Graph convolutional network with attention mechanism improve major depressive depression diagnosis based on plasma biomarkers and neuroimaging data.

BACKGROUND: The absence of clinically-validated biomarkers or objective protocols hinders effective major depressive disorder (MDD) diagnosis. Compared to healthy control (HC), MDD exhibits anomalies in plasma protein levels and neuroimaging presentations. Despite extensive machine learning studies in psychiatric diagnosis, a reliable tool integrating multi-modality data is still lacking. METHODS: In this study, blood samples from 100 MDD and 100 HC were analyzed, along with MRI images from 46 MDD and 49 HC. Here, we devised a novel algorithm, integrating graph neural networks and attention modules, for MDD diagnosis based on inflammatory cytokines, neurotrophic factors, and Orexin A levels in the blood samples. Model performance was assessed via accuracy and F1 value in 3-fold cross-validation, comparing with 9 traditional algorithms. We then applied our algorithm to a dataset containing both the aforementioned protein quantifications and neuroimages, evaluating if integrating neuroimages into the model improves performance. RESULTS: Compared to HC, MDD showed significant alterations in plasma protein levels and gray matter volume revealed by MRI. Our new algorithm exhibited superior performance, achieving an F1 value and accuracy of 0.9436 and 94.08 %, respectively. Integration of neuroimaging data enhanced our novel algorithm's performance, resulting in an improved F1 value and accuracy, reaching 0.9543 and 95.06 %. LIMITATIONS: This single-center study with a small sample size requires future evaluations on a larger test set for improved reliability. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison to traditional machine learning models, our newly developed MDD diagnostic model exhibited superior performance and showed promising potential for inclusion in routine clinical diagnosis for MDD.

Comparisons of Accelerated Continuous and Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression and Suicidal Ideation.

BACKGROUND: Suicidal ideation is a substantial clinical challenge in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Recent work demonstrated promising antidepressant effects in TRD patients with no or mild suicidal ideation using a specific protocol termed intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS). Here, we examined the clinical effects of accelerated schedules of iTBS and continuous TBS (cTBS) in patients with moderate to severe suicidal ideation. METHODS: Patients with TRD and moderate to severe suicidal ideation (n = 44) were randomly assigned to receive accelerated iTBS or cTBS treatment. Treatments were delivered in 10 daily TBS sessions (1800 pulses/session) for 5 consecutive days (total of 90,000 pulses). Neuronavigation was employed to target accelerated iTBS and cTBS to the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), respectively. Clinical outcomes were evaluated in a 4-week follow-up period. RESULTS: Accelerated cTBS was superior to iTBS in the management of suicidal ideation (pweek 1 = .027) and anxiety symptoms (pweek 1 = .01). Accelerated iTBS and cTBS were comparable in antidepressant effects (p < .001; accelerated cTBS: mean change at weeks 1, 3, 5 = 49.55%, 54.99%, 53.11%; accelerated iTBS: mean change at weeks 1, 3, 5 = 44.52%, 48.04%, 51.74%). No serious adverse events occurred during the trial. One patient withdrew due to hypomania. The most common adverse event was discomfort at the treatment site (22.73% in both groups). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide the first evidence that accelerated schedules of left DLPFC iTBS and right DLPFC cTBS are comparably effective in managing antidepressant symptoms and indicate that right DLPFC cTBS is potentially superior in reducing suicidal ideation and anxiety symptoms.

NODDI Identifies Cognitive Associations with In Vivo Microstructural Changes in Remote Cortical Regions and Thalamocortical Pathways in Thalamic Stroke.

