Sleep Behaviors and the Shape of Subcortical Brain Structures in Children with Overweight/Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between sleep and subcortical brain structures using a shape analysis approach. METHODS: A total of 98 children with overweight/obesity (10.0 ± 1.1 y, 59 boys) were included in the cross-sectional analyses. Sleep behaviors (i.e., wake time, sleep onset time, total time in bed, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and wakening after sleep onset) were estimated with wrist-worn accelerometers. The shape of the subcortical brain structures was acquired by magnetic resonance imaging. A partial correlation permutation approach was used to examine the relationship between sleep behaviors and brain shapes. RESULTS: Among all the sleep variables studied, only total time in bed was significantly related to pallidum and putamen structure, such that those children who spent more time in bed had greater expansions in the right and left pallidum (211-751 voxels, all p's <0.04) and right putamen (1783 voxels, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that more time in bed was related to expansions on two subcortical brain regions in children with overweight/obesity.

The effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity: The ActiveBrains randomized clinical trial / Los efectos de la actividad física sobre la microestructura de la sustancia blanca en niños con sobrepeso u obesidad: el ensayo clínico aleatorizado ActiveBrains

Background: Emerging research supports the idea that physical activity benefits brain development. However, the body of evidence focused on understanding the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure during childhood is still in its infancy, and further well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed. Aim: This study aimed: (i) to investigate the effects of a 20-week physical activity intervention on global white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity, and (ii) to explore whether the effect of physical activity on white matter microstructure is global or restricted to a particular set of white matter bundles. Methods: In total, 109 children aged 8 to 11 years with overweight or obesity were randomized and allocated to either the physical activity program or the control group. Data were collected from November 2014 to June 2016, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data processing and analyses conducted between June 2017 and November 2021. Images were pre-processed using the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the Brain´s Software Library (FSL) and white matter properties were explored by probabilistic fiber tractography and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses were performed for all children who completed the pre-test and post-test DTI assessment, with good quality DTI data (N = 89). Of them, 83 children (10.06±1.11 years, 39 % girls, intervention group=44) met the per-protocol criteria (attended at least 70 % of the recommended sessions). Our probabilistic fiber tractography analysis did not show any effects in terms of global and tract-specific fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in the per-protocol or intention-to-treat analyses. Additionally, we did not observe any effects on the voxel-wise DTI parameters (i.e., FA and MD) using the most restricted TBSS approach (i.e., per protocol analyses and p-corrected image with a statistical...(AU)

Early morning physical activity is associated with healthier white matter microstructure and happier children: the ActiveBrains project.

The background of this study is to examine the associations of individual and combined early morning patterns (i.e., active commuting to school, physical activity before school, having breakfast and good sleep) with white matter microstructure (WMM) and, whether the associated white mater microstructure outcomes were related to mental health outcomes in children with overweight or obesity. 103 children with overweight or obesity (10.0 ± 1.1 years old, 42 girls) from the ActiveBrains project participated in this cross-sectional study. Early morning patterns and mental health indicators (i.e., self-esteem, optimism, positive and negative affect, stress, depression and anxiety) were self-reported by the children using validated questionnaires. WMM was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging using diffusion tensor imaging. When examined independently, early morning patterns were not related with WMM (all P > 0.05). However, the combination of early morning patterns was related with WMM (P < 0.05). Specifically, physically active early morning patterns (i.e., active commuting to school and physical activity before school) were associated with global fractional anisotropy (FA) (ß = 0.298, P = 0.013) and global radial diffusivity (RD) (ß = - 0.272, P = 0.021), as well as with tract-specific FA (ß = 0.314, P = 0.004) and RD (ß = - 0.234, P = 0.032) in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Furthermore, combined physically active early morning pattern-associated global (i.e., FA and RD) and tract-specific (i.e., FA and RD in the SLF) WMM indicators were positively associated with happiness (ß absolute value range from 0.252 to 0.298, all P < 0.05). A combination of physically active early morning patterns may positively relate to white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity, and, in turn, happiness.

The effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity: The ActiveBrains randomized clinical trial.

