Dynamics of in Vivo Metabolites Concentrations in Posttraumatic Period of Human Brain. 1H MRS Study.

For the first time the intracellular concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), aspartate (Asp), and glutamate (Glu) were measured in human brain in vivo, and the effect of severe traumatic brain injury on NAA synthesis in acute and remote posttraumatic phases was revealed. In non-damaged (MRI-negative) lobes the next day after injury, Asp and Glu decreased by 45% and 35%, respectively, while NAA decreased only by 16%. A negative correlation between NAA and Asp/Glu ratio was found. The Glu level returned to the norm long after injury, Asp remained below the norm by 60%, NAA decreased by 65% relative to the norm, and Asp/Glu decreased significantly. The results obtained educe the leading role of neuronal aspartate-malate shuttle in NAA synthesis alterations.

MRI Study for the Features of Brain Conduction Pathways in Patients with an Ultra-High Risk of Endogenous Psychoses.

Diffusion parameters of brain tracts (n=18) were studied in 27 men with ultra-high risk of endogenous attack-like psychoses and 27 mentally healthy men of the same age group (fractional anisotropy; and average, radial, and axial diffusion). Correlation analysis was performed between these parameters and severity of mental disorders (SOPS scale). The indexes of radial diffusion and axial diffusion were shown to change in the left anterior thalamic radiation and right posterior cingulum bundle, respectively. Our results are consistent with published data that disturbances in the frontal and temporal lobes play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The degree of mental disorders correlated with diffusion parameters in the left and right anterior cingulum bundle.

(1)H-MRS and MEGA-PRESS pulse sequence in the study of balance of inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters in the human brain of ultra-high risk of schizophrenia patients.

The MEGA-PRESS pulse sequence was used for determination of overlapping signals in the (1)H-MRS spectra of the human brain. For the first time, the balance of GABA glutamate/glutamine concentrations was estimated quantitatively in the human brain of patients with ultra-high risk of schizophrenia. It was found that GABA concentration and GABA/GLX ratios were significantly reduced in the left frontal lobe of UHR subjects.

[Relationship of Executive Functions and Processing Speed with Cortical Gray Matter Morphometry in Healthy Adults and at The Early Stages of Schizophrenia].

13 male patients with schizophrenia and 18 age-matched healthy men underwent structural magnetic reso- nance imaging and completed the Stroop task which included the switching condition. As compared to con- trols, the patients showed slowing of color naming in the neutral condition and a reduction ofgray matter vol- ume and thickness in the frontal and temporal areas. In healthy subjects, the time of color naming was neg- atively correlated with gray matter volume in the left cuneus. In the schizophrenia group, there was a positive correlation between the time of color naming and cortical thickness in the middle and inferior frontal gyri of the right hemisphere. These results indicate a change in structural-functional relationships at the early stages of schizophrenia.

Diffusion in the corpus callosum in patients with early schizophrenia.

Diffusion in the cerebral corpus callosum in patients with early schizophrenia was studied by diffusion tensor MRT and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The fraction anisotropy coefficient in the corpus callosum knee was low as a result of high radial diffusion. Spectroscopy detected a decrease of N-acetylaspartate level in the corpus callosum knee indicating axonal lesion during the early stage of schizophrenia.

Characteristics of Diffusion in the Corticospinal Tract of Patients with Early Stage of Schizophrenia: Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Specific features of diffusion in the cerebral corticospinal tract of patients with early stages of schizophrenia were studied using methods of diffusion tensor magnetic-resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A decrease in the coefficient of fractional anisotropy in the posterior limb of the internal capsule and an increase in diffusion coefficient in the radiate crown and motor cortex were observed. The results reflect different mechanisms of changes in water diffusion in various areas of the corticospinal tract: changes in nerve fiber microstructure in the internal capsule of the left hemisphere and a decrease in their density in the motor cortex and radiate crown.

[Dynamics of Brain Activity during Voluntary Movement: fMRI Study].