The roles of cerebral structures distal to isolated thalamic infarcts in cognitive deficits remain unclear. We aimed to identify the in vivo microstructural characteristics of remote gray matter (GM) and thalamic pathways and elucidate their roles across cognitive domains. Patients with isolated ischemic thalamic stroke and healthy controls underwent neuropsychological assessment and magnetic resonance imaging. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) was modeled to derive the intracellular volume fraction (VFic) and orientation dispersion index. Fiber density (FD) was determined by constrained spherical deconvolution, and tensor-derived fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated. Voxel-wise GM analysis and thalamic pathway tractography were performed. Twenty-six patients and 26 healthy controls were included. Patients exhibited reduced VFic in remote GM regions, including ipsilesional insular and temporal subregions. The microstructural metrics VFic, FD, and FA within ipsilesional thalamic pathways decreased (false discovery rate [FDR]-p < 0.05). Noteworthy associations emerged as VFic within insular cortices (ρ = -0.791 to -0.630; FDR-p < 0.05) and FD in tracts connecting the thalamus and insula (ρ = 0.830 to 0.971; FDR-p < 0.001) were closely associated with executive function. The VFic in Brodmann area 52 (ρ = -0.839; FDR-p = 0.005) and FA within its thalamic pathway (ρ = -0.799; FDR-p = 0.003) correlated with total auditory memory scores. In conclusion, NODDI revealed neurite loss in remote normal-appearing GM regions and ipsilesional thalamic pathways in thalamic stroke. Reduced cortical dendritic density and axonal density of thalamocortical tracts in specific subregions were associated with improved cognitive functions. Subacute microstructural alterations beyond focal thalamic infarcts might reflect beneficial remodeling indicating post-stroke plasticity.

Altered Coupling Between Cerebral Blood Flow and Voxel-Mirrored Homotopic Connectivity Affects Stroke-Induced Speech Comprehension Deficits.

The neurophysiological basis of the association between interhemispheric connectivity and speech comprehension processing remains unclear. This prospective study examined regional cerebral blood flow (CBF), homotopic functional connectivity, and neurovascular coupling, and their effects on comprehension performance in post-stroke aphasia. Multimodal imaging data (including data from functional magnetic resonance imaging and arterial spin labeling imaging) of 19 patients with post-stroke aphasia and 22 healthy volunteers were collected. CBF, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), CBF-VMHC correlation, and CBF/VMHC ratio maps were calculated. Between-group comparisons were performed to identify neurovascular changes, and correlation analyses were conducted to examine their relationship with the comprehension domain. The correlation between CBF and VMHC of the global gray matter decreased in patients with post-stroke aphasia. The total speech comprehension score was significantly associated with VMHC in the peri-Wernicke area [posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS): r = 0.748, p = 0.001; rostroventral area 39: r = 0.641, p = 0.008]. The decreased CBF/VMHC ratio was also mainly associated with the peri-Wernicke temporoparietal areas. Additionally, a negative relationship between the mean CBF/VMHC ratio of the cingulate gyrus subregion and sentence-level comprehension was observed (r = -0.658, p = 0.006). These findings indicate the contribution of peri-Wernicke homotopic functional connectivity to speech comprehension and reveal that abnormal neurovascular coupling of the cingulate gyrus subregion may underly comprehension deficits in patients with post-stroke aphasia.

Cerebral perfusion mediated by thalamo-cortical functional connectivity in non-dominant thalamus affects naming ability in aphasia.

Naming is a commonly impaired language domain in various types of aphasia. Emerging evidence supports the cortico-subcortical circuitry subserving naming processing, although neurovascular regulation of the non-dominant thalamic and basal ganglia subregions underlying post-stroke naming difficulty remains unclear. Data from 25 subacute stroke patients and 26 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy volunteers were analyzed. Region-of-interest-wise functional connectivity (FC) was calculated to measure the strength of cortico-subcortical connections. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was determined to reflect perfusion levels. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed to identify the relationship between cortico-subcortical connectivity, regional cerebral perfusion, and naming performance. We observed increased right-hemispheric subcortical connectivity in patients. FC between the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and lateral/medial prefrontal thalamus (lPFtha/mPFtha) exhibited significantly negative correlations with total naming score. Trend-level increased CBF in subcortical nuclei, including that in the right lPFtha, and significant negative correlations between naming and regional perfusion of the right lPFtha were observed. The relationship between CBF in the right lPFtha and naming was fully mediated by the lPFtha-pSTS connectivity in the non-dominant hemisphere. Our findings suggest that perfusion changes in the right thalamic subregions affect naming performance through thalamo-cortical circuits in post-stroke aphasia. This study highlights the neurovascular pathophysiology of the non-dominant hemisphere and demonstrates thalamic involvement in naming after stroke.