Background: Emerging research supports the idea that physical activity benefits brain development. However, the body of evidence focused on understanding the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure during childhood is still in its infancy, and further well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed. Aim: This study aimed: (i) to investigate the effects of a 20-week physical activity intervention on global white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity, and (ii) to explore whether the effect of physical activity on white matter microstructure is global or restricted to a particular set of white matter bundles. Methods: In total, 109 children aged 8 to 11 years with overweight or obesity were randomized and allocated to either the physical activity program or the control group. Data were collected from November 2014 to June 2016, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data processing and analyses conducted between June 2017 and November 2021. Images were pre-processed using the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the Brain´s Software Library (FSL) and white matter properties were explored by probabilistic fiber tractography and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses were performed for all children who completed the pre-test and post-test DTI assessment, with good quality DTI data (N = 89). Of them, 83 children (10.06±1.11 years, 39 % girls, intervention group=44) met the per-protocol criteria (attended at least 70 % of the recommended sessions). Our probabilistic fiber tractography analysis did not show any effects in terms of global and tract-specific fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in the per-protocol or intention-to-treat analyses. Additionally, we did not observe any effects on the voxel-wise DTI parameters (i.e., FA and MD) using the most restricted TBSS approach (i.e., per protocol analyses and p-corrected image with a statistical threshold of p < 0.05). In the intention-to-treat analysis, we found that our physical activity program had a borderline effect (p-corrected image with a statistical threshold of p < 0.1) on 7 different clusters, including a cluster in the corpus callosum. Conclusion: We conclude that a 20-week physical activity intervention was not enough to induce changes in global and tract-specific white matter during childhood. The effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure could be restricted to local changes in several white matter tracts (e.g., the body of the corpus callosum). However, our results were not significant, and more interventions are needed to determine whether and how physical activity affects white matter microstructure during childhood.

Computational modelling of reinforcement learning and functional neuroimaging of probabilistic reversal for dissociating compulsive behaviours in gambling and cocaine use disorders.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with cocaine use disorder or gambling disorder demonstrate impairments in cognitive flexibility: the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Flexibility is commonly assessed in a laboratory setting using probabilistic reversal learning, which involves reinforcement learning, the process by which feedback from the environment is used to adjust behavior. AIMS: It is poorly understood whether impairments in flexibility differ between individuals with cocaine use and gambling disorders, and how this is instantiated by the brain. We applied computational modelling methods to gain a deeper mechanistic explanation of the latent processes underlying cognitive flexibility across two disorders of compulsivity. METHOD: We present a re-analysis of probabilistic reversal data from individuals with either gambling disorder (n = 18) or cocaine use disorder (n = 20) and control participants (n = 18), using a hierarchical Bayesian approach. Furthermore, we relate behavioural findings to their underlying neural substrates through an analysis of task-based functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) data. RESULTS: We observed lower 'stimulus stickiness' in gambling disorder, and report differences in tracking expected values in individuals with gambling disorder compared to controls, with greater activity during reward expected value tracking in the cingulate gyrus and amygdala. In cocaine use disorder, we observed lower responses to positive punishment prediction errors and greater activity following negative punishment prediction errors in the superior frontal gyrus compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Using a computational approach, we show that individuals with gambling disorder and cocaine use disorder differed in their perseverative tendencies and in how they tracked value neurally, which has implications for psychiatric classification.

Early life factors and structural brain network in children with overweight/obesity: The ActiveBrains project.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to investigate the association of early life factors, including birth weight, birth length, and breastfeeding practices, with structural brain networks; and to test whether structural brain networks associated with early life factors were also associated with academic performance in children with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). METHOD: 96 children with OW/OB aged 8-11 years (10.03 ± 1.16) from the ActiveBrains project were included. Early life factors were collected from birth records and reported by parents as weight, height, and months of breastfeeding. T1-weighted images were used to identify structural networks using a non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF) approach. Academic performance was evaluated by the Woodcock-Muñoz standardized test battery. RESULTS: Birth weight and birth length were associated with seven networks involving the cerebellum, cingulate gyrus, occipital pole, and subcortical structures including hippocampus, caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala. No associations were found for breastfeeding practices. None of the networks linked to birth weight and birth length were linked to academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight and birth length, but not breastfeeding, were associated with brain structural networks in children with OW/OB. Thus, early life factors are related to brain networks, yet a link with academic performance was not observed. IMPACT: Birth weight and birth length, but not breastfeeding, were associated with several structural brain networks involving the cerebellum, cingulate gyrus, occipital pole, and subcortical structures including hippocampus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, accumbens and amygdala in children with overweight/obesity, playing a role for a normal brain development. Despite no academic consequences, other behavioral consequences should be investigated. Interventions aimed at improving optimal intrauterine growth and development may be of importance to achieve a healthy brain later in life.