The use of event-related fMRI makes it possible to investigate spatio-temporal dynamics of cortical and subcortical human brain structures activity during voluntary movement performance in response to presentation of relevant verbal stimuli. The results of the study showed that voluntary movement was associated with higher contralateral brain activation in a number of areas: primary motor and somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor area and insula with adjacent regions. Ipsilateral activation of the cerebellum also was observed. It should be emphasized that contralateral strio-pallidal complex and ventral thalamus showed significant response to motor tasks. Similarly, the dynamics of cortex and deep brain structures activation involving in the phasic and tonic components of voluntary movement was uncovered. We showed, in particular, the noticeable difference in brain activation between the right and left hand movement performance. The obtained results enable to enhance understanding of the role of deep brain structures in voluntary movement organization in human and motor control system as a whole.

Metabolic dysfunction and relationship in human frontoparietal cortex in severe traumatic brain injury: single-voxel (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

(1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that apparently normal (from the data of magnetic resonance imaging) human brain frontoparietal cortex in the subacute stage of traumatic brain injury is characterized by decreased level of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and increase in levels of myoinositol, choline-containing compounds (Cho), and creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr). Correlations between Cr, Cho, and NAA were established. We propose a scheme of neuronal metabolic processes that joins these substances.

[Some structural and functional features of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the corpus callosum genu and auditory information processing (P300) in healthy subjects and patients with juvenile schizophrenia].

Some structural and functional characteristics of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and corpus callosum genu were analyzed in comparison with electrophysiological markers of selective attention in 18 mentally healthy subjects and 22 remitted patients with juvenile schizophrenia. In both topography zones there were no statistically significant intergroup differences in N-acetylaspartate and choline compounds (by proton MR-spectroscopy), whereas fractional anisotropy (by diffusion tensor imaging) in the corpus callosum genu was lower in patients. Absence of significant correlations between the imaging characteristics and psychopathology scores and their weak correlations with P300 suggest a poor involvement of the analyzed structures in the processes which determine cognitive disorders in patients with juvenile schizophrenia.

Thermoheliox: effect on the functional hemodynamics of the human brain.

A kinetic study of the effect of thermoheliox (inhalation of a helium and oxygen mixture, 70 °C) on the functional hemodynamics of the human brain by functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out. The dynamic responses of the BOLD signal were found to be biphasic. An empirical equation describing the first phase of the hemodynamic response to visual stimulus was proposed. It was shown that preliminary inhalation of thermoheliox stimulates the hemodynamic responses by slowing down the vasoconstriction.

Effect of cell therapy on metabolite content in brain structures of children with consequences of severe brain injury: 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

The effect of intravenous injection of human umbilical cord blood cells on the levels of N-acetylaspartate, creatine and phosphocreatine, choline-containing compounds, glutamine and glutamate, and myoinositol in morphologically intact areas of the cortex, white matter, and hippocampus of children with consequences of traumatic brain injury was studied by single voxel 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It was shown that cell therapy increases the content of N-acetylaspartate, a marker of functional integrity of neurons, in the white matter and in the cortex at the boundary between the frontotemporal and parietal lobes and reduces neurological deficit.

[Activation of brain structures by fMRI data when viewing the video clips and recall of shown actions].

In 10 healthy volunteers, brain tomograms were recorded using an fMRI scanner with a 3T-field magnet. Emotionally neutral and emotionally involving videos were used for stimulation. Registration consisted of seven series: two series of viewing a fixation point and two kinds of video clips, one series of viewing of a succession of two types of video clips, two series of watching videos with subsequent recall, and two series of viewing the fixation point followed by recall of content online. Viewing content online caused the greatest degree of metabolism increase localized in the visual cortex. This activation was more pronounced during the presentation of an emotionally involving video clip. In addition to the occipital lobe, it actively involved the temporal, parietal and, to a lesser extent, the frontal cortex. Activation of the motor cortex was detected only in some subjects. The "interference" effect in which the increase in metabolism was minimal was observed during a consequent demonstration of video-clips. Immediate recall of video-clips after viewing caused the greatest activation of the posterior frontal and motor cortex. Delayed recall activated mostly the anterior frontal cortex. There was a decrease of metabolism in the visual cortex during the recall. The greatest reduction in the visual cortex was observed during immediate recall. Immediate and delayed recall activated the structures associated with the maintenance of consciousness, memory and a system of mirror neurons.

[Some electrophysiological and hemodynamic characteristics of auditory selective attention in norm and schizophrenia].