Aberrant Development of Cross-Frequency Multiplex Functional Connectome in First-Episode, Drug-Naive Major Depressive Disorder and Schizophrenia.

Introduction: Both major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SCH) are characterized by neurodevelopmental abnormalities; however, transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific patterns of such abnormalities have rarely been examined, particularly in large-scale functional brain networks via advanced multilayer network models. Methods: Here, we collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 45 MDD patients, 64 SCH patients, and 48 healthy controls (HCs; 13-45 years old), and we constructed functional networks in different frequency intervals. The frequency-dependent networks were then fused by multiplex network models, followed by graph-based topological analyses. Results: We found that functional networks of the patients showed common neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the right ventromedial parietooccipital sulcus (opposite correlations with age to HCs), whereas functional networks of the MDD patients exhibited specific alterations in the left superior parietal lobule and right precentral gyrus with respect to cross-frequency interactions. These findings were quite different from those from brain networks within each frequency interval, which revealed SCH-specific neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the right superior temporal gyrus (opposite correlations with age to the other two groups) in 0.027-0.073 Hz, and SCH-specific alterations in the left superior temporal gyrus and bilateral insula in 0.073-0.198 Hz. Finally, multivariate analysis of age prediction revealed that the subcortical network lost prediction ability in both patient groups, whereas the visual network exhibited additional prediction ability in the MDD patients. Discussion and Conclusion: Altogether, these findings demonstrate transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific neurodevelopmental abnormalities and alterations in large-scale functional brain networks between MDD and SCH, which have important implications for understanding shared and unique neural mechanisms underlying the diseases.

Fixel-based evidence of microstructural damage in crossing pathways improves language mapping in Post-stroke aphasia.

BACKGROUND: The complex crossing-fiber characteristics in the dual-stream system have been ignored by traditional diffusion tensor models regarding disconnections in post-stroke aphasia. It is valuable to identify microstructural damage of crossing-fiber pathways and reveal accurate fiber-specific language mapping in patients with aphasia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study collected magnetic resonance imaging data from 29 participants with post-stroke aphasia in the subacute stage and from 33 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Fixel-based analysis was performed to examine microstructural fiber density (FD) and bundle cross-section alterations of specific fiber populations in crossing-fiber regions. Group comparisons were performed, and relationships with language scores were assessed. RESULTS: The aphasic group exhibited significant fixel-wise FD reductions in the dual-stream tracts, including the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), arcuate fasciculus, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) III (family-wise-error-corrected p < 0.05). Voxel- and fixel-wise comparisons revealed mismatched distributions in regions with crossing-fiber nexuses. Fixel-wise correlation analyses revealed significant associations between comprehension impairment and reduced FD in the temporal and frontal segments of the left IFOF, and also mapped naming ability to the IFOF. Average features along the whole course of dominant tracts assessed with tract-wise analyses attributed word-level comprehension to the IFOF (r = 0.723, p < 0.001) and revealed a trend-level correlation between sentence-level comprehension and FD of the SLF III (r = 0.451, p = 0.021). The mean FD of the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and IFOF correlated with total and picture naming scores, and the IFOF also correlated with responsive naming subdomains (Bonferroni corrected p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: FD reductions of dual streams suggest that intra-axonal volume reduction constitutes the microstructural damage of white matter integrity in post-stroke aphasia. Fixel-based analysis provides a complementary method of language mapping that identifies fiber-specific tracts in the left hemisphere language network with greater specificity than voxel-based analysis. It precisely locates the precise segments of the IFOF for comprehension, yields fiber-specific evidence for the debated UF-naming association, and reveals dissociative subdomain associations with distinct tracts.

Abnormal causal connectivity of left superior temporal gyrus in drug-naïve first- episode adolescent-onset schizophrenia: A resting-state fMRI study.