Intrinsic neural network dynamics underlying the ability to down-regulate emotions in male perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women.

Research has pointed to difficulties in emotion regulation as a risk factor for perpetrating intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW). While efforts have been made to understand the brain mechanisms underlying emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal, little is known about the intrinsic neural dynamics supporting this strategy in male perpetrators. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to characterise the network dynamics underlying reappraisal. Spectral dynamic causal modelling was performed to examine the effective connectivity (EC) within a predefined reappraisal-related brain network. 26 men convicted for an IPVAW crime [male perpetrators] were compared to 29 men convicted of other crimes [other offenders] and 29 men with no criminal records [non-offenders]. The ability to down-regulate emotions in response to IPVAW stimuli was used as a covariate to explore its association with male perpetrators' EC. The analysis revealed that (1) compared to non-offenders, both convicted groups exhibited increased EC within prefrontal areas, enhanced EC from prefrontal to temporoparietal regions and decreased EC in the opposite direction; (2) male perpetrators compared to other offenders showed increased EC from temporoparietal to prefrontal regions and, increased EC from the supplementary motor area to frontal areas; (3) connections involving dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were found to be potential predictors of the ability to down-regulate emotions. The study provides a deeper characterisation of the brain architecture of the processes that underlie IPVAW. This knowledge could inform the work of adaptive emotion regulation strategies in intervention programmes for male perpetrators in order to reduce the high recidivism rates.

Physical activity, sedentary time, and fitness in relation to brain shapes in children with overweight/obesity: Links to intelligence.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between physical activity, sedentary time, and physical fitness with the shapes of subcortical brain structures in children with overweight/obesity. Further, we analyzed whether differences in the shapes of subcortical brain structures were related to intelligence. We hypothesized that those children with higher physical activity levels, lower sedentary time, and better fitness, would show greater expansion of the brain regions analyzed, and these expansions would be associated with higher intelligence. STUDY DESIGN: 100 children (10.0 ± 1.1 years, 40 girls) were included in the analyses. Physical activity and sedentary time were measured by accelerometry, and physical fitness was evaluated by a fitness battery. Shapes of subcortical brain structures were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Intelligence was measured by the Kaufmann Brief Intelligence test. RESULTS: Physical activity was related to expansion of the right/left pallidum, right/left putamen, and right thalamus (p < 0.05). Higher sedentary time was related to contraction of the left thalamus and right nucleus accumbens (p < 0.05). Higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with expansion of the right amygdala (p = 0.022). Greater strength in the upper-limb was related to expansion of the right/left pallidum and the left nucleus accumbens (p < 0.038), and contraction of the left amygdala (p = 0.030). Better speed-agility was associated with expansion of the left nucleus accumbens (p = 0.036). Physical activity- and fitness-related expansion of the right pallidum was associated with higher intelligence (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Physical activity, sedentary time, and physical fitness were significantly related to the shapes of subcortical brain structures, which in turn were related to intelligence in children with overweight/obesity.

