covariance Connectivity Analysis on MATLAB.

Brain structural covariance network (SCN) can delineate the brain synchronized alterations in a long-range time period. It has been used in the research of cognition or neuropsychiatric disorders. Recently, causal analysis of structural covariance network (CaSCN), winner-take-all and cortex-subcortex covariance network (WTA-CSSCN), and modulation analysis of structural covariance network (MOD-SCN) have expended the technology breadth of SCN. However, the lack of user-friendly software limited the further application of SCN for the research. In this work, we developed the graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit of brain structural covariance connectivity based on MATLAB platform. The software contained the analysis of SCN, CaSCN, MOD-SCN, and WTA-CSSCN. Also, the group comparison and result-showing modules were included in the software. Furthermore, a simple showing of demo dataset was presented in the work. We hope that the toolkit could help the researchers, especially clinical researchers, to do the brain covariance connectivity analysis in further work more easily.

Cortico-striato-thalamo-cerebellar networks of structural covariance underlying different epilepsy syndromes associated with generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) are the severest and most remarkable clinical expressions of human epilepsy. Cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar structures, organized with different network patterns, underlying the pathophysiological substrates of genetic associated epilepsy with GTCS (GE-GTCS) and focal epilepsy associated with focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure (FE-FBTS). Structural covariance analysis can delineate the features of epilepsy network related with long-term effects from seizure. Morphometric MRI data of 111 patients with GE-GTCS, 111 patients with FE-FBTS and 111 healthy controls were studied. Cortico-striato-thalao-cerebellar networks of structural covariance within the gray matter were constructed using a Winner-take-all strategy with five cortical parcellations. Comparisons of structural covariance networks were conducted using permutation tests, and module effects of disease duration on networks were conducted using GLM model. Both patient groups showed increased connectivity of structural covariance relative to controls, mainly within the striatum and thalamus, and mostly correlated with the frontal, motor, and somatosensory cortices. Connectivity changes increased as a function of epilepsy durations. FE-FBTS showed more intensive and extensive gray matter changes with volumetric loss and connectivity increment than GE-GTCS. Our findings implicated cortico-striato-thalamo-cerebellar network changes at a large temporal scale in GTCS, with FE-FBTS showing more severe network disruption. The study contributed novel imaging evidence for understanding the different epilepsy syndromes associated with generalized seizures.