This study aimed to investigate the alterations of causal connectivity between the brain regions in Adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) patients. Thirty-two first-episode drug-naïve AOS patients and 27 healthy controls (HC) were recruited for resting-state functional MRI scanning. The brain region with the between-group difference in regional homogeneity (ReHo) values was chosen as a seed to perform the Granger causality analysis (GCA) and further detect the alterations of causal connectivity in AOS. AOS patients exhibited increased ReHo values in left superior temporal gyrus (STG) compared with HCs. Significantly decreased values of outgoing Granger causality from left STG to right superior frontal gyrus and right angular gyrus were observed in GC mapping for AOS. Significantly stronger causal outflow from left STG to right insula and stronger causal inflow from right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) to left STG were also observed in AOS patients. Based on assessments of the two strengthened causal connectivity of the left STG with insula and MOG, a discriminant model could identify all patients from controls with 94.9% accuracy. This study indicated that alterations of directional connections in left STG may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AOS and serve as potential biomarkers for the disease.

Distinguishing hypochondriasis and schizophrenia using regional homogeneity: a resting-state fMRI study and support vector machine analysis.

OBJECTIVE: A few former studies suggested that there are partial overlaps in abnormal brain structure and cognitive function between hypochondriasis (HS) and schizophrenia (SZ). But their differences in brain activity and cognitive function were unclear. METHODS: Twenty-one HS patients, 23 SZ patients, and 24 healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) with the regional homogeneity analysis (ReHo), subsequently exploring the relationship between ReHo value and cognitive functions. The support vector machines (SVM) were used on effectiveness evaluation of ReHo for differentiating HS from SZ. RESULTS: Compared with HC, HS showed significantly increased ReHo values in right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), left inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and right fusiform gyrus (FG), while SZ showed increased ReHo in left insula, decreased ReHo values in right paracentral lobule. Additionally, HS showed significantly higher ReHo values in FG, MTG, and left paracentral lobule, but lower in insula than SZ. The higher ReHo values in insula were associated with worse performance in MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) in HS group. SVM analysis showed a combination of the ReHo values in insula and FG was able to satisfactorily distinguish the HS and SZ patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that the altered default mode network (DMN), of which abnormal spontaneous neural activity occurs in multiple brain regions, might play a key role in the pathogenesis of HS, and the resting-state alterations of insula are closely related to cognitive dysfunction in HS. Furthermore, the combination of the ReHo in FG and insula was a relatively ideal indicator to distinguish HS from SZ.

Neuronavigation-Guided rTMS for the Treatment of Depressive Patients With Suicidal Ideation: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.

During the last decade, the problem of suicide has become more serious in individuals with depression. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aims to investigate the efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based neuronavigation-guided daily high-dose rTMS for rapidly improving suicidal ideation in treatment-naive patients with MDD. In the present 1-week double-blind study, 42 treatment-naive patients with MDD with suicidal ideation were randomly assigned to the treatment of escitalopram oxalate tablets (10 mg/d) in combination with either active (n = 21) or sham (n = 21) rTMS. The TMS coil was positioned over a specified target location (-44, 40, and 29) in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex based on MRI data. The severity of suicidal ideation was measured by the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI). The 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24) and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were utilized to assess the severity of depression. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Test, and Stroop Color-Word Test were adopted to assess executive function. In contrast to the sham group, the active rTMS group showed a significantly greater BSI score reduction at the third day and the seventh day (P < 0.001). Moreover, the active rTMS group showed a significantly greater HAMD (P < 0.001) and MADRS (P < 0.001) score reduction at the seventh day in comparison to the sham group. The present findings suggested that the neuronavigation-guided high-dose rTMS may be a novel method to rapidly reduce suicidal ideation and mitigate depressive symptoms.

Disrupted intrinsic functional connectivity of the cognitive control network underlies disease severity and executive dysfunction in first-episode, treatment-naive adolescent depression.