Effects of an Exercise Program on Brain Health Outcomes for Children With Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Pediatric overweight and obesity are highly prevalent across the world, with implications for poorer cognitive and brain health. Exercise might potentially attenuate these adverse consequences. Objectives: To investigate the effects of an exercise program on brain health indicators, including intelligence, executive function, academic performance, and brain outcomes, among children with overweight or obesity and to explore potential mediators and moderators of the main effects of exercise. Design, Setting, and Participants: All preexercise and postexercise data for this 20-week randomized clinical trial of 109 children aged 8 to 11 years with overweight or obesity were collected from November 21, 2014, to June 30, 2016, with neuroimaging data processing and analyses conducted between June 1, 2017, and December 20, 2021. All 109 children were included in the intention-to-treat analyses; 90 children (82.6%) completed the postexercise evaluation and attended 70% or more of the recommended exercise sessions and were included in per-protocol analyses. Interventions: All participants received lifestyle recommendations. The control group continued their usual routines, whereas the exercise group attended a minimum of 3 supervised 90-minute sessions per week in an out-of-school setting. Main Outcomes and Measures: Intelligence, executive function (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory), and academic performance were assessed with standardized tests, and hippocampal volume was measured with magnetic resonance imaging. Results: The 109 participants included 45 girls (41.3%); participants had a mean (SD) body mass index of 26.8 (3.6) and a mean (SD) age of 10.0 (1.1) years at baseline. In per-protocol analyses, the exercise intervention improved crystallized intelligence, with the exercise group improving from before exercise to after exercise (mean z score, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.44-0.80]) compared with the control group (mean z score, -0.10 [95% CI, -0.28 to 0.09]; difference between groups, 0.72 SDs [95% CI, 0.46-0.97]; P < .001). Total intelligence also improved significantly more in the exercise group (mean z score, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.48-0.89]) than in the control group (mean z score, 0.07 [95% CI, -0.14 to 0.28]; difference between groups, 0.62 SDs [95% CI, 0.31-0.91]; P < .001). Exercise also positively affected a composite score of cognitive flexibility (mean z score: exercise group, 0.25 [95% CI, 0.05-0.44]; control group, -0.17 [95% CI, -0.39 to 0.04]; difference between groups, 0.42 SDs [95% CI, 0.13-0.71]; P = .005). These main effects were consistent in intention-to-treat analyses and after multiple-testing correction. There was a positive, small-magnitude effect of exercise on total academic performance (mean z score: exercise group, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.18-0.44]; control group, 0.10 [95% CI, -0.04 to 0.24]; difference between groups, 0.21 SDs [95% CI, 0.01-0.40]; P = .03), which was partially mediated by cognitive flexibility. Inhibition, working memory, hippocampal volume, and other brain magnetic resonance imaging outcomes studied were not affected by the exercise program. The intervention increased cardiorespiratory fitness performance as indicated by longer treadmill time to exhaustion (mean z score: exercise group, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.27-0.82]; control group, 0.13 [95% CI, -0.16 to 0.41]; difference between groups, 0.42 SDs [95% CI, 0.01-0.82]; P = .04), and these changes in fitness mediated some of the effects (small percentage of mediation [approximately 10%-20%]). The effects of exercise were overall consistent across the moderators tested, except for larger improvements in intelligence among boys compared with girls. Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial, exercise positively affected intelligence and cognitive flexibility during development among children with overweight or obesity. However, the structural and functional brain changes responsible for these improvements were not identified. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02295072.

Resting-state functional connectivity and socioemotional processes in male perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women.

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a serious and overwhelming public concern. Neuroimaging techniques have provided insights into the brain mechanisms underlying IPVAW perpetration. The purpose of this study is to examine the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) involving the process of social decision-making of male perpetrators. Twenty-six male perpetrators convicted for an IPVAW crime were compared to 29 men convicted for crimes other than IPVAW (other offenders) and 29 men with no criminal records (non-offenders) using a seed-based approach. Seeds were located in areas involved in reflective (prefrontal), impulsive (amygdala and striatum) and interoceptive (insula) processing. Then, as an exploratory analysis, the connectivity networks on male perpetrators were correlated with measures of executive functions and socioemotional self-report measures. Male perpetrators in comparison to other offenders and non-offenders, presented higher rsFC between prefrontal, limbic, brainstem, temporal and basal ganglia areas. Also male perpetrators showed higher rsFC between insula, default mode network and basal ganglia, while lower rsFC was found between prefrontal and motor areas and between amygdala, occipital and parietal areas. Exploratory correlations suggest that the specific rsFC in male perpetrators might be more related to socioemotional processes than to executive functions. These results showed that male perpetrators present a specific rsFC in brain systems that are essential for an adaptive social decision-making.

Influence of Gestational Diabetes and Pregestational Maternal BMI on the Brain of Six-Year-Old Offspring.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes (GD) and maternal excess weight are common pregnancy conditions that increase the risk of future complications for both the mother and her offspring. Their consequences on neurodevelopment are widely described in the literature, but less is known concerning the potential transgenerational influence on the brain structure. METHODS: We used a combination of support vectors machine and hierarchical clustering to investigate the potential presence of anatomical brain differences in a sample of 109 children aged six years, born to mothers with overweight or obesity, or to mothers diagnosed with GD during pregnancy. RESULTS: Significant effects are visible in the brain of children born to mothers with GD associated with pregestational excess weight, especially overweight instead of obesity. No differences in children's brain were observed when considering those born to normal-weight mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the need for clinical attention of pregnant women at risk to develop GD, and especially those with pregestational excess weight, since this status was found to be associated with detectable transgenerational brain changes. These effects may be due to the absence of specific and individualized intervention in these mothers during pregnancy.