Six patients in the state of remission after the first episode ofjuvenile schizophrenia and seven sex- and age-matched mentally healthy subjects were examined by fMRI and ERP methods. The auditory oddball paradigm was applied. Differences in P300 parameters didn't reach the level of significance, however, a significantly higher hemodynamic response to target stimuli was found in patients bilaterally in the supramarginal gyrus and in the right medial frontal gyrus, which points to pathology of these brain areas in supporting of auditory selective attention.

The diffusion-tensor imaging reveals alterations in water diffusion parameters in acute pediatric concussion.

Wide-spread visualization methods which are computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not sensitive to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). However, mTBI may cause changes of cerebral microstructure that could be found using diffusion-tensor imaging. The aim of this study is to reveal the impact of acute mTBI (no more than 3 days after trauma) on diffusion parameters in corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, and thalamus in children (aged 14-18). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were analyzed. Significant increase in FA and decrease in ADC were observed in thalamus. The trend to an increase in FA is observed in corpus callosum.

[EEG, ERP in selective attention paradigm and the level of some metabolites in brain prefrontal cortex].

The preliminary analysis at the first stage of the research has revealed the statistically significant correlations between electrophysiological parameters and the level of several metabolites (determined by magnetic-resonance spectroscopy) in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The findings are assumed to be due to the individually specific peculiarities of activation of this brain region and its impact on the information processing. The neurophysiological markers of decreased brain functional state are associated with the lower N-acetyl aspartate and choline and higher level of creatin/phosphocreatin in the tested region of prefrontal cortex.

[Neuroanatomical brain profile of juvenile shiftlike schizophrenia: morphometry of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex and subcortical structures]. / Neiroanatomicheskie osobennosti golovnogo mozga pri iunosheskoi pristupoobraznoi shizofrenii: morfometriia serogo veshchestva prefrontal'noi kory i podkorkovykh struktur.

AIM: To determine neuroanatomical peculiarities of grey matter in some regions of the prefrontal cortex and several subcortical structures in patients with juvenile shift like schizophrenia (F20 ICD-10). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-three young male patients and 54 mentally healthy men without family history of mental diseases underwent structural MRI with T1 high resolution images. RESULTS: As compared to mentally healthy subjects, there was a decrease of grey matter thickness in all tested regions of the prefrontal cortex in patients. No between-group differences in subcortical structures volumes were found. No correlations between structural changes and psychopathological symptoms were observed. CONCLUSION: Structural abnormalities of the frontal lobes in juvenile shift like schizophrenia are not associated with severity of psychopathological symptoms.

[Information processing and brain metabolic characteristics in patients at ultra-high risk for endogenous psychosis].

OBJECTIVE: Functional and structural brain abnormalities in people at high risk for psychosis is a subject of intensive studies in biological psychiatry over the last decades. We studied correlations between neurophysiological and neuroimaging parameters in ultra-high risk patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients, aged 17-25 years, with nonpsychotic mental disorders were examined. The control group included 30 age- and sex-matched healthy people. Neurophysiological study measured sensory gating. Proton MR-spectroscopy was used to study metabolic processes in the brain (index for glutamate/glutamine, N-acetylaspartate and choline containing compounds in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and thalamus of both hemispheres as well as in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We found the abnormality of sensory gating in patients at ultra-high risk for endogenous psychosis that was not correlated with the metabolic parameters. The latter were normal or were normalized during treatment.

[Angiography in the diagnosis of injuries of the parenchymatous organs of the abdomen in blunt trauma]. / Angiografiia v diagnostike povrezhdenii parenkhimatoznykh organov zhivota pri tupoi travme.

The work is based on an analysis of data obtained in angiographic examinations of 80 patients with blunt traumas of the abdomen.

[Structural-functional characteristics of the brain in juvenile patients in remission after first-episode of endogenous psychosis].

The structural MRI and auditory evoked potentials (odd-ball paradigm) were analyzed in juvenile patients at the remission stage after the first episode of endogenous psychosis. Eleven male patients and 11 male controls, aged 18-25, years were examined. There were no statistically significant between-group differences by averaged volume of grey matter in superior and middle frontal gyri, anterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, and superior temporal gyrus in both hemispheres as well by P300 amplitude and latency. It can be assumed that the certain normalization of neurobiological processes can be seen at the studied stage of the disease.