BACKGROUND: Previous neuroimaging studies have showed that imbalanced functional integration of distributed large-scale brain networks is associated with pathophysiological characteristics of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the association between network integrative disturbances and clinical features and cognitive functions remains largely unclear in adolescent MDD. This study investigated the neural correlates of abnormal functional connectivity networks with clinical and cognitive characteristics in adolescent MDD. METHODS: Twenty-eight first-episode, treatment-naive adolescents with MDD and 24 well-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a battery of cognitive tests. A seed-based functional connectivity (FC) approach was used to depict connectivity patterns of the cognitive control network (CCN), affective network (AN) and default mode network (DMN), whose between-group differences were correlated with clinical variables and cognitive functions in the patients. RESULTS: Compared with the HCs, the MDD patients exhibited impaired executive functions. The FC analysis revealed lower CCN FC with the temporal, parietal and frontal regions and the limbic system, higher AN FC with the temporal and occipital regions and the cerebellum, and lower DMN FC with the cerebellum and insula. Interestingly, the decreased CCN FC was related to disease severity (with the inferior frontal gyrus) and executive dysfunctions (with the middle cingulate gyrus and supramarginal gyrus) in the patients. LIMITATIONS: The main limitations were the relatively small sample size and suboptimal imaging parameters. CONCLUSION: Functional alteration of CCN during the developmentally sensitive period may be important in the neurobiology of adolescent MDD.

Thrombin disrupts vascular endothelial-cadherin and leads to hydrocephalus via protease-activated receptors-1 pathway.

AIMS: Previous studies indicated that intraventricular injection of thrombin would induce hydrocephalus. But how thrombin works in this process remains unclear. Since cadherin plays a critical role in hydrocephalus, we aimed to explore the mechanisms of how thrombin acted on choroid plexus vascular endothelium and how thrombin interacted with vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin) during hydrocephalus. METHODS: There were two parts in this study. Firstly, rats received an injection of saline or thrombin into the right lateral ventricle. Magnetic resonance imaging was applied to measure the lateral ventricle volumes. Albumin leakage and Evans blue content were assessed to test the blood-brain barrier function. Immunofluorescence and Western blot were applied to detect the location and the expression of VE-cadherin. Secondly, we observed the roles of protease-activated receptors-1 (PAR1) inhibitor (SCH79797), Src inhibitor (PP2), p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) inhibitor (IPA3) in the thrombin-induced hydrocephalus, and their effects on the regulation of VE-cadherin. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that intraventricular injection of thrombin caused significant downregulation of VE-cadherin in choroid plexus and dilation of ventricles. In addition, the inhibition of PAR1/p-Src/p-PAK1 pathway reversed the decrease of VE-cadherin and attenuated thrombin-induced hydrocephalus. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that the thrombin-induced hydrocephalus was associated with the inhibition of VE-cadherin via the PAR1/p-Src/p-PAK1 pathway.

The relationship between the alterations in metabolite levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and clinical symptoms of patients with first-episode schizophrenia: a one year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Reduced brain metabolites such as N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), glutamate (Glx), Choline (Cho) and myo-inositol (MI) have been repeatedly found in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and suggest neuronal loss or dysfunction. However, the potential relationship between the metabolite level and the clinical symptoms or the recovery of FES remained unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the alterations in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) metabolite levels of patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and the changes in clinical symptoms after one year treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FES patients underwent 1H-MRS scan twice: one time at the baseline and the other one year later, while the healthy group patients underwent only once at the baseline time. The symptom severity of patients was measured by PANSS. PRINCIPAL OBSERVATIONS: An increase in the NAA/Cr level was detected in the left DLPFC of patients with FES. The change in the NAA/Cr level was significantly correlated with the alteration in their PANSS-P score. The Cho/Cr levels on both sides of DLPFC in patients with FES were lower compared with the healthy controls both at the baseline and after the treatment. The NAA/Cr and MI/Cr levels in the right DLPFC were decreased after the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: (1) the depletion of NAA in left DLPFC might be a state characteristic; (2) the Cho/Cr level might be the potential endophenotype of schizophrenia; (3) the decrease of NAA/Cr and MI/Cr level in right DLPFC might be due to the development of schizophrenia.

Excision of tumors in the parapharyngeal space using an endoscopically assisted transoral approach: a case series and literature review.