Brain networks alterations in cocaine use and gambling disorders during emotion regulation.

Background: Cocaine use disorder (CUD) and gambling disorder (GD) share clinical features and neural alterations, including emotion regulation deficits and dysfunctional activation in related networks. However, they also exhibit differential aspects, such as the neuroadaptive effects of long-term drug consumption in CUD as compared to GD. Neuroimaging research aimed at disentangling their shared and specific alterations can contribute to improve understanding of both disorders. Methods: We compared CUD (N = 15), GD (N = 16) and healthy comparison (HC; N = 17) groups using a network-based approach for studying temporally coherent functional networks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of an emotion regulation task. We focused our analysis in limbic, ventral frontostriatal, dorsal attentional (DAN) and executive networks (FPN), given their involvement in emotion regulation and their alteration in CUD and GD. Correlations with measures of emotional experience and impulsivity (UPPS-P) were also performed. Results: The limbic network was significantly decreased during emotional processing both for CUD and GD individuals compared to the HC group. Furthermore, GD participants compared to HC showed an increased activation in the ventral frontostriatal network during emotion regulation. Finally, networks' activation patterns were modulated by impulsivity traits. Conclusions: Functional network analyses revealed both overlapping and unique effects of stimulant and gambling addictions on neural networks underpinning emotion regulation.

Social mentalizing in male perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women is associated with resting-state functional connectivity of the Crus II.

Social mentalizing refers to the ability to understand the intentions, causes, emotions and beliefs of another person or the self and is crucial for interpersonal understanding. Disturbances in this process may lead to aggressive and violent behaviors. Literature has shown that male perpetrators convicted for intimate partner crime (IPVAW) present alterations in different measures related to social mentalizing, in particular, they present more irrational thoughts toward women and difficulties in emotional recognition and empathy processes. However, the brain mechanisms underlying this process are still unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the resting-state functional connectivity of the cerebellar Crus II area, as a core component of social mentalizing in male perpetrators, and to explore if this connectivity is associated with social mentalizing processes. To achieve these objectives, we compared the resting-state connectivity of 25 men convicted for an IPVAW crime (male perpetrators) with 29 men convicted for other crimes (other offenders) and 28 men with no criminal records (non-offenders) using a seed-based whole brain analysis. Subsequently, correlations were performed to explore the association between the significant connectivity networks and social mentalizing measures only in male perpetrators of IPVAW. Analyses showed that male perpetrators of IPVAW exhibit hyperconnectivity between Crus II and posterior areas of the default mode network, frontoparietal and limbic areas compared to other offenders and non-offenders. In addition, the greater connectivity found between the Crus II and the posterior default mode network was related to a greater number of distorted thoughts about women and less affective empathy in male perpetrators of IPVAW. These results show that connectivity between the cerebellum and the default mode network may underlie the social processes that are at the basis of intimate partner violence perpetration.

Effect of chronic alcohol consumption on brain structure in males with alcohol use disorder without a familiar history of alcoholism.

Structural brain damages caused by chronic alcohol consumption have been extensively reported. However, the neuroimaging findings in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are relatively inconsistent. This inconsistency may be due to the influence of different variables that are not always considered, such as the presence of a family history of alcoholism (FHA). The main aim of this research is to study the gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes in male participants with AUD without FHA compared to healthy control males (HC) without FHA. For this study, we included 19 participants with AUD without FHA and 18 HC males without FHA. T1-weighted images were acquired with a General Electric Signa Exite 1.5 T scanner. GM and WM tissues were calculated using Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL). All analyses were controlled for age and total brain volume. The statistical threshold was calculated with AlphaSim and further adjusted to account for the non-isotropic smoothness of structural images, according to Hayasaka et al. (2004). The obtained main results showed that, relative to the HC group, the participants with AUD without FHA had significantly lower GM in several brain structures, reflecting relatively purely the effects of chronic alcohol intake on brain volume. GM structure integrity is relevant for the efficient functioning of low and high-order cognitive processes used in everyday life, and its damage seems to be related to the severity/intensity/chronicity of the AUD. As such, it becomes relevant to assess and follow brain structural changes through the dependence course.

Infant Formula Supplemented With Milk Fat Globule Membrane, Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, and Synbiotics Is Associated With Neurocognitive Function and Brain Structure of Healthy Children Aged 6 Years: The COGNIS Study.

Background: Adequate nutrient intake during the first few months of life plays a critical role on brain structure and function development. Objectives: To analyze the long-term effects of an experimental infant formula (EF) on neurocognitive function and brain structure in healthy children aged 6 years compared to those fed with a standard infant formula or breastfed. Methods: The current study involved 108 healthy children aged 6 years and participating in the COGNIS Study. At 0-2 months, infants were randomized to receive up to 18 months of life a standard infant formula (SF) or EF enriched with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) and synbiotics. Furthermore, a reference group of breastfed (BF) infants were also recruited. Children were assessed using neurocognitive tests and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at 6 years old. Results: Experimental infant formula (EF) children showed greater volumes in the left orbital cortex, higher vocabulary scores and IQ, and better performance in an attention task than BF children. EF children also presented greater volumes in parietal regions than SF kids. Additionally, greater cortical thickness in the insular, parietal, and temporal areas were found in children from the EF group than those fed with SF or BF groups. Further correlation analyses suggest that higher volumes and cortical thickness of different parietal and frontal regions are associated with better cognitive development in terms of language (verbal comprehension) and executive function (working memory). Finally, arachidonic acid (ARA), adrenic acid (AdA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels in cheek cell glycerophospholipids, ARA/DHA ratio, and protein, fatty acid, and mineral intake during the first 18 months of life seem to be associated with changes in the brain structures at 6 years old. Conclusions: Supplemented infant formula with MFGM components, LC-PUFAs, and synbiotics seems to be associated to long-term effects on neurocognitive development and brain structure in children at 6 years old. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier: NCT02094547.

Structural Brain Alterations in Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been related to brain alterations in female survivors. Nonetheless, few studies have used an exploratory approach, focusing on brain regions that are traditionally studied in other populations with post-traumatic stress. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), strangulation, and childhood trauma are highly prevalent among this population, and have also been associated with brain alterations and functional deterioration. As such, it is difficult to determine how different brain regions are affected by the complex interplay of these factors in female survivors. The aim of this study is to assess (a) brain alterations in female survivors of IPV as compared to non-victim females and (b) the potential causal mechanisms associated with such alterations. We hypothesized that structural brain differences would be found between female survivors of IPV and non-victims, and that these differences would be related to IPV-related TBI, strangulation, IPV severity, depression, post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety, and childhood adverse experiences. A total of 27 non-victims and 28 survivors completed structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires to measure the potential causal mechanisms for brain alterations. Structural brain differences were found between groups, principally in volumetric analyses. The brain regions in which between-group differences were found were related to attempted strangulation, IPV-related TBI, severity of IPV, adverse childhood experiences, and post-traumatic stress. These results demonstrate that a wider range of brain regions may be impacted by IPV and that various factors are implicated in the structural brain alterations found in female survivors. This study demonstrates the importance of post-traumatic stress, childhood and adult trauma, and physical violence in assessing brain alterations in IPV survivors. Further, it serves as a critical first step in assessing an extensive list of potential causal mechanisms for structural brain alterations, using a more comprehensive a whole-brain structural analysis of IPV female victims, a largely understudied and vulnerable population.

"Would You Allow Your Wife to Dress in a Miniskirt to the Party"? : Batterers Do Not Activate Default Mode Network During Moral Decisions About Intimate Partner Violence.

Moral convictions consist of assessments based on perceptions of morality and immorality, of right and wrong. There are people who, based on morality, commit crimes. For instance, social and moral norms based on inequality appear to play an important role in the batterer's behavior to commit violent acts. Research shows that batterers consider themselves to be moral persons, are defenders of their beliefs, and, if necessary, are self-delusional, enjoying a "feeling" of moral worth. The main aim of this work was to uncover the brain mechanisms underlying moral decision making related to intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study comparing moral decisions related to IPV and general violence (GV) in a sample of convicted Spanish men. The two groups of our sample were recruited from the Center for Social Insertion (CSI; Granada, Spain): batterers (BG, n = 21), people convicted for IPV, and other criminals (OCG, n = 20) convicted of violating other legal norms without violence against people. Greene's classical dilemmas were used to validate IPV and GV dilemmas. First, our results showed that IPV and GV dilemmas activate the same brain areas as those activated by Greene's dilemmas, primarily involving the default mode network (DMN), which suggests that IPV and GV dilemmas are both moral dilemmas. Second, our results showed that other criminals activated the DMN during both types of dilemmas. Nevertheless, batterers activated the DMN during the GV dilemmas but not during the IPV ones, suggesting that decisions about their female partners do not entail moral conflict. Thus, these preliminary results showed that batterers do not activate moral areas during IPV dilemmas specifically, but do so during GV dilemmas. These results suggest that intervention programs for batterers should aim to specifically modify the value system held by the abuser toward his female partner and not toward other people.