OBJECTIVE: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides important information regarding tumors in the parapharyngeal space (PPS), revealing their origin, whether they are benign or malignant, and their relationships with surrounding structures. METHODS: Twelve tumors in the PPS were completely excised using an endoscopically assisted transoral approach (EATA). The MRI features were analyzed. RESULTS: Ten pleomorphic adenomas confirmed on postoperative pathological examination had the parotid pedicle sign. A fat space between the tumor and parotid gland may distinguish such a tumor from a tumor arising from a minor salivary gland in the prestyloid space and a tumor arising from the deep lobe of the parotid gland. Both the jugular vein and carotid artery were displaced posteriorly in all 10 cases of pleomorphic adenomas. The principal features of the two schwannomas confirmed on postoperative pathological examination were separation of the internal carotid artery and internal jugular vein and anteromedial displacement of the internal carotid artery, suggesting that the tumors originated in the poststyloid space. In this review, 95 tumors were excised by the EATA in the English-language literature. CONCLUSIONS: MRI renders differential diagnosis possible. PPS tumors may be completely excised via an EATA guided by tumor features evident on preoperative MRI.

SD-CNN: A shallow-deep CNN for improved breast cancer diagnosis.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Nevertheless, it is also one of the most treatable malignances if detected early. Screening for breast cancer with full field digital mammography (FFDM) has been widely used. However, it demonstrates limited performance for women with dense breasts. An emerging technology in the field is contrast-enhanced digital mammography (CEDM), which includes a low energy (LE) image similar to FFDM, and a recombined image leveraging tumor neoangiogenesis similar to breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CEDM has shown better diagnostic accuracy than FFDM. While promising, CEDM is not yet widely available across medical centers. In this research, we propose a Shallow-Deep Convolutional Neural Network (SD-CNN) where a shallow CNN is developed to derive "virtual" recombined images from LE images, and a deep CNN is employed to extract novel features from LE, recombined or "virtual" recombined images for ensemble models to classify the cases as benign vs. cancer. To evaluate the validity of our approach, we first develop a deep-CNN using 49 CEDM cases collected from Mayo Clinic to prove the contributions from recombined images for improved breast cancer diagnosis (0.85 in accuracy, 0.84 in AUC using LE imaging vs. 0.89 in accuracy, 0.91 in AUC using both LE and recombined imaging). We then develop a shallow-CNN using the same 49 CEDM cases to learn the nonlinear mapping from LE to recombined images. Next, we use 89 FFDM cases from INbreast, a public database to generate "virtual" recombined images. Using FFDM alone provides 0.84 in accuracy (AUC = 0.87), whereas SD-CNN improves the diagnostic accuracy to 0.90 (AUC = 0.92).

Memantine induces manic episode in a 73-year-old patient with vascular neurocognitive disorder: a case report.

Memantine, an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist, is a well-established treatment option for moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment related to Alzheimer disease. Recently, growing evidence has indicated memantine might also be effective in treatment of affective disorders. The common drug-induced adverse events of memantine include confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, insomnia, and agitation. Herein, we presented a case of a 73-year-old female patient with vascular neurocognitive disorder, who developed a manic episode after taking memantine.

Multifunctional Roles of the Ventral Stream in Language Models: Advanced Segmental Quantification in Post-Stroke Aphasic Patients.

In the dual-route language model, the dorsal pathway is known for sound-to-motor mapping, but the role of the ventral stream is controversial. With the goal of enhancing our understanding of language models, this study investigated the diffusion characteristics of candidate tracts in aphasic patients. We evaluated 14 subacute aphasic patients post-stroke and 11 healthy controls with language assessment and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping found multiple linguistic associations for the ventral stream, while automated fiber quantification (AFQ) showed, via reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity with increased radial diffusivity (all corrected p < 0.05), that the integrity of both the left dorsal and ventral streams was compromised. The average diffusion metrics of each fascicle provided by AFQ also confirmed that voxels with significant FA-language correlations were located in the ventral tracts, including the left inferior fronto-occipital fascicle (IFOF) (comprehension: r = 0.839, p = 0.001; repetition: r = 0.845, p = 0.001; naming: r = 0.813, p = 0.002; aphasia quotient: r = 0.847, p = 0.001) and uncinate fascicle (naming: r = 0.948, p = 0.001). Furthermore, point-wise AFQ revealed that the segment of the left IFOF with the strongest correlations was its narrow stem. The temporal segment of the left inferior longitudinal fascicle was also found to correlate significantly with comprehension (r = 0.663, p = 0.03) and repetition (r = 0.742, p = 0.009). This preliminary study suggests that white matter integrity analysis of the ventral stream may have the potential to reveal aphasic severity and guide individualized rehabilitation. The left IFOF, specifically its narrow stem segment, associates with multiple aspects of language, indicating an important role in semantic processing and multimodal linguistic functions.

The diagnostic role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

The aim of the present study was to assess the role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in hypopharyngeal carcinoma. A total of 40 hypopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and 15 benign lesion tissues were retrospectively analyzed. DWI, and T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of conventional MRI were 97.5, 66.7, and 89.1%, respectively. The mean ADC value [diffusion sensitive factor (b)=1,000× sec/mm2) for hypopharyngeal carcinomas was (1.0285±0.0328)×10-3 mm2/sec, which was significantly lower than the mean ADC value for benign lesions [(1.5333±0.1061)×10-3 mm2/sec; P<0.001]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.921 while the optimal threshold for the cut-off point of the ADC was 1.075×10-3 mm2/sec. The mean ADC value of the metastatic nodes was (0.9184±0.0538)×10-3 mm2/sec, lower than the mean value for the benign nodes [(1.2538±0.1145)×10-3 mm2/sec; P=0.005]. Two groups were created according to the mean of the ADC value of hypopharyngeal carcinomas [≤(1.0285±0.0328)×10-3 mm2/sec vs. >(1.0285±0.0328)×10-3 mm2/sec]. The 2-year survival rates of the two groups were 55.6 and 100.0%, respectively (P=0.024). ADC values may aid in distinguishing hypopharyngeal carcinomas from benign lesions and differentiating metastatic lymph nodes of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas from reactive cervical lymph nodes. In conclusion, mean ADC values may be useful prognostic factors in univariate analysis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Relationships between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex metabolic change and cognitive impairment in first-episode neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia patients.

The present study aimed to explore the possible associations between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) metabolites and the cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia (FES).This study included 58 patients with FES (29 males and 29 females; mean age, 22.66 ±â€Š7.64 years) recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, and 43 locally recruited healthy controls (16 males and 27 females; mean age, 23.07 ±â€Š7.49 years). The single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure the levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA); complex of glutamate, glutamine, and γ-aminobutyric acid (Glx); choline-containing compounds; and myo-inositol in the DLPFC. The ratios of metabolites to creatine (Cr) were calculated. The cognitive function was assessed by Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between the DLPFC metabolites and the cognitive function.Compared with the healthy controls, the patients with FES showed significantly reduced scores in each part of the MCCB, significantly reduced NAA/Cr, and significantly increased Glx/Cr in the left DLPFC. Poor performance in verbal learning and visual learning was correlated to the reduced NAA/Cr ratio in the left DLPFC.These findings suggest that a lower NAA/Cr ratio in the left DLPFC is associated with the cognitive deficits in patients with FES, and may be an early biochemical marker for the cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

Distinct representations of symbolic ordinality and quantity: evidence from neuropsychological investigations in a Chinese patient with Gerstmann's syndrome.

A number of recent studies have shown conflicting evidence as to common or distinct representations between symbolic ordinality and quantity. We investigated this issue through a series of neuropsychological tests in a unique Chinese patient with the left angular gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus lesions. Behavioral experiments revealed that (1) the patient showed Gerstmann syndrome, with minimal anomia and alexia and (2) the patient showed the dissociation among number semantic representations with relatively preserved symbolic quantity knowledge and impaired processing of symbolic order meaning. Together with existing evidence in the literature, results of the current study suggest that there might be two separate cognitive representations of symbolic ordinality and quantity in logographic language according to this dissociation. Most importantly, another merit of this study is that the left angular gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus might be necessary to symbolic ordinality representation.