Emotional Regulation in Male Batterers When Faced With Pictures of Intimate Partner Violence. Do They Have a Problem With Suppressing or Experiencing Emotions?

Emotional regulation is crucial to psychological functioning and mental health. Studies of male batterers indicate the critical role that emotional processing plays in the violence they exert upon their partners or ex-partners. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural bases of emotional regulation in male batterers-both in experiencing and suppressing emotions-when faced with pictures of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a fMRI study to compare brain functioning when emotions were experienced or increased with the case in which emotions were suppressed or reduced in response to IPV pictures and unpleasant pictures. The sample consisted of three groups: Male Batterers Group (MBG, n = 26), that is, men convicted for IPV; Other Offenders Group (OOG, n = 27), men convicted of crimes other than IPV; and a Non-offenders Group (n = 29), that is, men without a criminal history. The results reveal that in MBG, the brain areas that previous studies have related to suppression and experience processes were activated when faced with unpleasant pictures. However, a different pattern of functioning was found when experiencing IPV pictures. That could be explained by a low capacity to empathize with their partners or ex-partners and by the use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies. In addition, MBG showed activation in brain areas previously related to suppression but did not modulate their emotions, showing a similar emotional state after suppression and experience. The results of this preliminary study suggest that in psychological treatments for male batterers, it is important to promote empathy towards partners or ex-partners, along with adaptive strategies of emotional regulation.

Early life factors and white matter microstructure in children with overweight and obesity: The ActiveBrains project.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Exposure to a suboptimal environment during the fetal and early infancy period's results in long-term consequences for brain morphology and function. We investigated the associations of early life factors such as anthropometric neonatal data (i.e., birth length, birth weight and birth head circumference) and breastfeeding practices (i.e., exclusive and any breastfeeding) with white matter (WM) microstructure, and ii) we tested whether WM tracts related to early life factors are associated with academic performance in children with overweight/obesity. METHODS: 96 overweight/obese children (10.03 ± 1.16 years; 38.7% girls) were included from the ActiveBrains Project. WM microstructure indicators used were fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), derived from Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Academic performance was evaluated with the Battery III Woodcock-Muñoz Tests of Achievement. Regression models were used to examine the associations of the early life factors with tract-specific FA and MD, as well as its association with academic performance. RESULTS: Head circumference at birth was positively associated with FA of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus tract (0.441; p = 0.005), as well as negatively associated with MD of the cingulate gyrus part of cingulum (-0.470; p = 0.006), corticospinal (-0.457; p = 0.005) and superior thalamic radiation tract (-0.476; p = 0.001). Association of birth weight, birth length and exclusive breastfeeding with WM microstructure did not remain significant after false discovery rate correction. None tract related to birth head circumference was associated with academic performance (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlighted the importance of the perinatal growth in WM microstructure later in life, although its possible academic implications remain inconclusive.

Brain substrates explain differences in the adoption and degree of financial digitalization.

This study analyzes neural responses connected to trust and risk to explain financial digitalization decisions. It shows that brain responses distinctively inform differences in the adoption of digital financial channels that are not shown by any other sociodemographic or behavioral indicators. From a methodological standpoint, the study explores if usage patterns of digital financial channels and instruments are associated with psychological and biological indicators; it uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether financial digitalization decisions are linked to the evoked brain response to the safety associated with video images of financial transactions through digitalized and non-digitalized channels; it conducts trust and risk neuro-experiments to identify their impact on financial digitalization decisions and it analyzes whether brain structure is linked to financial digitalization behavior. The findings suggest that high and low frequency users exhibit differences in brain function and also in volume and fractional anisotropy values. A higher frequency of use of financial digital financial services is associated with higher brain activation linked to insecurity (lower safety neural evoked responses during the video task and an altered white matter microstructure of the cingulum). Additionally, high frequency users of digital financial channels exhibit enhanced activation of brain areas linked to emotional processing during the trust game. These findings have important implications for the design of public policies to enhance financial inclusion through technology and the segmentation and service distribution strategies of private financial institutions.